SEXISME et DROITS des FEMMES / SEXISM and WOMEN'S RIGHTS : Bulletin 2003 - 14

1 - France
* URGENT ! "Arrêt immédiat de la guerre contre l'Irak ! "
* ALERTE ! Création d'un délit d'interruption involontaire de grossesse
* Notre Requête devant la CEDH ne porte pas encore ses fruits !
* A propos des Centres d'éducation fermés...(mise au point)

2 - Nepal : ALERTE ! ACT NOW ! Support the Release of Women Imprisoned for Abortion Offenses

3 - Tibet : Violences à l'encontre des femmes
4 - Vietnam : Les délégué-e-s des Nations Unies devraient condamner les arrestations Internet
5 - Philippines : New Moves to Limit Reproductive Health Care
6 - Afghanistan : Perpetuation of Warlordism Detrimental to Security for Women
7 - Iraq : Iraq's female health crisis
8 - Somalia: Women peace delegates lobby for their rights 
9 - Gambia : Poverty Has a Woman's Face
10 - South Africa : Rise of Sex Traffickers
11 - USA : Sexual Assault Pervasive in Military 
12 - Canada : L'écart salarial... incitation au mariage ! 
13 - Latin America : Mixed Progress for Women

14 - Conference / Meeting
* U.K. : Asian women's conference resolutions - March 2003
* Poland : Paradoxes of Feminist Activism (New York, April 15)
* France : Quels parents pour demain ? (Colloque - Paris, 26 avril)
* Canada : Accès des femmes à l'économie à l'heure de l'intégration des Amériques (23-26 avril)
* France : Forum européen "Construire l'abolitionnisme du 21éme siècle" (9/10 juin - june) - French and English languages -

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1 - France

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4 - Vietnam : Les délégué-e-s des Nations Unies devraient condamner les arrestations Internet

Communiqué de presse de Human Rights Watch

 (New York, 31 mars 2003) - L'usage par le Vietnam d'inculpations pour espionnage à l'encontre de dissidents pacifiques viole clairement les obligations internationales concernant les droits humains du Vietnam, et cette pratique devrait être sévèrement condamnée par les délégués à la Commission des Droits de la Personne humaine des Nations Unies, actuellement en réunion à Genève, a déclaré Human Rights Watch aujourd'hui :

" Le Vietnam a signé des traités des Nations Unis protégeant le droit d'expression. Cependant il met en prison des civil-e-s utilisant internet pour exprimer leurs opinions. Ceci se passe pendant que le Vietnam prend part aux délibérations faites par la plus grande instance des Nations Unies chargée des droits de la Personne humaine. Les délégués devraient appeler publiquement le Vietnam à cesser ces arrestations. " Brad Adams, le directeur exécutif de la division Asie de Human Rights Watch.

http://www.hrw.org/french/press/2003/vietnam0331.htm

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5 - Philippines : New Moves to Limit Reproductive Health Care

In March, Philippine Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit proposed banning intrauterine devices (IUDs), one of the most common methods of family planning used by Filipino women.
Dayrit urged the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to take IUDs off the shelf because, he contends, they may cause miscarriages and act as abortifacients.

His statements, however, are in stark contrast to the international medical community's position on IUDs. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers IUDs a method of contraception. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has also stated that IUDs are not abortifacients.

"This is a tactic to limit women's access to reproductive health care," said Clara Rita A. Padilla, a Filipino lawyer who is currently an International Legal Fellow with the Center for Reproductive Rights. "Banning IUDs will deprive Filipino women of a safe and effective contraceptive method, which puts their health and lives at grave risk."

