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Ci-joint quelques courriers. There is some news.
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SEXISME et DROITS des FEMMES / SEXISM and WOMEN'S RIGHTS : Bulletin 2004 - 2
Petition
/ Demonstration - Manifestation
*
Join the
International Campaign against setting up Shari'a court in Canada
!
* Irak / Iraq : Solidarité ! Solidarity !
Stories of
Women : Papua New
Guinea
Infos / News
1 - France : Les
mariages forcés
2 -
Netherlands Ends Provision of Free Contraception For All
3 - Suède : La parité répandue en Suède
?
4 - Spania : El 63%
de las mujeres asesinadas había denunciado a su
agresor
5 -
Ukrainia : Gender Gap Is Wide In Ukrainian
Transition
6 -
Kyrgyzstan : From Politics to Reproductive
Rights
7 -
Pakistan : Honour killings blot the face of Pakistani
society
8 -
Haiti : Les femmes victimes d'insultes et de menaces !
9 -
Brazil : Church Convinces Brazil to End Plan to Mail Free
Contraception
10 -
Afrique
* Comité inter-africain et Mutilation génitale féminine
* Growing trend in Africa: women try to become
white
* West & Central Africa Region : Girls and school
...
11 - Europe : Les femmes immigrées / The Immigrant
Women
12 - International
* International Aids drive fails
women
* Trafficking in Women
13 - Conference / Meeting
* Belgique : Congrès sur le
viol
* Netherlands : International conference on women
and immigration law in Europe
* Azerbaijan : Caucasus youth
against racism and related intolerance
* Costa Rica : The
Master of Arts Degree in Gender and Peace Building
14 - Workshop / Groupe d'études
* Belgique : Genre et Migration
15 - Livre / Book
* Science
Writing by Women
*
« La sexualisation précoce des filles peut accroître leur vulnérabilité »,
8 mars 2004 : FEMMES ... WOMEN...
***
Petition / Manisfestation - Demonstration
*Join the International Campaign
against setting up Shari'a court in Canada !
To : All
progressive organizations
On October 21st 2003, Muslim leaders in Canada
elected 30 member council to establish a judicial tribunal for Muslims known as
" the Islamic Institute of Civic Justice". The move is designed to persuade
Canadian court to uphold decisions made under the Muslim Law.
The
International Campaign for the Defense of Women's Rights in Iran is running an
International Campaign against this new move in Canada.
We strongly
believe that this move is anti women's move and will push back women in the
society in general. In the past 20 years, women's rights have been increasingly
under attack by the Islamic governments and groups. Women are subject to abuse
for disobeying social Islamic standards. Daily degradation of women,
prohibition from many forms of employment, field of study and sports, sexual
segregation in buses, schools and public places, Stoning to death of women or
murdering them for sexual relations outside marriage, acid-throwing in the faces
of women, and flogging for transgressing Islamic laws for improper behavior have
been imposed on women under Islamic influence not only in countries such as
Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan but also in Western countries.
The
women's rights movement has fought this reactionary movement and many paid a
price in doing so. . As part of this radical movement, we believe that all
people who live in Canada are citizens with equal rights, and should live
according to same social laws and norms. We do not divide society into
cultural, religious, national and racial majorities and minorities. We stand for
equal and universal laws and freedoms for all humanity, which should embrace
all, irrespective of sex, race, ethnicity, etc.
We now are
calling on all individuals and progressive organizations to oppose the proposed
tribunal for legal recognition of settlements according to Shari'a. This
proposal is anti-freedom, anti-women, misogynist and anti-modernism and is
strongly racist.
We therefore have the following demands :
Religion to be declared
private affair of the individual. And complete separation of religion from
education for children under the age 16.
Prohibition of violent and
inhuman religious ceremonies, practice and any form of religious activities
that is incompatible with people's civil rights and liberties and the
principle of the equality of all.
Prohibition of teaching religions
subjects and dogmas or religions interpretation in schools and educational
establishments or in general any law and regulation that breaches the principle
of secular non- religious
By signing this
petition, you defend the universal rights of human beings. Your support
will strengthen the radical movement for secularism..
Sign here http://www.petitiononline.com/pasc1361/
$
* Irak / Iraq : Solidarité !
Solidarity !
We request you :
To sign this petition and defend the rights of women in Iraq.
Send this email to you mailing list and ask the to sign. Add link to this
petition in your site .
Nous vous demandons : De signer cette
pétition pour la défense des droits des femmes
irakiennes.
Envoyez ce mel à vos correspondant-e-s. Faites un lien sur votre
site.
http://www.petitiononline.com/137en/petition.html
Under the Iraqi civil code, women had rights regarding marriage, divorce, inheritance, child custody, and alimony. Islamic law would give men the right of unilateral divorce over their wives, give men the right to take second, third and fourth wives, eliminate women’s right to alimony, give girls half the inheritance of boys, legalize temporary marriage, and punish women who commit adultery with death by stoning.
Since the declaration, protest by Iraqi women has been widespread and ongoing. Over 80 women’s organizations have condemned Resolution 137, demonstrations have occurred continually and hundreds of articles and statements against the resolution have appeared in Iraqi newspapers. The Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) is at the forefront of the struggle. Because of their out front stance on the issue, OWFI leader, Yanar Mohammed has become the subject of a death threat by an Islamic fundamentalist group. OWFI has called for international solidarity against Resolution 137 and to stop death threat against Yanar.
