***


 

          Histoire / History : Background to the Women's Movement in Uzbekistan 

         

The autonomous women’s movement emerged in the early 1990s after independence. However, unlike official women’s committees, which were a legacy from previous Soviet structures, women’s independent NGOs have been outspoken and determined critics of Uzbekistan’s government and its failure to protect and promote women’s rights, as well as its overall authoritarian control of society. Women have borne the brunt of the social upheaval of the social and economic transition, while public debate about women’s rights has been cynically manipulated by both the government of President Islam Karimov and the extreme Right religious opposition. Karimov, for example, has repeatedly ordered that w! omen must neither wear ‘westernised’ clothing nor be veiled. Although Uzbekistan ratified CEDAW in 1996, it has made little progress in addressing a whole range of issues, including domestic violence. Local women’s groups fear that the more outspoken NGOs who highlight women’s problems and overall problems and issues in Uzbekistan’s society are blacklisted and will now simply not be re-registered. Previous avenues for interacting with the government, including the Forum of Women’s NGOs which held several successful annual meetings and provided a useful forum for bringing issues to the attention of the government, have now been closed as the Ministry of Justice has not given permission for Forum meetings. "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr. For More information: http://www.wluml.org/

http://www.neww.org.pl/en.php/news/news/1.html?&nw=97&re=1

 

           Infos / News

           1 - France : Islam et droits des femmes

                     Dans une lettre rendue publique, adressée, le 29 juin 2004, aux membres de la communauté musulmane et qui concerne l'application de la loi du 15 mars 2004

                     sur les signes religieux à l'école  qui s'appliquera à la rentrée scolaire de septembre 2004, l'Union des organisations islamiques de France (UOIF) demande aux familles

                     musulmanes ne pas respecter la loi républicaine.

                     Parce que je suis concerné en tant que musulman laïque, je me permets de vous répondre. Musulman laïque, c'est-à-dire celui pour qui l'attachement aux valeurs de

                     la République et au respect de la loi dépasse toujours celui de la conviction religieuse.

Je pensais que l'UOIF, courant important de l'islam de France, était pleinement engagé dans l'intégration républicaine de l'islam et l'émergence d'un islam français. Jamais une loi votée par le Parlement, au nom du peuple français, n'avait fait l'objet d'autant de discussions, de débats dans l'ensemble de la société et au sein du Parlement. Celle-ci fait bien entendu l'objet d'interprétations, et c'est le rôle de la jurisprudence. Après ce débat, le Parlement a tranché, de façon consensuelle et à la quasi-unanimité des partis de droite et de gauche. En démocratie, on peut maintenir son désaccord avec la loi, mais on se doit de l'appliquer.

En recommandant aux jeunes filles «de se présenter dans les établissements dans les tenues qu'elles auront choisi de porter», en précisant «nous sommes prêts à leur fournir, ainsi qu'à leur entourage, un soutien moral, une aide au dialogue, une information sur la bonne connaissance de leurs droits, des conseils avisés d'acteurs de terrain, une assistance juridique et (...) si l'acharnement illégal devait aboutir à l'exclusion de certaines d'entre elles du système public d'éducation, nous serions également à leurs côtés pour tout mettre en oeuvre de manière à leur fournir un soutien scolaire qui leur permette de poursuivre leurs études en attendant qu'elles soient pleinement rétablies dans leurs droits», l'UOIF montre qu'elle met au-dessus de la loi républicaine ses propres convictions. Elle exerce une pression intolérable sur les chefs d'établissements, en culpabilisant la communauté éducative dans son ensemble, et cherche à créer des tensions et affrontements.

Il est de notre responsabilité à tous, et en particulier aux femmes et aux hommes de culture ou de confession musulmane, de ne pas laisser certaines organisations religieuses lire et interpréter le droit au gré des circonstances, et violer la laïcité et la loi républicaine.

La France a été et reste, pour des millions d'immigrés et leurs enfants, une formidable terre d'accueil où justement la loi nous a protégés et permis de bénéficier des mêmes droits que tous les autres Français.

Si, comme vous le dites sur votre site Internet, «l'islam a établi un certain nombre de droits fondamentaux, valables pour l'humanité tout entière et qui doivent être observés et respectés en toutes circonstances», la démocratie a établi un certain nombre de droits fondamentaux, valables pour tous et qui doivent être observés et respectés en toutes circonstances.

Quand à l'UOIF, elle doit tirer les conséquences de sa prise de position qui n'honore pas les musulmans de France. Elle ne respecte plus l'engagement qu'elle avait pris devant les représentants de la République de respecter la loi. Il me semble que sa présence au sein du Conseil français du culte musulman n'est plus, aujourd'hui, une garantie du respect de la légalité républicaine.

Par Zaïr Kedadouche, membre du Haut Conseil à l'intégration et Président de l'association Intégration France.

Une contribution parue dans Libération du 16.7.04

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2 - UK Boost for Human Rights !...

The UK's commitment to human rights was given a further boost today when Lord Falconer announced the outcomes of a major Government review of human rights treaties.

One important change resulting from the review is that, for the first time, the UK will accept an individual petition mechanism under one of the core UN human rights treaties - the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This means that people in the UK will be able to take complaints about discrimination against women directly to the UN body that monitors the treaty.

Lord Falconer said:"The results of our review show that we are determined to press ahead on human rights and to continue with our mission to build a culture of respect for human rights and responsibilities in the UK, and to promote human rights abroad. "The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women is a particular landmark. Women are already well protected against discrimination in the UK, but our accepting the Protocol will send a strong message to other countries where the rights of women may not be so legally secure. It will also enable us to assess the effects of complaints mechanisms of this kind."

Minister for Women, Patricia Hewitt, said: "Accepting the CEDAW Optional Protocol will enhance the UK's international reputation as a champion of women's rights."

Baroness Prosser, Chair of the Women's National Commission, said: "I am delighted that the Government has today made this strong commitment to women's' rights. It will be widely welcomed by women's organisations throughout the UK, many of which have been working with the Women's National Commission to encourage the Government to take this important step".

Lord Falconer, in a written statement to the House of Lords, said: "In the course of the review, the Government has ratified the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture; has signed and ratified Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights; ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child relating to Children in Armed Conflict; and extended the European Convention on Human Rights to the Cyprus Sovereign Base Area. We have decided to accept the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, which will help us to assess the effects of individual petition to the UN generally. By accepting the Protocol we are also confirming the United Kingdom's commitment to women and equality issues, spearheaded by the Minister for Women, Patricia Hewitt. We will also sign Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights; ratify Chapters A and B of the Convention on Participation of Foreigners in Public Life; withdraw the general reservation relating to immigration entered under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women; and modify the reservation relating to the Throne and the Armed Forces entered under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. Finally we will dispense with a group of reservations now obsolete."

From : leslie@thecsrgroup.com



***



3 - Spain : Action Plan against the Criminal Machismo

Violence against women in Spain is reaching alarming dimensions. Explanations for the rising number of violent crimes, which often end with death, are not being found. In June alone, four women were killed by their husbands and one girl suffered life-threatening injuries at the hand of her boyfriend.

