***

 

" [Traffickers] bring these young women into this country and they brutalize them until they are dehumanized and destroyed. An ounce of cocaine, you can only sell it once. A woman or child, you can sell them each day every day over and over and over again. The markup for women and girls is immeasurable." (Donald Sutherland as an ICE Agent)

``…le développement complet d’un pays, le bien-être du monde et la cause de la paix demandent la participation maximale des femmes à égalité avec les hommes, dans tous les domaines.`` (CEDAW)
"...the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields " (CEDAW)

 

' We recognize that a gender digital divide exists in all societies, and we reaffirm our commitment to women’s empowerment and gender equality, so that we can overcome this divide, participate in all decision-making processes in equal partnership with men and contribute to shaping all spheres of the Information Society at global, regional and national levels.' (WSIS Gender Caucus)

***

History / Histoire
* 6000 years of Patriarchal Religion
* The European Witch-Hunts, c. 1450-1750 (' Feminicide" !)
* Women's demands for Gender Equality and the full and equal participation and involvement of women in promoting peace and security
* War against women...May Chidiac
* Angela Merkel
* UN : two veteran UN women to high-level positions
* 2006 Voices of Courage Awards

Petition
* A World Referendum
* Urgent Appeal / Appel Urgent
* Alert / Alerte ! FAITES ENTENDRE VOTRE VOIX CONTRE une CONSTITUTION qui marginalise les femmes...en Irak !

Demonstration / Manifestation : World March of Women

 News  / Nouvelles
- France 
Les intégristes proposent d'adjoindre à notre code civil, un autre code, "coranique" destiné aux musulmans !
Proposition de loi sur le harcèlement sexuel
- Suisse : Il n'y aura pas de solution fédérale à la distribution des allocations familiales
- Vatican : Quarante ans de silence sur les abus sexuels au sein de l'Eglise
- Italia : L'identità lesbica
- Portugal : Lisboa quiere atraer más turismo homosexual

- Afghanistan : Opium farmers sell daughters to cover debts to traffickers
- India
* Anti-prostitution laws in for drastic revamp
* Female Infanticide (Power Point)
- Nepal : Supreme Court Ruling on End of Discrimination of Women during Menstruation
- China : Trafficking of women and girls increases...

- Iran
* Laws Against Women
* Le fouet automatique pour les mal voilées
- Iraq : Photo Horror- War in Iraq in exchange of free access to porn sites

- Swaziland Ends Chastity Rule for Girls Under 18

- USA
* Child Sexual Abuse 
* Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act
- Latin America : Violence Against Women

- EU / Union Européenne
* Abortion / Avortement
* Le travail en Europe

- Australia : Headscarves deny women rights

 Worldwide / International

* What is a gender-sensitive life course approach to older women's health? * The Law and the Girl Child * The cost of school beyond reach of millions

* FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY WILL NOT BE WON WITHOUT ATTENTION TO ELDERLY

* Help Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking !

* Why do women make up the majority of the poor ?

 

Conference
* U.N. supports women in conflict resolution
* Some other Meetings...
* Pakistan : Women urged to resist injustices 
* South India : For widows’ human rights
* Philippines : International Course on Gender Mainstreaming
* Ethiopia : "Equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes
* France : « Les droits des femmes, un combat pour l'universel »
* USA / Netherlands : International Youth Conferences
* Congrès mondial sur les femmes, les hommes et la médecine / World Congress on Men, Women and Medicine

Book / Livre
* Journalist / Journaliste
* The Psychoanalytic Review

Report / Rapport
* The first ever comparative assessment of women's rights in the Middle East and North Africa
* Lebanon : Women's & Girls Human Rights
* Kuwait : Women's Rights & the Meaning of Citizenship
* Afghanistan : Promouvoir le rôle des femmes
* Women's informal employment
* Global picture of women as unacknowledged casualties of war
* Age discrimination : new study

Leisure / Loisir
* Lebanon : International Marathon
* Muslim Values Version of Barbie Doll

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

History / Histoire

* 6000 years of Patriarchal Religion

Rosh Hashanah will occur on the following days of the Gregorian calendar.

                   Jewish Year 5764: sunset September 26, 2003 - nightfall September 28, 2003

                   Jewish Year 5765: sunset September 15, 2004 - nightfall September 17, 2004

                   Jewish Year 5766: sunset October 3, 2005 - nightfall October 5, 2005

                   Jewish Year 5767: sunset September 22, 2006 - nightfall September 24, 2006

                   Jewish Year 5768: sunset September 12, 2007 - nightfall September 14,

* The European Witch-Hunts, c. 1450-1750 (' Feminicide" !)

The witch-hunts waxed and waned for nearly three centuries, with great variations in time and space. "The rate of witch hunting varied dramatically throughout Europe, ranging from a high of 26,000 deaths in Germany to a low of 4 in Ireland." (Gibbons, Recent Developments.)

Despite the involvement of church authorities, "The vast majority of witches were condemned by secular courts," with local courts especially noted for their persecutory zeal (Gibbons, Recent Developments). The standard procedure in most countries was for accused witches to be brought before investigating tribunals and interrogated. In some parts of Europe (e.g., England), torture was rarely used; but where the witch-hunts were most intensive, it was a standard feature of the interrogations. Obviously, a large majority of accused who "confessed" to witchcraft did so as a result of the brutal tortures to which they were exposed. About half of all convicted witches were given sentences short of execution. The unluckier half were generally killed in public, often en masse, by hanging or burning.

Being female hardly guaranteed that one would be suspected or accused of witchcraft. As Steven Katz notes, "statistical evidence ... makes clear that over 99.9-plus percent of all women who lived during the three centuries of the witch craze were not harmed directly by the police arm of either the state or the church, though both had the power to do so had the elites that controlled them so desired." (Katz, The Holocaust in Historical Context, Vol. I, p. 503.) Nor were all accused witches female. Nonetheless, the witch-hunts can be viewed as a case of "genderized mass murder," according to Katz (p. 503). He adds: "the overall evidence makes plain that the growth -- the panic -- in the witch craze was inseparable from the stigmatization of women. ... Historically, the most salient manifestation of the unreserved belief in female power and female evil is evidenced in the tight, recurrent, by-now nearly instinctive association of women and witchcraft. Though there were male witches, when the witch craze accelerated and became a mass phenomenon after 1500 its main targets, its main victims, were female witches. Indeed, one strongly suspects that the development of witch-hunting into a mass hysteria only became possible when directed primarily at women." (The Holocaust in Historical Context, Vol. I, p. 433 [n. 1], 436.) Katz draws out the depths of this misogyny through a comparison with anti-semitism:

The medieval conception of women shares much with the corresponding medieval conception of Jews. In both cases, a perennial attribution of secret, bountiful, malicious "power," is made. Women are anathematized and cast as witches because of the enduring grotesque fears they generate in respect of their putative abilities to control men and thereby coerce, for their own ends, male-dominated Christian society. Whatever the social and psychological determinants operative in this abiding obsession, there can be no denying the consequential reality of such anxiety in medieval Christendom. Linked to theological traditions of Eve and Lilith, women are perceived as embodiments of inexhaustible negativity. Though not quite quasi-literal incarnations of the Devil as were Jews, women are, rather, their ontological "first cousins" who, like the Jews, emerge from the "left" or sinister side of being. (Katz, The Holocaust in Historical Context, Vol. I, p. 435.)

The classic evocation of this deranged misogyny is the Malleus maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), published by Catholic inquisition authorities in 1485-86. "All wickedness," write the authors, "is but little to the wickedness of a woman. ... What else is woman but a foe to friendship, an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil nature, painted with fair colours. ... Women are by nature instruments of Satan -- they are by nature carnal, a structural defect rooted in the original creation." (Quoted in Katz, The Holocaust in Historical Context, Vol. I, pp. 438-39.) "The importance of the Malleus cannot be overstated," argues Ben-Yehuda: It was to become the most influential and widely used handbook on witchcraft. ... (...)

http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=womenshistory&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gendercide.org%2Fcase_witchhunts.html

* Women's demands for Gender Equality and the full and equal participation and involvement of women in promoting peace and security

New York, 19th of September 2005

H.E. Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
H.E. Mr. Jan Eliasson, President of the General Assembly,

Last week, our Heads of States or Governments agreed on how to strengthen the United Nations to the benefit of all people — women and men, girls and boys.

The outcome document is a roadmap, a call for swift action in a number of areas, including the establishing of a Peacebuilding Commission. It is also a compass, a set of principles that should guide all actions and efforts. One is gender equality and the full and equal participation and involvement of women in promoting peace and security.

When meeting yesterday, we — the Foreign Ministers of 14 countries and the EU Commissioner for External Relations — discussed concrete ideas on how to merge these two central decisions to ensure that a gender perspective is integrated in the design and work of the Peacebuilding Commission.

The details of the composition and working methods are now to be developed by the 60th session of the General Assembly. As a guide for this work, we agreed that:

                   Representation is essential. The Organizational Committee must include a good balance of Member States, including countries with experience of conflict as well as donor countries and troop-contributing countries. However, a well balanced Peacebuilding Commission also demands a fair representation of both women and men. We urge Member States, the UN system, regional and sub-regional organisations, and international financial institutions to nominate women as representatives in the Organizational Committee and to Country-specific meetings. Women and representatives of women's organisations in countries under consideration must be heard and participate. The goal must be to form a Peacebuilding Commission that in all its aspects has an equal representation of women and men.

                   Knowledge is key. The Commission must have an in-depth knowledge of the roles, experiences and needs of women in post-conflict situations. When deciding on details of the design and working methods of the Commission and its support office, particular attention must be paid to including knowledge and understanding of the participation, empowerment and special needs of women in post-conflict and peacebuilding.

                   Funding is crucial and mainstreaming a must. The needs and roles of women and girls must be taken into consideration when designing and developing activities funded by the standing Peacebuilding Fund. Furthermore, a gender perspective must be thoroughly integrated in all recommendations, activities, reports, strategies and best practices analyses from the Commission, the Fund and the Support Office.

By deciding to establish a Peacebuilding Commission, we have shown our determination to prevent old conflicts from relapsing, and to promote reconstruction, institution-building and sustainable development. The challenge ahead is to make sure that these efforts embrace, and improve, the daily life of both women and men. The ideas above are one contribution to that process.

Sincerely Yours,

H.E. Ms. Ursula Plassnik, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria
H.E. Dame Billie Miller, Senior Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados
H.E. Ms. Antionette Batumubwire, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burundi
H.E. Ms. Carolina Barco Isakson, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia
H.E. Ms. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia
H.E. Ms. Salomé Zourabichvili, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
H.E. Ms. Fatoumata Kaba-Sidibe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guinea
H.E. Ms. Rita Kieber-Beck, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein
H.E. Ms. Ilinka Mitreva, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia
H.E. Ms. Alcinda Abreu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mozambique
H.E. Ms. Leila Rachid de Cowles, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay
H.E. Ms. Micheline Calmy-Rey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland
H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa
H.E. Ms. Laila Freivalds, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden
Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner of the European Commission

* War against women...May Chidiac

Students have staged a protest on university campuses and in a downtown Beirut square against the latest in a string of bombings which nearly killed a prominent anti-Syrian TV broadcaster. (...) May Chidiac, a longtime news anchor and a political talkshow host, lost her left arm and leg from a bomb that exploded in her car in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut, on Sunday. (...) Broadcaster Chidiac had her left arm and leg amputated (...) 

