SEXISME et DROITS des FEMMES
/ SEXISM and WOMEN'S RIGHTS : Bulletin 2003 - Eté / Summer : N
1
Cher-e-s ami-e-s, dear
friends,
Ci-joint quelques courriers. There is some news.
Merci de
prévenir si vous ne souhaitez plus en recevoir;
Thanks for sending an e-mail
if you want to cancel :
mailing-liste-unsubscribe@sos-sexisme.org
Sororalement. Sisterly
yours.
Michèle Dayras
Mail : sexisme@sos-sexisme.org
URL : http://www.sos-sexisme.org
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http://www.sos-sexisme;org/forum/BulletinBoard.asp
SEXISME et DROITS des FEMMES /
SEXISM and WOMEN'S RIGHTS : Bulletin 2003 - Eté / Summer : N 1
Lacordaire :
"Entre le fort et le faible... c'est la liberté qui opprime et la loi qui
affranchit."
" Nous le savons d’expérience, la guerre ne
résout pas les problèmes d’injustice, de démocratie, d’oppression des peuples
par des dictatures ou par des puissances extérieures.
Les femmes et les
enfants sont toujours les premières victimes des conflits armés avec les
populations les plus défavorisées…."
( «Appel de la
Marche Mondiale des Femmes contre la guerre in
Iraq »)
1
- France
* Encore
une publicité sexiste !
* The OMCT report pays particular attention to
domestic violence in immigrant communities
2 - Italie : l'Islam
3 - Poland and abortion...
4 - Greece :
Les suédois perturbés par l'augmentation des bordels pendant les Jeux Olympiques
/ Brothel boost upsets Swedes
5 - Israel : Where is rhe
money?
6 - Palestine : MSF mène des programmes
d'assistance
7 - Iraq
* An Islamic State Wanted
for Safety...
* Insecurity
Driving Women Indoors
8 - Afghanistan : Afghan women: Fighting for the right to sing
9 - Morocco : Discrimination against women
10 - RDC : La poursuite
de la guerre contre les femmes dans l'Est
11 -
Afrique du Sud : Le mal de vivre des
lesbiennes noires
12 - Filipina : Teenage pregnancy top
reason women don't finish school
13 - Japan : NGOs say
gender equality still elusiv
14 - United States
* The Role of Military Forces in
the Growth of the Commercial Sex Industry
* Chasse aux femmes / Hunting for
"Bambi-women ! ! !
15 - Canada : Le Canada va
légaliser le mariage des homosexuels
16 - Peru Enacts Law to Protect Workers From Sexual
Harassment
Europe
* Cancer du sein / Breast cancer
* Sport
* Assemblée
Européenne pour les Droits des femmes
* FSE
Afrique / Africa
* Les
femmes entrent dans les Droits de la Personne humaine
* African Union
adopts Protocol on the rights of African Women to abortion for the first time in
International Law
* Legal Advocacy a Key Element of Strategy to Stop
FC/FGM
Conference
/ Meeting
* France : Débat " La distinction entre sexe et genre, Une
histoire entre biologie et culture "
* UK : The Right to
Health
Association Internationale Louise
Michel
Site / Web
site
***
1 - France
*
Encore une publicité sexiste !
Lettre ouverte à
Nicolas Hulot
Monsieur,
Vous avez lancé le 17 juillet 2003 une campagne
publicitaire pour votre fondation. Sur des centaines de panneaux à travers la
France, vous affichez en 4 x 3 m la photo d'un sein de femme, avec des veines
apparentes et un mamelon gonflé dont s'écoule un liquide noirâtre.
L'affiche
porte ces seuls mots : Fondation Nicolas Hulot pour la nature et
l'homme.
Encore une fois, un morceau de corps féminin sert à des fins
de propagande publicitaire. Pour choquer, vous employez la méthode qui est
trop souvent utilisée pour vanter des marchandises, dans des publicités sexistes
qui polluent les rues et les routes françaises. Vous annoncez que vous défendez
la nature et l'homme ( !), et vous exhibez un sein de femme nu, avec une image
repoussante qui fait penser à une maladie.
Le sein féminin, à la fois
nourricier et érotique, est un symbole de vie et de désir. Pourquoi le choisir
pour représenter une source de mort, avec cette image d'un liquide noirâtre qui
l'associe aux pollutions pétrolières ravageant la faune et la flore ? Avez-vous
pensé que votre affiche peut faire peur à des femmes qui allaitent ? Qu'elle
peut traumatiser des femmes qui constatent un écoulement inquiétant de leur sein
?
Le sperme est blanchâtre comme le lait, et il peut aussi symboliser la
vie et le désir. Auriez-vous envisagé de représenter une verge dont s'écoulerait
un liquide noirâtre ? Pourquoi est-ce un organe féminin que vous réduisez ainsi
au statut de chose, d'élément morbide ?
Votre image simpliste et
violente est dangereuse. Même pour attirer l'attention sur la protection de
l'environnement, tous les moyens ne sont pas bons !
La Meute,
mouvement mixte contre la publicité sexiste, vous demande de retirer cette
affiche.
From : montreynaud@noos.fr
*
* The OMCT report
pays particular attention to domestic violence in immigrant
communities
The OMCT report pays particular
attention to domestic violence in immigrant communities as immigrant victims of
this form of violence face certain obstacles in escaping the cycle of violence.
While the government does provide information on services available to domestic
violence victims, this literature is oftentimes only written in French and most
women immigrants do not speak French adequately to be
able to make use of the
information. Furthermore, many women immigrants have residency permits which are
conditioned upon their continued marriage to their husband, meaning that if they
leave a violent husband, they risk deportation back to their country of
origin.
OMCT is also deeply troubled about reports of gang rapes in the
suburbs of Paris, an area where many marginalized groups live. These rapes are
commonly called tournantes or pass-arounds and oftentimes they occur in public
places, like schools or train stations. Young girls are targeted for these gang
rapes for a variety of reasons, including the fact that she has slept with her
boyfriend, her
presence at a nightclub or her decision to wear a
miniskirt.
Statistics regarding the prevalence of this crime do not reflect
the magnitude of the problem as many young girls do not report out of fear and
shame.
The OMCT report further notes that France is a destination country
for trafficked women, often from West Africa or Eastern Europe. Many trafficking
victims are forced into prostitution or domestic servitude. With respect to
forced prostitution, the victim is frequently isolated and intimidated through
both psychological and physical abuse, and it is reported that victims are
subjected to gang rapes organized by the pimp as a way to "break the woman."
With respect to forced domestic labour, the victims are often forced to work
long hours, seven days a week, and they are frequently not allowed to leave the
house except to accomplish certain specified tasks.
OMCT is also
preoccupied with reports of ill treatment of women in detention, both in prison
and in detention centers for immigrants.
Women have reported being harassed,
physically injured and sexually abused while in detention and the conditions of
detention centers are reportedly sub-standard.
Overall, OMCT's report
concludes that while France has a duty under international law to act with due
diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish all forms of violence
against women, irrespective of whether this violence is committed by public or
private individuals, this obligation has not been adequately implemented at the
national level.
