16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

Today marks the first day of the Commit ▪ Act ▪ Demand: We CAN End Violence Against Women! activist movement. So, why the 16 days?

November 25, 2009 marks the launch of the 19th international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign – an annual campaign that runs from International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women through International Human Rights Day. (emphasis mine)

Over the next 16 days, I’m going to try and highlight the violence that women face around the world. If you’re interested in this endeavor, please visit the website and find out what some actions are that you can take to contribute to this movement and to the end of violence against women.

Women in developing countries carry the brunt of climate change

Who ever said that environmentalism wasn’t a feminist issue? I know it’s something that I have kept on hearing…but it’s clearly incorrect!

A new report from the United Nations Population Fund has said that women in developing countries are the most vulnerable in these climate changing times.

The report acknowledges that women in these countries to most of the agricultural work, which is of course greatly affected by climate change. Also, it discusses how women are the ones who generally are the caregivers for their families in these countries, which means they have less of a chance to up and move, which threatens them when there are (pending or not) natural disasters. The report also talks about gender issues of family planning and reproductive healthcare. Too bad that those things are not overly available to all poor people in developing countries, and some may refuse these things even.

Ultimately, the UNFPA wants there to be more research and analysis done in this area, since there is so little attention to it at this time, even though it’s something that’s extremely important.

Counterfeit condoms!

Apparently, it’s been found that the spread of counterfeit condoms is “rampant” in China. There may be about 1 million counterfeit condoms in China that has been produced by one factory in central Hunan province.

Four people were arrested at the factory which was distributing illicit condoms nationwide that provided little or no protection and carried the risk of both pregnancy and disease.

As well…some weird bits about this story…

Authorities say when they entered the factory they saw bare-chested employees using vegetable oil to lubricate the condoms and putting them into fiber bags without any sterilization.

So, I guess that’s the random story of the day; but also serious for those in China who have picked up some of those counterfeit condoms and used them, expecting protection.

Woman wearing trousers = 40 lashes in Sudan?

A Sudanese woman, who works for the United Nations, is facing 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public. She is planning on going to court over this and has invited public media to help fight her fight.

This is what went down:

Ms. Hussein said she was at a restaurant on July 3 when police came in and ordered 13 women wearing trousers to follow them to the police station.

Ten of the women were summoned to a police station two days later and were lashed 10 times each, according to Ms. Hussein. Her case was sent for trial when she called in a lawyer.

She says that women are always being lashed for different things, but that no one is standing up to this. She is planning on exposing this for what it is – a harassment towards women. She is even going as far as to resign from the UN to make sure her case is continued. Others are coming out and supporting her, and her lawyer mentions that it will most likely be followed by human rights groups.

My wish is that lashing wasn’t even a punishment anymore. It is so inhumane. Secondly, I wish that women’s clothing choices weren’t such an issue in many places in the world. I know it can be seen in different ways, but I see it as taking away from the individual when they are so confined to wear certain things and then get a physical punishment when they step out and wear something different. It is totally unacceptable on a human rights level, despite the conservative and religious culture.

New Delhi: Rape victim told to have baby

The Feminist Majority brings us this story of a mentally-handicapped rape victim being ordered to have her baby, although the New Delhi Supreme Court says that she will not rear the child.

The lower court ordered that she terminate the pregnancy, by stating: “We have no hesitation in observing that she is extremely vulnerable to all types of deceptive, dishonest and immoral offers even at the hands of those whom the law bestowed with the duty of looking after her.”

For me, any Indian news regarding women’s issues/gender issues/feminist stuff is near and dear to my heart, because I was there last year for about a month, doing some volunteer work. I know that doesn’t qualify me for much, but even being in India for that short period of time makes you understand how things work in that country. There is too much culture shock to not understand.

So, all I’m thinking about is how I’m actually not overly surprised that she is being ordered to have the baby. India is progressing, but it is moving slow towards that progression and is still a conservative country with much gender inequality.

I agree with the lower court’s decision, not just because of what they said about the victim (which is VERY true), but for the wellbeing of the newborn child. This child may be able to be taken care of by someone else, but I truly doubt that the child will have a chance at a good standard of living. Until you go to India and see things for yourself, you don’t understand the vast amount of street children, the vast amount of babies, children and adult beggars that are being exploited by the mafia (yes, Slumdog Millionaire was correct) and the vast amount of children in orphanages. India is obviously an overpopulated country that is bursting at the seams, and the Supreme Court’s ruling to me just doesn’t make sense. I can’t help but believe that they know this child will either end up in an orphanage (and honestly, not ALL are bad) or on the street, begging.