On Monday afternoon, politicians and journalists, including LBC staff, joined an estimated several thousand students around the martyrs' statue on a seaside square in central Beirut in observing a moment of silence and a silent prayer for Chidiac's recovery. Flanking the bullet-scarred statue, a symbol of Lebanon's quest for independence, many waved Lebanese flags (...) 

The attack "aims to sow sectarian sedition and drive a wedge in national unity", Daniel Spiro, a student leader from the Lebanese Forces, told the crowd. "We will confront the terrorism with the weapons of national unity and we will confront the criminals with a peaceful, political revolution."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E4C5C98D-8CBF-41BD-8CFA-C7BB6C30817E.htm

* Angela Merkel

Le présidium de l'Union chrétienne-démocrate (CDU) a approuvé lundi à Berlin la formation d'un gouvernement de grande coalition avec les sociaux-démocrates (SPD) sous la direction de la conservatrice Angela Merkel, a-t-on indiqué de source proche de la CDU.
Un peu plus tôt, le présidium du SPD avait également accepté d'ouvrir des négociations formelles avec les conservateurs (CDU-CSU) et de laisser la chancellerie à Mme Merkel. Selon une source proche de la CSU, ces négociations débuteront la semaine prochaine. Le chancelier sortant Gerhard Schröder ne devrait pas faire partie du gouvernement de grande coalition d'Angela Merkel, a-t-on appris de source proche de la direction de l'Union chrétienne-sociale (CSU), (...).

http://www.afp.com/francais/news/stories/051010110013.b78ctbnf.html


* UN : two veteran UN women to high-level positions

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed two veteran UN  women to high-level positions - Angela Kane of Germany as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, to replace Danilo Türk, and Jan Beagle of New Zealand as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources  Management, replacing Rosemary McCreery.


* 2006 Voices of Courage Awards

2006 VOICES OF COURAGE AWARDS : Each year the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children holds a luncheon to honor individual refugee women and young people who are working on behalf of other refugees. We are now seeking candidates for the 2006 Voices of Courage awards to be bestowed at our May 2006 luncheon. The theme of the luncheon is “Promoting Education in Emergency Situations.” We will honor individuals and organizations in the United States and overseas who have been key players in promoting education for children and adolescents displaced by armed conflict. 

Nominations must be received by November 1, 2005.

Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
roxannes@womenscommission.org / http://www.womenscommission.org

 

 

Petition

* A World Referendum

(...) A World Referendum conducted over a 24-hour period in every corner of the world, would be a true manifestation of democracy and biopolicy, as every person will be able to express how they feel about the environment and inspire world leaders to implement new strategies for the protection of the environment. (...)

 

"I believe that the world is on a dangerous, destructive course in which the very continuity of bios (life) on our planet is threatened. The natural environment on which we depend is being destroyed. Thousands of species of plants, animals, insects and other forms of life are becoming extinct, forests are being leveled, land is becoming arid and lifeless, oceans are being polluted and marine life is being destroyed, global warming is threatening to unleash unprecedented climatic events, millions of people go to bed hungry every night, and millions of children die from impure water or hunger. World leaders must change direction now. The preservation of life must become our first priority."

From : Dr. Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis, President and Founder, Biopolitics International Organisation
http://www.biopolitics.gr / bios@otenet.gr

* Urgent Appeal / Appel Urgent

 “La Igualdad de Oportunidades entre hombres y mujeres está en peligro!”. Solicitud de apoyo y de acción organizada por diversas redes independientes de organizaciones cuya finalidad es promover el mainstreaming de género por toda Europa.

Más información: http://www.nowa.at/genderequality/petition_es.htm

 

 “European Policy towards Gender equality between women and men is in danger!”. Call for action and support organized by several independent networks of organisations promoting gender equality all over Europe.

More information: http://www.nowa.at/genderequality/petition_en.htm

 

"L’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes est en danger!". Appel organisé par différents réseaux de organisations indépendants agissant en faveur de l’égalité des hommes et des femmes en Europe.

Plus d’information: http://www.nowa.at/genderequality/petition_fr.htm

* Alert / Alerte ! FAITES ENTENDRE VOTRE VOIX CONTRE une CONSTITUTION qui marginalise les femmes...en Irak !

FAITES ENTENDRE VOTRE VOIX CONTRE une CONSTITUTION qui marginalise les femmes et instaure le séparatisme national et ethnique

Ils imposent aux masses la pauvreté, le séparatisme et le confessionnalisme. Ils se sont accordés en premier lieu pour institutionnaliser la dépendance de la femme par rapport à l’homme, et pour l’exploiter et l’avilir par le moyen de la religion et du tribalisme. Ils interdisent à des millions d’Irakiennes de communiquer avec le monde extérieur par le biais de la science, de l’art et de la culture ; les privant ainsi de leur droit à une vie libre et prospère, sous prétextes d’interdits et d’une piété falsifiée.

Mais cela n’aurait pas été possible, si les forces d’occupation n’avaient pas soutenu ce projet de conditionnement des masses, grâce à leurs moyens de communication, qui ont pris un caractère religieux et confessionnel, et qui insistent sur les différences entre les diverses composantes de la société irakienne.

L’Organisation pour la liberté des femmes en Irak appelle l’ensemble des hommes et des femmes épris de liberté à rejeter cette Constitution, fondée sur la chari’a . La seule Constitution que nous acceptons est celle qui instaure : l’égalité totale entre l’homme et la femme ; la séparation entre la religion et l’État ;  le droit à l’éducation et à l’instruction ; et qui : reconnaît sans réserve la Déclaration sur l’élimination de toutes les formes de discrimination à l’égard des femmes ; protège juridiquement la femme de l’emprise tribale et des institutions religieuses ; lui garantit ses libertés sociales et vestimentaires.
De même que nous n’acceptons pas une Constitution qui introduit un fédéralisme fondé sur le séparatisme national et confessionnel, fédéralisme qui constitue un scandale et le prélude à une guerre, qui provoquera une mort lente et la destruction, pour la décennie à venir.
Ils divergent entre eux sur le partage des ressources, dont ils ont spoliés les masses populaires, et s’accordent pour privilégier le chiisme au dépend du sunnisme, et discutent des préceptes islamiques.
Mais qui évoque les valeurs humaines relatives aux droits de la femme, en tant que citoyenne à part entière, et non pas en tant que demi-citoyenne ?
Des millions d’Irakiens seront noyés dans le marécage des guerres fédérales et de l’obscurantisme islamiste, si nous nous dressons pas, nous laïques, face à ce scénario noir.

Vive l’égalité totale entre les hommes et les femmes.
Vive la laïcité.

Yanar Mohamed, Présidente de l’Organisation pour la liberté des femmes en Irak
(20//08/2005)

 

Demonstration / Manifestation : World March of Women

On October 17, women in all time zones will successively take to the streets at noon to stage actions for one hour. This is how they will show their support for the blueprint for society depicted in the Women's Global Charter for Humanity.
In the Pacific Islands (New Caledonia, Samoa, etc.), the women of Asia will kick off the relay, followed by the women of Africa, then Europe and so on.

This call to action goes out to all women’s groups who belong to the World March of Women and to those who wish to join us. Let’s all act together on October 17 by organizing public events.
The watchword is to be simple, positive, in touch with one another, to show that, with our differences and similarities, women are united.

Groups in various regions of the world have begun to organize their activities. Some will rings bells and alarms in cities and villages to alert the population that women are mobilizing throughout the world to vigorously defend the values in the Charter. Others will organize vigils or actions during which women will form human chains of solidarity.

Write us and tell us about the actions you are planning for October 17 to: 24hrs2005@gmail.com http://www.marchemondiale.org/en/index.html

 

News / Nouvelles

France

* Les intégristes proposent d'adjoindre à notre code civil, un autre code, "coranique" destiné aux musulmans !

(...) Aujourd'hui, rien n'a fondamentalement changé, mais les tensions se sont exacerbées, avec en toiles de fond, les conflits israélo-palestinien, irakien ou afghan, qui alimentent aussi le sentiment d'injustice et la haine ressentie par ces jeunes. Boualem, l'un des responsables de "Diverscité", une association très "active" autour d'eux, analyse leur état d'esprit.
Alors comment cela s'est-il répandu au fil des années ? Tout naturellement par un maillage d'associations de plus en plus nombreuses, associations "islamiques" qui ont savamment orchestré l'isolement de la communauté dans les banlieues. Sous couvert d'aide aux plus démunis, ou d'aide juridique, ou d'aide aux devoirs, aujourd'hui, par le biais aussi d'écoles coraniques plus ou moins officieuses, elles ont tranquillement tissé leur toile, parfois même encouragées par les municipalités. Certaines ont cru bien faire en achetant la paix sociale dans leur quartier, sans prendre la mesure du danger que cela représentait. Tous les musulmans ne sont évidemment pas gagnés par les idées intégristes. Et tous les observateurs s'accordent sur le fait que c'est une très petite minorité qui agite ces idées. Mais elles gagnent du terrain. Il suffit de voir le nombre de femmes musulmanes de tous âges, qui sont désormais voilées, celles qui, aujourd'hui, sortent même complètement dissimulées par la tenue islamique noire, gantées et accompagnées. Et ceux qui font répandre ces idées, qu'ils soient salafistes, ou proches des frères musulmans, comme Tarik Ramadan, ou du "Tabligh", un groupuscule réputé particulièrement actif autour de Lyon, ont "pignon sur rue",désormais. Ils sont acceptés comme interlocuteurs, et même aujourd'hui, présents dans certaines municipalités autour de Lyon. Il n'est donc pas forcément aisé de décrypter le double langage. Azzedine Gaci, qui appartient à l'UOIF, et qui est aujourd'hui le nouveau président du conseil régional du culte musulman, propose ni plus ni moins que d'adjoindre à notre code civil, un autre code, "coranique", celui-là, et destiné aux musulmans. La manoeuvre n'est pas nouvelle. Et c'est toute la tactique, comme pour le voile : faire reculer les lois de la république, et leur substituer les lois coraniques, partout où c'est possible et en prime, culpabiliser ceux qui tentent de s'y opposer, en leur disant qu'ils "stigmatisent" la communauté musulmane ! Mais heureusement, les majorités silencieuses, commencent à réagir. (...)

 

(vendredi 30 septembre 2005) http://www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/france-inter01/information/chroniques/chronique/index.php?chronique_id=115020143

* Proposition de loi sur le harcèlement sexuel

 Les lois françaises ne sont pas en conformité avec la directive européenne quant à :

 

1. La définition du harcèlement sexuel

L’article 2 de la directive définit le harcèlement sexuel comme « la situation dans laquelle un comportement non désiré à connotation sexuelle, s’exprimant physiquement, verbalement ou non verbalement, survient avec pour objet ou pour effet de porter atteinte à la dignité d’une personne et, en particulier de créer un environnement intimidant, hostile, dégradant, humiliant ou offensant. »

Le droit français ne vise que « le fait de harceler autrui dans le but d’obtenir des faveurs de nature sexuelle ».