For copies of the alternative report on violence
against women in France or for further information on OMCT's programme on
Violence against Women please contact Lucinda O'Hanlon : oh@omct.org.
From : OMCT omct@omct.org
***
2 -
Italie :
l'Islam
La communauté musulmane compte officiellement un million et demi de
personnes, auxquelles il convient d’ajouter environ 500.000 immigrés
clandestins. Elle provient surtout d’Afrique et du Proche-Orient et constitue
ainsi le second groupe religieux en Italie, loin devant la petite communauté
juive généralement bien intégrée et qui ne pose pas problème.
A l’heure actuelle, cette immigration islamique, beaucoup plus
récente et beaucoup moins nombreuse qu’en France, ne constitue pas encore un
problème, bien qu’elle intéresse des classes sociales défavorisées. Les
musulmans, qui ont leurs lieux de prière, s’efforçaient jusqu’ici de s’intégrer
et de « s’effacer », sans exprimer d’autre revendication que
l’obtention d’un permis de séjour et d’un emploi et sans afficher en général de
signes religieux d’appartenance susceptibles de choquer le pays d’accueil.
Quelques jeunes filles vont en classe avec le foulard mais cela ne semble faire
l’objet d’aucun rejet : on fait pour l’instant semblant d’ignorer le
problème, dans un pays où la laïcité n’est pas encore entrée dans les moeurs,
puisque la religion catholique est matière d’enseignement, comme on l’a vu
plus haut.
La situation semble cependant en cours
d’évolution négative. D’après des informations recueillies en
cette mi-juin, dans une école maternelle d’un quartier à forte
densité musulmane de Milan (où une jeune Française vient d’inscrire son enfant
dans une classe qui comporte 55% de musulmans), l’activité s’arrête à chaque
heure de prière islamique... Par ailleurs, la presse se fait l’écho de l’émotion
suscitée par le sermon prononcé par l’imam de la grande mosquée de Rome,
vendredi 6 juin, sermon qui exalte l’action « héroïque » des kamikazes
en Israël : ce sermon constituant une « incitation à la
violence », le ministre de l’Intérieur réclame l’expulsion d’Italie de
l’imam. A noter que sa démarche est symétrique de celle du Centre Simon
Wiesenthal de Paris.
En outre, il existe quand même un mouvement de rejet de l’étranger
« extracommunautaire », sous l’impulsion du mouvement raciste et
xénophobe d’Umberto Bossi, chef de la « Ligue du Nord ». Jusqu’à ces
dernières années, M. Bossi affichait même des prétentions séparatistes. Mais la
chute de son score électoral et son ralliement à l’actuelle équipe
gouvernementale ont mis en veilleuse ce projet séparatiste. A l’instar de Le
Pen, Umberto Bossi ne demanderait qu’à expulser les immigrés musulmans, mais
beaucoup plus parce qu’il les considère comme une "pègre" et qu’il les rend
responsables du chômage, que pour des motifs d’ordre
religieux.
From : La Gazette de l'AFEM n°22
AssAfem@aol.com
***
3 -
Poland and abortion...
WOMEN ON THE WAVES* OFFER ABORTION
FACILITIES
The world's first floating abortion clinic, which
briefly went to Ireland from the Netherlands in 2001, risked the wrath of the
Catholic Church again by dropping anchor off Poland. In a move certain to enrage
anti-abortion campaigners, a three-strong medical team sought to circumvent
Polish laws and offer free abortion pills, contraception and counseling to
Polish women. The Amsterdam group 'Women on Waves' says it has the permission of
the Dutch health ministry to offer the services. It has argued that Dutch law
applies on a Dutch ship if it is in international waters. Patients were to be
taken to the Polish port of Władysławowo, then 12 miles out into the Baltic Sea,
where Dutch law takea effect. In Poland, abortion is only
allowed as a last resort, after rape or for health reasons, for instance.
A spokeswoman for Women on Waves, Jeannette Kruseman, said 200,000 illegal
abortions were performed in the country every year. Polish civil rights and
women's organizations invited 'Women on Waves' to support them in their struggle
for legal and safe abortion in Poland. Abortion was legal ten years ago. The
crew can provide safe and legal early medical abortion care on board their ship
by sailing to international waters, 12 miles off the coast of any foreign
country. Due to the restrictive Polish law, Women on Waves refused to discuss
the abortion services it can offer on Polish territory as this may violate
Polish anti-abortion law.
The ship arrived in Władysławowo on Saturday
June 21st staying in port for two weeks, they sailed into international waters
several times. In the mobile clinic on the ship, the medical staff of "Women on
Waves" offer a range of activities and services including workshops on medical
health issues for medical professionals, information on sexual health,
contraceptives and morning-after pill. Medical staff consists of an experienced
nurse, an abortion doctor and a gynecologist. The counseling, medical care and
post-abortion care comply with the strict norms set by Dutch law. Dutch abortion
care is one of the safest in the world. The mobile clinic on board of the ship
is outfitted with all necessary equipment and approved by the inspection of the
Dutch Ministry of Health (VWS). The arrival of the ship
opened a vivid discussion on the abortion law in Poland. The Dutch crew
was welcomed by the representatives of women's organizations, but also by the
opponents of the abortion, young men from the League of Polish Families, which
organized very aggressive demonstrations.
"Women on
Waves" is a non-profit organization dedicated to provide medical information and
services. No costs are incurred by the patient. Abortion is the most frequently
performed medical procedure in the world. Making abortion illegal does not
reduce the number of abortions. It only means that it is done illegally,
unsafely and at a very high price, financially as well as physically. As a
result of these 'backstreet' abortions every five minutes a woman dies
unnecessarily worldwide. By setting sail to countries where abortion is illegal
or restricted, "Women on Waves" wants to make the reality of women's need for
legal, safe abortion services visible. The project will not be able to solve the
problems of Polish women; this is the role and responsibility of Polish
decision-makers. To read more about the organization: www.womenonwaves.org
***
4 -
Greece : Les suédois perturbés par l'augmentation des bordels
pendant les Jeux Olympiques / Brothel boost upsets
Swedes
Les suédois perturbés
par l’augmentation des bordels pendant les Jeux
Olympiques.
Le
gouvernement suédois a déposé une plainte officielle auprès du Comité
International Olympique et du gouvernement grec jeudi dernier sur la politique
d’Athènes de permettre davantage de bordels pendant les Jeux Olympiques l’an
prochain. L’Islande s’est déjà plainte au CIO sur le projet de permettre 30
bordels de plus pendant les jeux en août prochain pour répondre à une demande
accrue.
“Il est très préoccupant de recevoir des informations sur les
initiatives prises récemment dans votre pays dans le cadre des préparations pour
les Jeux Olympiques d’Athènes en 2004 et qui peuvent être perçues comme un
soutien à la prostitution et aux activités de bordels” a dit la lettre envoyée
par la Ministre suédoise des Sports, Mona Sahlin, au Ministre de la Culture
grecque, Evangelos Venizelos. “Les Jeux Olympiques étaient fondés pour réunir
les gens, non pour les avilir” ajouta la lettre.