Demonstration AGAINST US OCCUPATION and IMPOSITION OF ISLAMIC SHAR’IA IN IRAQ, Wednesday, March 3, New York
Women don't have a
very good deal in PNG.
If you see one you fancy, you go and see
her father and negotiate a "bride price". It amounts to out and
out purchase. Prices range between £3000 and £6000 depending on how well
educated she is as this will effect her earning potential. However you don't
have to pay out all up front, a small deposit is all you need and you can take
her away. If she's not pregnant within a year, you can bring her back
and get a refund. Anything she might earn, you can keep and spend as
you see fit. If there's an attitude problem, it's normal (though
actually illegal) to beat her with a stick. The
government runs campaigns from time to time to remind the male population about
this law. She's normally expected to work in the garden (several acres), have
one child a year and may have a wage earning job as well. The men on the other
hand have a very indolent and laid back existence. Many spend most of their time
sat about in the street. Men can have several wives, depending
on how much ground they have needs cultivating.
Not surprisingly, many women have an ambition to marry an Englishman or an Australian, I was propositioned several times. (The Englishman respects his wife I was told.) For a single man, it would be well worth considering. Many ex-pats are married to local girls, it's hard to imagine where one could find a more desireable woman!
The Polynesians from the coastal areas are an especially handsome people. Many of the women are drop dead gorgeous.
Many women are educated in order to enhance the "bride price", this means in practice that they are talented and interesting and entertaining to talk to, many of the men on the other hand are mental dwarves. If you want to know anything or get anything done in Papua New Guinea, ask a woman. This applies in the bank, in the hotel or on the street.
http://freespace.virgin.net/susan.armitage/mansworld.htm
***
Infos / News
1. Données statistiques
D’après le GAMS (Groupe femmes pour l’abolition des mutilations sexuelles), on évalue à 70 000 le nombre d’adolescentes de 10 à 18 ans potentiellement menacées, toute communautés confondues, domiciliées en Ile-de-France et dans six départements à forte population immigrée (Nord, Oise, Seine-Maritime, Eure, Rhône, Bouches-du-Rhône).
Si le phénomène est difficile à recenser, car le sujet est tabou, toutes les associations constatent une hausse des mariages forcés dans toutes les communautés où ils sont pratiqués, qu’elles soient originaires de Turquie, du Maghreb, d’Afrique noire ou d’Asie. Pour le GAMS, cette augmentation s’explique d’abord pour des raisons démographiques mais aussi administratives : en effet, les jeunes filles nées de la politique de regroupement familial au début des années quatre-vingt arrivent aujourd’hui à l’âge du mariage. Pour les époux venus de l’étranger, c’est aussi une stratégie d’obtention des papiers.
D’après l’association ELELE, aujourd’hui 94% des garçons et 98% des filles d’origine turque ayant grandi en France sont victimes à l’âge de 18 ou 19 ans de mariages arrangés avec de jeunes Turcs. Il s’agit souvent d’unions avec le cousin germain ou la cousine germaine maternelle.
Selon la génération, l’intensité de la pratique religieuse et la position sociale, selon le sexe de la personne, selon la région d’où ces populations ont émigré, selon le modèle d’éducation choisi, les relations matrimoniales différent, pouvant aller dans les situations extrêmes jusqu’à la séquestration ou le retour forcé au pays d’origine de la jeune fille.
L’immense majorité des filles acceptent le mariage parce qu’elles sont jeunes et redoutent la rupture avec la famille. Souvent quelques années après l’union, elles en ont assez et se rebellent, car les mariages forcés aboutissent souvent à des violences conjugales. Parfois, elles parviennent à divorcer et se réconcilient quelques années plus tard avec leurs parents. Mais certaines sombrent dans la dépression, multiplient les fugues ou les tentatives de suicide, voire finissent par se prostituer.
2. Les dispositions législatives et réglementaires
En France, le mariage civil est le seul reconnu par la loi et doit nécessairement précéder le mariage religieux. Les époux doivent avoir dix-huit ans révolus pour l’homme et quinze ans révolus pour la femme, sauf dispense du Président de la République (articles 144 et 145 du Code civil).
Enfin, si la jeune fille est mineure, il reste la possibilité de saisir le juge pour enfants pour qu’il interdise la sortie du territoire. Si la jeune fille a moins de quinze ans et a été mariée, il faut faire la preuve de relations sexuelles forcées, l’accusé sera jugé devant un tribunal pénal.
Si la jeune fille est majeure, il faut prouver que le mariage a été forcé, notamment par des violences psychologiques. De 18 a 21 ans, la victime qui porte plainte peut demander à bénéficier d’un contrat pour jeune majeur.
3. Actions mises en œuvre sur le terrain
Les associations spécialisées sont des partenaires irremplaçables auprès des jeunes et de leurs familles et auprès des intervenants des diverses professions concernées. Elles connaissent et prennent en compte les aspects culturels, les aspirations des jeunes femmes, le poids et les mécanismes des traditions patriarcales contre lesquelles elles agissent et interpellent les institutions en charge de la protection des mineures, des droits des femmes, de l’aide sociale.