 

2. L’obligation de l’employeur en matière de prévention du harcèlement sexuel

L’article 8ter de la directive demande aux Etats « d’encourager les employeurs à promouvoir de manière organisée et systématique, l’égalité de traitement des hommes et des femmes sur le lieu de travail ».

L’article L122-48 C.trav. dispose seulement « qu’il appartient au chef d’entreprise de prendre toutes dispositions nécessaires en vue de prévenir les agissements (de harcèlement sexuel) » sans prévoir de mesure contraignante ou de sanction en cas d’inexécution de la part des employeurs.

 

 

3. La mise en place de « sanctions effectives, proportionnées et dissuasives »

L’article 8 quiquies de la directive demande aux Etats de « s’assurer de l’application de ces sanctions. Les sanctions, qui peuvent comprendre le versement d’indemnités à la victime, doivent être effectives, proportionnées et dissuasives. ».

Le droit français ne respecte pas cette obligation. Les pénalités prévues par le Code pénal (1 an d’emprisonnement et 15 000 euros d’amende, soit -à titre de comparaison- trois fois moins que celles prévues pour le vol) ne répondent pas à ces critères.

 

 

4. La réparation accordée aux victimes de harcèlement sexuel

L’article 6-2 de la directive demande aux Etats d’introduire les mesures nécessaires pour « veiller à ce que le préjudice subi par une personne lésée du fait d’une discrimination (…) soit effectivement réparé ou indemnisé (…) de manière dissuasive et proportionnée par rapport au préjudice subi. »

L’Etat français n’a pris aucune mesure susceptible de garantir cette réparation aux victimes de harcèlement sexuel.

 

Modifier les lois françaises relatives au harcèlement sexuel est une obligation légale pour être en conformité avec les exigences européennes. Modifier les lois françaises relatives au harcèlement sexuel est une nécessité parce que ces lois sont inadéquates et insuffisantes.L’AVFT saisit ce jour l’ensemble des parlementaires d’une proposition de loi relative au harcèlement sexuel et sexiste.

contact@avft.org / http://www.avft.org/html/hs_droit_europeen.html).


- Suisse : Il n'y aura pas de solution fédérale à la distribution des allocations familiales

Il n'y aura pas de solution fédérale à la distribution des allocations familiales. Quatorze ans après le dépôt d'une initiative parlementaire demandant leur harmonisation nationale, le Conseil des Etats a refusé un projet dans ce sens. Les sénateurs ont créé une divergence avec le Conseil national. La Chambre basse, elle, s'était prononcée au printemps pour l'octroi d'une allocation de base, universelle, de 200 francs par enfant au minimum, selon le principe simple et équitable «Un enfant, une allocation». Les sénateurs ont révélé une fois de plus les crispations que provoque en Suisse l'idée d'une politique nationale de la famille. La natalité, très en dessous du taux de renouvellement de la population, est pourtant reconnue comme un problème sérieux. Mais, à entendre la droite dure et fédéraliste qui l'a emporté hier, un geste pour les familles n'est acceptable que s'il ne coûte rien à la Confédération. Les cantons n'ont qu'à faire ce que bon leur semble. Les sénateurs de l'UDC et du Parti radical ont imposé leur logique. Ils avaient le soutien du conseiller fédéral Pascal Couchepin. Le compromis aujourd'hui défait s'était cristallisé sous la pression d'une initiative populaire du syndicat Travail.Suisse. Celle-ci prévoit le versement d'une allocation de 450 francs par enfant. Ce texte sera soumis en votation populaire en juin 2006.

(22 septembre 2005) Le Temps


- Vatican : Quarante ans de silence sur les abus sexuels au sein de l'Eglise

L’association radicale Anticlericale.net a organisé une manifestation « en faveur de la liberté sexuelle et de conscience, contre les causes de déviances et de souffrances, à commencer par celles des prêtres pédophiles et des organisations pédophobes ». L’association a dénoncé la chape de plomb que le Saint-Siège a coulé sur les cas d’abus sexuels sur mineurs de la part de certains prêtres. Le Vatican, qui était au courant de ces crimes et de leur propagation, à donné des instructions indérogeables en vue de « juguler » le scandale – à travers l’Instruction Crimen Sollicitationis de 1962 émanant de la Sacrée Congrégation Suprême du Saint-Office – sous peine d’excommunication avec pour objectif d’éviter des fuites. De telles dispositions furent ensuite confirmées en 2001 par Joseph Ratzinger, alors Préfet de la Congrégation pour la Doctrine de la Foi, actuellement cité par la justice civile pour le contenu de cette lettre. L’avocat américain Huston Daniel Shea, qui a porté à l’attention des autorités judiciaires américaines le document de 1962 et la lecture de l’actuel Pape Benoît XVI, a également participé à la manifestation.

From : RadicalFax@radicalparty.org

- Italia : L'identità lesbica

Siamo partite dal desiderio di costruirci una vecchiaia a nostra misura. Per fare questo abbiamo pensato di progettare il nostro lesbizio personale, cioè il posto fisico che racchiuderà le nostre esistenze in modo da lasciarlo a quelle che ci seguiranno.
A loro spetterà il compito di conservarlo.

Questo posto sarà situato nei pressi di Bari, nel verde e all'aria aperta; ci saranno dei piccoli appartamenti o stanze personali e degli spazi in comune, ci saranno solo lesbiche e ci lavoreranno solo lesbiche. In questo posto ci saranno gli archivi delle Desiderandae nonché la sede dell'associazione che continuerà a lavorare per offrire spazi separatisti alla comunità lesbica e rimanere un luogo di scambio.
Pensiamo ad una ricettività per circa venti lesbiche.
Il lesbizio garantisce alle inquiline i servizi di mensa, pulizia, assistenza infermieristica, segretariato. Questi servizi potrebbero essere estesi anche a lesbiche anziane che non vivono all'interno del lesbizio ma che ne hanno bisogno. Con questo si potrebbe dare lavoro ad una decina di lesbiche disoccupate nonché soddisfare le esigenze di lesbiche anziane che vogliano continuare a vivere nella propria casa in città.
Alcune di noi pensano "oltre": il lesbizio solo come una delle tante parti di un intero villaggio di lesbiche, o una strada o un quartiere, comunque vissuto da lesbiche.
Noi pensiamo di cominciare. (...)

info@desiderandae.it / http://www.desiderandae.it/progetti.htm

- Portugal : Lisboa quiere atraer más turismo homosexual

El turismo de Lisboa aspira a atraer un mayor número de visitantes entre los homosexuales y por ello 15 empresas lusas de hostelería y agencias de viajes participan hoy en un simposio que presentará la oferta a unos 60 agentes de ese grupo del mercado.
El simposio está auspiciado por la Asociación Internacional de Viajes para Gays y Lesbianas (IGLTA), que pretende 'divulgar el turismo y los destinos turísticos entre
la comunidad homosexual', según sus responsables.
Luis Rodrigues, del comité organizador del simposio, explicó que el segmento homosexual representa cerca de un 10 por ciento del mercado turístico y que los
agentes representados en la capital portuguesa provienen de Europa y Estados Unidos.
El mismo responsable señaló que Lisboa, además de los productos turísticos tradicionales, ofrece 'bares para gays y lesbianas y una población tolerante', como buscan los viajeros de esas opciones sexuales.
Simposios similares se celebraron anteriormente en Buenos Aires y en Barcelona (España) y la iniciativa de promover uno en Lisboa correspondió a la única agencia de viajes portuguesa especializada en el turismo homosexual, Saga Travel.

 http://www.sentidog.com/article.php?id_news=13973    

- Afghanistan : Opium farmers sell daughters to cover debts to traffickers

Afghan farmers prevented from growing poppies under a British-led eradication programme have been forced to hand over their daughters to drug traffickers to settle their debts, according to reports from Afghanistan. The claim is the latest in a series to dog the British effort to curb Afghanistan's opium industry. Opium dominates Afghanistan's economy, accounting for 60 per cent of its income. Critics say the country is turning into a narco-state under the noses of Nato peacekeeping forces, and of the Western governments involved in reconstruction.

The latest claims come from Nangahar province, which has been held up by the British, put in charge of the fight against opium in Afghanistan, as their biggest success. Opium cultivation fell by 96 per cent there this year, part of a 21 per cent fall nationwide. But farmers are now coming forward to say that the forced loss of their poppy crop has left them unable to repay debts to drug traffickers who lent them money to buy the seeds.

In desperation, they have had to turn to a traditional Afghan practice in which a family can pay off its debt by handing over a daughter to a relative of the creditor. Usually, there is a marriage ceremony for the sake of propriety - but the woman is treated as property. (...)

(October 3, 2005) The Independent
From : rawa@rawa.org

- India

* Anti-prostitution laws in for drastic revamp

The government is planning to revise anti-prostitution laws drastically to provide for the imprisonment and fine for anyone caught with prostitutes and to drop provisions, which make soliciting a crime. The existing law provides for action only against prostitutes.

The amendment, proposed by the Department of Women and Child and awaiting cabinet clearance, provides for three-month imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 for the patrons. The Department has also proposed to do away with Sections 8 and 20 of the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA), which makes soliciting a punishable offence. The proposed change is being justified on the grounds that most sex workers are victims of circumstances. The perception that most engage in prostitution due to compulsions has also led the department to drop Section 20 of ITPA, which provides for the eviction of prostitutes. The punishment for traffickers, however, is proposed to be made stringent. Those convicted will face imprisonment upto 10 years and fined Rs 1 lakh. As in the case of the Money Laundering Act, the proposed law seeks to confiscate all the property of those guilty of trafficking.

The existing law provides for confiscation of property above Rs 3 lakh. To control largescale human trafficking in the country, the new proposal talks about setting up a central nodal agency like a Central Narcotics Bureau.

 

Simultaneously, the definition of human trafficking has been broadened in the new proposal prepared under the guidelines of the United Nations Convention against Trans-national Organised Crimes.

Under the broader definition, trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion for purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. The existing law deals only with sexual slavery. The new law will introduce for the first time the definition of a child as any person below the age of 18 years. Under the existing Act, three categories of persons are mentioned, namely a 'child' as a person who has not completed 16 years of age, a 'minor' as a person who has completed 16 years but not 18 years and a 'major' as a person who has completed 18 years of age.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1248700.cms

* Female Infanticide (Power Point)

 

Ì When Girls go missing in a society

Ì When a child is denied the right to life only because she is a girl

Ì Discrimination starts when a girl is in a womb and continues till the grave

Ì When a girl’s right to bloom and blossom is nipped in the bud
Can you sit back and ignore it ???

The Power Point can also be sent to you individually upon request to WUNRN at mosie@infionline.net  

 

 - Nepal : Supreme Court Ruling on End of Discrimination of Women during Menstruation

Women's rights activists in Nepal have hailed a Supreme Court order to end discrimination against women during their menstrual cycle. There is a tradition in parts of Nepal of keeping women in cow-sheds during their period. The practice is common in far western districts of the country.
The Supreme Court has ordered the government to declare the practice as evil and given it one month to begin stamping the practice out. The court reached its decision on Wednesday.