In his recent parliamentarian address, José Luis Zapatero, the new prime minister, who calls himself a feminist, spoke about violence against women as the biggest disgrace of the nation. He is fighting against the so-called „criminal machismo.“ A newly proposed law is supposed to punish violent attacks on women more harshly, provide more money for the protection of abused women and make programs and trainings for victims possible – with this Zapatero wants to initiate a nationwide campaign, a prevention and education project. 

51 women have already been killed by men in the year 2004; in 2002 this number was 77, in 1999 58.

The question of why cannot be answered by anyone, several speculations exist. Many hold the new government responsible: it has supposedly put this subject more in the spotlight (of the media), others believe that the number of victims has not really grown, but only the fact that violent crimes against women are now not registered as violent crimes or murders, but are listed and worked on seperatly.
A possible – sad and disturbing – cause might be that women have become more independent and self-confident in recent years and that this women’s power has resulted in a backlash.

Spain remains very traditional and largely conservative, and sexuality is taboo. The image of the conservative, intact family is still very highly present and desirable. Violence and abuse are not to be spoken of.
Spanish society went through enormous changes since the end of the Franco dictatorship. 30 years ago, women were not allowed to open their own bank account, nor were they permitted to sign contracts and could only have their own income with the permission of their husband. Women who gave birth to four children received an award; divorce has only been legal since 1981.
However, still today many men consider women to be their property and complain if their wives do not obey them.

Sources: International Herald Tribune, El País (22.7.2004)
http://www.frauen-ohne-grenzen.org/frauen-ohne-grenzen.asp?loc=news&pg=news&id=800&lang=eng

 

***



4 - Italy : Abortion plan splits Berlusconi party

A proposal to make women pay for abortion if they resort to it more than once has divided Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government. More than 25 years after Italy legalized abortion, a senator from Berlusconi's Forza Italia party has said that he will propose a law to make women pay for half of the cost of a second abortion and the full cost of any subsequent abortions. "It is unacceptable that so many children should die in their mother's womb," said the senator, Antonio Gentile.

An abortion in the first 90 days of a pregnancy is free under Italy's public health system, as is intervention in the case of a health emergency even after 90 days. According to the latest data there were 130,000 abortions in 2002, down from a peak of 235,000 in 1982.

Health Minister Girolamo Sirchia indicated that he might consider the proposal, saying the 1978 abortion law needed to be revisited to "evaluate the positive and negative aspects." "I don't know the details of the proposal but I appreciate the motives that inspired it," he told Sky Italia's television news channel on Sunday. "That is the need to avoid abortion being thought of as a method of contraception."

The comments infuriated women's rights groups and opposition lawmakers but also created tensions in the government, despite the strong influence that the Roman Catholic Church, which opposes all abortion, has on policy making in Italy. Critics say Law 194 not only guarantees women the right to abortion but also protects their privacy, so that no one can keep track of who has abortions or how many. "This charge idea seems absolutely preposterous to me, it's shocking," said Equal Opportunities Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo, also of Forza Italia, adding that she thought it was just a result of the political summer doldrums. "But if they decide to follow this through, they will have us to contend with," she told Corriere della Sera. Tiziana Maiolo, who is responsible for civil rights in Forza Italia, told the ANSA news agency, "Abortion is not a picnic and no woman is going to use it as a contraceptive."

Expectations that the government could try to impose new controls on abortion were raised this year when Parliament approved a fertility law that refers to "the rights of the embryo." While it does not directly address abortion, critics said it paved the way for a review of Law 194 by establishing a legal jurisdiction for fetuses.

(Tuesday, August 10, 2004)

http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?file=533274.html



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5 - Poland : Polish Plenipotentiary Nominated

MAGDALENA SRODA - PhD Philosophy, Ethics, became last week the new polish plenipotentiary of the government to the equal status of women and men. Sroda is well – known in Poland from her feminist opinions. In 1992 she signed the appeal of 54 intellectualists to the deputies and senators, to reject the draft of the penalty act for the abortion. In the “High hills” addition paper to “Gazeta Wyborcza” she published plenty of articles dedicated to women’s problems. She also created the estimation of the value of women’s housework.

(2004-08-17 )

Source: www.rzeczpospolita.pl

***

 

 

6 - Iraq

* Honour Killings Haunt Iraqi Women

NEW YORK: When it took over as caretakers Iraq, the Bush administration had vowed to make Iraq a role model for the Arabian countries vis-a-vis women's rights. Iraqi women are in the news again, not for their rights but for the wrong reasons. The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime has brought a new nightmare for them - honour killings. The latest terrifying development is Iraqi men killing their sisters, wives, daughters or mothers, suspected of straying from traditional rules of chastity and fidelity, Time magazine reports. According to reports provided by police, court officials and doctors at Baghdad's forensic institute, the number of victims of honour killings in Iraq since US invasion has gone up in hundreds, reports Time . The magazine reports the perils of 24-year-old girl Shaima. A prostitute by profession, Shaima has been running for her life from her younger brother who is determined to kill her. The brother has been 'delegated' by none other than her parents to reclaim the family's honour. Shaima was caught and almost had her throat slit. She, however, managed to escape to a policeman. Her brother explained to the officer that he was carrying out the family's desire to 'clean' the shame over Shaima's profession. Such killings, the magazine says, weren't frequent during Saddam Hussein's regime. The Bush administration had proclaimed that safety of Iraqi women was one of its primary agenda when it took over Iraq. It had claimed that Iraq would be a role model for the Arabian countries vis-a-vis women's rights. However, the rise in the power of Muslim clerics has skewed the equation. During Saddam's reign, unless a rape victim agreed to marry her abductor, she would be killed by the family members to restore the family's honour. But now, the tyranny faced by women during Saddam's reign has been replaced by chronic violence and growing religious conservatism. Some Iraqis feel that certain liberties enjoyed under Saddam's regime have been completely curbed. Many government offices require female employees to wear a veil at work. Women who once felt free to dress in Western clothing and shop alone now must wear a hijab , the traditional Muslim head scarf, when venturing outside, reports Time magazine. Women have become an easy target. And the house seems to have become the safest haven. Though the interim Prime Minister of Iraq, Iyad Allawi, has vowed to improve the situation, few Iraqis expect relief from the dangers that have become part of their life.   Times of India / http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=5961 (July 19th, 2004)

* Betraying Iraqi Women

(...) Yanar Mohammed, founder of the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq, says it’s tough to quantify the situation. "There is no way to describe how much deterioration has struck the lives of millions of women in Iraq," she says.

 

The first critical step in meeting Iraqi women's needs is to facilitate their involvement and respect their opinions. The official line is that the United States’ efforts are “appropriately guided by the Iraqi women themselves."  And indeed, 25 percent of the members of the U.S.-approved National Assembly were to be female.

Yet today, only 6 out of 33 members are women. Dr. Raja Khuzai—one of three women on the now-defunct Iraqi Governing Council—and many others had advocated that at least one member of the executive quartet be a woman, but this did not happen. The failure is, in large part, due to the United State's refusal to support a mandatory number of seats for women.  After all, the Bush administration couldn’t very well contradict its own policies against affirmative action at home.