I just wish that the lower court’s decision was kept, because I truly believe that that was the right decision. I know many may disagree with me, but I just can’t see the pros to the Supreme Court’s decision.

Thoughts?

Positive movement in Afghanistan

News is coming from Washington that a bill may be passed in Afghanistan to punish those who perpetrate violence against women.

“We’ve learned in the last 24 hours or so that a bill that’s been pending in the parliament in Afghanistan and been reviewed by the ministry of justice to eliminate violence against women is going to be signed by President Karzai,” US lawmaker Carolyn Maloney said at the briefing on Capitol Hill.

If this bill is passed, “men who bar women from getting an education, working, or obtaining healthcare could face six months in prison.”

Let’s hope this bill gets pass, but even more so, let’s hope that there is actual justice for so many women that experience violence in Afghanistan.

Mass female genital mutilation events held in Indonesia

I was just going to heap this into “Lots of news”, but when I read it, I knew I actually had to do a piece about it. The New York Times has an article about female “circumcisers” who cut off a piece of a girls genitalia, in Indonesia. It is female genital mutilation, but it just looks more sanitary and humane because it’s sponsored by the Assalaam Foundation.

The procedure takes several minutes. There is little blood involved. Afterward, the girl’s genital area is swabbed with the antiseptic Betadine. She is then helped back into her underwear and returned to a waiting area, where she’s given a small, celebratory gift — some fruit or a donated piece of clothing — and offered a cup of milk for refreshment.

Oh yay! A refreshment! That’s really going to make everything so much better. It’s like they think it’s so much better because the “area” is swabbed with some antiseptic and the girls are given a gift. Yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

But the best part is, is that people actually think there are benefits to this. Benefits to cutting some girly genitalia off.

“One, it will stabilize her libido,” he said through an interpreter. “Two, it will make a woman look more beautiful in the eyes of her husband. And three, it will balance her psychology.”

First, bull shit. Alright, my libido is perfectly fine, and I have all my genitalia. Then again, I guess these people want to take away her libido, so that the man’s sexual pleasure is the main focal point. And you know, that’s totally OK, because women are just baby makers! And yet again, something else that has to do with men. She’ll be more beautiful in the eyes of her husband? Seriously, that is the most messed up thinking one could ever have. I know I’m being potentially offensive here, but FGM is very offensive to me. The second “benefit” just reinforces that men are more important than women and always will be. And the third “benefit,” I don’t really get. Balance her psychology? Yeah, I don’t think so. It may definitely make her have psychological problems, but it’s not going to balance anything.

There are absolutely no health, sexual or psychological benefits for FGM. It is a disgusting practice, and unfortunately the mothers who bring their daughters to this “mass circumcising event” believe that this is the right thing to do and that it will actually improve their daughter in some way, or are just going along with the social expectations of it all.

This article is definitely a must-read and it has several pictures from the event (none are graphic), which do show how horrifying it can be for a young girl.

The war against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This absolutely breaks my heart and disgusts me so much at the same time. We know that a civil war is going on in Congo, but something we rarely hear about is the fact that women are continually and systematically raped during these kinds of conflicts. We know it’s something that happens, but we don’t like to think about and don’t bother to think about it because we feel like we can’t do anything about it. Maybe there are a few more reasons that you can come up with! But nonetheless, it’s important to know that this is going on. I’m not going to quote a lot of the gory details here, because it’s graphic, but please read the article. It’s a must.

Anneka Van Woudenberg, who is the senior Congo researcher at Human Rights Watch, explains the raping that is occurring in Congo.

I think what’s different in Congo is the scale and the systematic nature of it, indeed, as well, the brutality. This is not rape because soldiers have got bored and have nothing to do. It is a way to ensure that communities accept the power and authority of that particular armed group. This is about showing terror. This is about using it as a weapon of war.

I honestly don’t have too many words about this. It is disgusting and disheartening to know that thousands of women are becoming victims of “femicide” because of this war. But even further really, these women are having genocide committed against them. Many people simply think that killing is the only definition of genocide and just think of Hitler, but according to the UN Convention on Genocide, one of the definitions is “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.” This is clearly happening, and it’s clearly intentional.

When will this genocide end? And why is it being ignored?

Greek women protest by going in men-only sanctuary

About six Greek women have protested the rule of the “all-male” monastic sanctuary in northern Greece. This is a 1000-year-old rule, and entering this sanctuary was a “purely symbolic act.”