*
Brothel boost upsets
Swedes
The Swedish government lodged an
official complaint with the International Olympic Committee and the Greek
government on Thursday about Athens' policy of allowing more brothels during
next year's Olympic Games. Iceland has already complained to the IOC about the
plans to authorize 30 more brothels during next August's games to meet extra
demand.
"It is most worrying
to receive information that initiatives have recently been taken in your
country, in the context of the preparations for the Olympic Games in Athens in
2004, that could be perceived as supportive of prostitution and brothel
activities," said the letter sent by Swedish sports minister Mona Sahlin to
Greek culture minister Evangelos Venizelos. "The Olympic Games were established
to bring people together, not to degrade them," the letter
added.
***
5 - Israel : Where is rhe
money?
There is no money for
medicines.
There is no money for operation theaters.
There is no money for
single mothers.
There is no money for the aged, who have to choose between
food and medicines.
There is no money for the unemployed.
There is no
money for children's allowances.
There is no money, because the state is
poor. So says Netanyahu. So says Sharon.
But it's a lie. The state has
money. Lots and lots of money.
Enough money to spend 7.5 billion on the
"separation wall".
Enough money to fatten hundreds of thousand of
settlers.
Enough money to invest tens of billions on the continuation of the
occupation.
But nobody tells this to Vicky Kanfo and her friends, the
single mothers from all over the country
who are now demonstrating opposite
the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem.
Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace
Bloc) <info@gush-shalom.org>
6 - Palestine : MSF mène des
programmes d'assistance
MSF mène des programmes d'assistance médicale,
psychologique et sociale en Cisjordanie (à Hébron et à Jénine) et dans la bande
de Gaza. Ces soins sont destinés aux civils palestiniens vivant dans les zones
de conflits, à proximité de colonies et d'installations militaires israéliennes.
Dans la bande de Gaza, MSF travaille dans des zones
enclavées où l'accès aux soins manque. A Hébron, les colons vivent au
milieu de la population palestinienne. Le couvre-feu fait
d'Hébron une ville morte et les maisons occupées par des soldats sont
nombreuses. Jénine est le dernier programme ouvert par MSF dans les
Territoires. Là où se dressait le camp de réfugiés :
le "ground zero", une esplanade totalement rasée lors de l'invasion du camp.
Trois villes, trois contextes, trois récits. Celui d'une
consultation psychologique dans la bande de Gaza, de familles à Hébron vivant
dans des maisons occupées et d'un enfant né à un check-point à Jénine.
Retrouvez ces trois récits sur : http://msf.cabestan.com/Go/index.cfm?WL=24&WS=74131_74190&WA=7
***
7 - Iraq
* An Islamic State Wanted for
Safety...
(...) An
Islamic State Wanted for Safety...
"They have
gone into schools demanding that girls only stay there up to the sixth grade,"
says Om Feras, the mother of four children and a full-time homemaker. She and
her female neighbors, who all wear the Islamic headscarf, gather often in each
other's homes and debate the political landscape of Iraq.
"I prefer an Islamic government because crimes
will be less, people will be afraid of God and behave well and will not be
aggressive with each other," she said. "But we want
a moderate Islamic government that doesn't force us to wear hijab (headscarf) or
Islamic dress for women or force things on us, but gives us the
choice."
Regardless of their political leaning, the women
interviewed say they are glad the Baathist regime has fallen. Under the former
regime, women who make up half of the city's 5.6 million residents, made up 40
percent of the military and received equal pay in the workplace. But even though
they enjoyed freedoms under the Baathist regime that women in many other Islamic
countries do not, Rahbiya Mohammed Latif, the head of the Iraqi Women's League,
argues that the lack of human rights overshadowed all else.
The league she heads has 50 members and has been
active since 1952. Members worked undercover during the former regime to help
women overcome financial, political and social conflicts. They aided many women
whose husbands were political prisoners. Recently, they have participated in
demonstrations for the speedy formation of a new government and met with other
women's and political groups.
Latif, 61, was jailed when she was 21 and tortured
for six years for her connection to the Iraqi Communist Party, a moderate rival
of the radical Worker's Communist Party. Now, after U.S.-led coalition forces
ousted Saddam Hussein, anything seems possible to Latif, still a communist and
women's rights activist. Her experience in Hussein's prisons has made her a
fighter.
She describes life inside the prison. "There was
hanging upside down from the electric fan; there was beating by thick cables;
there was torture by electric shocks and fingernail extractions."
When she was released, Latif continued to work
against the government with the league. The Baathists, who seized power in 1968,
implemented reforms breaking away from Islamic traditions through the Iraqi
Women's Federation.. Each province had representatives who investigated cases of
abuse against women and lobbied for a gender-sensitive interpretation of
national laws.
Secular and Islamic Groups Vie for
Power
But men ran the state apparatus and filled most of
the senior management positions as Iraq remained a largely patriarchal society.
The Americans dissolved the federation and a new, rather disorganized, Iraqi
women's union is forming under U.S. guidance. The union is planning a conference
for July.. Meanwhile, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a
popular Shiite-led Islamist group, seeks to establish a women's committee
separate from U.S.-led coalition forces. Many of the religious groups competing
for a seat in the new government are likely to require women to cover their
heads. Now and during the old regime, women here have had the choice to wear the
Islamic headdress.
"We want a clear
distinction between religion and state," Latif said from the
Iraqi Women's League's makeshift sparse office. "We are demanding that security
be preserved. We are looking for and finding those who were executed and jailed
during the dictatorship. And we are demanding a women's conference to deal with
women's and children's rights," she said.
The returning exile Mohammed criticizes Latif's
organization for compromising its secular stance to avoid upsetting Islamic
groups. Mohammed says Latif's organization is too soft on Islamic radicals and
only pays lip service to secular ideology. Latif, however, insists that the only
way to avoid another dictatorship is to elect a pluralistic government
representing all religions and ethnic groups in Iraq.
The most urgent issue for women, whether secular
or Islamist, however is safety. The fear of abductions and harassment is keeping
many women in the house and distant from public debate.
Atta al-Wahab is trained in agricultural
husbandry. The mother of two daughters is eager to get out and become part of
the reconstruction work in her country. But she's afraid. "I want to go back to
work but not in this condition. We're all waiting for safety to return," she
said.
Sahar Jalil Mohammed, a 38-year-old divorcee with
two small children, says that no matter what type of government fills Hussein's
place, women will not be considered equal in this country. Sexist attitudes
overshadow equality laws and traditions against women rarely change, she said.
She has custody of her children under Baathist laws, but in Iraq, being divorced
is shameful. Mohammed is staying clear of political debates.
"I want to run away from my life," she says. "Our
social behavior is not like yours. Here in Iraq, it's very difficult. They see
the divorced woman as not good," Mohammed said. She says the only way she will
obtain her rights is to live in the West.
(Fariba Nawa is a freelance journalist who
writes often about women and Islam).
* Insecurity
Driving Women Indoors
(New York, July 16,
2003) The insecurity plaguing Baghdad and other Iraqi cities has a distinct and
debilitating impact on the daily lives of women and girls, preventing them from
participating in public life at a crucial time in their country's history, Human
Rights Watch said in a
report released today.