However, many women in Iraq see the new government as illegitimate because the Iraqi people didn’t choose it. In their view, the number of women in the government is not so critical an issue as ending violence against women and stopping the erosion of women's rights. Both of these situations have worsened as fundamentalist Sharia doctrine has been allowed to influence the civil law when conservative Muslims came to power under the U.S. occupation.

Yanar Mohammed explains that the interim constitution is counterproductive, effectively setting women’s rights back more than 50 years.  “It will enshrine Islamic law, instead of separating religion and state," she says. “It means that men can marry four women, that all the rights are given to men in marriage, in divorce and in the custody of children, and that there is no minimum age for the marriage of women. Turning civil law into Sharia law would end all rights for women in Iraq." Evidence of Mohammed's predictions can be seen in the increasing number of women wearing veils in Iraq—either by force or from fear. Additionally, schools are increasingly segregated, and girls face heightened difficulty in attending classes. (...)

Lack of security or a functional police force to which to report sexual violence is a huge problem for women, who are afraid to leave their houses and face increased sexual violence both inside and out of their homes.

Unquestionably, the most explicit—as well as most-discounted and least-reported—atrocities committed against Iraqi women have been at the hands of the U.S. military. The International Occupation Watch Center, Amnesty International and the International Red Cross have all documented physical and sexual abuse against women prisoners in Abu Ghraib and other prisons. The exact number of women being held is not known. But U.S. forces have acknowledged that most are being held because of their relationship to men that U.S. forces want to question or intimidate—not for crimes they themselves have committed.

Consequently, the number of honor killings is also on the rise. (...)

The Bush administration’s claim of rescuing Iraqi women is just one more false pretense for war. It systematically ignores Iraqi women’s needs, terrorizes their lives and shows an extraordinary degree of misogynistic hubris. (...) 

by Lucinda Marshall, Tom Paine / http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=5909
(July 16th, 2004)

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7 - Bangladesh : Housewives of minority families raped en masse

The social decease called communal repression against ethnic and religious minorities continuing unabated, though it may appear, at least on the surface slowing down in comparison to what were happening years back. But the slow and steady process is continuing un-noticed and unreported. Because, the local reporters are now tired of reporting such too familiar incidents that news editors of the national dailies are no more interested in repeating the same known phenomenon again and again. These events, even in the eye of general readers, have little news values. News values might have been belittled, the events may be kept in the dark to the countrymen or to the outside world, but that does not solve the problems of those wretched families facing even in remote corners of the countryside where neither the hands of administration (police or civil) or the good wills of the human right organizations could reach. There Bicharer Vani Nirabe Nivrite Kande.

This time the place of occurrence is a remote village named Chitla Natunpara within Damurhuda Upazilla in the district of Chuadanga. On the fateful night of Sunday, July 11, 2004 a group of local goondas and mastans armed with lathis and other lethal weapons forcibly entered the house of a Hindu minority family. Under threat of weapons they forcibly over powered the head of the family putting him under a chouki (a four legged cot) and hold a knife on the throat of his baby daughter (3 years). The terrorists numbering not less than five then forcibly gang raped the housewife (28) one after another repeatedly. They threatened of severe consequences including killing if the matter was informed to the police and made public, when they left the premise. On the following morning hearing the cries of the family members nearby villagers came to their rescue and went around to search for the culprits. But they had already left the village and were out of their reach.

The villagers, together with the affected family members went to the Damurhuda police station to lodge a protest and file a case. The police instead of hearing them drove them away. Experiencing the police attitude, the minority families were subdued and kept mum. But they, being encouraged by the villagers, somewhat reluctantly told every thing what were happening to the minority families of the village for the last few months to the reporters working for national dailies and local news papers of Damurhuda a few days later.

When asked, the police authority of Damurhuda flatly denied the incident(s) of any rapping, but admitted that a few days back four or five people entered the house of a villager at night. But no body informed them of such incident. Apart from the incident described above about a fortnight back wife of a day labourer was gang rapped by a group of armed miscreants. A month ago, a similar incident of gang rapping took place in a minority family in which a young housewife was forcibly lifted away and then rapped en masse. It is learnt that the same terrorist group numbering not more than a dozen is committing these types of social crimes with out any hindrance.

The police did not take any action against the culprits nor took any note of the incidents including the latest one. As a result, the terrorists of the locality, under the police protection and perhaps under political sanctuary, are committing crime after crime un-deterrent. The rapists are roaming about freely and threatening the affected families.

Finding no way out, nor any assurance or protection from the police or civil administration, and under constant threats of the terrorists, six poor minority families had left the village to an unknown destination. Many assumed the families are either hiding in their relatives’ houses in faraway
village(s) or moved to next-door country. But big question is can they escape from the brutality of the fundamentalists and communalists in another village? The communalists of the country precisely want this to happen i.e. to get the minorities out of the country, as this will facilitate of their ultimate goal of making this country a monolithic Islamic state in the model of Talbanism. And the local mastans then could grab the minority properties left by them. A really very good effective way of increasing the wealth.

Who cares for pluralistic society based on the philosophy of ‘Unity in Diversity’? This is a philosophy of nasaras, murtads, the irreligious secularists and western democrats. We the followers Islam believe in only one Allah, one Kitab, and one Paigambar (the Prophet) and one Ummah, the Muslims and nothing else !
Why should we get concerned with the fates of those Kafirs; let them go to hell. After all, Allah’s Kitab has prescribed such destiny for them ! Isn’t it ?

Date line 11th July, 2004: Damurhuda (Chuadanga) / http://hrtribune.com/News/gang_rape_chuadanga.html

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8 - India : Discrimination against women `taking different forms'

Education has brought a new set of problems for Indian women. Those who work in the information technology industry or in call centres are stressed out though they are paid well.

There is a lack of sensitivity to women workers' needs. "Chairs in IT offices are designed with men in mind. Women's needs are never addressed," said Valli Alagappan, chairperson of the southern regional workshop on women, work and health.

Ms. Alagappan, who quoted from a presentation made by a representative at the one-day workshop, said "discrimination at the workplace continues. It only takes different forms." New industries resulted in `single women' syndrome, which until now was only in the international agenda.

The observations made by representatives from Karnataka and Kerala illustrate the difficult life women lead there. Women in Badaga community slog in the fields all day while men sit in groups and play cards.

In Kerala, high literacy rate had not resulted in high productivity. Women who got M.A. and M. Phil degrees dropped out of the scene. "Nobody knows what happens to them after marriage," said K.R. Rajanarayanan, who spoke on the impact of occupations on health and the need for awareness programmes.

The Chennai workshop was the third of its kind and was a precursor to the international congress on the subject to be held in Delhi next year. The conclusions and recommendations of workshops held in Dehradun and Kolkatta were not very different, Ms. Alagappan said.

At the end of the regional workshops "we must get interesting information about women."