Parmi ces associations, citons ELELE Migrations et cultures de Turquie, Groupe femmes pour l’abolition des mutilations sexuelles (GAMS), les Nanas beurs, les Voix d’elles rebelles, Voix de femmes, association Fatoumata pour l’émancipation des femmes (AFEF)…
Souvent, ce n’est qu’à l’école que les jeunes filles ont la possibilité de se confier. C’est pourquoi le ministère de l’Education nationale, alarmé, a organisé le 7 mars 2002 une journée de sensibilisation des personnels des lycées, intitulée De la mission générale d’émancipation par l’école à la lutte contre les mariages forcés. La déléguée régionale aux droits des femmes et à l’égalité d’Ile-de-France, Catherine MORBOIS, est intervenue sur la prévention de la pratique des mariages forcés.
La délégation est très active dans l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre d’actions de formation des personnels de l’Education nationale en région Ile-de-France à la prévention des mariages forcés. Depuis le premier trimestre 2000, sur le seul département de Seine-St-Denis, 460 intervenants sociaux ont été formés, prioritairement du service social en faveur des élèves.
(23 Septembre 2002) http://www.social.gouv.fr/femmes/gd_doss/ind_droits.htm
2 -
Netherlands Ends Provision of Free Contraception For All
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8255
3 - Suède : La parité répandue en Suède ?
4 - Spania : El 63% de las mujeres asesinadas había denunciado a su agresor
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20040128/449_12539.asp
In 1927, the Soviet Union launched an offensive against traditional, patriarchal practices deemed oppressive to women, contributing to a variety of gains for women. Before Kyrgyzstan's independence in 1991, 34 percent of the seats in Parliament were held by women. Today that figure is down to 6.7 percent, or 7 seats out of 105.
"The biggest women's issue today is to see more women in the decision making level of government that has real impact," said Rosa Aitmatova, president of the Women's Support Center in Bishkek.
Another recommendation in the coalition's shadow CEDAW report is to reduce the money required to register as a political candidate, which currently stands at about $700.
"This is especially difficult in a county where the average monthly salary for a woman is about $34," said Aitmatova. "Profound reform is needed to ensure greater participation by women in the elections process." The report also mentioned that in a recent addendum to the country's constitution, President Askar Akayev outlawed "party lists," which made it illegal to use quotas to obtain gender parity in the political arena.
The authors also described harrowing reports of widespread domestic violence. The coalition called on the government to conduct public-awareness campaigns about the problem and to enforce laws protecting women. Currently, the report claimed, men can be arrested and prosecuted for abusing their wives, but few police do so.
"According to a study done by one NGO, 873 domestic incidents were reported to the police during a seven-month period in 2003," said Boronbaeva. "But 4,000 women come to NGO's annually looking for help with an abusive partner or family member. That indicates there's a big problem with law enforcement officials."
The report also says that so-called bride-stealing (when a young woman is kidnapped by her future husband or sometimes with his family's help and forced to marry) and arranged marriages have been on the increase since 1991, along with sexual violence and harassment. The coalition is asking for increased legislation protecting women from sexual violence and harassment and for more aggressive prosecution of perpetrators.
"Women cannot have equal economic position in a family and are not protected by the law in matters of property division," the shadow report stated. Women's land holdings are not protected in common-law marriages and current law gives land management rights to husbands, the report said. The coalition is recommending changes in law regarding land management and inheritance rights.
The coalition also wants female refugees to be granted equal and independent legal status. Currently female refugees are listed anonymously, as the spouse of a head of the family applying for refugee status.
The coalition is also pushing for more government support for establishing public information campaigns about using contraceptives, avoiding sexually transmitted diseases--including HIV/AIDS--and accessing prenatal care. In particular, it wants these campaigns to extend to low-income and rural women, particularly those infected with HIV.
Coalition members hope their report will lead to the passage and enforcement of laws protecting women from various forms of discrimination. "What we want to see this time is more commitment from the government in the passage of more reforms and laws as well as greater implementation and enforcement," said Sheishekeeva.
But the women aren't letting their hopes get too high.
"I doubt government leaders will react positively to our second report," said Aitmatova, adding the government often ignores organizations like hers.
But that doesn't mean she's giving up. "It will take time," she says, "one step at a time."
By Shahnawaz Khan
The Daily Times - Pakistan -- Saturday January 24
2004
8 - Haiti : Les femmes victimes d'insultes et de menaces !
9 - Brazil : Church Convinces Brazil to End Plan to Mail Free Contraception
***
10 - Afrique
Cette formation se fixe comme objectifs majeurs, d'édifier les participants aux procédures de mise en place d'une information documentaire, les stratégies de recherche documentaire et de la diffusion de l'information documentaire. De ce fait, les vingt (20) participants vont bénéficier d'une formation de base en technique de gestion de l'information documentaire. De l'avis de la secrétaire permanente du Comité national de lutte contre la pratique de l'excision, Mme Hortense Palm, ce séminaire intervient au moment où la question de la femme est devenue une préoccupation sociale: "Les pratiques traditionnelles néfastes constituent une atteinte à l'intégrité physique et morale de la femme". Elle a expliqué dans ce sens que des actions concrètes sont menées quotidiennement pour l'éradication de cette pratique aux conséquences graves sur la santé de la femme et de l'enfant. Au nombre de ces actions, elle a souligné le rôle important que joue la documentation et autres supports médiatiques dans la sensibilisation de la population. Mme Palm a également relevé que c'est mesurant la contribution que peuvent jouer les centres de documentation, que les institutions en charge de la lutte contre les pratiques traditionnelles néfastes en Afrique, ont uni leurs efforts par la création de structures de conservation, de formation, d'information et de communication documentaire. Cela en vue de collecter toute la littérature et autres supports de sensibilisation sur la question. Mais en dépit de ces efforts, les besoins sont loin d'être satisfaits. Mme Palm a précisé que la plupart des unités documentaires sont gérées par des agents qui n'ont pas reçu de formation professionnelle. C'est pour combler cette lacune que le CI-AF a initié la formation au profit des responsables et gestionnaires du Centre de documentation et de secrétariat.