"Women and girls today in
Baghdad are scared, and many are not going to schools or jobs or looking
for work. If Iraqi women are to participate in postwar society, their
physical security needs to be an urgent priority."
Hanny Megally,
executive director
of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch
|
|
"Women and girls today in Baghdad are scared, and many are not
going to schools or jobs or looking for work," said Hanny Megally, executive
director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "If
Iraqi women are to participate in postwar society, their physical security needs
to be an urgent priority."
Human Rights Watch interviewed rape and abduction victims and
witnesses, Iraqi police and health professionals, and U.S. military police and
civil affairs officers, and learned of twenty-five credible allegations of rape
or abduction. The Human Rights Watch report found that police officers gave low
priority to allegations of sexual violence and abduction, that the police were
under-resourced, and that victims of sexual violence confronted indifference and
sexism from Iraqi law enforcement personnel.
The report also found that U.S. military police were not
filling the gap when Iraqi police were unwilling or unable to conduct serious
investigations of sexual violence and abduction. Human Rights Watch said this
inadequate attention to the needs of women and girls has led to an inability,
and in some cases an unwillingness, by police to conduct serious investigations.
In some cases, reports of sexual violence and abduction to police were lost.
Megally urged that Iraqi and occupation authorities urgently
undertake legal reforms, law enforcement training, and health and support
services for women. The U.S. should deploy a special investigative unit to
investigate sex-based and trafficking crimes against women and girls, until such
time as the Iraqi police can take up the responsibility for it.
Cases documented in the report include:
-
Saba A. (not her real name), a nine-year-old girl, was
brutally raped by a man who grabbed her from the stairs of the residence hotel
where she lives, in the middle of the afternoon on May 22. A hospital refused
to treat her, and the forensic institute refused to give her an exam because
she did not have an official referral.
-
Muna B.(not her real name), a fifteen-year-old-girl,
escaped from a house outside Baghdad on June 8, where she had been held for a
month with her two sisters and seven other children. She wasn't raped, but her
sister was, and she thought that her captors intended to sell her and the
other children to traffickers. Her case was reported to U.S. military police,
but Iraqi police didn't even take a statement from her.
-
Dalal S. (not her real name), a 23-year-old-woman, was
snatched while walking down the street with her mother and other family
members on May 15; she was taken to a house outside Baghdad, held overnight
and raped. Her father reported her abduction to the police, but they never
pursued the allegations.
"Iraqi and U.S. military police continue to receive reports of
abductions of women but mechanisms are wholly inadequate for processing these
cases," Megally said.
For example, on June 17, two young women reported to the U.S.
military and Iraqi police that their friend had just been kidnapped. U.S.
military police went to the scene of the abduction, but the perpetrators had
long-since fled. Iraqi police failed to take a statement from the witnesses and
thus no investigation was opened into the abduction of that young woman.
***
8 -
Afghanistan : Afghan women: Fighting for the right to sing
Afghan women: Fighting for the right to sing
BBC News, July 4,
2003
Although the rule of the Taleban in Afghanistan
ended 18 months ago, women in the country are still faced with a huge number of
restrictions in their everyday life. Included among them is a ban on singing in
public, on the radio or on television. "I'm deeply affected by what's going on,"
singer Najiba Samin told BBC World Service's Everywoman programme. "I don't
understand why we can't record our songs and hear them on radio and on
television."
Although Ms Samin is allowed to sing in the Kabul music
school, a gunman has to sit at the doorway just in case extremists decide to
deliver judgment.
"I think what's happened is that the people who were
responsible for the atrocities of the past are in control of this, and they're
doing it all over again," she said. "But I tell myself the fight has to
continue, even though there are people determined to stop us."
'Prisoners in own homes'
Ms Samin's situation is indicative of the problems
facing women in the new Afghanistan. Although TV screens around the world were
filled with images of women taking off the burqa as the Taleban fell, women's
rights agencies are still trying to realise the idea of emancipation in
Afghanistan. They concede there had not been much change. "You can see that
there's an obvious increase of women going to school, or having access to higher
education, and there are some professional women who have been able to go back
to being lawyers or teachers - but I think that is a very, very small step,"
said Rachel Wareham, who works for the German agency Medica Mondial.
"The majority of women are still more or less
prisoners in their own homes. The legal system is not functioning in any area or
any way that protects them or advances them."
Trading in women
And further out of Kabul and beyond the reach of
government, restrictions deteriorate into outright abuse of women's rights. The
province of Shinwari, near the Pakistan boarder, is notorious for opium
smuggling - and also for the sale of women. "I was sold 10 years ago - at the
time I'd had three children from my first husband - but when he took a second
wife, he sold me," one woman said. "He and I grew up together, but after I was
sold he prevented me from seeing the children. My son died. I think his heart
broke after I was forced to leave. I'm not allowed to see my daughter. When I
left my breast used to leak milk. They tore my baby from me."
In
Shinwari women are sold for around $3,000 each - either as punishment or purely
to earn money for their families or first husbands. "We are innocent in this -
we are just like chickens kept and tied," another told Everywoman. "Wherever you
send us, we go."
Punishments
Activist Pawina Heila has tried to raise the issue
with local authorities, but said they have done nothing. "There is no difference
between now and when the Taleban were in control," she told Everywoman.
One woman she knew of fled the home she had been sold to and returned to
her brother's house. But there she was punished. She was first scalded with hot
water, then tied behind a car with a cable, dragged into the desert, and shot.
"These are the lessons women are taught so they go quietly when they're sold,"
she said.
The women's ministry in Afghanistan is - like the rest of the
government - short on authority. The minister Habibi Serabi is under pressure
from both international donors and Afghan women themselves to deliver. "I'm
often faced with this problem... people, particularly men, say that it's custom
and culture." Ms Serabi acknowledged. "But this is not impossible. We can change
the culture and custom but of course it takes time. We have to work very hard,
and also not very quickly. We have to take care with each of our steps." She
added that it was not only Afghanistan's women who needed to be made aware of
women's rights, but also the country's men. "Not only women, but we have to
educate the men too," she stressed. "The men should
know about the rights of women, about human rights, about everything. After
that, maybe they can give women the opportunity to take part in
society."
***
9 - Morocco : Discrimination against
women
Geneva, 15 July 2003
The UN Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women will today begin its examination
of Morocco's implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women. In its alternative country report entitled
"Violence against Women in Morocco", which has been submitted to the Committee,
the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) expresses its grave concern at
reports of widespread violence against women in the private and community
spheres.
Discrimination against women persists in Morocco in both de jure
and de facto forms. The government of Morocco has registered numerous
reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of
Discrimination Against Women, thus seriously hampering the potential
effectiveness of the treaty. Further, Moroccan legislation discriminates against
women with regard to the minimum marriageable age, ability to contract a
marriage, polygamy, and divorce, among other areas. Women in Morocco also
display lower literacy levels than men and low levels of participation in higher
segments of the labour market.