Fate of Orissa women

Indira Koithara, chairperson of the international congress, who reviewed the Chennai workshop, recalled the fate of women in Orissa: "Young women in the 16 to 20 age group are lured by landlords who promise marriage. When they become pregnant they are abandoned. There are 4,000 such women in coastal Orissa. They are considered widows and cannot marry."

The participants in the workshops come from non-government agencies working with the mentally-challenged, farm labourers, the Dalits, deprived women and plantation workers.

The Delhi congress is to be organised by the Society for Working Life in association with the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Stree Shakti and Manana from November 27 to 30, 2005. Academics, researchers, practitioners, experts, representatives from government agencies will discuss and formulate an action plan for prioritised areas.

By R. Sujatha (CHENNAI, JULY 25)
http://www.hindu.com/2004/07/26/stories/2004072610230600.htm

 
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9 - Thailand : Polygamy blamed for Thai penis-hacking craze

BANGKOK: -- They have been boiled, fed to ducks, even attached to hot air balloons and cast into the night sky: when it comes to permanently depriving a cheating lover of a recently severed penis, the imagination of the wronged Thai woman knows few bounds.
Thailand has become the world centre of penis reattachment surgery, but then it has been forced to be. While not unique to the kingdom, penis severing has been honed to its most devastating effect through a heady mixture of routine infidelity, assertive womanhood and a national cuisine that lends itself to a kitchen full of sharp knives.
The men are now fearful of a rash of Thailand's most notorious crime of passion, according to the surgeon who has stitched back many a male member for grateful patients.
'It goes in and out of fashion'
Sitting in his office at Bangkok's Paolo Memorial Hospital, surgeon Surasak Muangsombot recalled how he re-attached his first phallus in 1978 and soon discovered that penis hacking was a peculiarly Thai form of sexual violence.

Since then Sweden has had three cases, the United States two - including the notorious case of John Wayne Bobbitt who returned from reattachment surgery to star in pornographic films - and one in Australia.

In the same period, Surasak's team alone has operated on 33 cases and many more have been reported around Thailand.

"Some years there are three or five and then it goes quiet. It goes in and out of fashion but sometimes its like an epidemic," he said, mimicking with his nimble surgeon's hands the swoop of a blade on an unsuspecting member.
Doctors and psychologists blame the shocking attacks on a cultural mix of Thailand's tradition of polygamy, which was banned about 100 years ago but still persists, and the fact that the phallus is revered as a symbol of power and fertility.

'Sometimes its like an epidemic'

The phenomenon has become so widespread that doctors have had to keep up with increasingly inventive and angry wives and lovers who want to prevent the offending item from being reattached.
"They boil them, feed them to ducks, flush them down the toilet, bury them and have even tied them to hot air balloons and let them float away," Surasak said.
He said his hardest case required bribing an angry wife to confess its location in a septic tank and the hiring of a wrecking crew to retrieve it.
"I asked the nurse to clean it up well and warned the patient that he may get septicemia and he said, "do your best and if it gets septicemia I will die with my penis."
"It was 15 hours between it being chopped off and reattached, which is much longer than the books say it can be done, but I went ahead and to my surprise everything went fine," he said.
The latest case was reported Tuesday when a 29-year-old farmer in north-eastern Thailand was admitted to hospital for surgery with a severed penis, claiming that his wife kicked him.
The couple had fought, she then denied his requests for sex and kicked him when he complained, according to his account to doctors. Such was the length of her toe nails, she severed his penis.
Thai psychologist and media commentator Doctor Wallop Piyamanotham said the practice stemmed primarily from the outlawed, but flourishing, Thai habit of keeping secret wives.
"Before a man could have many wives but later we followed the western law of one man one wife, but men still act the same and have many wives so the only revenge open to the wife is to cut off his penis," Wallop said.
"Very few of these men have sex with their main wife and this leaves her feeling sexually unimportant and the only joy they have is getting him to come home and spend more time with his family," Wallop said.
The phallus also plays a special role in Thailand as a symbol of personal vigor and prosperity, and carved wooden and stone phalluses are found everywhere from shop fronts to ship prows.
Wallop said this special symbolism also made it a prime target for a vengeful partner.
"It's not just about being practical and getting his mind off sex, it is like a symbol of potency so they cut off his power," said Wallop.
In another reported case in Thailand this year, a bloodied Preecha Nasomyon, 31, was found by neighbours after he had an argument with his wife over an extramarital affair.
The fight ended with Preecha's privates being nearly completely severed by a large kitchen knife.
The distraught man refused to press charges against his wife and had his penis successfully re-attached by Thailand's experienced surgeons.
Dr Surasak said despite the damage done to patients such as Preecha, the recovery rate is surprisingly high.
"The operation success rate is 100 percent but I think only about 50 percent can again experience normal reliable function again," he said.
"The wife of one recovered patient complained her guy made love to her four to seven times a night and was waking her up at all hours because it only lasted two to three minutes," said Surasak with a resigned shrug, adding "we do our best."
According to the surgeon there are no solid numbers on how many Thai victims there have been because embarrassed patients, including some public figures, always seek discreet doctors, or disappear immediately after treatment.
He said it was now possible to make replacement penises from arteries and skin taken from other parts of the body that could be inflated with pumps, but warned men who insist on being unfaithful to follow a few golden rules.
"If you have a mistress they (wives) will get mad and cut it any time, so make her very happy, always carry a thermos to put it in and keep the name of a good doctor close by," he said.

From : AFP (2004-07-07)

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10 - Tibet : Another 'Singing Nun' Home But Not Free

China should immediately lift all restrictions on “Singing Nun” Phuntsog Nyidron, who was released four months ago after nearly 15 years in jail, Human Rights Watch said today. The “singing nuns” were a group of 14 imprisoned Tibetan women who became internationally known for smuggling a tape out of prison with personalized songs about their commitment to Tibet.

In the months since her March 2004 release from Drapchi prison, Phuntsog Nyidron has been under constant government supervision. Once “freed,” officials escorted her to her home village. Since then, at least two security officials from a pool of four are with her 24 hours a day. Two are prison representatives and two are local county public security officers.  
 
Phuntsog Nyidron is permitted to go out on occasion, but always with an escort. Anyone coming to her home must sign in. Those watching her have orders to call Lhasa authorities if they notice any “change of thinking,” that is, if she says or hints at anything political.  
 
“China tries to score points with other governments by opportunistically releasing activists, then keeping them isolated and under constant surveillance,” said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “This is a nasty game China plays, and the international community must publicly condemn it.”  
 
Phuntsog Nyidron was first detained almost 15 years ago in Lhasa on charges of “counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement,” for her part in a “free Tibet” march that lasted only a few minutes. She was a 22-year-old nun at Michungri nunnery at the time.  
 
In 1993, another eight years were added to Phuntsog Nyidron’s original nine-year sentence, after the “singing nuns” tape became public. In the tape, each of the 14 imprisoned Tibetan women identified herself as she told of her love for Tibet and her resolve to continue the freedom struggle. In part, the harshness of Phuntsog Nyidron’s sentence was related to Chinese officials’ perception that she was the leader of both the original demonstration and the imprisoned women.  
 