Aimée
Florentine Kabore Kaborette @
Yahoo.fr
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200401270028.html
* Growing trend in Africa: women try to become
white
* West & Central Africa Region : Girls and school ...
An estimated 23 million children of primary school age in the West & Central Africa Region don't go to school; the majority of them are girls.
This total included 750,000 children out of school in Liberia and 500,000 children out of school in Côte d'Ivoire as a result of fighting and insecurity.
Now, many of these girls and boys are back in school as a result of UNICEF-supported Back To School programs in both countries.
Regionally, girls still suffer from discrimination in the fulfillment of their right to an education. In only a few countries are girls enrolled in schools as much as boys: Sao Tome e Principe; Equatorial Guinea; Cape Verde; Gabon. Gender gaps average 18 points in 8 countries and up to 32 points in Chad and Benin.
Therefore, UNICEF works to ensure that every girl, and every boy, enjoys their right to a quality education. By focusing on girls' education, UNICEF helps strengthen efforts to achieve the ultimate goal: education for every child. Working with partners, UNICEF leads regional and country campaigns to reach out-of school girls, mobilize political action and encourage financial support for girls' education. Girls' education is a core development issue: every year a girl is in school is a step toward eliminating poverty, advancing sustainable human development, promoting gender equality, and, stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. It is also a human rights issue: every year a girl is denied her right to a quality education increases the chance she will be subject to violence, exploitation and be more vulnerable to diseases, such as HIV/AIDS.
From : Unicef / http://www.unicef.org / (8 Jan 2004)
11 - Europe : Les femmes immigrées / The Immigrant Women
LA
DIMENSION DE GENRE DE LA POLITIQUE D’IMMIGRATION
|
Dans l’ensemble, les mesures communautaires en
matière d’immigration sont dénuées de dimension de genre : en d’autres
termes, la discrimination vécue par les femmes immigrées et leur situation
spécifique ne sont pas prises en compte. Le maintien d’une approche
« neutre » de l’immigration signifie que les droits humains des femmes
ainsi que leurs expériences et leurs besoins sont ignorés dans le débat politique actuel
sur l’immigration. Ceci ne fait que renforcer les rôles femmes-hommes et le
schéma patriarcal, qui confinent les femmes dans leurs rôles familiaux
traditionnels.
En revanche, une approche de genre de la politique de l’immigration
introduit un glissement, de la vision prédominante des femmes immigrées
uniquement en tant qu’épouses et que filles d’hommes immigrés à la perception
des droits humains des femmes et de leurs expériences uniques de femmes
immigrées en tant que telles.
En 2000, le taux annuel net d’immigration s’élevait à 2,0
pour mille, soit environ 65 % de la croissance totale de la population.
Sans ce taux d’immigration positif, la population de l’Allemagne, de la Grèce,
de l’Italie et de la Suède seraient en baisse. Près de 45 % des immigrés
sont des femmes ; cependant, les femmes représentent en moyenne 50 %
des personnes qui immigrent dans les pays autres que l’Allemagne, où les femmes
ne représentent qu’un peu plus de 40 % du total. Pour les femmes, les
différences dans le taux d’emploi sont très marquées. Alors que 68 % des femmes
citoyennes de l’Union européenne âgées de 25 à 39 ans avaient un emploi en 2000,
ce chiffre pour les femmes non-UE n’avoisinait que les 44 %. En même temps,
le taux de chômage de ces dernières approchait les 19 %, contre 10 %
pour les Européennes.[1]
Les femmes émigrent pour toute une série de raisons : pauvreté,
déplacement, dettes et bien d’autres facteurs extérieurs sur lesquels elles
n’ont que peu d’emprise. En outre, les rôles et les pratiques liés au genre font
partie intégrante des structures sociales ; elles ont une influence sur les
mouvements transnationaux des femmes aux trois étapes de la migration,
soit
·
L’étape
pré-migratoire,
·
La
traversée des
frontières,
·
Les
expériences des migrants dans le pays d’accueil.
Au stade pré-migratoire, de nombreux facteurs dictent
la décision de migrer et rendent la migration plus ou moins possible pour les
femmes, à la fois au niveau macro de la stabilité économique, et au niveau micro
de la famille et des expériences individuelles. Le contexte familial en
particulier définit et assigne leur rôle aux femmes, ce qui décide de leur
motivation relative et les encourage ou non à migrer ; il contrôle la
distribution des ressources ainsi que l’accès à l’information susceptible
d’encourager, de décourager ou
d’empêcher la migration.
Au moment de la traversée des frontières des Etats,
il faut bien comprendre que décider de partir n’est pas la même chose qu’être
autorisé à quitter ou à entrer dans un pays déterminé. Par l’intermédiaire de
leur politique, les États-nations, qui à la fois accueillent et envoient, sont
les principaux acteurs de la nature sexuée du processus de migration
international.