'Not enough'
Women's rights activists say the court has upheld their right to equality. Pushpa Bhusal, a leading lawyer, said it was a positive move in removing the traditional discrimination against women. She warned however, that a change in the law alone would not be enough. She said people needed to be educated against such a scourge of society. Women in poor villages in much of western Nepal are forced to stay in dirty cow-sheds outside the home for four days during their monthly period. They are often given unhygienic food and suffer verbal abuse.

From : mosie@INFIONLINE.NET

- China : Trafficking of women and girls increases...

The South China Morning Post reported on 4 August, that police are seeing a change in internal trafficking of children in China. In the past, most babies rescued from traffickers had been boys, but in some areas this year more than 80 per cent have been girls. In two examples, police in Xinxiang and Luoyang rescued 54 babies, 43 of them were girls, and in Xinxiang, police rescued 33 babies, 29 of them girls. The Civil Affairs Department had collected DNA samples from all the babies, but no parents had volunteered to be tested.

Meanwhile Guangxi Xinhua reported on 11 August that police in Guangxi have rescued over 1,800 Vietnamese women over the last five years. The Guangxi police consider that until the mid-1990s the majority of Vietnamese women trafficked into China were sold as brides to villagers in impoverished areas, but believe now more Vietnamese women are being trafficked into China for prostitution. Between 1 July and 10 August alone, the police identified 15 cases of cross-border trafficking of Vietnamese women and children, apprehended 19 suspects and rescued 58 Vietnamese women.

http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/traffic%20news/index.htm#3

- Iran

* Laws Against Women

-          Tens of thousands of women have been executed in Iran since 1979, when the mullahs took power. They were executed on political grounds, for their opposition to the policies of the ruling government. Among those executed were tens of pregnant women.

-          The worst kinds of torture are inflicted on woman prisoners who oppose the regime. These include repeated sexual assaults, amputation of body parts and...

-          Women played a very active role in the 40,000 teachers' demonstrations outside the Majlis on January 12, 2002. In these series of demonstrations, a number of women were arrested and imprisoned on charges of just participating in a demonstration.

-          At least 22 women have been sentenced to stoning or stoned to death during Khatami's tenure

Girls between ages 10 to 17 are the prime victims of sexual slavery in Iran. In Tehran alone, 4000 street girls roam the city on daily basis and are subjected to sexual and physical violence. Reports indicate that 90% of the runaway girls end up in prostitution or sold in Persian Gulf human trafficking market. Women and girls bare the brunt of Iran's poor economic conditions. 700,000 children, aged 10 to 14, work in black labor market in Iran. The latest statistics released by Iran's Organization of Management and Planning shows that 51% of the country's population live below the poverty line. Iran’s deputy Health Minister, Ali Akbar Sayari, admits that 20% of Iranian people go hungry daily. 67% of the students deprived of education are girls between 11 and 16 years old. Only 11% of Iranian women are employed. The rate of mental and psychological problems among women is almost 26%. In the western and southern regions of the country, suicides are mostly self-immolations among women, which rates more than 6 in every 100,000 women. In a western province of Iran, deputy of governor on women's affairs, Heyran Pournajaf, reports "About 70% of those who commit suicide in Ilam are women.” The director general of social affairs of the governor reports that "90% of these women were between 17 and 35 years old. The real number of suicides is much higher than what we have." The World Health Organization has placed Iran on the top 3^rd ranking country on death by suicide.

From : info@wfafi.org

* Le fouet automatique pour les mal voilées

Les femmes en infraction avec le code vestimentaire stricte seront immédiatement fouettées, ont annoncé les parquets de provinces mardi.

Dans la ville de Chahine-Chahr (centre), le parquet a collé d’immenses affiches sur les tableaux municipaux et les devantures des magasins avertissant que les contrevenantes au code vestimentaire comparaîtront immédiatement devant un juge et seront châtiées sur-le-champ. Le procureur demandera la peine maximum, précise l’affiche.

« Les personnes dont l’apparence vestimentaire et le maquillage seront contraires aux lois religieuses en public, seront poursuivies sans avoir besoin de faire la queue et sera condamné au fouet et à une amende », dit la déclaration.

« Les foulards qui ne recouvrent les cheveux et les cous », « les vêtements cintrés ou les manteaux dont la longueur n’atteint pas les genoux, et dont les manches s’arrêtent plus haut que le poignet », « les pantalons serrés qui ne recouvrent pas le mollet » et « le maquillage féminin » sont tous interdits, selon la déclaration qui ajoute que les manquements à ce code vestimentaire seront punis comme il se doit.

Les femmes dont le foulard ne recouvre pas correctement les cheveux seront punies de 10 jours à 10 mois de prisons, ajoute le communiqué.

 

Iran Focus-Téhéran (7 septembre 2005)
From : afifem2001@yahoo.fr

- Iraq : Photo Horror- War in Iraq in exchange of free access to porn sites

As if they were [US-style baseball] 'trading cards', terrifying pictures of Afghans and Iraqis dismembered by war explosions are exchanged on the web in order to get free access to a pornographic site

The sending of the photographs, showing atrocious crudeness, is proposed to American soldiers on duty in the war fields. The website is meant for them and they are directly invited to send their horror material in order to get access to the pornographic section.

As can be seen by entering the network, more than a few weren’t able to resist to the call of the www.nowthatsfuckedup.com website, whose homepage says : “If you are an American soldier on duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, or in another theater of war and you would like a free access to the site, you can publish the pictures which you or your mates have taken during your service".

The purely pornographic site is structured like a forum, where the users exchange amateur material not protected by a copyright. The pictures go from voyeuristic to hardporn pictures and video of pretended fiancées and wives. There are two ways to access to the pornographic content : the users can pay a fee, or upload “interesting” material. And here enters the special discount for soldiers.

In two special sections the soldiers have the possibility to gain a free access to the hottest pictures, by uploading photographies and videos realized during their duty time. One part covers general themes, with portraits of troops, sometimes marked by a military sense of humour, while the other section looks like a true museum of the horrors, with mostly pictures of dead Iraqui and dismembered corpses. Actually, as soon as entering the section, you are warned that “it’s one of the most cruel, so persons who don’t want to look at that kind of material shouldn’t go further”.

Browsing through the posts is like entering an infernal spiral : each message in facts contains dreadful pictures, in an escalation of barbarty and crudeness increased by the comments of the site readers. Inflamed messages, not horrified at all by the view of these awful snaps taken on the theater of war. One sees corpses, carbonized, without head, without members, a face in a plate, the remains of a kamikaze, an arm, legs, all that featured with inhuman comments, nearly exulting about these butcheries. Adding to the horror of the members thrown in the dust and the crusched heads, there are captions like “The only good Iraqi is a dead Iraqi” or ironical references like “Poor boy ! what if the 72 virgins were all whores ?” Even the subject line of the posts struck by their cynicism : the pragmatic ones like “Some pictures in exchange of the access���, or “Dead men for the entry”, but also the barbaric quiz “Give a name to this part of human body”, preluding the vision of a piece of bloody flesh, burned out and crushed, in which it is difficult to recognize a human face.

Among the pictures found in the more general section are also some pictures of wounded US soldiers, sent by themselves. An Italian blogger whose nickname is Staib has drawn attention to this site of the horrors. He has talked about it vaguely on his own blog and also on several portals of counter information. (...)

http://justworldnews.org/archives/001398.html

- Swaziland Ends Chastity Rule for Girls Under 18

Thousands of Swazi girls Tuesday celebrated the end of a ban on sexual activity that had been imposed as a way to combat AIDS in one of the countries hit hardest by the epidemic.

King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch, had reinstated the "umchwasho'' chastity ritual for five years in 2001, banning sexual relations for girls younger than 18. But the move was ridiculed as old-fashioned and unfairly focused on girls - and the king himself was accused of ignoring it. As part of the end of ban, the girls in private burned the tasseled scarves that symbolized their chastity. About 30,000 girls then later joined the king in a two-hour ceremony in Swaziland's national stadium. Mswati lifted the ban a year earlier than planned. During the ban, Swazi girls were instructed to wear the scarves as a sign of their chastity. If an umchwasho girl was approached for sex by a man, she was expected to throw her tassels at his homestead, obliging his family to forfeit a cow. Experts said the rite did little to slow AIDS in Swaziland, a country of about 1 million where 42.6 percent of pregnant women and up to 40 percent of adults are infected with the virus - the highest rate in the world. (...) 

"We are so happy that King Mswati ordered us to take off the woolen tassels,'' said 18-year-old Nombulelo Dlamini. "They were no use because some girls fell pregnant while wearing the same tassels.'' She said she had hid hers "because a lot of boys were making fun of us whenever we were spotted wearing them.'' Dlamini also voiced the view of many here that the king didn't set much of an example when he impregnated his ninth wife in 2001 when she was 17.

But there were hints of regret Tuesday. "Wearing the tassels was good for us young girls because men were scared to touch and abuse us,'' said 16-year-old Bongiwe Nkampule. "Now that we had to take off the woolen tassels we will be vulnerable to abuse.''
The director of National Emergency Response on HIV and AIDS, Derek Von Wissel, said new infection among teens had slowed, as had teenage pregnancies. But Von Wissel said this was due to vigorous prevention campaigns by nongovernment groups rather than the chastity order.

(PROFILE (COUNTRY:Swaziland; ISOCOUNTRY3:SWZ; UNTOP:002; UN2ND:018; APGROUP:Africa;)



- USA

* Child Sexual Abuse

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is everyone's problem. Survivors of CSA are vastly over represented among certain populations affecting all those around them, our society as a whole, and the cost to our systems (billions each year):

                   73 percent of prostitutes were sexually abused before the age of 16;

                   83 percent of convicted killers (men and women) were physically and emotionally abused as children, and 32.2 percent were sexually abused;

                   60 percent of teenage mothers were sexually abused as children;

                   43 percent of runaways are sexually abused;

Child Sexual Abuse Prevalence in the U.S. Population & Select Subgroups

How many children are sexually abused in the United States before the age of eighteen? The truth is that we do not know the answer to this question with absolute certainty.The best facts we have point to one in three to one in four girls to one in seven to one in eight boys by the time their eighteen years old.

Most cases of child sexual abuse do not come to the attention of authorities, so reported and confirmed cases only depict a fraction of actual cases. A more accurate assessment of the extent of child sexual abuse can be determined through an examination of surveys of adults reporting retrospectively about their childhoods. Even these studies do not offer a complete accounting , however, since factors such as shame, denial, and memory repression lead to underreporting.

Nevertheless, the numbers we do have indicate that children are being sexually abused in epidemic proportions. (...)

Statistics compiled by Survivors Healing Center, 2301 Mission Street, Suite C-1, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

 
* Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act

By unanimous consent, the United States Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 on October 4. “Today's action means our nation is on its way to improving its response to domestic, sexual and dating violence, and stalking,” said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. "Coupled with House passage of the Violence Against Women Act last week, this is very good news." The House vote, on September 28, was a resounding bipartisan victory - 415 to four.

"We are especially pleased that these bills will fund unprecedented new prevention initiatives that have the potential to keep millions of women and children safe, and establish new rape crisis centers," Soler added. "We thank Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Representative John Conyers (D-MI) for their leadership."

But, Soler added, "We urge lawmakers to correct flaws in the bills in conference. They should improve the immigration provisions, restore the funding stream for communities of color, include key health, housing and economic security provisions, and fund the Rape, Prevention and Education program."