Phuntsog Nyidron’s future is uncertain. Even if she should be free to come and go as she chooses, she cannot return to her Michungri nunnery. The government usually prohibits monks and nuns who have been imprisoned from rejoining any monastery or covenant.  
 
Human Rights Watch also expressed concern about Phuntsog Nyidron’s medical condition. During her years in Drapchi prison, she was subject to severe beatings. Sources familiar with her have reported kidney damage attributable to the beatings and memory problems from repeatedly being hit on the head.  
 
“The Chinese government has targeted Phuntsog Nyidron and the singing nuns because it feels threatened by their expression of Tibetan identity,” Adams said. “China should be embarrassed about harassing people who are peacefully expressing their culture and religion.”  

(New York, August 3, 2004)
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/08/02/china9173_txt.htm

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11 - China : China prohibirá los abortos selectivos de niñas para tratar de 'corregir el desequilibrio de sexos'

Las autoridades chinas han anunciado que prohibirán los abortos selectivos de niñas con el fin de corregir el 'desequilibrio de géneros', que es de 100 mujeres por cada 120 varones, según informa el rotativo "South China Morning Post". La política de un solo hijo lleva a miles de parejas a interrumpir su embarazo si van a tener una hija ya que en su cultura el de varón es más valorado.
El Mundo

"El Gobierno planea revertir el desequilibrio en el año 2010 mediante la prohibición de este tipo de abortos y lanzando campañas para acabar con la tradición que valora más el nacimiento de un niño que el de una niña", declaró Zhao Baige, responsable de la Comisión Estatal de Planificación Familiar.

Mientras que la proporción normal de nacimientos en el mundo es de entre 103 y 107 nacimientos de varones por cada 100 niñas, en China la tecnología del escáner de ultrasonidos facilita que las parejas conozcan el sexo del feto y muchas deciden abortar si saben que será niña.

Las causas se encuentran en la política de un solo hijo que se puso en marcha hace más de veinte años para contener el enorme crecimiento demográfico del país más poblado del mundo (1.300 millones) y a la tradición que valora más a los varones porque se harán cargo de sus padres al alcanzar la edad adulta.

"Cualquier organización médica o particular que ofrezca servicios de aborto selectivo ilegal tendrá que pagar las consecuencias legales", señaló Zhao.

La preferencia por los hijos varones es común en el campo, donde a pesar de las campañas para promover la igualdad de sexos que se puso en marcha durante el maoísmo, el frágil sistema de seguridad social obliga a esta población rural empobrecida a depender de sus hijos cuando se hacen mayores.

Según anunció el presidente, Hu Jintao, a principios de año, igualar los nacimientos de hombres y mujeres será uno de los objetivos más importantes de China durante los próximos diez años.

Las únicas provincias que tienen una proporción normal de nacimientos son Mongolia Interior, Ningxia (noroeste), Heilongjiang (noreste), Guizhou, Qinghai, Tibet (suroeste) y Xinjiang (oeste), pobladas en su mayoría por minorías étnicas en las que no se aplica la política de un solo hijo.

Debido al desequilibrio, millones de hombres chinos tendrán problemas para encontrar pareja durante las próximas décadas, y la situación ha dado lugar a un aumento del tráfico de mujeres y niños.

Desde 2001, la Policía china liberó a 42.215 víctimas de este tráfico ilegal, mientras que 22.000 sospechosos fueron arrestados por delitos relacionados con el secuestro de mujeres y niñas, la mayoría de las cuales fueron forzadas a la prostitución y a los matrimonios acordados.

El Mundo (19-07-2004)
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=2103 

 

 

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12 - RDC : Les femmes de Bukavu partent en guerre contre les violences sexuelles

A l'occasion du 44e anniversaire de l'Indépendance du Congo célébré le 30 juin, les femmes de Bukavu ont lancé le début d'une campagne - qui devrait s'étendre sur plusieurs mois - pour stopper les violences sexuelles contre les «épouses, les mères, les filles et les enfants» des hommes de ce pays.

Des milliers de femmes, toutes vêtues et coiffées de noir, pour marquer à l'occasion le deuil qui a frappé la population du Sud Kivu suite eux événements de mai et juin 2004, ont défilé dans les principales artères de la ville, avant de se rassembler place de l'Indépendance pour un grand rassemblement. A cette occasion, les oratrices n'ont pas hésité à désigner par leurs noms ceux qu'elles considèrent comme étant les principaux responsables des violences sexuelles qu'elles ont subies, à savoir les seigneurs de guerre comme Xavier Ciribanya, Jules Mutebutsi et Laurent Nkunda. «Ils ont utilisé trois armes, le fusil, la corruption et le viol» ont-elles dit, «cette dernière (le viol) étant la plus redoutable car par elle ils ont propagé le SIDA avec l'objectif d'exterminer le peuple congolais en passant par les femmes qu'ils violent».

Des représentantes de ces femmes ont également déposé des pétitions au gouvernorat de province et au commandement de la 10e région militaire pour demander que la Cour Pénale Internationale soit saisie pour juger et condamner ces trois hommes, responsables de massacres, d'assassinats et d'insurrections, notamment à Kisangani, Bukavu, Kamanyola et Uvira.

Les femmes de Bukavu ont ainsi joint leurs voix à celles de toutes les autres victimes des violences sexuelles commises tout au long de ces années de guerre par les hommes en uniforme de tous bords, sur l'ensemble du territoire congolais, comme le soulignent de nombreux rapports de la section des Droits de l'Homme de la MONUC et autres organismes de défense des Droits de l'Homme.

Des slogans tels que «le viol est un acte sexuel avec une personne sans son consentement», «tôt ou tard, le violeur en rendra compte» ont notamment figuré au cour de cette campagne. (...)

 

Eliane Nabaa / MONUC (07/07/2004)

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13 - South Africa : Army silent on sex scandal in DRC

South African soldiers have been accused of involvement in a massive sex abuse scandal in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they are on peace-keeping duties. The allegations include a staggering 50 cases of sex attacks on minors over the past year, carried out by Monuc, the United Nations mission to the DRC, in Bunia in the north-east.

Among the claims are:

# that young girls have been raped by mainly South African and Indian soldiers, who lured them with sweets;

# that soldiers are running child prostitution and pornography rings;

# that a South African colonel was sent home after being found guilty of molesting his young male interpreter. He had requested under-18 males to act as his interpreters since the start of the mission.

These scandalous acts have allegedly been going on for months without anything being done. Now the UN has sent a special team to the DRC to investigate the allegations.

Foreign Affairs department spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa on Monday night refused to comment, and referred all queries to the defence ministry. But neither the ministry nor the South African National Defence Force would
answer The Star's questions. On June 8, a cablegram was sent from the Monuc office in Kinshasa to UN headquarters in New York. The message, a copy of which has been obtained by The Independent, details sexual abuses against minors allegedly carried out by Monuc troops in Bunia. A week later, a second cablegram was sent, recording four more allegations and adding that special attention should be paid to the behaviour of South African Monuc troops in Kindu, Moroccan Monuc troops in Kinsangani and Monuc troops from Uruguay, Pakistan and Nepal. On June 14, a UN team from the Office of Internal and Oversight Services arrived in Bunia to investigate allegations of sexual abuse of children. Their probe is "ongoing".