Parliament member Litsa Amanatidou Paschalidou was among the women who entered the sanctuary. She called it a “purely symbolic act,” which was meant to send a message to the church to “pursue policies which serve the public and not its financial interest.” The protesters, who say the monks are making illegal claims on their property, broke away from a rally of more than 400 people and evaded a police cordon, entering Athos grounds.

So, this is a land problem, not a problem with the only-male sanctuary, but it’s pretty clear that if they violated a rule that has been around for 1000 years, then they would make some impact, as women. It’s impressive to see that women are taking the charge on this land and property issue. Hey, maybe women just have more of a sense at what’s going on is bullshit, considering they can’t enter the sanctuary…because they have a vagina, which makes them soooo inferior.

Uh, I freaking love these women!

A group of women in India have started their own political party. Rock on. That’s so sweet! Suman Krishan Kant is the president of this 100 member (almost) all-women political party, who is also the widow of the former vice president, Krishan Kumar Kant.

“It is for the first time in the history of India that a national political party has been formed by women,” she says. “In fact it is the only party of women in the world. We need to ensure that the issues of priority concern to half of its population remain in the forefront of the pressing issues on India’s national agenda.”

Presently, women only hold 8 percent of seats in parliament, and the party wants that to change to 50 percent, which would be an amazing thing to see, but it’s also an amazing task to take on at the same time. It is true that some women do hold top seats in parliament, but that is few and far between, as gender inequality is still rampant in India, even though women have legal equality.

In November, the World Economic Forum’s latest gender gap index put India among the world’s 10 most gender-biased economies, with women’s participation in the paid work force at 36 percent.

Wow. These women are completely extraordinary and inspirational. And they make the point of “not hating men, and wanting and needing their support,” which is really great, because it’s about equality, and working together to create a better world; not squashing the other gender. It is just so encouraging to see something like this happen in India, and like Kant said, it really is the only (almost) all-women’s political party. Just, so cool. I love these women.

Benazir Bhutto assassinated

Most of you probably already know this, but it’s good to put it here anyway. Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan was assassinated after addressing a large group of her supporters.

Not only was she killed, but 22 others as well. The President said that the people who assassinated her, and killed 22 others, were the “extremists that Pakistan is fighting a war against.”

Luckily, I do not think that this is a true women’s issue. Her father and brothers were also assassinated. But all in all, we have to mourn the loss of this great woman who did so much for her country, and just by being a political leader, many women as well.

The sex slave industry in Britain

Apparently there are human trafficking problems happening in Britain, and some political leaders are wanting it to stop before Britain becomes “the sex slave capital of Europe.” There is a new legislation being put forth that will make it illegal for a man to pay for sex.

Public prostitution and “kerb crawling” is already illegal in Britain, but this would go further.

The idea is to extend successful action against kerb crawlers to brothels and massage parlours where the majority of trafficked sex slaves in Britain are forced to operate.

It’s essentially hoping to stop the trafficking obviously, but it’s also hoping that men learn to take responsibility for feeding into the sex slave industry by visiting places like massage parlours and brothels.

I think it definitely has a good intention and should be commended…but after reading the comment section, it looks like people (mostly men) disagree with this. What do you all think? Bad idea? Good idea? Not looking at the real issues?

Women are being killed in Basra for “Westernization”

I’d say that this is very serious. Women are being killed because they don’t look “Islamic” enough with their dress. And even some men are being killed at the same time.

The police said women were being apprehended by men patrolling on motorbikes or in cars with tinted windows before being murdered and dumped in piles of rubbish with notes saying they were killed for “un-Islamic behaviour”. He said men had been victims of similar attacks.

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the rise of Iraq’s Shia-dominated government, armed men have forced women to cover their heads or face punishment. In parts of the predominantly Shia south, even Christian women have been forced to wear headscarves. In some areas of Basra, graffiti warns women that forgoing the headscarf and wearing make-up “will bring you death”.

There is so much oppression and misogyny going on here. The new Shia dominated government isn’t any better than the former Sunni government. The war in Iraq has created a huge mess, and we all know that. And there are three wars essentially going on. Of course, Iraq and America, a civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites and this mental, emotional and political war between America and the rest of the world. It’s a lot more complicated than that, but you get my drift.

That got a little off track, but it’s not something to forget about in our everyday lives. This is a humanitarian issue, but a major feminist issue as well.

Revisiting red-light districts

Thanks Amy for sending me your link at Travelhacker about the world’s most famous red-light districts.