"Violence is a pervasive and costly problem in this nation," she concluded. "There is no time to waste. Americans need Congress to finish its work and the President to sign the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 into law."

(October 4, 2005) http://endabuse.org/newsflash/index.php3?Search=Article&NewsFlashID=701

- Latin America : Violence Against Women

(...) The Latin American women’s movement is recognized internationally for its advances in combating violence against women. Latin America was the first region in the world where all countries ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the first to formulate a legal instrument explicitly designed to eradicate gender violence: the Convention for the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women. Until the 1990s, most countries in the region lacked any domestic violence legislation. By the end of the decade, women’s organizing had yielded new laws in nearly every country; though neoliberal policies had concurrently undercut governments’ capacities to meet their legal obligations. Moreover, many laws continued to trivialize gender violence as a civil rather than criminal offense; neglect prevention and rehabilitation as keys to eradicating violence; discriminate against women by exonerating rapists who offered to marry their victims; and deny redress to non-wage earning women by recognizing “injury” only when victims were rendered unfit for paid employment.

After more than two decades of combating gender violence, Latin American activists’ most fundamental challenges are those shared by women globally: to transform social attitudes that reproduce male violence and oppose all policies that violate women’s human rights.

http://www.madre.org/articles/int/b10/violence.html

- EU / Union Européenne

* Abortion / Avortement

Public Hearing on abortion in the European Parliament on 18.10.2005 Women from Europe will testify in the European parliament about the injustice of not being able to access safe abortion in several EU Member States. The hearing will focus on why access to abortion is an important issue for the EU and what impact it has on women.  
For details contact Ylva Bergman: ylva.bergman@rfsu.se

Audition publique sur l'avortement au Parlement européen le 18 octobre 2005 Des femmes d'Europe témoigneront devant le Parlement européen de l'injustice que représente le fait de ne pas pouvoir accéder à un avortement sûr dans plusieurs États membres de l'UE. L'audition se concentrera sur les raisons pour lesquelles l'avortement est un sujet important pour l'Union, et sur son impact sur les femmes.
Contactez Ylva Bergman : ylva.bergman@rfsu.se


* Le travail en Europe

En 2004, 194,5 millions de personnes âgées de 15 ans et plus avaient un emploi ou exerçaient une activité professionnelle dans l'UE, selon un rapport publié par Eurostat (l'office statistique des communautés européennes). Le taux d'emploi total pour la classe d'âge 15-64 ans s'est situé à 63,3%, comparé à 62,4% en 2000. En 2004, le taux d'emploi des femmes a atteint 55,7%. Dans l'UE, le taux d'emploi des personnes âgées de 55 à 64 ans s'est établi à 41,0%, en hausse par rapport au taux de 36,6% enregistré en 2000. Le Conseil européen de Lisbonne a fixé des objectifs à long terme en matière de taux d'emploi pour 2010, à savoir 70% pour la population âgée de 15 à 64 ans et 60% pour les femmes du même groupe d'âge. Le Conseil européen de Stockholm de 2001 a également fixé un objectif à long terme pour le taux d'emploi des personnes âgées entre 55 et 64 ans, soit 50% en 2010.

Eurostat


- Australia : Headscarves deny women rights

VICTORIAN Liberal MP Sophie Panopoulos has described Muslim women's headscarves as an "uncompromising retrograde curtailment of women's rights".

In a speech to parliament, she defended her recent call to ban Muslim girls wearing headscarves to school, arguing the hijab oppresses women. "Why should one section of the community be stuck in the Dark Ages of compliance cloaked under the veil of some distorted form of religious freedom?" Ms Panopoulos said. She said it was wrong to compare the hijab to turbans or nun's habits, as her critics had. "What's not mentioned is that none of these other articles represent the uncompromising retrograde curtailment of women's rights, as does the hijab. "When a suggestion is made to remove from state schools a symbol of what is essentially, as one commentator puts it, 'sexual apartheid', the Labor sisterhood and the left-wing women's movement cry foul. "As a female MP, I am concerned about women's rights in this country. There are those who subscribe to a belief system that devalues and degrades women, that accepts a legal system that would relegate women back to the Dark Ages." She also warned against the emergence of a frightening "Islamic class" in Australia, supported by a "perverse interpretation of the Koran".

(September 06, 2005)  http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16505905%255E2702,00.html

 

 

Worldwide / International

* What is a gender-sensitive life course approach to older women's health ? What is a gender-sensitive life course approach to older women's health? Because the major preventable causes of morbidity and mortality all take effect over the life course, prevention strategies will be most effective when initiated as early in the life course as possible. For example, the health benefits of exercise and physical activities are well known and exercise should be promoted in all age groups from children to centenarians. Barriers for girls and women to exercise should be removed and culturally appropriate strategies for exercise should be put into place. This would help prevent functional dependence in old age and maintain mobility of older women at an adequate level for management of daily life. Other modifiable risk factors associated with poor mobility in old age include smoking and deviance from normal weight. Cessation of smoking, promotion of exercise and improved diet are in fact primary prevention strategies for many causes of death and disability. In addition, it is of paramount importance that younger women have the opportunity to build and maintain strong bones in order to maintain bone density and prevent osteoporosis at later ages. Another example of preventable diseases is heart disease and stroke which are the major causes of death and disability in ageing women, accounting for close to 60% of all adult female deaths. The common view of heart disease and stroke as men’s health problems has tended to overshadow the recognition of their significance for ageing women’s health. Half of all deaths of women over 50 in developing countries are due to these conditions. Although communicable diseases are not yet fully controlled in these countries, they are no longer important causes of sickness and death in old age. For many types of cancer, particularly breast cancer and cervical cancer, early detection is the main strategy for prevention. For breast cancer early detection include physical examination of the breasts by trained health workers, breast self examination and mammography. As general screening programmes by mammography are still far beyond the resources of developing countries, there is an urgent need to improve the effectiveness of breast self examinations strategies. WHO's response to maintain the health of older women WHO's Ageing and Health Programme (AHE) recognises that gender is one of the major determinants of health. In addition to biological differences, a gender approach to health includes an analysis of how different social and economic roles, decision-making power and access to resources affect the health status of men and women at older ages. The AHE Programme is committed to apply the gender perspective in all of its activities, notably in the areas of research, information dissemination, training, advocacy and policy development. Moreover, the Programme promotes the concept of Active Ageing which stresses that older people are a resource for their families and communities and that policies should be developed which enable older people to remain active for as long as possible in their later years. To facilitate the implementation of Active Ageing policies and strategies at all levels -- national and community -- gender sensitive guidelines and strategies are being developed. The AHE Programme works in close partnership with Governments, academic institutions and civil society organisations. mediainquiries@who.int   * The Law and the Girl Child   The Law and the Girl Child: Health and Traditional Practices Historically, the rights and status of women and children have depended solely on the laws and customs of the countries in which they lived. Certain customs, ancient laws and practices relating to marriage were found to be inconsistent with the principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the U.N. General Assembly as early as 1954 (Res. 843-9). Over the last two decades, the world has witnessed the adoption by the international community of two landmark treaties: - The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and - The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Guaranteeing the health of the girl child and protection against traditional practices demands a proactive approach to reinforcing existing and new laws to ensure the fundamental human rights of girls globally. Facts to consider: ♀ At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are “missing” from various populations as a result of sex-selective abortions or neglect. ♀ Existing discrimination against the girl child in her access to nutrition and physical and mental health services endangers her current and future health. ♀ Gender violence against girls and women is ingrained in cultures around the world. ♀ In some areas of the world men outnumber women by 5 or more in every 100 as a result of violence and gender discrimination. ♀ 120 million women have undergone some form of female genital mutilation; another 2 million are at risk each year. ♀ 2 million girls between ages 5 and 15 are introduced into the commercial sex market each year. ♀ 130 million children had no access to primary school; of these, 81 million were girls. This can be attributed to such factors as customary attitudes, child labour, early marriages, lack of funds and lack of adequate schooling facilities, teenage pregnancies and gender inequalities in society at large as well as in the family. ♀ More than 15 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth each year as a result of early marriage and early pregnancy. This can severely curtail educational and employment opportunities; it has a long-term adverse impact on them and their children's quality of life. ♀ Girls often face pressures to engage in sexual activity. Due to such factors as their youth, social pressures, lack of protective laws, or failure to enforce laws, girls are more vulnerable to all kinds of violence, particularly sexual violence, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking, possibly the sale of their organs and tissues, and forced labour. ♀ Rape and other forms of sexual violence are rampant, though many rapes are unreported because of the stigma and trauma associated with rape and the lack of sympathetic treatment from legal systems. From : ♀ www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/ ♀ www.unicef.org/programme/education/index/html / ♀ www.unfpa.org /♀http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm

* FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY WILL NOT BE WON WITHOUT ATTENTION TO ELDERLY

With more than 10 per cent of the elderly worldwide living on less that $1 per day, and 80 per cent with no regular income, United Nations officials have urged civil society representatives to press their respective governments to give priority attention to the needs of this growing population group.

Speaking to a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/ngo583.doc.htm">briefing in New York on Thursday that brought together more than 400 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), General Assembly President Jan Eliasson called for "solidarity between generations to remove artificial borderlines between young and old, north and south."

UN Assistant Secretary-General Jomo Kwame Sundaram pointed out that the number of elderly in the world population is set to quadruple by 2015, and if something is not done to help them, poverty will swell at a commensurate rate.

Analyzing current trends, he said many traditional support mechanisms, such as the extended family, have eroded, leaving large numbers of grandparents vulnerable. Compounding these pressures, grandparents are now increasingly caring for their grandchildren. In Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa, over 60 per cent of all orphans are taking in by grandparents who generally receive no State assistance to cope with the added economic burden.

Mr. Sundaram charged that while many antipoverty programmes target specific population groups, "older women and older men largely remain invisible to many policy makers and development agencies."

At the same time, he sounded a note of hope, noting that the elderly are organizing themselves to good effect. "Change is coming about," he told the gathering, "and civil society [representatives] can only help."
 

(2005-10-07) UNNews@un.org

* Help Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking !

So what can we do? First and foremost we can all get educated. Start by inviting your friends and colleagues to join you in watching the Lifetime mini-series Human Trafficking movie beginning October 24, 2005.

Help us share their stories and raise awareness. It’s the first step in ridding the world of this crime.

Sign up to host a viewing then download the step-by-step tool kit online.

Human trafficking, like slavery, seems only as real as the history pages upon which it is written.

You can help determine how the next chapter in is written – become educated and take action against human trafficking today!

Sincerely,
Chris Grumm, President, The Women's Funding Network

* Why do women make up the majority of the poor ?

(...) One simple reason: discrimination. Discrimination keeps the world's women on the bottom rung of the social ladder - often with little help to move up. Women are the poorest of the poor because men clearly have a distinct advantage: in many countries, women cannot own their own land, so they have no assets. With no assets, women cannot borrow money to start income-generating businesses or grow their farms. And more often than not, women around the world have less control over money when they do earn it.

Because of women's family role in taking care of their children and households, most do not have as much time to work in the economy and when they do, are forced to take less secure or lower-paying jobs. All over the world, women earn 20 to 50%  less than men.