Le genre joue en outre un grand rôle au stade
post-migratoire. Les femmes et les hommes sont dans la plupart des cas traités
différemment et vivent l’installation différemment une fois arrivés dans le pays
d’accueil. L’intégration est principalement influencée par trois
facteurs :
·
L’impact
du statut d’entrée – indépendant ou
dépendant ;
·
Les
modèles d’incorporation dans le marché du
travail ;
·
Les
conséquences de la migration sur le statut des femmes et des hommes dans le pays
d’accueil.
Un marché du travail sexué dans les pays
d’accueil
Les mécanismes culturels et politiques relèguent les
femmes aux services de soin à la famille et à certains secteurs peu rémunérés et
peu qualifiés. De plus, les femmes dépendent grandement du travail dans les
secteurs informels et non réglementés : en d’autres termes, les femmes
travaillent sans droits ni protection et parfois, leur travail n’est même pas
reconnu.
A GENDER PERSPECTIVE IN IMMIGRATION
POLICY |
Generally speaking, the gender
perspective in EU policies on immigration is absent, this means that the
discrimination faced by immigrant women and their specific situation is not
being addressed. By maintaining a “gender neutral” approach to immigration,
women’s human rights and the experiences and needs of women are being ignored in
the current debates and policies around immigration. As a consequence, the traditional and
patriarchal gendered roles are usually reinforced, and immigrant women are often
located within the traditional family roles.
A gender aware
approach to immigration policy introduces a shift from the predominant view of
female immigrants as simply the wives and children of male immigrants to
incorporating an understanding of women’s human rights and of the unique
experiences of women immigrants themselves.
In
the year 2000, the annual net immigration rate was 2.0 per 1000 population,
representing around 65% of total population growth. Without this positive net
immigration rate the population of
Women migrate for a whole range of
reasons such as poverty, displacement from the land, debt and many other
external factors over which they have little control. In addition, gender roles
and practices are an integral part of all social structures and impact upon trans-national movements of women in all
three stages of the migration
process:
·
The
pre-migration stage,
·
The
transition across state
boundaries,
·
The
experiences of migrants in the receiving country.
At the Pre-Migration Stage,
many factors exist that shape the decision to migrate and make migration more or
less possible for women at both the macro level of economic stability and at the
micro level of family and individual experiences. Family context in particular
defines and assigns the roles of women, which determine their relative
motivation and incentive to migrate, and controls the distribution of resources
and access to information that can support, discourage, or prevent
migration.
At the migration stage of the
Transition Across State Boundaries, it is important to understand that a
decision to leave is not the same as being allowed to exit or to enter a
specific country. Through their policies, nation-states, both sending and
receiving, are major actors in shaping the gendered nature of the international
migration process.
Gender plays an important role also
at the Post-Migration Stage. Men and women most often are treated
differently and experience resettlement differently once in a receiving country.
Integration outcomes are primarily influenced by three factors:
·
the
impact of entry status – dependent/independent;
·
patterns
of incorporation into the labour market;
·
the
impact of migration on the status of women and men in the host
country.
Gendered labour market in receiving
countries
Cultural and political mechanisms relegate women to
providing care services to the family or to certain sectors of low waged and low
skill labour. Women are also greatly dependent on work in the informal and
unregulated labour sectors. This
means that women are working without rights and protection and sometimes their
work is not even recognised.
[1] Statistics taken from: Population
and Social Conditions. Theme 3 – 2/2003. Eurostat.
From: "Marie-Anne Leunis" <ewl@womenlobby.org>
12 - International
* International Aids
drive fails women
Mrs Akinyi's husband died of Aids in 1990. She believes her husband infected her with HIV - he had a history of extramarital affairs. When he died, her in-laws denied her property inheritance: in her words: "Immediately after the burial I was chased away from home with my children." Mrs Nyakumabor's husband died of Aids in 1998 and left her HIV-positive with five children.
Millions of women around the world were already facing a lifetime of hard labour. Aids has turned it into a death sentence. Her in-laws grabbed household items and took over the house and land she had helped pay for. Soon after her husband's death, Mrs Nyakumabor's father-in-law called a family meeting, told her to choose an inheritor and ordered her to be cleansed by having sex with a fisherman. Mrs Nyakumabor refused, causing an uproar. She now struggles to meet her family's needs and her slum landlord has threatened to evict her because she cannot always pay rent on time. These women's stories - their names have been changed - are two of the hundreds collected by Human Rights Watch and other organisations documenting the stripping of property rights in the wake of Aids among some of the most vulnerable people on earth.
Unwilling partners
The global fight against Aids has been endorsed by all the UN member states and declared a high priority at countless summits. Resources are being mobilised - still short of what is needed but a lot more than was available only a few years ago. But for as long as women and girls are unable to enjoy education, property rights, freedom from violence and economic security, progress on treatment and prevention will pass them by.
Women make up about half the global HIV epidemic and in Africa, the figure is even higher. The "ABC" slogan - Abstain, Be faithful, use a Condom - is the mainstay of many HIV prevention programmes. But for too many women and girls, this message has no purchase. Where sexual violence is widespread, abstention or insisting on condom use is not a realistic option. Across the world, between one fifth and a half of all girls and young women report that their first sexual encounter was forced. Only 11% of women in Zambia believed they had the right to ask a husband to use a condom.