Dayrit's attempts to limit access to contraception will only serve to increase the number of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies among Filipino women and endanger their lives. Women who cannot determine the number and spacing of their children are at a greater risk for maternal mortality, and many are forced to turn to unsafe abortion to end unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. The Philippines already suffers from high levels of maternal mortality. According to the United Nations, estimates of the maternal mortality rate of the Philippines range from 172 to 280 deaths per 100,000 live births. Estimates for neighboring Malaysia, in contrast, range from 20 to 80 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Although women have a right to contraceptives under the Convention on All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which the Philippines has ratified, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo seems to be backing Dayrit's efforts. In a speech on March 8, International Women's Day, Macapagal-Arroyo stated, "There are means of family planning acceptable to the Catholic Church to which most Filipinos belong," and proceeded to promote abstinence and the rhythm method. The president also made inaccurate and misleading statements about the efficacy of the rhythm method, claiming that it is 99% effective. According to the WHO, the rhythm method may fail to prevent pregnancy for one in every five women.

The president's view on pushing naturally family planning is not shared by all in the government. Earlier this year the Commission on Population, which promotes family planning methods, stated, "For couples who want otherwise, the government will provide all medically safe and socially and legally acceptable forms of family planning."

Macapagal-Arroyo's remarks coincide with a decision by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to stop providing condoms to the Philippines in 2004.

For women's rights groups in the Philippines, the President's support of the Health Minister and USAID's refusal to provide contraception have become a rallying cry. Noting that these moves could endanger the reproductive health of Filipino women, women's groups have initiated a campaign to force Dayrit's resignation, citing concerns that his proposal is part of a broader effort to restrict women's reproductive rights.

In 2001, the BFAD banned the sale of Postinor, a brand of emergency contraception, stating that it had abortifacient effects. Emergency contraception prevents pregnancies and is therefore not a method of abortion.  Last October, the Philippine Department of Health conducted a hearing on the legal status of Postinor, but no ruling has been issued. The decision has been further delayed by the Department of Health's cancellation of a hearing on the re-listing of Postinor that was scheduled for February.

REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM NEWS, Volume XII Issue 4, April 2003 / RFN@reprorights.org

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6 - Afghanistan : Perpetuation of Warlordism Detrimental to Security for Women

Montreal, March 10, 2003 - Once again gender apartheid is being instituted in grave violations of the human rights of girls and women in Afghanistan. This time, the attacks are coming from warlords. Like hooliganism, vandalism and barbarism, warlordism threatens the security and stability of post-Taliban Afghanistan.

For International Women's Day 2003, Rights & Democracy is launching a campaign to address the problem of rampant warlordism in Afghanistan, with an action initiative titled Perpetuation of Warlordism in Afghanistan Detrimental to Security for Women. Rights & Democracy is asking for action and a halt to financial and political support of warlordism from those governments who play a role in the perpetuation of it and has prepared 17 recommendations for halting this obstacle to peace in Afghanistan. While Afghanistan struggles to rebuild, the dominance of warlords, some of them supported by the United States, others by cabinet members in the Transitional Government of Afghanistan, has created a major barrier to both peace and human rights throughout the country.

Women in Heart, for example, are being subjected to abusive gynecological examinations by Governor Ismail Khan to prove their virginity. In Kabul, Abddurab Rasul al-Sayyaf has publicly declared that women be denied the right to participate in political processes. In every province, the hard-won rights of women and girls are being clawed back. And education is once again being denied to women through the banning of "co-education" (the simultaneous learning of males and females and the teaching of women by men) by warlords who continue to control much of the country.

Rights & Democracy is documenting who the warlords are and lists their supporters, who include the U.S., Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Iran, among others, as well as cabinet members within the Afghanistan Transitional Authority (the ATA) government.
Rights & Democracy calls upon the Afghan government, the American government and regional governments, as well as the donor community, to halt all financial and military support of warlords and to work towards a viable solution that will provide a sustainable and non-violent means of livelihood as an alternative to conflict.
Rights & Democracy is therefore initiating this letter-writing campaign in an effort to bring world attention to the on-going plight of Afghan women and girls. Details on the situation in Afghanistan and the proposed letter can be found in the attached documents.

http://www.ichrdd.ca/frame.iphtml?langue=0

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7 - Iraq : Iraq's female health crisis
 

The Head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Thoraya Obaid, a Saudi citizen born in Baghdad, told BBC News Online: "All too often the needs of women are neglected in the rush to provide relief.