Moreover, while education is a critical factor in overcoming poverty, millions of girls are routinely kept out of school and forced to work in the house, on the farm, and in the factory, while boys are sent to school. Many poor parents reason that sending their boys to school incurs less direct cost than would losing girls' labour and income. Today, of the more than 120 million of children out of school, over 65 million are girls. (...)

Thus, the Women's Edge Coalition developed a tool called the Trade Impact Review (TIR) to uncover how trade agreements may affect the poor--especially women, who make up the majority of the world's poor--and forecast their potential impact on development, prior to high-level trade negotiations. The TIR uses readily-available data and academic research to provide policy makers and advocates with information about the potential consequences that new trade rules may have for the poor. Armed with this data, we can change trade commitments that may harm the poor, before the agreements are completed.

The TIR framework does not presume that all those living in poverty will be losers; instead, it assesses both the positive and negative potential effects of a change in trade or investment policy. The review tool also identifies local laws - including those that benefit the poor or women - that may be lost in a country's compliance with the new trade agreement.

We must do more to ensure that trade agreements benefit men and women living in poverty. An extra dollar a day for many women would change the futures of millions of families. (...)

http://www.womensedge.org/pages/aboutus/detailpage.jsp?id=407

 

 

 

Conference

 

* U.N. supports women in conflict resolution

The United Nations, at the opening of a conflict-resolution conference, is encouraging a greater role for women.
    
    "There is more international awareness of women as peace makers." Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, East and Horn of Africa regional director for UNIFEM, the Development Fund for Women, said Monday. She spoke on the eve of a four-day Global Conference on conflict prevention and peace-building at U.N. World Headquarters in New York. The conference, "From Reaction to Prevention: Civil Society Forging Partnerships to Prevent Conflict and Build Peace," will launch a new international movement to prevent armed conflict. 
      
    "We still see that women are very marginal in the terms of formal participation in negotiations ... it is still men who are the peace mediators and peace negotiators," she said.
    
    An example of how women can help in peace negotiations came from Asha Hagi Amin, founder of Save Somali Women and Children. She explained Somali women organized across clan borders to form a multi-clan, the sixth clan, which for the first time represented women from all over the country in recent talks.
    
    Amin said peace negotiations had included only the five traditional clans of Somalia and, "during the Djibouti peace talks, only men were allowed inside the big tent where the negotiations were being held. So we stood outside demanding to participate until they had to let us in. I had the honor of representing the sixth clan."
    
    Gumbonzvanda said, "It was clear from the Somali talks that when tensions were high, and the women spoke they were able to put down the tension and ensure that women's human rights be included ... the issue of women's affirmative action be included in the charter, and the issue of ensuring that the reconstruction effort in itself would include tenets of women's human rights."
    
    One of the resolutions in the talks ensured that 12 percent of Somali's National Assembly, or 23 seats of 275 total, go to women.
    
    Over the past five years, UNIFEM has been examining the role women play in promoting peace worldwide, and has provided assistance to women for advocacy and education with the goal of preventing the emergence or recurrence of conflict.
    
    The Global Conference on conflict resolution was organized by the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict in partnership with the U.N. Department of Political Affairs.
    
    The conference, Tuesday through Thursday, marks the culmination of multiyear efforts to develop common goals for peace building. Some 1,000 peace activists and organizations were expected to attend from 160 countries.
    
    The sponsors, The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, came about following recommendations in U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's June 2001 report urging non-governmental organizations to organize an international conference and to define its position on conflict prevention.
    
    The purpose of the partnership is to encourage governments and international organizations to work more closely with NGOs. The conference program includes working groups, interactive panels, regional panels, and workshops.
    
    Participants were to attend meetings topics including conflict resolution and media strategies, small arms and conflict prevention. (...)
     
    (July 19, 2005) United Press International

* Some other Meetings...

 

 

“I Congreso Internacional: explotación sexual y tráfico de mujeres”.
Organizado por AFESIP España. Facultad de Medicina, UCM. Avda. de la Complutense s/n. Madrid, 26-28 de Octubre 2005.

 

vvv

 

“Congreso Internacional de Feminismo Islámico”.
Organizado por la Junta Islámica Catalana. Barcelona, 27-29 de Octubre 2005.

 

“International Congress on Islamic Feminism”.
Organizer Junta Islámica Catalana. Barcelona, 27-29 October 2005.

 

vvv

 

Journées de rencontres internationales: “Mobilités au féminin”.
Laboratoire Méditerranéenne de Sociologie (Maison Méditerranéenne de Sciences de l’Homme, Aix-en-Provence, France).

Tanger, 16-19 Novembre 2005.

 

vvv

 

À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale pour la prévention des abus envers les enfants :
“Prix Betty Makoni”, récompensant les activités et événements organisés par les membres de la coalition.
Fondation Sommet Mondiale des Femmes. 19 Novembre 2005.

 

 

vvv

 

World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse: "Prize Betty Makoni”, awarding innovate prevention activities.
WWSF Women’s World Summit Foundation. 19 November 2005.

 

vvv

 

 

"Campagne destinée aux hommes contre les violences faites aux femmes : De nouvelles villes s��engagent".
Collectif Féministe Contre le Viol.

vvv

 

* Pakistan : Women urged to resist injustices

Speakers at a two-day conference of the All Pakistan Women’s Association stressed that the nation cannot make real progress without women empowerment and bring them into the main stream of decision making process.

They said that unless women were given equal rights and opportunities the country could not prosper.
They were speaking at the inauguration of a two-day conference of Apwa on Tuesday entitled ‘Women’s role in shaping tomorrow’, which marks the end of the year-long centenary celebrations of the Apwa founder, Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan.
Apwa chief Tazeen Faridi, Zarin Sarfaraz, Laila Sarfaraz, Yasmin Dastoor, Shahen Ateequr Rehman and others addressed the conference.

The speakers urged the women to get educated because mother was the first and prime educational institution for a child.
They said that women were also partly to be blamed if they had not been able to raise a civilized generation and teach their male children to respect females so that they could grow more sensible.
They also advocated women’s role in politics for bringing about a positive change in the system.

The speakers also stressed the need for skill development training for the womenfolk.
They also urged the women to support women victims of violence, who were brave enough to have stood up against the victimizations.
They said that the society should also change its attitude and praise those women who raised their voice against the injustices done to them.

The speakers said that the millennium development goals that the country had agreed to could not be achieved until women were given their due rights.
They demanded that the government should take measures to check the arsenic poisoning which was affecting women and children in at least 10 districts in Punjab.
They urged the young women to join Apwa so that fresh blood could revitalize the organization. They said that Begum Ra’ana was very particular about the young girls and had stressed their joining the organization.

The speakers said that Apwa would continue its struggle and one day Pakistani women would be free from their shackles — economic, social and political.

(Sept 27, 2005) http://www.dawn.com/2005/09/28/local12.htm

* South India : For widows’ human rights 

SANWED is a new initiative in the South Asian region to fight for widows’ human rights in all aspects of their lives; an end to their poverty and marginalisation; and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against them – legal, social, cultural, religious and economic.

 

(... ) Never before in human history has there been such a dramatic escalation in the numbers of widows, particularly in developing countries, in South Asia, Africa and parts of the Middle East. This unprecedented rise in numbers has been caused by the proliferation of armed conflict, ethnic cleansing, the scourge of AIDS and the persistence in some regions of harmful traditional practices.

 

Statistics barely exist (with the exception of India) on widowhood. But in conflict afflicted countries it is estimated that nearly half of all adult women may be widows or wives of the “disappeared”, many of them very young mothers of dependent children. Many women are still in their teens and early twenties when they become widows, destined to spend the rest of their lives in poverty and vulnerable to abuse, unless governments demonstrate a commitment to right the wrongs inflicted on them.

(...) SANWED will hold its first inaugural meeting in Chennai, Southern India, from December 17-21st hosted by Dr Felix Sugirtharaj of the Coastal Poor Development Action Network. 

 

(...) The goal of SANWED is that in each country, a  national association of widows’ groups  should be established, with branches or member associations in every city, town, village, refugee or IDP camp so that widows’ know and can obtain their rights, can access training and employment, and participate in decision-making at every level. There can be no real change in the situation of widows until they themselves are AGENTS OF CHANGE.

 

(...) Observing the abrupt need to work on widows issues and to enlighten the lives of widows SANWED has been established and the First Regional Meeting  is going to be held in Chennai, South India form December 17-21st hosted by Dr Felix Sugirtharaj of the Coastal Poor Development Action Network along with the coordination of the other SANWED regional members, in which each country will have three to four participants of which one must be a widow to represent the respective country.

 

 From : WUNRN http://www.wunrn.com

 

* Philippines : International Course on Gender Mainstreaming

International Course on Gender Mainstreaming
November 14-25, 2005, Y.C. James Yen Center, IIRR, Silang, Cavite, Philippines 
 
 For more information contact :Y.C. James Yen Center : education&training@iirr.org / http://www.iirr.org

* Ethiopia : "Equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes

"Equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes, with particular emphasis on political participation and leadership" 
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 24 to 27 October 2005

The meeting will be organized by the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Economic Commission for Africa will host the meeting and provide logistical support.
The meeting will be conducted in English and the documentation will be in English.
The meeting will meet in plenary and in working groups. In an opening plenary meeting, background presentations will create a conceptual framework for discussions. The plenary will be followed by an in-depth discussion of specific issues in working groups.

For further information please contact: zakharova@un.org / volfova@un.org


* France : « Les droits des femmes, un combat pour l'universel »

France - Paris : XI^ème université d’automne de la LDH  « Les droits des femmes, un combat pour l’universel »

26 et 27 novembre 2005

 

La LDH

a choisi cette année, comme sujet de son université d’automne, les droits des femmes : question rencontrée à de multiples reprises dans les débats politiques récents ; question transversale à la plupart des autres, et dont les termes ont évolué ; question nécessaire pour la LDH, qui ne s’était pas mobilisée, au niveau national, sur les droits des femmes depuis son congrès d’Arras en 1990.

 

La perspective retenue est celle du rapport entre les droits des femmes et les droits de l’homme en général, autrement dit à l’universalisme : peut-on faire l’hypothèse que les progrès des droits des femmes font avancer les droits et libertés de tous ?

From : communication@ldh-france.org

* USA / Netherlands : International Youth Conferences

It is with great enthusiasm that the members of Global Youth Welfare Organization, New York, United States invites groups, youths and youth-focused organizations to take an active role in the forthcoming International Youth Conferences taking place in the United States and Netherlands.

The events are of two segments, firstly one shall commence in Pittsburgh , USA on the 6th till the 11th of November 2005.

The second segment shall take place in Amsterdam, Netherlands as from 15th till 21st of November 2005.

All Interested organization should forward the following information about their organization:
1) Aims and objectives of the Organization
2) Organization profile
3) Achievement so far

Only groups with delegates between the numbers of five and five members will be allowed to participate from Each of the selected countries. Individuals who do not belong to any organization but are interested to Participate should form a group of at least five persons and forward your names to the contact below : morgansoffice@hotmail.com

* Congrès mondial sur les femmes, les hommes et la médecine / World Congress on Men, Women and Medicine

1er Congrès mondial sur les femmes, les hommes et la médecine - Une vision nouvelle de la biologie et des différences femmes-hommes et du vieillissement - 23-26 février 2006, Berlin, Allemagne. Les participants qui souhaitent faire une présentation à cette occasion doivent envoyer un abrégé qui sera examiné par le comité scientifique. Un nombre limité d'abrégés seront retenus pour la présentation orale. Le comité se réserve le droit de décider de la forme finale de la présentation et de sélectionner les abrégés en fonction des sessions.