Lethal ignorance
Nor does marriage provide the answer. The reality across the developing world is that the majority of women will be married by 20 and have higher rates of HIV than their unmarried, sexually active peers. At the same time, women bear a disproportionate share of the burden of Aids care. The knock-on effects of the plunge in household income caused by Aids is often to pull children out of school - and girls are the first to go. Across Africa, formal school participation is declining. The answers to reducing women's vulnerability to Aids clearly lie deeper than the use of slogans.
To address Aids effectively, we first have to understand how women are being treated and why. A comprehensive strategy is needed to boost girls' access to education - particularly secondary education to strengthen legal protection for women's property and inheritance rights eradicate violence against women and girls ensure they have fair access to HIV care and prevention services Tackling these inequalities is not just a matter for women - men must be fully involved. For starters, they need to declare zero tolerance for violence against women, be committed to their daughters' education and help alleviate the burden of care. Moves are under way - for example the global push to achieve education for all, or the campaign by the World Health Organisation and UNAids to ensure that three million people in the developing world have access to HIV treatment by 2005 - and that half are women. But more is needed, and more urgently.
New
campaign
To that end, UNAids has pulled together a high-profile group of men and women - the Global Coalition on Women and Aids - which gathers activists, government representatives, celebrities and community workers who are committed to improving the lives of women and girls. The call to empower women is not new but Aids makes it more urgent. Millions of women around the world were already facing a lifetime of hard labour. Aids has turned it into a death sentence. The skills, knowledge and resources to relieve women of the devastating burden of Aids already exist. What is needed now is the political will to see that they are applied.
BBC NEWS 2.2. 2004
* Trafficking in
Women
13 - Conference
/ Meeting
* Belgique : Congrès sur le viol
Un Congrès sur le viol se tiendra à Bruxelles les 1er et 2 avril
2004.
Il s'agit d'une approche tout à fait originale qui réunit pour la première fois tous les professionnels intervenant suite à un viol. Le but de cette rencontre est de sensibiliser les responsables et d’améliorer la situation actuelle.
Ce congrès est organisé par Danièle Zucker, docteure en psychologie, responsable de l’Unité de Crise et d’Urgence Psychiatrique du CHU Saint-Pierre à Bruxelles et expert auprès des Tribunaux.
Je vous invite également à consulter le site internet du congrès reprenant tous les détails pratiques d'inscription ainsi que les intervenants et thèmes abordés lors des séances plénières et des ateliers : www.rapecongress2004.be
* Netherlands :
International conference on women and immigration law in
Europe
September 30th - October 2nd
2004
Gendered Borders - International Conference on Women and
Immigration Law in Europe - Amsterdam, the Netherlands
<<call
for papers>> or consult our website at http://www.rechten.vu.nl/genderedborders
* Azerbaijan : Caucasus youth
against racism and related intolerance
* To exchange and disseminate
information on good practices to combat racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
* To coordinate advocacy efforts at a
national, regional and international levels to implement the International Youth
Declaration and Plan of Action;
* To monitor the implementation of
commitments made by States in Durban (in particular those relating to youth)
and
* To promote human rights as a tool for combating
racism
For additional information, please, contact to:
Nadir Kamaladdinov / nadir_kamaladdinov@hotmail.com
* Costa Rica : The Master of
Arts Degree in Gender and Peace Building
***
14 - Workshop / Groupe
d'études
* Belgique : Genre et Migration
Création du Groupe d'études et de recherches « Genre et
Migration » (GEM) à l'Institut de Sociologie de l'ULB
Le groupe d'études et de recherches « Genre et Migration »
vient d'être créé à l'Institut de sociologie de l'Université libre de Bruxelles
à l'initiative de Nouria OUALI.
La féminisation croissante des migrations
depuis une quinzaine d'années et les débats de société que suscitent ces
migrations à travers, par exemple, les questions de l'identité et du statut des
femmes dans la religion, en particulier des Musulmanes, rendent la question des
femmes migrantes éminemment actuelle et pertinente.
Si depuis une trentaine
d'années, les Women's studies, d'un côté, et les études sur les
migrations, de l'autre, se sont fortement développées, la perspective analytique
associant le genre et la migration est relativement récente et assez neuve en
Belgique, particulièrement du côté francophone. L'articulation de ces deux
objets de recherche vise ici à considérer l'impact du genre sur la condition des
migrant-es, notamment dans les phénomènes de domination, de discrimination et
d'exploitation (comme la traite des êtres humains).
From : nouali@ulb.ac.be
***
15 - Livre / Book
* Science Writing by Women
Science Writing by Women is the second set in the series Popular Science in the Nineteenth Century. The collection offers an exciting picture of the scientific issues which most fascinated the nineteenth-century audience and demonstrates how science was portrayed by women authors.