"We must ensure that the needs of Iraqi women are fully addressed in our humanitarian response."

Two thousand new babies are born every day in Iraq.

UNFPA spokesperson William Ryan says: "This is a population in dire straits.

"Pregnancies are frequent and dangerous even without the disruption of a war.

"Women's health in Iraq has been so undermined by sanctions and conflict, that it's a dangerous situation."

All too often the needs of women are neglected in the rush to provide relief Dr Thoraya Obaid, UNFPA

The Fund says pregnancy and birth complications are the leading causes of death for displaced women and girls in times of upheaval, as health information and services become less available.

Pam DeLargy, head of UNFPA's Humanitarian Response Unit says: "Over the past few months, we've shipped in equipment and supplies to make sure they're pre-positioned there."

Preparations underway

This week its officer in Baghdad moved some supplies from warehouses to clinics.

DeLargy said: "Thus far, there don't seem to be acute shortages but the problem is access.

"People are hesitant to go out and move around." If the conflict intensifies, community health workers will need to assist safe deliveries.

UNFPA are considering setting up a hotline to help family members guide a woman through delivery if they're unable to leave the house, which has worked well in Palestinian regions of Israel.

One in five women, out of a total Iraqi population of 24 million, is of childbearing age.

On average, each woman bears five children.

Thousands moved out

UNFPA estimates 150,000 pregnant Iraqi women are likely to be displaced or badly affected by the war.

More than 20,000 women will need immediate help with high-risk pregnancies that require emergency care, such as caesareans.

The stress of conflict can also increase miscarriages and these women need treatment to avoid potentially fatal infections or later infertility.

DeLargy says: "Infertility is a serious problem for women socially or within the family - you want to avoid adding yet one more problem."

Death toll

Already in Iraq, 370 mothers die for every 100,000 live births - compared with 21 maternal deaths in developed countries.

More than one in 10 babies will not survive beyond five years, and 130 will die for every 1000 live births.

DeLargy says a quarter of babies have a dangerously low birth weight that will affect their health now and in the future.

UNFPA has worked in Iraq since 1972 providing training and supplies to meet the reproductive health needs of this very young population, with a large number of young women entering their childbearing years.

It is asking international donors for $5 million for the next six months work in Iraq, a modest sum DeLargy says, when compared with the $2.3bn UN appeal.

She's concerned so much of the world¿s resources focus on this region now and already sees other regions, such as the Congo or Liberia being neglected.

"We want these regions to continue to get support it's not an either or situation - all of them should be getting some support."

From : Anna McDermott (BBC News) 29 March, 2003




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8 - Somalia: Women peace delegates lobby for their rights 

NAIROBI, 28 March (IRIN) - Somali women attending the ongoing peace conference in Nairobi, Kenya, have called for women's rights to be  included in all stages of the peace process.

Their call came at a three-day workshop for women delegates, supported by the regional body Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The workshop ends on Friday.

On Thursday, the women met the mediator, Bethwel Kiplagat of Kenya, to urge his support for their cause. Somali women delegates have agreed to advocate for at least 25 percent representation in the new institutions, including parliament.

"We will start our effective lobbying soon after we finish this workshop,"Somali women's activist Asha Haji Elmi told IRIN. "We are not lobbying for only the 25 percent, but we are advocating a package for women's inclusion in this process, and women's inclusion in every document of this process."

The women's workshop has been reviewing draft reports from six technical committees on core issues of the conflict. Drafts from the key federalism committee recommend only a 10 percent quota for women's representation in the new Somali institutions.

Kiplagat stressed his support for the Somali women and urged them to play a strong part in the peace process.

"I believe the problem of marginalisation of women is discrimination when it comes to education," he told the workshop. He emphasised the need to educate girls.