OMCT's report expresses concern that
although domestic violence is little documented and seldom reported, it appears
to be a serious problem. There are several barriers that prevent women and girls
from lodging complaints in relation to domestic violence. These include:
traditional social beliefs concerning the inferiority of women; the social
unacceptability of denouncing your husband; the lack of specific legislation on
violence against women in the family; and the lack of sensitivity on the part of
law enforcement officials.
Furthermore, there is a lack of adequate
structures to shelter and help battered women and women face difficulties in
obtaining a judicial divorce on the grounds of harm and proving physical assault
in the domestic sphere as this requires a medical certificate as well as the
testimony of a witness. The report explains that these obstacles perpetuate the
message that domestic violence is to a certain degree acceptable and allow the
perpetrators of domestic violence to enjoy impunity. OMCT insists that the
government develop a comprehensive policy and legislative response to the
problem of domestic violence, which at the same time should dissolve the
mentioned obstacles.
Rape also appears to be heavily underreported due to
the social stigma attached to the loss of virginity and the difficulties women
face in proving that they have been raped due to the lack of a witness to the
crime. Another fact that may discourage women from filing a complaint is the
risk of being charged with having had unlawful sex in cases when she is pregnant
and cannot prove that she was raped. OMCT recommends that the Government of
Morocco repeal the evidentiary rules regarding rape, which place a large part of
the burden of proof on the rape victim.
Another topic of concern in the
report is the increase in trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and
the exploitive situation of child maids. OMCT notes that prostitutes may be
doubly victimised; first forced into prostitution and then detained since
prostitution is illegal. As there is currently no specific legislation to combat
trafficking in persons, OMCT recommends the adoption of new legislation to
criminalise trafficking in persons and to ensure that women and girls who are
the victims of sexual exploitation are not held criminally
culpable.
Overall, OMCT's report concludes that while Morocco has a duty
under international law to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate,
prosecute and punish all forms of violence against women, irrespective of
whether this violence is committed by public or private individuals, this
obligation has not been adequately implemented at the national
level.
For further information on or copies of the alternative report
on violence against women in Morocco or for further information on OMCT's
programme on Violence against Women in general please contact
Carin
Benninger-Budel : cbb@omct.org.
Organisation Mondiale Contre la
Torture (OMCT) - World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) - Organización
Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
omct@omct.org /
http://www.omct.org
***
10 - RDC
: La poursuite de la guerre contre les femmes dans
l'Est
Une arme de
guerre
“… La violence sexuelle a été utilisée comme une arme de guerre
par la plupart des forces impliquées dans le conflit à l’est de la République
Démocratique du Congo. Les combattants du RCD, les soldats rwandais, ainsi que
les combattants des forces qui leurs sont opposées – les Mayi-Mayi, groupes
armés de Hutu rwandais et les rebelles burundais des Forces pour la Défense de
la Démocratie (FDD) et du Front national pour la Libération (FNL) – ont violé
des femmes et des filles au cours de l’année écoulée, de façon fréquente et
parfois systématique.
Dans certains cas, des soldats et des combattants ont violé des
femmes et des filles dans le cadre d’une attaque plus générale au cours de
laquelle ils ont tué et blessé des civils ainsi que pillé et détruit leurs
biens. Ils ont agi de la sorte pour terroriser les communautés et pour les
forcer à accepter leur contrôle, ou pour les punir d’une aide réelle, ou
supposée, aux forces adverses, en particulier s’ils avaient eux-mêmes été
récemment attaqués par ces forces. Dans les cas où une attaque plus vaste ne
s’est pas produite, des individus ou des petits groupes de soldats ou de
combattants ont aussi violé des femmes et des filles qu’ils ont rencontrés dans
les champs, en forêt, le long des routes ou chez
elles.
La guerre qui a ravagé cette région de façon intermittente depuis
1996 a détruit l’économie locale. Poussées par une extrême pauvreté, les femmes
qui fournissaient les ressources pour maintenir leur famille en vie ont continué
à se rendre aux champs afin de cultiver, dans les forêts pour y faire du charbon
ou au marché pour y vendre leurs produits même si de telles activités les
exposaient à la violence sexuelle. Les soldats et les combattants se sont
attaqués à ces femmes et à ces filles ainsi qu’à d’autres qui avaient fui les
combats pour vivre dans des structures temporaires et fragiles, dans la
forêt… »
(Human Rights Watch, du Résumé de « La guerre
dans la guerre. Violence sexuelle contre les femmes et les filles dans l’est du
Congo », New York, juin 2002)
***
11 - Afrique
du Sud : Le mal de vivre des lesbiennes noires
Dans les townships, les homosexuelles
noires subissent de graves traumatismes liés aux agressions verbales et
physiques dont elles sont quotidiennement victimes. C'est ce qui ressort d'une
étude réalisée par deux chercheuses sud-africaines, "The experiences of stress
and trauma: Black lesbians in South Africa", la première du genre à donner la
parole à cette communauté humiliée. Helena Hewat et Marlene Arndt de la Rand Afrikaans University ont
étudié pendant un an la situation des homosexuelles noires sud-africaines. Elles
ont suivi 16 femmes dans différents townships des banlieues de Johannesburg.
Battues, humiliées, ostracisées, victimes de viols (souvent collectifs) pour les
forcer à "redevenir normales" et "à se comporter en vraies femmes"..., elles ont
fini par se stigmatiser elles-mêmes, trouvant la cause de leurs malheurs dans
leur orientation sexuelle et acceptant leur sort." L'histoire de la femme noire
en Afrique du Sud n'est faite que de dépendance économique, de manque
d'éducation et de respect, de racisme", regrette Wendy Isaack. "Cette violence
que la femme noire rencontre au sein d'institutions comme la police ou la
justice, ainsi que dans le secteur de la santé, est aggravée par le fait d'être
lesbienne." Ici, l'homosexualité est perçue comme "une maladie de Blanc", notent
les chercheuses dans leur rapport. "Les femmes que nous avons rencontrées sont
constamment sous l'emprise du stress car elles ne sont pas acceptées au sein de
leur propre culture. Il est évident qu'elles vivent dans la peur permanente
d'être attaquées et de subir des préjudices", indique Helene Hewat. À
Johannesburg, le Lesbian
and Gay Equality Project se bat pour assurer l'accès à la justice aux
lesbiennes noires victimes de violences et tente d'enrayer les comportements
homophobes en sensibilisant la population.
***
12 - Filipina :
Teenage pregnancy top reason women don't finish school
|
|
| |
|
Teenage pregnancy top
reason women don’t finish school |
|
By Niel Villegas Mugas,
Correspondent
TEENAGE pregnancy is one of
the major reasons most Filipino women do not finish school.
The State of Philippine
Population 2000 report released by the Commission on Population shows
there are about 4 million Filipino women aged 15 to 19. They account for
the majority of women of childbearing age, who make up 19.4 million of the
total female population in the country.
Of this number, the report
revealed, about 7 percent of teenage girls aged 15 to 19 end up becoming
mothers before they turn 20. In rural areas, teenagers are twice as likely
to become pregnant.
The United Nations Population
Fund and the Population Commission (Popcom) disclosed that teenage
pregnancies among Filipino women often hold back or end a girl’s
education. Tradition pressures mothers and wives to stay at home to take
care of their children, yet their lack of education limits their ability
to attend to their important needs, the report said.