So far this year, 68 complaints against Monuc soldiers have been recorded. One of them comes from a 12-year-old girl, identified only as Anna. "I came to Goma with my family from Massissi over two years ago when the war got very bad. My father and my two brothers were killed on the way. We had to escape the war and came here to be safe." Although Anna's family had little, they gradually adjusted to their new life, living in a makeshift house of plastic sheets. "Then a few weeks ago, I was walking past a UN vehicle and there were South African soldiers standing around with guns. "They asked me if I wanted a biscuit and so I went up to where they were holding a packet out for me. As I came close, one of them grabbed me and took me inside the vehicle and shut the door. Then he ripped off my dress and made me do it with him. "I was scared and tried to get away but he wouldn't let me. He told me that if I said anything he would find me and hurt me. He let me go. I ran away but I'm really scared now that maybe he'll come and find me."

The UN insists that it has responded to these allegations. But, paralysed by bureaucracy, the OIOS investigation has yet to bring charges against any of those accused. Documents obtained by The Independent show that in August 2003 the Monuc child protection office in Kindu sent a memo to Monuc headquarters in Kinshasa detailing their fears about the allegations of sexual exploitation by Monuc forces. No action was taken.

At the beginning of this year, the gender adviser to Monuc in Kinshasa contacted UN headquarters in New York requesting that the Moroccan troops in Kinsangani not be sent to Bunia because of allegations of sexual abuse that
included reports of child pornography, organised sex shows and the rape of babies. An investigation was launched by Monuc in Kinshasa in 2003, but was dropped because of a lack of evidence and support for the investigation from the military contingent commanders. The situation is further complicated by the fact that most Monuc soldiers
are only on six-month postings and thus unlikely to ever face a military investigation. This is also the case of the South African colonel in Goma, accused of molesting his interpreter. There is no evidence that he was investigated or prosecuted on his return.

The questions the SANDF wouldn't answer.

South African National Defence Force spokespeople this morning refused to answer these questions from The Star or comment on allegations about the sex scandal:

# The first report was sent by the United Nation's Monuc office in Kinshasa to the UN headquarters in New York on June 8. This detailed sexual abuses
against minors carried out by Monuc troops in Bunia, a town in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, over the past year.

Are you saying the SANDF has not yet seen this report six weeks later? Was it not aware of this report until Sunday?

# A week later a second cable was sent, recording a further four allegations and adding that special attention must be paid to the behaviour of South African Monuc troops in Kindu, Moroccan Monuc troops in Kinsangani and Monuc
troops from Uruguay, Pakistan and Nepal.

Are you saying the SANDF has not yet seen this report either? Was it not aware of this report until Sunday?

# Is it true that a colonel was sent home because he was alleged to have sexually molested a young interpreter. If so, what has happened to him?

# What is the SANDF doing about investigating the allegations?

Colonel John Rolt said he had not seen the report and was not able to comment in any way on its contents. He referred The Star to the office of the defence minister for a response.

Sam Mkhwanazi, spokesperson for the ministry of defence, said he could not comment on the report until a copy had been made available to South Africa. "It would be very dangerous for us to comment on something we have not yet seen. We don't have the actual report and we don't know the source of the story," he said.

By Kate Holt and Sarah Hughes
The Star (South Africa), July 12, 2004
 

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14 - USA : Candidates' wives trivialized by press

The women married to presidential and vice presidential candidates have become increasingly active in their husbands' campaigns and policies over the last century. But despite growing recognition by the press of their broadened role, some recent coverage doesn't seem to have caught on. The women are too often treated as decorative add-ons whose field of operations rarely extends beyond the strictly personal.
 
Continue: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/1925 / http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/04_0727_us_candidates_wives_trivialized_by_press.htm

From : tim.symonds@shevolution.com  

 

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15 - Brasil : Por um Poder Judiciário laico

A discussão a respeito dos direitos sexuais e reprodutivos, onde a questão central está colocada na igualdade de direitos e autonomia sobre o próprio corpo, independentemente do sexo, gênero ou orientação sexual, é de extrema importância para a implementação e garantia da democracia em todas as esferas da vida social. A partir da Conferência do Cairo, promovida pela Organização das Nações Unidas em 1994, adquiriu maior visibilidade a noção de cidadania sexual, realidade ainda não implementada em muitos países, em face de diversas motivações, especialmente de ordem religiosa.

  A importância da temática envolvendo sexualidade e saúde reprodutiva adquire especial notoriedade quando o órgão máximo do Poder Judiciário no país é chamado a se pronunciar sobre antecipação de parto nas hipóteses de impossibilidade de vida extra-uterina do feto, como ocorrido, faz pouco, quando o ministro Marco Aurélio concedeu liminar à Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Saúde.

  Sobre essa questão venho destacar a reação da Confederação Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil, cujo presidente, Geraldo Agnelo, segundo a imprensa, telefonou para o procurador-geral da República, Cláudio Fonteles, pedindo que intercedesse para derrubar a liminar o mais rápido possível. Frente à reação da Igreja Católica que, mesmo não sendo parte no processo, é protagonista desse debate e busca intervir na decisão dos ministros integrantes do Poder Judiciário, adquire visibilidade o fato de que o STF ostenta em seu plenário um crucifixo, situação que merece ser refletida à luz da Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil.

  Estabelece o artigo 19, inciso I, da Constituição Federal: ‘‘É vedado à União, aos Estados, ao Distrito Federal e aos Municípios: estabelecer cultos religiosos ou igrejas, subvencioná-los, embaraçar-lhes o funcionamento ou manter com eles ou seus representantes relações de dependência ou aliança, ressalvada, na forma da lei, a colaboração de interesse público’’. Então, se o crucifixo não está arrolado entre os símbolos nacionais (definidos no artigo 13, 1º, da CF), qual a justificativa para que o Supremo Tribunal Federal ostente em seu plenário um símbolo cujo significado remete à Igreja Católica?

  Conquanto se possa arrolar o crucifixo como uma obra de arte, parece evidente que uma tal destinação, mero ornamento, seria desrespeitosa aos cristãos que vêem no crucifixo a imagem de Cristo pregado na cruz, com todo o simbolismo daí decorrente. Do mesmo modo, pretender que essa imagem possa estar representando religiões como o Budismo, o Judaísmo ou o Islamismo, além do Espiritismo, religiões afro-brasileiras, pentecostais e neo-pentecostais (estes se posicionam veementemente contra a utilização de qualquer objeto de adoração), entre tantas outras, é ignorar que o crucifixo não tem representatividade senão para um grupo restrito de religiões, aquela parcela que admite imagens sacras, marcadamente a Igreja Católica.