I think that this can definitely be a controversial topic in terms of feminism. I think when we think of any red-light district, we think of women whoring themselves out and degrading themselves. And the article does mention some not good things that occur in some red-light districts, such as child prostitution. But at the same time, I think we have to have a different look at it as well. In many of these red-light districts, it appears that there are safe places for sex workers to work. The street has always been an unsafe place to work, and I completely support brothels and other buildings where sex workers can do their thing. After all, these women are making a living. This could be something that they personally like doing. Or it really could be something that they are doing just to make sure money is coming in.

Of course, a lot of this work can be looked at as degrading. There’s no contest there. But I definitely don’t think that blaming the women who are in this kind of work is right, or will do anything. This definitely is a feminist issue that comes back to the social, political and economic stance of women across the globe.

So, I know this is a controversial topic. What do you all think about red-light districts and women in this work? Do you support brothels in any way, shape or form? Or are you completely against all of this?

Zimbabwe women are forced to give sexual favours to survive

Because of the economic state in Zimbabwe, women are having to give sexual favours to men to be able to support their families.

Miriam Madziwa writes that each time the Zimbabwe dollar tumbles, women’s survival chances take a corresponding knock, as it means more sexual favours to seal deals with men, who by virtue of their jobs or connections are able to make or break women’s survival attempts.

For the cash-strapped women, sex offers an easy and cheap, albeit risky, means of supporting their families. In return, they are able to secure scarce goods as well as discounts on transport and accommodation and their businesses flourish.

So sad.

Rape victim almost strangled to death

I hate hearing about rape stories, but new ones seem to pop up everyday. This one is from New Zealand, where the 21-year-old student was almost strangled to death by the rapist with a black nylon rope.

He tried to make small talk with her, then attacked her, Detective Senior Sergeant Steve McGregor said today.

The victim was dragged into a car park off Rattray St, where she was raped and repeatedly beaten about her face and body for two hours, he told Radio New Zealand.

“What is very much a concern is during the course of the rape it would appear that he has tried to subdue her by strangling her with a length of black nylon rope.”

At the end of the rape the man mislaid the rope but continued to manually strangle her, Mr McGregor said.

The police think it’s “lucky” that they aren’t looking at a homicide. Well, no, I don’t think that they’re necessarily lucky. This young woman is still going to be traumatized for the rest of her life, most likely.

Brazil not down with abortions

Brazil has rejected the government-supported proposal during the 13th National Conference of Health to legalize abortion in the country. Sad.

The proposal on abortion was introduced as a “recommendation” by feminist groups and portrayed abortion as “a public health problem” that should be addressed through the law. Supporters of the proposal were booed by the majority of the participants.

But, the NCH decisions don’t have any legal impact, which is a good thing…but they still affect public policy quite a bit. It really just seems like the Brazilian people are against abortions, not the government who can actually change things. Hopefully this will change in the future, because abortions are necessary for a woman’s health in some situations. And I think they know this full well, as in 2006, some major health issues were infant and maternal mortality. But Brazil is still very conservative in their Catholic ways, as 74% of the population are Catholic, so I see, although I don’t agree with, why they don’t want abortion to be legalized.

Venezuela to protect gay rights!

Cool news.

The new Venezuelan Constitution, which will go to the vote in December, will be the first in Latin America to protect citizens on the basis of their sexual preferences.

Under the new amendments added to the constitution, sexual orientation will be added to the categories protected under human rights.

A step in the right direction! There’s no reason that sexual orientation shouldn’t be protected under human rights.

Pope watch!

Ok. I think the Pope is…an interesting fellow. I won’t go too far, considering the outrage Sinead O’Connor caused with her whole “rip a picture of the Pope” on SNL. But, ok, I think he, along with the general philosophies of Catholicism are, well, off. At least a little. Probably a lot. This is the latest from the Pope’s trip to Kenya…

Pope Benedict XVI accused international agencies of promoting abortion in Africa and blamed “disordered notions” of marriage and the family for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases there.

He blames the “disordered notions” of marriage and family for the spread of STD’s? Is he serious? There’s a spread of STD’s because people aren’t using protection! And unfortunately, sexual violence and rape are very prevalent in Africa.

It’s clear that he doesn’t want to see the spread of STD’s…maybe he, along with George Bush, should reconsider the condom. But will that ever happen? I doubt it.

Squee!!!

I’m going to India in May and I’ll be there for a month! I just had to come here and let everyone know! I’ll be working with women and children in Kolkata and surrounding areas. I’ll be teaching about the positive benefits of women’s empowerment and local capacity-building, as well as educating street children and orphans.

Soooooo excited!