Executive Director Tomas M.
Osias of the Popcom said the growing number of teenage pregnancies is
already taking its toll on the overall health of the country.
Citing the report, Osias
warned that contrary to popular belief, girls aged 15 to 19 are twice as
likely to die during pregnancy and delivery than older mothers. Moreover,
children born to adolescents and teenagers are more likely to die during
their first five years of life than those born to more mature women.
Osias also stressed that
young girls often resort to abortion. The report said abortion in young
mothers aged 15 to 24 accounts for 17 percent of all cases of induced
abortion in the country. Abortion, he said, exposes women to risks of
death and disability.
“Our population will continue
to be young in the coming years, and this means it will continue to be at
risk of a high incidence of teenage pregnancies,” Osias said. “Unintended
marriages and unplanned pregnancies often snuff out the chances of young
people to have a secure future.”
Osias added that the large
population of young people is crucial in a developing country such as the
Philippines since changes in the conditions of life depend on their active
participation. |
From : http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2003/jun/24/top_stories/20030624top8.html
***
13 - Japan : NGOs say gender equality
still elusive
LEVEL
PLAYING FIELD: NGOs say gender equality still elusive |
|
By KATSURA ISHIBASHI, The Asahi
Shimbun |
A network of nongovernmental organizations
criticized the government Monday for not doing enough to promote a
society free of gender bias. The group was
addressing a report submitted by the government to a U.N. meeting on
gender discrimination that began in New York the same day. The Network for Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women made the criticism at a news conference in
Tokyo. One member of the network said double standards
against women still exist in hiring practices, wages and personnel
affairs. Another pointed to the plight of foreign minority women in Japan,
such as Korean residents and victims of human trafficking. It said
inadequate steps had been taken to help these women.
``Since discrimination hurts women
emotionally, it must be eliminated swiftly,'' said Yasuko Yamashita, a
professor of international law at Bunkyo Gakuin University and a network
representative. ``This is something the government and we, nongovernmental
organizations, must work to attain.''
The U.N. convention was ratified by
Japan in 1985. Signatory nations must submit reports every four
years on steps taken against discrimination. Reports
submitted by the government in 1998 and 2002 will be examined by the
U.N.'s committee at the meeting in New York. In the
2002 report, the government describes its achievements between 1998 and
2002. It cites new laws against child pornography and child prostitution,
as well as measures to prevent domestic violence. (...)
|
***
14 - United States
* The Role of Military Forces
in the Growth of the Commercial Sex Industry
(...) Currently, there are over 1.4 million active
duty U.S. military personnel worldwide. It is widely
recognized that almost everywhere U.S. troops are stationed there is a
concurrent and dramatic growth of the commercial sex industry, which
demonstrates profound disrespect for women and causes deep public resentment in
the host country, to the detriment of foreign relations.
In 1999 when U.S. forces returned to the
Philippines, for example, the number of registered "entertainers" in Angeles
City almost doubled, according to a U.S. military newspaper. A Presidential
Directive issued on 25 February 2003 by U.S. President George W. Bush stated,
"Prostitution and related activities, which are inherently harmful and
dehumanizing, contribute to the phenomenon of trafficking in persons, as does
sex tourism, which is an estimated $1 billion per year business worldwide." In
its 2002 Trafficking in Persons Report, the U.S. Department of State recognized
the close link between trafficking and prostitution by acknowledging
prostitution as one of the primary reasons for which women are
trafficked.
The
Fox investigative report has generated a bipartisan congressional protest in
Washington. "[T]he military is in effect helping to line the pockets of human
traffickers rather than furthering our country's commitment . . . to put an end
to this abomination against humanity," wrote thirteen Members of Congress to
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on 31 May 2002. U.S. military
personnel, as consumers of prostituted women, are effectively and substantially
contributing to the demand for sex trafficking.
Recommended
Actions : Please write to U.S.
President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and urge them
to institute and strictly enforce a zero-tolerance policy prohibiting the
solicitation of prostitution by U.S. military forces around the world. Note the
link between prostitution and trafficking, which has been recognized by the U.S.
Government. Explain that support for the commercial sex industry perpetuates the
abuse of women and undermines efforts to combat sex
trafficking.
From : http://www.equalitynow.org/english/direct/hub_dir_action_2301_en.html
*
* Chasse aux femmes / Hunting
for "Bambi-women ! ! !
Un promoteur de Las Vegas organise des chasses
aux femmes.
Des hommes le paient des dizaines de milliers de dollars pour
aller tirer à la carabine, dans le désert, des projectiles emplis de peinture
sur des femmes nues, qualifiées de 'Bambi", qui tentent de leur échapper pour ne
pas être blessées -- et voir leur salaire réduit de 250%. Les clients reçoivent
des vidéos-trophées de chasse à ramener chez eux. Les femmes employées par cette
entreprise n'ont le droit de porter aucun élément de protection contre des
"balles" qui ls frappent à 300 km-h. Le site Web de promotion de cette chasse,
créée par un certain Michael Burdick, fait
explicitement appel à la haine des
femmes. Tout cela semble entièrement légal.
Page de promotion: http://www.huntingforbambi.com/Reportage
à ce sujet d'une station télé de Las Vegas, qui interviewe un client
enthousiaste et des psychologues préoccupées:http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1356380&nav=168XGqk0Adresse des élus municipaux à qui adresser toute protestation ou avis de
boycottage de sa ville auprès de tous nos proches: <mayor@ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us>, <willr@ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us>;
<eliasonr@ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us>; >
<smithss@ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us>;
<bucks@ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us>
***
15 - Canada : Le Canada va
légaliser le mariage des homosexuels
Le 17 juin dernier, Jean
Chrétien, premier ministre canadien, a annoncé que son gouvernement ne ferait
pas appel d'une décision d'un tribunal de l'Ontario autorisant le mariage
homosexuel, ce qui devrait faire du Canada le troisième pays après les Pays-Bas
et la Belgique à légaliser les unions de conjoints de même sexe. Dès cette
annonce, plusieurs couples homosexuels se sont présentés à la mairie de Toronto
pour faire reconnaître légalement leur union.
En Belgique, le 6 juin 2003, deux femmes
sont devenues le premier couple homosexuel uni par le mariage dans le
cadre de la loi adoptée au début de l'année.
From : Bulletin
d'Information n°41
sos.femmes@laposte.net
16 - Peru Enacts Law to Protect
Workers From Sexual Harassment
On 26 February 2003, Peru
enacted comprehensive legislation to prevent and punish sexual harassment
(Law No. 27942). The Law applies to public and private employment,
educational institutions and military and police institutions. Acts of sexual
harassment are defined to include: promises of preferential treatment in
exchange for sexual favors; threats requiring behavior that is unwanted and
which affects a person's dignity; the use of sexual terms, sexual insinuations,
sexual propositions and obscene gestures that are offensive, humiliating,
intolerable or hostile; sexual touching or conduct and physical contact that is
unwanted and offensive; and hostile or offensive treatment for rejection of the
above acts. Private employers are required to adopt measures to train workers
about sexual harassment and to remedy any harm caused by such harassment.