Though male scientists, especially in the latter half of the century, worked to exclude members of the fair sex from scientific societies as part of their strategy for professionalizing science, women were turning to popular science writing in droves. Mary Somerville is well known for her popularizations of the physical sciences, but many of her sisters in science are not. Throughout the nineteenth century they were just as important as their male counterparts through their contribution to the explosion of publications on popular science during this period. Some of the more important among those writers in the early and middle periods of the century included Rosina Zornlin, Jane Loudon, Anne Pratt, Elizabeth Twining, Lydia Becker, Arabella Buckley, Sarah Wallis, Mary Kirby and Mary Ward. Drawing on a previously existing tradition of female popularization of science which sanctioned their involvement, women took on the role of moral and religious guides. They wrote about almost every area of scientific knowledge. At the end of the century, women's involvement in popular science writing was still going strong. Though in the 1870s women's colleges had been established in Cambridge, Oxford and London where science could be studied, and though a handful of jobs were available for women, such as the few openings as number crunching computers in the 1890s at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, popular science writing remained one of the few viable options for women interested in becoming part of the scientific world. Agnes Giberne, Agnes Clerke, Eliza Brightwen and Alice Bodington were among the more prominent women who wrote popular science at the end of the century. This set of volumes aims to point to the important role that women played throughout the nineteenth century in the dissemination of scientific knowledge to an ever-growing reading public.
http://www.thoemmes.com/404.asp?404;http://www.thoemmes.com/science/women.htm
* La sexualisation précoce des filles peut accroître
leur vulnérabilité
« La
sexualisation précoce des filles peut accroître leur vulnérabilité », par
Natasha Bouchard et Pierrette Bouchard
Une recherche récente publiée par
Pierrette Bouchard et Natasha Bouchard, de la Chaire d'études Claire-Bonenfant
sur la condition des femmes (Université Laval, Québec), indique que le marché de
la mode, de la musique, des magazines et du cinéma, destiné aux filles de 8 à 13
ans, alimente une culture du rêve et une sous-culture du sexe. Cette industrie
culturelle tend à imposer une sexualisation précoce des filles, créant des
femmes-enfants aux comportements de « femmes sexy ».
La publicité utilise
des stratégies qui incorporent le besoin d'affirmation et la quête d'identité
chez les filles de ce groupe d'âge. Il s'élabore, selon les chercheuses,
une véritable sous-culture de sexe à l'intention des pré-adolescentes par
l'entremise des instances culturelles auxquelles participent des revues, des
sites Internet et les idoles féminines des groupes musicaux. C'est l'ampleur du
phénomène et le jeune âge des filles ciblées qui ont amené les chercheuses à
s'interroger sur ses conséquences éventuelles: vulnérabilité accrue à l'image du
corps, à la dépendance affective, à la consommation, à l'exploitation sexuelle,
etc. On observe un phénomène semblable partout dans le monde, notamment aux
États-Unis et au Japon. À la lecture de cet article, on peut se demander si on
n'est pas en train de préparer une future génération de femmes dépendantes et
victimes, plus encore, de fabriquer de futurs "produits sexuels" pour un marché
sans cesse en expansion par ces temps de néolibéralisme triomphant.
***
8 mars 2004 : FEMMES ... WOMEN...
8 MARS
2004 : Sinikke Holme-Peets, une féministe
finlandaise, souhaite voir se réaliser l’un de ses rêves le 8 mars 2004 :
elle voudrait que dans chaque ville d’Europe, et si possible du monde,
les femmes défilent en silence, habillées tout en
noir. Cette marche constituerait
une manifestation contre toutes les formes de violence que les femmes endurent
(violence domestique, viol, meurtre, traite, prostitution, inceste, etc.). Les
personnes qui souhaitent participer à son organisation que ce soit au niveau
international, national ou locale, peuvent la contacter à l’adresse
suivante : mirje.kiiski@luukku.com
8 MARCH
2004
******************
******************
8 mars 2004 – Appel à toutes les femmes :
5ÈME
GRÈVE MONDIALE DES FEMMES
* INVESTISSEZ DANS LE BIEN-ÊTRE PAS LA MORT !
La Grève mondiale des femmes a vu le jour en 1999 quand des femmes en Irlande décidèrent d'accueillir le nouveau millénium avec une grève générale au niveau national. Elles demandèrent à la Campagne internationale pour un salaire au travail ménager, de soutenir leur appel à la grève et nous avons appelé les femmes du monde entier à faire de cette GRÈVE un mouvement global le 8 mars 2000.
La Grève a une histoire populaire qui commence en 1952 avec la parution d'un petit pamphlet intitulé « A Woman's Place » (La place d'une femme) suivit par la parution en 1972 de « Le pouvoir des femmes et la subversion de la communauté », aujourd'hui un classique, et en 1973 [*] de « Sexe, race et classe ». Ces 3 ouvrages ont démontré que le travail effectué par les femmes en contrepartie d'un salaire est un deuxième emploi, que le travail non rémunéré que nous effectuons à la maison et dans la communauté en produisant tous les travailleuses et travailleurs du monde ainsi que notre combat pour changer le monde, étaient invisibles, mais pourtant central.
Depuis, nous avons fait campagne pour obtenir la reconnaissance et un salaire pour tout le travail non rémunéré que font les femmes et pour l'équité salariale — ces deux combats constituant des leviers contre la pauvreté, l'exploitation et toutes les formes de discrimination que subissent les femmes. Selon les Nations Unies, les femmes font les 2/3 du travail dans le monde : de l'allaitement à l'éducation des enfants, des soins administrés à ceux qui sont malades, aux personnes âgées ou handicapées à la culture, la préparation et la cuisson de la nourriture qui alimente les familles, les communautés et les continents (80% de la nourriture consommée en Afrique est cultivée par les femmes), le volontariat et le travail dans le secteur informel en tant que femmes de ménage, couturières, vendeuses de rue, travailleuses de l'industrie du sexe ainsi que le travail dans le secteur formel. Ici encore le travail des femmes consiste souvent à prendre soin des gens dans les hôpitaux et les écoles, comme domestiques, gardiennes d'enfants, assistantes personnelles … ou dans les « sweat-shops » – des emplois pour lesquels les hommes qui font un travail similaire sont aussi très mal payés. Cependant les femmes reçoivent les salaires les plus bas et de plus sont souvent confrontées au harcèlement sexuel et racial.