Date limite d'envoi des présentations orales : 1er novembre 2005. Date limite d'envoi des   présentations: 1er décembre 2005.

Info : http://www.gendermedicine.com/Abstract.asp

First World Congress on Men, Women and Medicine: A new view of the biology of sex/gender differences and aging- February 23-26 2006, Berlin, Germany. Participants who would like to give a presentation at the Congress must submit an abstract for consideration by the Scientific Committee. A limited number of abstracts will be scheduled for oral presentation. The committee reserves the right to decide on the final form of presentation and to select the abstracts relevant to the sessions.
Deadline for the oral presentation: November 1st 2005; Deadline for poster presentations: December 1st 2005.
For more info: http://www.gendermedicine.com/Abstract.asp

 

Book / Livre

 

* Journalist / Journaliste
 

"Journaliste, nouveau magazine sur le net, a écrit un papier sur l'état des 'Women's Studies' à travers le monde et notamment en France par rapport aux pays voisins et aux Etats-Unis. Si vous avez des commentaires à faire à ce sujet, merci de contacter mary.maccarthy@ideesdefrance.fr.
Le site n'a pas encore été lancé, mais le site en construction est disponible en tapant les mots de passe suivants: 'spécialistes' suivi de "septembre.' "

"Journalist at a French on-line magazine writing an article on the state of Women's Studies around the world, focussing particularly on France compared to the rest of Europe and to the U.S. If you would like to make comments on this topic, please send an email to mary.maccarthy@ideesdefrance.fr. Any contributions will be highly appreciated.
The website is new: www.ideesdefrance.fr. It hasn't been officially launched yet, so for now you need the following codes to see it: 'spécialistes' followed by 'septembre.' "

* The Psychoanalytic Review

(...) Monotheism is about the One, about the one who is invisible,¹⁰ and it is usually patriarchal, that is, it has at its core the belief in a masculine and paternal deity. Regarding monotheism as masculinist and patriarchal, and as generating problematical forms of desire, poses a challenge to cherished beliefs regarding monotheism as the most evolved form of religion. It is usually assumed that patriarchal monotheism represents an advance over polytheism (or matriarchal religions) by virtue of its sanctifying a single, integrative entity. Challenging these assumptions may offer new knowledge as well as extend feminist critique to the religious realm.

In addition to the emphasis on the particular characteristics of patriarchal monotheism, the stance I offer here differs from most positions seeking to understand fundamentalism in that my position foregrounds the libidinal and perverted relations between a certain kind of believer and his God, in which the libidinal and the violent come together. Assuming that cultural forms reflect underlying motivations or structures of desire¹¹, I suggest that coercive fundamentalism is based on a violent, homo-erotic, self-abnegating father-son relationship, as we so clearly see in Atta's letter, or in Bin Laden's poetry to his fatherly God (Stein, 2002). Psychoanalytically speaking, this relationship ultimately obtains between the fundamentalist and himself, but it is obvious that group processes and internal dynamics join into the production of fundamentalism. (...)

The Psychoanalytic Review (2006) 96:2.
Ideologies of War and Terror : http://ideologiesofwar.com/papers/fundamentalism_stein.htm

 

Report / Rapport

* The first ever comparative assessment of women's rights in the Middle East and North Africa

(...) The study rates countries on a numerical scale, offering the first such ranking of the status of women in the region. The survey's methodology is derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Only three countries -- Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria -- scored above average in some areas of women's rights. Saudi Arabia earned the lowest scores.

According to the study, women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) face a systematic gender gap, aided in large measure by discriminatory laws and by the routine lack of enforcement of existing laws guaranteeing equality and fair treatment. While women in the region have made substantial gains in education, none of the countries evaluated meets internationally recognized standards for women's rights protections.

"This survey will be instrumental in facilitating and supporting national and international efforts to empower women in the Middle East and North Africa," said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor. "It will strengthen the efforts of those working in the region in behalf of women's rights and help identify critical areas for reform." 

(...) The study identifies several major obstacles that prevent women in the MENA region from enjoying the full range of legal, civil, political, economic, and social rights, among them:

Inferior status due to legal discrimination: While 16 of the 17 countries examined (all except Saudi Arabia) enshrine the concept of equal rights in their constitutions, women face legal forms of discrimination that are systematic and pervade every aspect of life; in some countries women are susceptible to harsher penalties than men for certain crimes.

Discrimination in nationality and citizenship laws: Women do not enjoy the same citizenship and nationality rights as men in MENA countries. A woman who marries a foreigner cannot pass on her citizenship or nationality to her spouse and, in most countries, cannot confer her citizenship to her children.

Domestic violence: No country in the region has laws that clearly outlaw all forms of domestic violence. The burden of proof is placed entirely on the female victim in cases of gender-based violence, which discourages women from reporting crimes. Some laws, such as those that encourage men who rape women to marry their victims, even condone violence against women.

Lack of information; Absence of voice: Women in the region are largely unaware of their rights, due in part to educational weaknesses and the failure by governments to engage in public education campaigns. Students, especially girls, are not taught about citizenship rights. The media also largely fails to cover injustices suffered by women. Cultural attitudes generally regard women's demands and protests as contrary to women's traditional, subservient roles.

Women's inferior status in family law: In almost all MENA countries, women face gender-based discrimination in family codes. Except in Morocco and Tunisia, family laws relegate women to inferior status within marriage and family life. Husbands are given power over their wives' right to work and travel, and they can divorce their wives at any time, without reason and without going to court; women are required by law to meet specific conditions in order to seek divorce through a court of law.

Lack of complaint mechanisms: With the exception of Egypt, MENA governments do not provide mechanisms for women to file complaints of gender discrimination.

(...) "Women have a fundamental role to play in the democratization of Middle Eastern societies. As pressure mounts for democratic change in the region, gender equality and women's rights must necessarily be addressed and dealt with meaningfully, as witnessed recently in Kuwait, where women were finally granted the right to vote," she said. "The lack of women's rights must be regarded as a chief obstacle to democratic reform."

The survey evaluates countries according to five categories:
nondiscrimination and access to justice; autonomy, security, and freedom of the person; economic rights and equal opportunity; political rights and civic voice; and social and cultural rights. Universal standards of comparability, based in part on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, were employed in rating country performance. (...)

(May 20, 2005) http://www.freedomhouse.org/media/pressrel/052005.htm

* Lebanon : Women's & Girls Human Rights

The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence and domestic violence against women was a common problem. There were no authoritative statistics on the extent of spousal abuse; however, most experts agreed that the problem affected a significant portion of the female population. Cases reported were believed to be only a fraction of the actual number. Despite a law prohibiting battery with a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison for those convicted, some religious courts legally may require a battered wife to return to the house in spite of physical abuse. Many women were compelled to remain in abusive marriages because of social and family pressures. Possible loss of custody of children and the absence of an independent source of income also prevented women from leaving their husbands.

The Government had no separate program to provide medical assistance to battered women; however, it provided legal assistance to victims who could not afford it regardless of their gender. In most cases, police ignored complaints submitted by battered or abused women. A local NGO, the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence Against Women, worked actively to reduce violence against women by offering counseling and legal aid and raising awareness about domestic violence.

Foreign domestic servants often were mistreated, abused, and in some cases, raped or placed in slavery-like conditions (see Section 5, Trafficking). Asian and African female workers had no practical legal recourse available to them because of their low status, isolation from society, and because the labor laws did not protect them (see Section 6.e.). Because of such abuse, the Government prohibited foreign women from working if they were from countries that did not have diplomatic representation in the country.

The law prohibits rape, and the minimum sentence for a person convicted of rape is 5 years in prison. The minimum sentence for a person convicted of raping a minor is 7 years. During the year, the courts issued several sentences in cases involving rape; most offenders received 5 to 7 years in jail.

The legal system was discriminatory in its handling of "honor crimes." According to the Penal Code, a man who kills his wife or other female relative may receive a reduced sentence if he demonstrates that he committed the crime in response to a socially unacceptable sexual relationship conducted by the victim. For example, while the Penal Code stipulates that murder is punishable by either a life sentence or the death penalty, if a defendant can prove it was an honor crime, the sentence is commuted to 1 to 7 years imprisonment. Several honor crimes are reported in the media every year. No person has been convicted in a case legally considered an honor crime.

The 1931 law on prostitution requires that brothels be licensed and that sex workers be tested regularly for disease. The law remains on the books and technically in effect. However, government policy since the late 1960s was to stop issuing new licenses for brothels in an attempt to gradually eliminate legal prostitution in the country; however, as a result of the civil war and the weakness of government institutions, illicit prostitution spread. In practice, most prostitution is unlicensed and illegal. Thousands of foreign women, primarily from Russia and Eastern Europe, traveled to the country to work as "artistes." The SG actively investigates adult clubs employing "artistes" and issues warnings to those that do not comply with regulations regarding employee working schedules and documentary requirements. The country was a destination for trafficked persons, primarily women (see Section 5, Trafficking).

The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, it was a widespread problem. Women had varying employment opportunities in government, medicine, law, academia, the arts, and to a lesser degree, business. However, social pressure against women pursuing careers was strong in some parts of society. Men sometimes exercised considerable control over female relatives, restricting their activities outside of the home or their contact with friends and relatives.

Women may own property but often ceded control of it to male relatives for cultural reasons and because of family pressure.

The law provides for equal pay for equal work for men and women. The law gives women working for the Government the same rights as men in terms of medical coverage and hospitalization, meaning that women serving in government can claim reimbursement for medical coverage, hospitalization, and family allowances in cases when they are single or their husband is unemployed or does not otherwise have coverage.

Only men may confer citizenship on their spouses and children. Accordingly, children born to citizen mothers and foreign fathers are not eligible for citizenship. Citizen widows may confer citizenship on their minor children.

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41726.htm (US State Department Human Rights Report 2004 - Section 5)

* Kuwait : Women's Rights & the Meaning of Citizenship

(...) Kuwaiti activists, including feminists, are tired of fruitless confrontations in the National Assembly. Instead, many are focusing their efforts on civil society where they are making notable strides toward bridging the various sectarian divisions that the government and parliament are so assiduous in cultivating. Initiators of civil society reforms are seeking to shape the future by concentrating on human rights, including the human rights of women. Few argue any longer that women deserve political rights because they resisted Iraqi occupation or because they are such good citizens. As women -- and others, like the Shia -- learned after liberation, special status is a trap. Instead, as a female economist put it, because they are citizens, women must have the same rights as men.