Employers must ensure that such harassment ceases or they will be required to
pay victims restitution. Victims are authorized to institute legal proceedings
to end harassment. Public employees, educators, and the military and police who
commit acts of sexual harassment are subject to special administrative
penalties, and victims are entitled to receive restitution. The Law amends a
number of other laws governing various sectors to incorporate provisions to
prohibit sexual harassment.
http://www.leyes.congreso.gob.pe/Imagenes/Leyes/27942.pdf
From : IPCI/ICPD List parks@unfpa.org
***
Europe
* Cancer du sein /
Breast cancer
* Sport
*
* Assemblée Européenne pour les Droits des
femmes
* FSE
L'Assemblée Européenne pour les Droits
des Femmes
* Pour les françaises, s’inscrire à la liste de
discussion :assemb.europ.fem@ras.eu.org
* Pour les européennes, s’inscrire à la liste de
discussion : assemb.europ.women@ras.eu.org
1 - Pour tous renseignements
:
* E mail : assemb.fem.org@ras.eu.org
* Écrire à : Assemblée Femmes FSE C/O Marche
Mondiale des Femmes - 104 rue des Couronnes - 75020 Paris ; Tel : 01 44 62 12
34.
2 - Pour s’inscrire à cette journée, et au
FSE
Deux possibilités :
* Vous ne venez qu’à l’Assemblée des femmes :
envoyez votre inscription par mail à :assemb.fem.org@ras.eu.org ; ou par écrit à :Assemblée
femmes FSE C/O Marche Mondiale des Femmes - 104 rue des Couronnes - 75020 Paris.
Tel : 01 44 62 12 34.
* Vous désirez assister à l’Assemblée des Femmes
et au FSE : faites votre inscription sur le site du FSE : w w w. f s e - e s f. o rg (un espace en fin de page
pour l’Assemblée des femmes).
Pour les organisations, les frais
d’inscription sont liés d'abord au/à la responsable de la délégation (50 + 5
euros) puis à ses membres (30 + 3 euros). Les euros supplémentaires sont au
titre de la solidarité.
3 - Pour se loger
Pour cette journ é e,nous faisons un appel à hébergements
solidaires chez l’habitant pour les nuits du 11 et 12 nove m b re. Nous
conseillons à celles et ceux qui participent à l’ensemble du FSE de consulter la
liste des hébergements peu chers sur le site FSE.
4 - Pour se restaurer
Tout est prévu sur place pour 2 à 3000 personnes (petits
déjeuners possibles)
5 - Pour avoir un stand
Pour avoir un stand le 12 nove m b re, i n s c rive z
- vous sur assemb. fem . org @ ra s . e u
.org
Le Forum Social Européen
* Les débats
Pendant les trois jours du FSE, des débats seront
consacrés à la situation des femmes en Europe, dans les plénières, les
séminaires et les ateliers.
Pour ce qui concerne les plénières,sont
retenus trois débats :
- Femmes et hommes : de
l’égalité des droits à l’égalité réelle. Contre la division sexuelle du travail.
Pour la liberté des femmes dans la société... ;
- Femmes immigrées,
migrants et mondialisation, statut autonome, l’apport citoyen et politique des
femmes dans le pays d’accueil, femmes victimes de trafic et de persécutions
sexistes ou sexuelles ;
- L’apport du féminisme
au mouvement social.
* Pour organiser un
séminaire
Il faut être une organisation inscrite au préalable au FSE ; il
faut avoir un ou des partenaires européens (des regroupements seront faits
suivant les salles disponibles) ; la date limite est le 12 septembre. Attention
: le prix des séminaires a été fixé à 200 euros.
Les ateliers sont gratuits
sans conditions de partenariat .
* Pour avoir un stand
S’inscrire avant le 15 septembre 2003 sur :
inforga@fse-esf.org. Indiquez
simplement si votre organisation souhaite monter un stand. Au moins 300 euros
pour 3 mètres/linéaires et pour les trois jours avec tables et
chaises.
***
Afrique /
Africa
* Les femmes entrent dans les Droits de la Personne humaine
au " Sommet de l'Union Africaine"
Publié sur le web le 10
Juillet 2003. Il y a eu des réserves sur certains points, dont celle du Sénégal.
Mais les femmes font des acquis de taille pour ce qui est de leurs droits
consacrés par l'Union africaine. Au niveau politique comme au niveau
social.
Les Africaines vont disposer d'un nouvel outil dans leur lutte
pour l'émancipation et l'élimination de toutes les formes de discrimination avec
l'adoption, hier à Maputo, par le Conseil exécutif de l'Union africaine, d'un
«Protocole à la Charte africaine des Droits de l'homme et des peuples relatif
aux droits des femmes». Ce protocole additif à la Charte africaine devrait
contribuer à «une réelle prise en compte des droits spécifiques de la femme
africaine», selon Mme Bineta Diop, l'une de ses promotrices les plus régulières
aux réunions panafricaines.
Publié sur Wal Fadjri (Dakar):
http://www.walf.sn/Pour lire l'article au
complet, consultez All Africa:
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200307100773.htmlVous
trouverez les versions pré-sommet de la Charte africaine des droits de l'homme
et des peuple et diverses autres ressources sur le site de FEMMES, DROIT et
DEVELOPPEMENT en AFRIQUE (WiLDAF-FeDDAF):
http://www.wildaf-ao.org/fr/ress_iii.htm#charte_africaineColette
Lelièvre :
colettelelievre@videotron.ca
*
* African Union
adopts Protocol on the rights of African Women to abortion for the first time in
International Law
New
York, July 14, 2003 - On 11 July 2003, the African Union adopted the Protocol on
the Rights of Women in Africa, a supplementary protocol to the African Charter
on Human and Peoples' Rights, which has adopted in 1981. Advancing the human
rights of African women through creative, substantive and detailed language, the new Protocol covers a broad range of human rights
issues. For the first time in
international law, it explicitly sets forth the reproductive right of women to
medical abortion when pregnancy results from rape or incest or when the
continuation of pregnancy endangers the health or life of the mother. In another first, the Protocol
explicitly calls for the legal prohibition of female genital
mutilation.
In
other equality advances for women, the Protocol calls for an end
to
all
forms of violence against women including unwanted or forced sex, whether it
takes place in private or in public, and a recognition of protection from
sexual and verbal violence as
inherent in the right to dignity. It endorses affirmative action to
promote the equal participation of women, including the equal representation of
women in elected office, and calls for the equal representation of women in the
judiciary and law enforcement agencies as an integral part of equal protection
and benefit of the law.
Articulating a right to peace, the Protocol also recognizes the right of
women to participate in the romotion and maintenance of
peace.
The
broad range of economic and social welfare rights for women set forth in the
Protocol includes the right to equal pay for equal work and the right to
adequate and paid maternity leave in both private and public sectors. It also
calls on states to take effective measures to prevent the exploitation and abuse
of women in advertising and pornography.
The rights of particularly vulnerable groups of women, including widows,
elderly women, disabled women and "women in distress," which includes poor
women, women from marginalized population groups, and pregnant or nursing women
in detention, are specifically recognized.