"We need now affirmative action for the girl child," he said. "This continent and Somalia will not develop if you freeze such a great asset -women." In this regard, he proposed a charter for the education of girls.

"The issue of women is international," said Atsede Zerfu of Ethiopia, who heads IGAD Women's Desk. "The only thing we can do is to use international conventions, the international community, and also influence our men."


From : IRIN@ocha.unon.org

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9 - Gambia : Poverty Has a Woman's Face

 In a blithely eloquent contribution towards the issue of women empowerment Honourable Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay has said that poverty with all its attendant problems has a woman's face.

Paying homage to the contribution of women in national, and international development, Honourable Jahumpa-Ceesay said women carry the burden of poverty despite the fact that they work more hours than men.

The nominated member who is running an NGO for children, explained that women in Africa particularly in the Gambia work from sunrise to sunset but have found themselves at the lowest rungs of the social ladder because they are underpaid and are made to be subservient to men who she said do not work half as much.

FJC who called on African governments to devise policies for employment promotion, increased employment, suggested that infrastructure and rehabilitation should be provided and more vocational training introduced to improve what she called "the employability of women". She said the nation should be with no illusion about the usefulness of women provided that an enabling economic environment can be promoted for sustainable nation-wide development. According to her establishing and strengthening legislative and institutional frameworks for the protection of women's legal rights can help overcome the "stubborn" obstacles strewn on the path to women advancement.

Meanwhile she outlined the need to streamline and strengthen the economic base of women's activities through community based self-help protects, their acquisition of small loans with flexible terms and administrative reforms for women to enjoy equal rights as men. She said positive change should be made more obvious over inheritance, right to economic independence, and the ownership and control of land.

Mrs. Jahumpa Ceesay however, noted that the United Nations after adopting a convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in its first conference on women held in Mexico in 1975 should do more to put such an instrument and all other relevant instruments into practice. She said the world should have come a long way from the 1920s when unskilled female workers in the developed world had protested over low wages and bad working conditions.

But Mrs. Jahumpa Ceesay believes that the government has ratified the chapter on the rights of women in Africa, the CEDAO and other instruments, which indicate its unmistakable commitment to the cause of women in general and those in The Gambia in particular. She said what was needed was a concerted approach by both men and women to bring their desired results into fruition.

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10 - South Africa : Rise of Sex Traffickers

 

A multibillion-dollar international market in the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation is mushrooming in South Africa. It has become, behind drugs and guns, the third-largest source of profits for organised crime.

And, while researchers say South Africa has become the country of choice for the transnational networks of traffickers and pimps, we still have no law to deal with the problem.

Ugljesa Zvekic of the United Nation's regional office for drug control and crime prevention says only two countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region - Botswana and Namibia - have ratified the UN's Convention on Transnational Organised Crime, which deals with trafficking in people.

"But ratifying the convention means nothing if the individual countries do not implement domestic laws to deal with the problem themselves," he said.

The value of the global trade is estimated at $7-billion.

According to a report on human trafficking in the SADC region released by the International Organisation for Migration this week, women and children are enticed by promises of employment and opportunities into a multitude of abusive situations including the sex industry, drugs and forced marriages.

"Young women and children are especially vulnerable to the recruitment tactics of the traffickers because civil unrest and economic deprivation leaves them with few opportunities at home .... Migration [is] ... a natural and common solution."

Once they are lured into the industry, either through deception, coercion or force, the women are tricked into paying up to R100 000 in "debt-bondage". This is the advance of money to the woman for the costs of travel, accommodation and food as part of the deception.

"The ... trafficker will take all the earnings she receives as a sex worker and, to protect his investment, he will assist the victim in applying for refugee status to prevent her deportation should she be detained by the police," the study says.

The nature of the trafficking is both "cross-border and in-country", said coordinator of the report Jonathan Martens.

Chinese mafia from South-East Asia and Swaziland; Bulgarian syndicates from Eastern Europe; the Russian mafia; and African criminal groups from mainly Angola, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo are pinpointed as the four main syndicates.