  Não há dúvida, assim, de que o uso do crucifixo no plenário do órgão máximo do Poder Judiciário no Brasil ultrapassa em muito os limites de uma suposta religiosidade ecumênica, que pudesse abarcar uma religiosidade imprecisa ou até mesmo difusa. Conclui-se, assim, que essas hipóteses devem ser rechaçadas, não havendo justificativa plausível para o referido uso do símbolo religioso.

  A partir dessa análise (aqui abreviada), é que concluo ser inapropriado que o Supremo Tribunal Federal ostente em seu plenário um crucifixo, numa referência religiosa injustificada, reveladora de uma aliança que afronta a Constituição Federal. Cumpre destacar que não se trata de invadir a esfera privada da pessoa do magistrado, cuja religiosidade constitui uma faculdade individual que não se cogita aqui questionar, mesmo porque está assegurada no artigo 5º, inciso VI, da CF.

  Contudo, no que respeita à instituição do Poder Judiciário, enquanto um dos Poderes da República, conforme examinado, é devida uma postura laica, assegurando-se que o enfrentamento dos conflitos postos em lide se dê através de decisões judiciais desvinculadas de motivações religiosas.

Roberto Arriada Lorea <Lorea@tj.rs.gov.br>, Juiz de direito no Rio Grande do Sul e antropólogo

Josemar Dantas - d&j@correioweb.com.br - (Editor)

 

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 Europe 

* Le foetus n'est pas une personne / Il feto non è una persona

La Cour européenne des droits de l'homme a refusé de reconnaître au foetus le statut de "personne" - confirmant ainsi plusieurs jugements antérieurs. Vu l'absence d'un consensus européen à ce sujet, de l'avis de la Cour, le point de départ du droit à la vie (garanti par l'art. 2 de la Convention des droits de l'homme) relève de l'appréciation des Etats. La Cour a rejeté la plainte d'une Française qui, suite à une faute médicale, avait subi un avortement au 6ème mois de la grossesse et avait demandé que le médecin soit condamné pour homicide involontaire.

La Corte europea per i diritti dell'uomo ha rifiutato di attribuire al feto la qualità di "persona" - confermando con ciò diverse sentenze anteriori. Visto l'assenza di un consenso europeo in materia, secondo l'opinione della Corte appartiene agli Stati di definire il punto dal quale comincia il diritto alla vita garantito all'articolo 2 della Convenzione dei diritti dell'uomo. La Corte ha respinto il ricorso di una donna francese che aveva subito un aborto al sesto mese della gravidanza in seguito a uno sbaglio del medico e aveva chiesto la sua condanna per omicidio colposo.

www.echr.coe.int/Fr/Press/2004/juillet/ArrêtdeGrandeChambreVocFrance080704.htm (francese)
http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2004/July/GrandChamberjudgmentVovFrance080704.htm (ingl)

* VIOLENCES - la première cause de mortalité des femmes...