Equality Now, an
international human rights organization, convened a meeting in January 2003 of
African women's rights activists to facilitate a collective review of the draft
and coordinated advocacy for the adoption of a text ; that would truly advance the rights of
African women in international law. Subsequent concerted lobbying of African
governments by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and networks all over
Africa on a
consensus
text resulted in significant gains to the original draft. The Africa Office of Equality Now, based
in Nairobi, acted as a liaison with the African Union to push for expert
discussion of the Protocol as well as strong NGO representation in the
process.
The
final Protocol is indicative of the achievements that can be made when
governments and civil society use their collective resources to advance the
cause of human rights. "The
adoption of this Protocol marks a significant step forward in promoting the
rights of women within Africa and we hope lays the groundwork for further gains
for all women around the world," said Faiza Jama Mohamed, Equality Now's Africa
Regional Director.
From : Elfriede Harth <eharth@catholicsforchoice.org>
*
* Legal Advocacy a Key
Element of Strategy to Stop FC/FGM
Legal
Advocacy a Key Element of Strategy to Stop FC/FGM
By Pardiss Kebriaei
Every year, some two million girls are
forced to undergo female circumcision/female genital mutilation (FC/FGM), a
harmful traditional practice that involves the partial or total removal of
female genitals. These girls will join the roughly 130 million others who have
endured the practice, which the world is increasingly recognizing as a violation
of women and girls' basic human rights.
In
June 2003, government and civil society representatives from each of the 28
African and Arab countries where FC/FGM is prevalent gathered, in
Cairo,
Egypt,
for a conference to take stock of the impact of legal advocacy efforts in the
battle to end the practice.
Lawyers
with the Center for Reproductive Rights provided valuable technical expertise at
the conference, drawing from the Center’s previous work on FC/FGM in its 2000
publication entitled, “Female Genital Mutilation: A Guide to Laws and
Policies Worldwide.”
Center lawyers also helped lead discussions about the role of the law in
broader strategies to stop FC/FGM and the necessary elements of a legal
approach. The recommendations
adopted by these groups were brought together in a final conference declaration,
which was hailed by many participants as an important tool for future
advocacy.
To
date, about half of the countries where FC/FGM is prevalent and a number of
industrialized nations with immigrants from affected countries have a specific
law or regulation banning the practice.
Most of these measures came after UN conferences addressing women’s rights held
in Cairo (1994) and in Beijing, China (1995), where FC/FGM received a great deal
of attention as a human rights concern.
Some of these laws have been passed as recently as
2003.
Though it has been difficult to measure the impact of these laws
on overall prevalence rates, social attitudes and behavior relating to FC/FGM,
it is clear that they have bolstered the efforts of activists working to stop
the practice.
For Ken Wafula, a Kenyan lawyer who brought a landmark civil case
in 2000 that prevented the circumcision of two sisters, legal advocacy has been
essential to his efforts to combat FC/FGM.
Wafula, who has also won protective orders for 19 girls facing
circumcision, has seen a decline in FC/FGM rates in Kenyan districts that have
actively used the law to prevent and prosecute
offenders.
In
Burkina
Faso,
studies show that prevalence rates dipped after the country criminalized
FC/FGM
in
1996. In May 2003, 23 villages in the province
of Zoundwéogo
outright abandoned the practice in a bold move that translated national legal
standards into a grassroots change.
Meanwhile,
in countries such as Liberia
where FC/FGM is not yet outlawed, some advocates say that legislation banning
the practice would offer them protection and confer greater legitimacy on their
efforts, shielding them from seeming “anti-government” or engaged in illegal
measures that lack the protection of the law.
But
as even those who call for legislation prohibiting FC/FGM recognize, such laws
do not address the root causes of this age-old practice and cannot alone deter
families from subjecting their daughters to circumcision. Advocates note that
despite the legal prohibition of FC/FGM in
Burkina
Faso,
for instance, the practice continues underground where it is less visible to
health and law enforcement officials. It has also been reported that women and
practitioners continue to practice FC/FGM by simply traveling to countries with
no law criminalizing the procedure.
In order to address the cultural and social foundations of FC/FGM,
legal advocacy must be coupled with community-based interventions aimed at
raising awareness about the harmful effects of the practice and government
programs that enable women to raise their economic, social and political
status.
As
the
FC/FGM conference declaration states, “the prevention and abandonment of FGM can
be achieved only through a comprehensive approach promoting behavior change, and
using legislative measures as a pivotal tool.”
In addition, policymakers must craft laws wisely—preserving the
best interests of the child and avoiding further hardships. For example, policymakers should be
mindful of the effects of prosecuting parents involved in the circumcision of
their daughters, which can disrupt family relationships and leave children with
no primary caretaker.
The Center for Reproductive Rights supports legal measures to stop
FC/FGM, but only in tandem with broader initiatives to promote women’s status
and protect their reproductive rights. We will continue to be a strong ally for
activists and women’s groups who push their governments to label this practice a
violation of women and girls’ reproductive rights and adopt legislation that
protects and promotes those rights. The health and lives of millions of women
and girls depend on our collective success.
For More Information: http://www.reproductiverights.org/pub_fac_fgmicpd.html
From : "Reproductive Freedom News" <RFN@reprorights.org>
***
Conference / Meeting
* France
: Débat " La distinction entre sexe et genre, Une histoire entre
biologie et culture "
Les Cahiers du Genre vous invitent à une
journée de débats autour du n°34 (paru en mai), le vendredi 3 octobre
2003.
Organisée par Ilana Löwy et Hélène Rouch, à l’EHESS 105 boulevard
Raspail - 75006 Paris.
Sur le thème : " La
distinction entre sexe et genre, Une histoire entre biologie et
culture."
* UK : The Right to Health
Ten week course on the Right to Health, Starting
Thursday, October 2, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine
"Since the
beginning of this millennium, the human rights movement has witnessed
extraordinary developments in advancing the right to health, giving us an
excellent opportunity to promote and protect the health of populations
throughout the world." Dr Gro Harlem
Brundtland, Director-General, WHO
For further details, please contact :
Dr. Peter Hall - PHR-UK, 91 Harlech Road, Abbots Langley, Herts WD5 0BE :
phall@gn.apc.org
***
Association Internationale Louise
Michel
A pour but :
1) de faire
connaître la vie, l’œuvre et le rôle historique de Louise
Michel.
2)
de favoriser la
recherche sur Louise Michel.
3) de recenser
et de promouvoir les initiatives culturelles et éducatives et les travaux
scientifiques, historiques et littéraires sur Louise Michel et son
œuvre.
4) de publier un
bulletin et de faire vivre un site web qui assureront le lien entre les
différentes initiatives et leur promotion.
La première assemblée générale
de l’Association internationale Louise Michel se
tiendra
le samedi 11 octobre
2003 (à
confirmer)
de 14 heures à 18
heures
au Musée d’Histoire Vivante de Montreuil
31 boulevard Théophile Sueur - 93 100
- Montreuil : 33 (0)1 48706162
***
SOS SEXISME