Victims are from most countries in the SADC region as well as from Thailand, China and Eastern Europe.

According to the acting deputy director general in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Dr Dudu Khoza, the development of organised criminal groups in the SADC region cannot be understood in a vacuum.

"The end of the Cold War and the weakening of state power in various parts of the world have ensured higher levels of transnational criminal activity ... criminal enterprises seek activities ... where maximum profits can be obtained."

Southern Africa is a fertile ground for traffickers, who "easily capitalise on the vulnerabilities created by war, endemic poverty, minimal education, unemployment and a general lack of opportunity for much of the region's population," the report said.

In South Africa, the trafficking is mainly organised by refugee syndicates. "Male refugees struggle to survive unemployment and xenophobia in the country, therefore many choose to recruit female relations from their country of origin to South Africa ... they are required to earn R250 or more each night and work from private accommodation or on the street."

Zvekic says South Africa is the most popular destination because it "already has a well-developed network of crime groups and the economic development levels mean there is a clientele for these services in sex".

Khoza confirmed that South Africa does not have any legislation that deals specifically with trafficking in people, but said that the South African Law Commission is dealing with the matter.

Currently, South Africa uses Acts on refugee, domestic violence, aliens control and prevention of organised crime against trafficking.

"Trafficking in people is new with respect to drugs and weapons. For the latter two there are law-enforcement procedures in place to deal with them. Trafficking however is the weak link," said Zvekic.

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USA : Sexual Assault Pervasive in Military 

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13 - Latin America : Mixed Progress for Women

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14 - Conference / Meeting


* U.K. : Asian women's conference resolutions - March 2003

 Dreams, Questions and Struggles

Custody Law

The legal system lacks an analysis of race and cultural issues. It claims an awareness of race and culture but this is being used to support Asian men’s access to parental contact. More damage is being done by ‘cultural awareness’. We need to confront this.

The women’s movement needs a network in every town and city and access to feminist barristers. We resolve to build this network.

Women need to arm themselves with knowledge of their rights in the context of family law. We resolve to produce and distribute materials to this end.

Work

Women lack knowledge of their rights at work. This information must be made available to workers in their own languages. We resolve to distribute a rights leaflet in places of work and have discussions with workers. We will collate a dossier on incidents where representative bodies like Unions/ CREs have failed Asian women workers.

We resolve to publicise Asian women workers’ struggles, which are going on. We will set up a network of Asian women taking up issues in employment.

We resolve to pressurise the unions to disseminate information about rights at work to Asian women workers and to have more representation for Asian women

We resolve to access the policy action infrastructure via the notion of social exclusion. We resolve to lobby for more positive action programmes enabling Asian women to access employment

Education

We demand well-funded comprehensive education for our children, which is equal both at the point of access and the point of delivery and does not involve selection. We are extremely concerned about the level of racism in schools; at present the rise of anti-Muslim racism is particularly disturbing. We resolve to campaign for the development and implementation of anti-racist policies, which tackle institutionalised racism.

We distrust the government’s proposals on increasing the number of single faith schools and are particularly concerned about the way these will reinforce patriarchal power in our communities and transfer control over education to religious institutions and bodies.

Funding of Asian Women's Groups

We are deeply concerned about the withdrawal of funds of a number of women’s organisations and resolve to collectively lobby for the support of these organisations.

Domestic Violence and No recourse to Public Fund

Although we welcome the relaxation of the standard of proof of domestic violence in cases of women migrating to live with partners settled in the UK, the probationary period tips the balance of power in marriages against the women and their children making them more vulnerable to intimidation and violence. Women (and their children) are under tremendous pressure because of the probationary period to remain in violent marriages, and violence in such relationships is known to escalate with time. We demand that the probationary period be abolished and women be informed about their rights. We demand that the names, addresses and telephone numbers of organisations they can contact if they face domestic violence or abuse should be given to them when they first enter the UK to join their partners.