Selon Amnesty International, les violences intrafamiliales sont désormais la première cause de mortalité et d’invalidité pour les Européennes âgées entre seize et quarante-quatre ans. S’agissant des " mauvais traitements ", les cancres européens sont le Portugal (52,8 % des femmes déclarent avoir été l’objet de violences de la part de leur conjoint), la Lituanie (42,4 %), le Royaume-Uni (25 %), les Pays-Bas (21 %), la Norvège (18 %) et la Hongrie (13 %). Les chiffres russes sont encore plus effrayants : 75 % des femmes de ce pays seraient concernées. S’agissant des décès, les chiffres disponibles font état, en France, de six mortes par mois (dont environ 10 % battues à mort, 30 % tuées par arme blanche, 30 % par arme à feu, 20 % étranglées) ; en Espagne, une victime tous les cinq jours ; en Allemagne, 300 femmes tuées chaque année ; au Royaume-Uni, 2 victimes par semaine. La Roumanie est un pays particulièrement uxoricide avec un taux de 12,62 de décès pour un million de femmes. La Finlande a un taux de 8,65, la Norvège de 6,58, le Danemark de 5,42, la Suède de 4,59. En Russie (hors décompte européen), 14 000 femmes ont été tuées l’an dernier contre 5 300 en 1991 pour une population féminine de 78 millions de personnes environ. http://www.humanite.fr/ *** International / Worldwide : Is the Pope a feminist ? In his Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World, the Pope has taken on feminism, which most people outside universities thought dead and buried years ago. The attack, written by 77-year-old Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, to which his Frailness merely gave the nod, need not cause too much shock and horror. Anything denounced from the papal throne is instantly catapulted into the awareness of the poor in the Catholic third world, whose view of the Roman hierarchy is already profoundly disenchanted. Family planning workers in the vast slums of Catholic Latin America will tell you that whenever the Pope is known to have been inveighing against contraception, and the cry is taken up by every local pulpit, people flock to the clinics, avid for pills and IUDs. His Holiness's grief and wrath is far more effective in persuading the indigent faithful that contraception actually works than anything the family planners might say. Now that his nibs has turned his attention to feminism, oppressed women may very well begin to suspect that there must be something in it after all. Bavarian Ratzinger, described by some as the Panzerkardinal, was once an academic theologian, with lamentable tendencies towards essentialism. What he says could not bind the faithful unless his Holiness agreed to ventriloquise ex cathedra, and definitely to lay down a doctrine of faith or morals. This Pope has never made an ex cathedra pronouncement and now for sure never will. Ratzinger is free, and has been free for years, to air his convictions as and when he pleases, generating sententious humbug as specious as anything spun by secular authorities. On the global scandal of sexual abuse of children by the Catholic clergy and the condonation of such abuse by the higher clergy, the Pontiff and his enforcer have remained shtoom for years, while believers left in droves and bishoprics took bankruptcy rather than pay damages. When it comes to excoriating feminism, tight-lipped Ratzinger, head of the Vatican Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, once known as the Inquisition, allows himself to babble like an advertising copywriter. The church, run by celibates and pseudo-celibates in their own interest, is declared to be "expert in humanity", a claim that those of us who endured Catholic schools from the ages of four to 17 would find ludicrous. The Ratzinger-Wojtyla axis is worried about "certain currents of thought which are often at variance with the authentic advancement of women" that have arisen in "recent years". The "expert in humanity" has invoked this notion before, in 1988, with the apostolic letter Mulieris dignitatem; the main points were reiterated in the Pope's Letter to Women, issued on the occasion of the Beijing Conference of 1995. The purpose of these 10-year utterances is not to reveal new thinking on the part of the Vatican, but to rephrase the old thinking so that it appears to be a hip response to new pressures. As far as the Church is concerned, there has been no change; for women, though not for men, "to serve is to reign". What is new is that the papal thinktank has deliberately taken on feminism, probably because it considers that feminism is now a straw man, a sort of Iraq, enfeebled and incapable of retaliation, to be devastated with impunity. The effects on the church itself could prove disastrous. Parish priests are rapidly losing their hold over the common people, who are better educated and more sceptical than they were when Wojtyla and Ratzinger were boys. The worshippers to be found in parish churches are mostly female and mostly elderly. Women of reproductive age, aware that in practising contraception they are considered to be living in sin and unfit to receive the blessed sacrament, are staying away from mass. Their children will stay away, too. According to the papal thinktank, the false prophets of feminism have had a tendency "to emphasise strongly conditions of subordination in order to give rise to antagonism". The subordination, it would appear, is real, but feminists who refer to it will be accused of having no higher aim than to "give rise to antagonism". Such contempt for the motives of others explains how Wojtyla supported Solidarity, the Polish workers' movement, when he was archbishop of Krakow, but as Pope refused to support the worker priests led by Archbishop Helder Camara, the only articulate people fighting the cause of the dispossessed peasants in Brazil, the largest Catholic nation on earth. The priests were already vulnerable to the Brazilian authorities because of their involvement in organising mass protests. Wojtyla's intervention reassured the posseiros and their allies that the church's resources would no longer be used in the struggle against them. The long-term result has been a waning of faith even among the suggestible poor in Brazil, who were drawn off into evangelical sects. Now only 13% of Brazilians ever go to mass. Brazil, which was 99% Catholic 50 years ago, is still three-quarters Catholic, but its Catholicism is now less than lukewarm. The phenomenon is repeated all over Latin America; the people still call themselves Catholic but their participation in the life of the church is notional rather than actual. Globally, Catholics use as much contraception, have as many abortions, and divorce as often as non-Catholics; the difference is that they must accept that they have sinned, and endure guilt and punishment, hence the ban on condom use for Catholics, even if they have full-blown Aids. Wojtyla's refusal to support liberationists in Brazil was in no way motivated by reluctance to involve the church in politics. Neither Wojtyla nor Ratzinger would hesitate to intervene in any political situation that threatened religious orthodoxy. In June this year, Ratzinger issued "Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion. General Principles", arguing that support for abortion rights and euthanasia would render a Catholic unworthy of receiving the sacrament. The purpose of this paper, which was originally written in English, was to pressure American bishops into refusing to allow John Kerry to receive communion, thus effectively excommunicating him, and frightening Catholics away from voting for him. Kerry's persecution is the more remarkable because nothing of the kind had ever been attempted in Italy, where a succession of Catholic politicians have made no secret of their liberal principles. The attempted interference in US politics is likely to prove another own goal, as non-Catholics are reassured about Catholic Kerry's liberal credentials. To their credit, the American bishops resisted the call to direct action, taking refuge in a verbal fudge that Ratzinger had not had the foresight to pre-empt. Those people who see in the encyclical a rapprochement between feminism and the papacy have got to be more concerned for their faith than for their sanity. Although Catholics will argue passionately that no human being should be brought into existence for the benefit of another, and Ratzinger, the hammer of heresy, would lead them in their rejection of human cloning, they are happy to accept the biblical account that says that Eve was cloned from Adam's rib because it was not good for him to be alone. Though Ratzinger believes that man and woman are made in God's image (which would seem to mean that God is hermaphroditic rather than sexless), he is a confirmed heterosexualist. For him there can be no blurring of the essential contrast, man = hammer, woman = anvil. Woman can only exist within a male context, carrying out male-defined functions, for which she should be praised and rewarded. Catholic feminists who snatch at the straw of the Pope's statement that housework should be paid for should remember that Wojtyla cannot imagine a world in which housework is done by anyone but women. His Holiness's lavatory is cleaned by nuns. http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,12272,1277110,00.html   *** Conference : Participation of Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women Draft Resolution                                                                                           23 July 2004   Participation of Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women   The Economic and Social Council,   Underlining the significance of the forty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2005, which will mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action[1] the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,[2] and the thirtieth anniversary of the World Conference of the International Women’s Year, held at Mexico City from 19 June to 2 July 1975;   Noting that the Commission will undertake, at its forty -ninth session, a review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, and consider current challenges and forward-looking strategies for the advancement and empowerment of women and girls;               Decides, on an exceptional basis, to invite those non-governmental organizations accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women as well as the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly to attend the forty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women,    Urges, that in recognition of the importance of equitable geographical participation of non-governmental organizations in the 49th session of CSW, relevant United Nations bodies assist those non-governmental organization that do not have resources, in particular non-governmental organizations from developing countries, including least developed countries, and countries with economies in transition, in participating in the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. [1] Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution I, annexes I and II [2] Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, Nairobi, 15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E85.IV.10), chap. I, sect.A.     Livre / Book "Travail, Genre et Sociétés" (http://www.arsc.be/FrameSet.asp?FrameSet=RevueShow.asp?RevueID=141), elle pose la question de la différence des sexes dans les sciences sociales du travail et invite à la réflexion sur le travail dans le champ des recherches sur le genre, décrypter, à partir des hiérarchies, des divisions et des segmentations qui parcourent le monde du travail, le statut des hommes et des femmes dans la société, et poser par là même la question de la différence des sexes. "Cahiers de l'Observatoire de l'Enfant (Les)" (http://www.arsc.be/FrameSet.asp?FrameSet=RevueShow.asp?RevueID=143), ils publient ''Grandir à Bruxelles'' destinée aux professionnels de l’enfance et en particulier de l’accueil de l’enfant, ainsi qu’aux pouvoirs publics et décideurs. "Enfants d'Europe" (http://www.arsc.be/FrameSet.asp?FrameSet=RevueShow.asp?RevueID=142), est édité conjointement par un réseau de revues de huit pays d'Europe : la Belgique, la France, la Hollande, la Grande-Bretagne, le Danemark, l’Allemagne, l’Italie et l’Espagne. Elle concerne les services destinés aux enfants âgés de 0 à 10 ans et à leur famille et permet de partager et d’échanger les connaissances et les expériences menées dans ces pays. From : newsletter@arsc.be Nouveaux Sites / New Web Sites * Dear Companer@s, It is my joy and happiness to be able to inform you that the website of C.A.U.S.E. (Coalition of Artists United for Social Engagement), an international art- and poetry project aimed at creating awareness concerning violence towards women and children has been re-designed and the content adjusted to the latest developments. I would be honored if you could take a few minutes to visit. May I also please draw your attention to the fact that the art- and poetry collection is available to support your events. For more information please click the 'Invite the exhibition' link. Thank you for your time and attention. Sincerely, Gino d' Artali Director C.A.U.S.E.www.the-cause.org / Coalition of Artists United for Social Engagement * The United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) is pleased to announce its new website (www.un-instraw.org) which was launched on July 2004. Members of Permanent Missions, Secretariat Staff, representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the media are invited to visit the site. * Site à dénoncer ! "NO" at this Web Site ! Bonjour, Je suis un homme, et je défends la cause féministe. En me promenant sur le net, je suis tombé sur un site tout ce qu'il y a de plus dégradant pour les femmes : http://www.puteland.com Le pire est qu'il s'agit d'un jeu d'élevage virtuel gratuit. A première vue, il s'agirait d'un jeu où les joueurs jouent le rôle d'un proxénète qui à la possibilité, entre autre, de frapper sa "pute" et autres horreurs !!! J'invite toutes les femmes, féministes ou non, à engager une action contre ce site qui est des plus insultants envers les femmes ! Bob     *** Michèle Dayras SOS SEXISME