Bien que dans chaque pays tout ce travail soit essentiel au bien-être et même à la survie de l'humanité, il est sous-évalué et ignoré par le marché et les femmes n'obtiennent ainsi en retour que 5% des biens du monde.
A Beijing en 1995, le réseau international « Les femmes comptent », que nous coordonnons, soutenu par plus de 1500 organisations, a remporté une décision importante des Nations-Unies. Les comptes nationaux doivent prendre en compte le temps passé par les femmes au cours de leur vie, à réaliser des travaux non rémunérés et doivent aussi déterminer la valeur créée par ce travail. Trinidad et Tobago et l'Espagne en on fait une loi; d'autres pays ont entrepris des études sur l'emploi du temps et de plus en plus tiennent compte du travail non rémunéré dans les décisions des tribunaux et dans les politiques gouvernementales.
Depuis l'an 2000, la Grève a été une grande réussite. Elle a rassemblé des femmes dans plus de 60 pays, y compris des organisations de la base au palmarès impressionnant qui revendiquent aussi un monde où tout le travail des femmes et toutes les vies sont appréciés à leur juste valeur. Ces femmes font maintenant parti d'un réseau international de coordonatrices de la Grève. (...)
*
* Invest in caring not killing !
BECAUSE $900+ billion a year 1 is spent on military budgets, half by the US alone; yet 10% of this would ensure the essentials of life to everyone in the world 2;
BECAUSE 86 million people, mainly from countries of the South, have died in wars since world war II, and the US has been involved in most of these3;
BECAUSE women and children are the majority of victims of armed conflict, 80% of refugees and displaced people, and are killed or maimed long after by landmines and other weapons4; BECAUSE rape is routinely used as a weapon of war, but rape victims are rarely granted asylum;
BECAUSE women’s caring work of giving life to and looking after everyone is unvalued and unwaged, but working in the military is waged and glorified;
BECAUSE only half the human race is expected to do the caring work needed for everyone’s survival, while the other half has "more important things to do";
BECAUSE this devaluing of life and carers devalues everything women do and all caring jobs; thus women’s wages are lower than men’s and childcare, domestic work, nursing, teaching, catering are low-waged whoever does them;
BECAUSE most soldiers are either conscripted or join the military to escape poverty or criminali-sation (the US Army is 40% people of colour) and are expected to kill people who have even less;
BECAUSE soldiers who return disabled and traumatised by fear, killing or pollution from weapons, are discarded by governments, and it falls on mothers, partners and other carers to cope;
BECAUSE the military is lavishly funded, at the expense of wages, welfare, pensions, other benefits, grants and services – all of which women struggle to make up for with unwaged work;
BECAUSE the US "war on
terrorism" (imposing economic, political and military domination on behalf of
oil and other multinationals) has already claimed thousands of lives, and
threatens us with the destruction of our climate and life on earth;
BECAUSE there’s always money to pipe oil, but in
non-industrial countries millions of women and girls are condemned to walk hours
to fetch water which there is no money to pipe;
BECAUSE the IMF and World Bank impose globalisation, privatisation, deregulation, patenting, oil and other mineral extraction, large dams and genetically modified crops . . . by taking over economies, corrupting governments, and bonding the population to pay a debt we never incurred;
BECAUSE ‘development aid’ or ‘loans’ to ‘Third World’ countries are often tied to buying arms from the US and EU;
BECAUSE capital and the arms trade move freely to profit from wars and dictatorships which cause the impoverishment and displacement of millions, but those who emigrate to escape this devastation are accused of "swamping" countries, draining resources, witch-hunted, detained and deported;
BECAUSE opposition, often led by women, to globalisation (and the resulting poverty, theft of water, land, seeds and genes, slave wages and working conditions, displacement of whole populations, obliteration of Indigenous cultures, histories and languages, ethnic cleansing, and destruction of the environment) is met by military coups, disappearances and other repression;
BECAUSE the media (private
or state-controlled) do the job of disinforming the population and censoring our
opposition in order to rally support for wars and genocide;
BECAUSE women the caregivers are the backbone of anti-war, human rights and
justice movements as we refuse to allow our loved ones to be either civilian
‘collateral damage’ or military casualties
2. War Resisters International
2. 1997 UN Human Development Report
3. Newsnight UK 11 April 2002
4.UNICEF, State of the World's Children 2002
The Global Women’s Strike (GWS) is co-ordinated by the International Wages for Housework Campaign and WinWages (Women’s International Network for Wages for Caring Work). Since the 1st GWS on 8 March 2000, International Women’s Day, women in over 60 countries have taken part each year. For more information on GWS 2003 and this Petition visit our website: http://womenstrike8m.server101.com
***
Michèle Dayras
SOS SEXISME
Pour vous désabonner : Cliquez ici !