Women who try to leave violent and life-threatening relationships are often forced back into them because they have no recourse to public funds. This makes them destitute in the period when they try to claim the right of appeal against deportation, which the state guarantees. This is both discriminatory and inconsistent and we demand a repeal of the rules on ‘no recourse to public funds'. And we demand that this be applied to women without children as well as those with children.

Interim measures:

We resolve to lobby Women's Aid to make it a rule that every refuge must take at least one 'no recourse to public funds' case.

The current policy of classifying as 'overstayers' those women who are unable to regularise their position immediately after the probationary period ends is unjust and is in effect 'punishing the victim'. We demand that women in this position be allowed to appeal under the conditions of the November 2002 Domestic Violence Rule.

Many Social Services Departments across the country have excluded children from their rights under the Children Act or interpreted the Act to the detriment of children’s welfare. We demand that the government draws up guidelines for Social Services departments on this issue.

We demand that the Supporting People Initiative recognises women with no recourse to public funds.

Mental Health

We resolve to share experiences and instances of good practice and further early interventative and preventative work as a means to empowering, educating and supporting young women.

We resolve to set up a network of Asian women taking up mental health issues which will include users and survivors, practitioners and workers in Asian women's support organisations. We will work towards a day of action, communication and publicity on World Mental Health Day in October 2003 to raise awareness of these issues

The War

We condemn Bush and Blair’s drive to war on Iraq - we know that it will have a devastating effect on women in Iraq who have already faced the onslaught of ten years of sanctions and undeclared war. We also condemn the government’s use of the so-called war on terror to legitimise an upsurge in state racism. We resolve to build Asian women’s participation in the Anti-War movement and to send delegates to the Stop the War People’s Assembly on 12 March.

South Asia

We condemn the activities of communal, sectarian and fascist forces, which are fomenting hatred and violence in the countries of South Asia and dividing our communities here. We resolve to oppose all fundraising in Britain for such forces. We support the demands of women's organisations in India campaigning to bring the perpetrators of the Gujarat genocide to justice and for safety, security and legal redress for the victims. We are extremely concerned that funds raised in this country are being channelled to organisations in India, which are orchestrating communal violence (as was exposed in a Channel 4 News Report on 12/12/02). We resolve to campaign for the de-recognition of the HSS/ Sewa International and VHP(UK) as registered charities and expose the communal and anti-women activities of these organisations.

Forthcoming Events

We resolve to organise a one day conference on the British state's interventions in our lives, focussing particularly on the no recourse to public funds legislation and the interventions in the context of 'forced marriages' and single faith schools. The conference would also provide a space for us to exchange ideas on how we see women's oppression. It would be held in the first week of July, in Manchester or Sheffield

"Women in the Middle East" Bulletin # 12 April 03
From : azam_kamguian@yahoo.com <azam_kamguian@yahoo.com>

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* Poland : Paradoxes of Feminist Activism (New York, April 15)

A Look at the MANIFA Movement
 With :Polish feminist and scholar, Agnieszka Graff

 When : Tuesday, April 15, 2003 / 6:00-8:00pm

Where : Home of Ann Snitow

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* France : Quels parents pour demain ? (Colloque - Paris, 26 avril)

Mix-Cité vous invite à une journée de réflexion sur la parentalité : QUELS PARENTS POUR DEMAIN ?

Le samedi 26 avril 2003, de 9 h à 17 heures à la Maison des Initiatives Étudiantes, 50 rue des Tournelles, 75003 Paris

From : contact@mix-cite.org

*

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SOS SEXISME

vous informe que sa prochaine réunion de travail aura lieu, dorénavant, le TROISIEME samedi de chaque mois, à partir de 15 heures.
Le 19 avril prochain, A L'OCCASION DE "L'ANNEE DE L'ALGERIE EN FRANCE", nous rédigerons un texte en solidarité avec les femmes de ce pays qui sont victimes du Code de la Famille, ce dont personne ne fait mention ici !