In December 2004, activists made a spectacular end run around status quo forces in Kuwaiti society when economists elected Rola Dashti as chair of their professional organization. Dashti is the first woman to hold such a position in a mixed-gender non-governmental organization in Kuwait. In addition to her credentials as an economist, she is an active feminist and a Shiite. As important as her energetic leadership of citizens' efforts to win political rights for women is her assertion of her right as a citizen to own a business and to host diwaniyyas (salons) in her home where women come to discuss politics, business and other matters of interest just as men do at their diwaniyyas. Rasha Al Sabah, a cousin of the emir, has held mixed diwaniyyas for years but, as a member of the ruling family, though what she does may be exemplary it is not "normal." Rola Dashti, along with a handful of other women, is normalizing diwaniyyas for women just as she has normalized the role of Kuwaiti businesswoman.

The Economists Society sees her election as sending a strong message to Kuwaiti society. One Sunni member told me that she thought it was time for Kuwait to shatter the glass ceiling that impedes all but token members of the Shiite and other minority communities from being fully recognized for their abilities and achievements. The Economists Society has stepped forward into the vacuum left by the state, the country's largest employer, and hopes to set an example for other civil society institutions to move beyond tokenism to inclusion.

 

(...) Women's political rights, redistricting and the legalization of political parties would be good for the government in the long run and arguably even in the short run. Micro-managing a state is difficult. Kuwait's leaders look more like the little Dutch boy putting his fingers in the leaky dyke than statesmen steering the ship of state. As with any leaky enterprise, the biggest leaks attract the most attention but palliatives do little to preserve the integrity of the vessel. A case in point is the Islamist use of interpellation as a kind of hostage taking, to get results they would not be able to command in an open forum.

Allowing Islamist parties of various stripes to compete openly with secular parties might be a better way to minimize Islamist radicalism than by applying the time-honored strategy of repression. As the interpellation of the information minister approached, the prime minister, fearful of aggravating sectarian divisions, held frantic closed-door meetings with parliamentary independents and Sunni Islamists to ensure that the questioning would not end with a vote of no confidence against the minister. In exchange, he agreed to ban the entertainment programs the Islamists had objected to. As it turned out, none of this mattered as the threat of a scandal over the transfer of ownership of a local daily newspaper pushed the minister to resign before a vote of confidence was taken. The prime minister accepted his decision.

The prime minister's rush to reach a private accommodation with the Islamists produced a predictable response from another Kuwaiti professional association, the Kuwait Graduates Society, which long has opposed the encroachments of Islamists on citizens' rights. In a statement published on December 29, the society accused the prime minister of using constitutionally guaranteed civil rights as a bargaining chip to pacify "parliamentarians who have no respect for constitutional values and for the democratic system as a whole.... Deals struck between the government and Islamist MPs [come] at the expense of our freedom," and threaten to take Kuwait toward a Taliban-style regime. The last time such an impasse occurred was the spring of 1999, when the emir dismissed the parliament in the hope of getting a better one. Yet the new parliament the emir's dissolution produced was only a little more reasonable than the one it replaced, while its successor body has proven to be at least as bad if not worse.

Reform opens the possibility of changing the Kuwaiti political universe in a positive direction. A reconfiguration of constituencies could bring a more professional kind of legislator to the National Assembly and perhaps a more consistent and transparent method for regulating public discourse. Legalizing and regulating political parties could add responsibility to what is now a very unstable and irresponsible system. Open party competition would force radical Islamists to seek public support for their ideas rather than being able to sneak behind closed doors and use threats to get what they want from a fearful regime. Even though a majority of women are thought to be heavily influenced by religion and tradition, adding women to voter rolls and candidate lists would be another prop for responsible politics, especially when Islamist extremism presents a direct threat to the safety and wellbeing of Kuwaitis and their families. Doing nothing promises far less: deadlock, rancor, rising resentment and perhaps continuing violence. The Red Queen's advice to Alice applies equally well to Kuwait: you have to run as fast as you can just to stay in the same place. 
 

Mary Ann Tétreault (February 10, 2005)

http://www.agenda.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=596&Itemi

http://www.tharwaproject.com/index.php?option=com_keywords&task=view&id=1299&Itemid=0

 

 

* Afghanistan : Promouvoir le rôle des femmes

(...) Les besoins spécifiques et la contribution des femmes sont souvent négligés dans la formulation de stratégies pour la justice en période de transition. Les femmes afghanes qui ont tout particulièrement souffert au cours des vingt-cinq dernières années continuent d'être exposées à des violences fondées sur le sexe qui s'ajoutent au niveau élevé de violence d'une manière générale. Par ailleurs, la discrimination envers les femmes est forte au sein du système judiciaire : l'État n'ordonne pas d'enquêtes sur les violences commises contre les femmes, les dispositions légales protégeant leurs droits sont insuffisantes, elles sont sous-représentées parmi les juges et les avocats, et les hommes ne font que rarement l'objet de poursuites pour des crimes dont elles sont les victimes, notamment le viol et les violences domestiques. L'accès à la justice reste difficile pour la grande majorité des femmes ; elles ne sont pratiquement pas intégrées dans les structures de gouvernement local et seules quelques-unes participent à la prise de décision politique au niveau national.

Les enqu��tes débouchant sur des poursuites à l'encontre des responsables de violences, entre autres sexuelles, perpétrées durant le conflit contre des femmes et des jeunes filles constituent un aspect important de l'examen des crimes commis par le pass�� et de la lutte contre l'impunité.

Dans le cadre de sa campagne mondiale Halte à la violence contre les femmes, Amnesty International fait valoir, entre autres, que les femmes sont prises pour cible dans le monde entier lors des conflits et au lendemain de ceux-ci, qu'elles ne bénéficient pas de la même protection que les hommes et qu'elles sont souvent absentes des négociations et accords de paix. Le gouvernement afghan doit prendre en compte les spécificités des deux sexes dans la planification et la mise en œuvre d'une stratégie globale à long terme pour la justice ; il doit incorporer dans sa législation les dispositions de la résolution 1325 du Conseil de sécurité, afin d'accorder des réparations et de garantir l'égalité future entre les sexes(20).

Des mesures doivent être prises pour garantir un équilibre entre les sexes dans le système judiciaire afghan, en vertu des articles 36-8-a-iii et 42-2 du Statut de Rome ainsi que de la nécessité de nommer des spécialistes du droit relatif aux violences sexuelles énoncée aux articles 43-6 et 42-9 du Statut de Rome. (...)

From: <comfemmes@amnesty.asso.fr>

* Women's informal employment

UNIFEM report calls for increased focus on women's informal employment - A new report, released by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in anticipation of the 2005 World Summit, argues for closer attention to the role of women, particularly working poor women, in the informal economy, and the impact of this on efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals. UNIFEM's report, Progress of the World's Women 2005: Women, Work and Poverty, is the third publication in a biennial series first introduced in 2000 to track and measure the world's commitments to gender equality.

Read the report: http://www.unifem.org/resources/item_detail.php?ProductID=48

Le rapport de l'UNIFEM demande plus d'attention pour le travail informel des femmes - Un nouveau rapport, publié par le Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme (UNIFEM) dans la perspective du Sommet mondial 2005, demande plus d'attention pour le rôle des femmes, en particulier les femmes pauvres qui travaillent dans l'économie informelle, et l'impact de ce phénomène sur les efforts pour atteindre les Objectifs du millénaire pour le développement. Ce rapport de l'UNIFEM, Progrès des femmes dans la monde, 2005 : les femmes, le travail et la pauvreté, est la 3ème publication d'une série biennale lancée en 2000 pour recenser et mesurer les engagements du monde envers l'égalité femmes-hommes.
Lisez le rapport sur : http://www.unifem.org/resources/item_detail.php?ProductID=48

* Global picture of women as unacknowledged casualties of war

The report shows some of the ways in which conflict affects women, and the many different roles which women play in conflict. Women are not only victims and survivors, but also activists, negotiators, peace-builders and human rights defenders. It states that attempts to address the human rights consequences of conflict, including its particular effects on women, can only be comprehensive and long-lasting if women play an active part in rebuilding society at all levels. The report calls for the international community, governments and other parties to armed conflicts to act without delay in order to:

                   condemn violence against women in any circumstances - all parties to armed conflict must publicly denounce gender-based violence, issue clear instructions to their forces to refrain from all forms of violence against women, train their personnel on the rights of civilians and combatants no longer participating in hostilities to protection, including the prohibition of violence against women

                   commit to ending impunity for violence against women - governments (and where appropriate armed groups) must cooperate in bringing to justice perpetrators of serious crimes by armed groups through the exercise of extraterritorialjurisdiction and support for international judicial bodies such as the International Criminal Court

                   provide effective and prompt reparations to survivors of violence, and offer humanitarian assistance to survivors of violence, including emergency healthcare programmes, and longer term medical, psychological, social and legal support and to challenge the stigma aimed at survivors of sexual violence and people living with HIV/AIDS

                   take steps to prevent violence against women in armed conflict - all governments must encourage monitoring mechanisms to combat violence against women, introduce education and public information programmes, amend discriminatory laws which constitute or facilitate violence against women

                   ensure violence against women is prohibited in national law as a criminal offence with effective penalties and remedies for all forms of violence against women in armed conflict - all governments must ratify and implement relevant international human rights and international humanitarian law treaties

                   ensure that peacekeeping and other field operations forces do not violate women’s human rights

                   end the misuse of arms to perpetrate violence against women

                   end support and assistance for governments and armed groups which could result in violence against women

                   provide assistance and protection to refugees and internally displaced women

                   stop the use of child soldiers

                   ensure that human rights defenders can carry out their work without fear

                   involve women fully in peace processes

http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/docdisplay.cfm?doc=DOC16986&resource=f1csr


* Age discrimination : new study 

What legal protection is available to protect people against age discrimination? When is age discrimination allowed under European legislation? What do the laws say about pensions, insurance and retirement ages? These are just some of the many issues dealt with in a new report published by the European Commission. The 50-page report was written by Colm O’Cinneide – the UK

member of the network of independent legal experts, which is funded by the Community Action Programme to combat discrimination. The report is currently available in English, with German and French translations following shortly.

http://www.media-consulta.com

Leisure / Loisir

* Lebanon : International Marathon

The Beirut Marathon Association (BMA) is a non-profit non-governmental organization registered under the Ministry of Youth and Sports. BMA was founded in August 2001 with the purpose of organizing the annual Beirut International Marathon in Lebanon. The Beirut International Marathon (BIM) is an annual event that takes place every October in Beirut. The first ever BIM was held on October 19, 2003 and attracted over 6,000 runners from 49 different countries and tens of thousands of spectators in Lebanon and around the world. These numbers doubled in the 2004 Beirut International Marathon. In addition to promoting running, health, and personal achievement, the BIM also has a humanitarian dimension that aims at making a difference in other people's lives through sports. 

To find out more about volunteering in the Beirut International Marathon, please apply online via: www.beirutmarathon.org/5volform.php or email sawsan.atallah@beirutmarathon.org to find out more.
* NGOs and groups of volunteers especially welcome!

http://www.iris-lebanon.org/inner/announcement.htm
 

 * Muslim Values Version of Barbie Doll

In the last year or so, Barbie dolls have all but disappeared from the shelves of many toy stores in the Middle East. In their place, there is Fulla, a dark-eyed doll with, as her creator puts it, "Muslim values."

The very popular Fulla doll is sold in the Middle East wearing either a black abaya or a white head scarf and long coat. Under these modest coverings, the dolls wear fashionable dresses.

     ***

Michèle Dayras
SOS SEXISME