Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Tearfund: finding strength in motherhood

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 01:03 PM PDT

Credit: Richard Hanson/Tearfund/Henri-David Eustache

Sara Guy
Media officer, Tearfund

In a series of five features to mark Mother’s Day on March 18, Sara Guy from Tearfund presents a feature of case studies of mothers from around the world.

The first is on Haiti.

Phanette Piard, 37, was packing up after a university lecture when the devastating earthquake hit Haiti on January 12 2010. Of the 50 students in the hall, seven died, including the professor.

Phanette was trapped with a classmate under rubble for hours before they were rescued. A large concrete block had fallen on her legs, leaving her left leg in particular badly damaged.

Despite surgery and medical care, she was left unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair.

Like many people in Haiti, Phanette's life has been radically different ever since. Her house had been destroyed and she and her family are still living in transitional shelters. In addition, she has had to adjust to life in a wheelchair.

But life for Phanette and her husband Rynold, 39, did not stay still. Phanette had always been involved in children's work and other activities at her local church.

Despite the difficulties in her new life, a year after the earthquake she was leading an anniversary service at church to remember those who had died.

A major factor that helped Phanette and her husband through these difficult times was the birth of their first child in February 2011; the couple had been trying for a baby for four years.

Phanette described finding out she was pregnant: "When we found out we were having a baby we were so so happy. To me it's like a present has been given to us.

"We had been trying for four long years and now after all of this, after being crushed, after surgery and being in this wheelchair, now I am pregnant."

The birth was not without complications. Phanette was still wheelchair-bound and the anaesthetics didn't work as expected.

But just over a year after the earthquake, Christéphane was delivered by C-section.

For Phanette, being a mother has given her a new sense of life and greater determination to continue to fight.

She started rehabilitation therapy again and had surgery on her limbs and back to improve her movement.

Gradually Phanette improved from walking with a walker, to with a cane to being able to walk unaided, using her cane only on difficult ground.

She is relearning things like how to walk up and down stairs, and what it is to lead a normal life. Simple acts, like being able to get up early to get food ready for her daughter, have so much significance now.

Life is by no means perfect. The Piard family are still living surrounded by tarpaulins. There are challenges of keeping everything, and everyone, clean and secure.

But Phanette's daughter has given her the resolve to continue being a dynamic and active person. Phanette is hopeful that "we will have better tomorrows."

Film is testament to strength of Japanese women

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 12:30 PM PDT

Brogan Driscoll
WVoN co-editor 

A year after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, a film documenting the courage of women to the disaster has been released.

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent a tsunami crashing into northeastern Japan, destroying entire towns and claiming thousands of lives.

The film, 311: In The Moment, directed by Kyoko Gasha, tells the story of a handful of courageous women as they rebuild their lives and come to terms with their new reality.

Gasha interviewed around 50 women to make the film.

From teenagers to octogenarians, each had their own unique and inspirational story: one woman started exercise classes in an evacuation shelter, while another is raising her grandchildren after their mother was killed in the disaster.

"With a positive outlook, if you have goals you’d like to achieve, you will be happy," says one interviewee.

A Japanese documentary maker and reporter for Reuters, Gasha moved to the US with her daughter in 2001.

Her most famous documentary is the widely acclaimed Mother’s Way, Daughter’s Choice, which explores how women adapt culturally when moving to the US, an issue close to her heart.

311: In The Moment is being screened at the Women Make Waves film festival in Taiwan. The festival, which runs until March 18, celebrates female talent.

The film will subsequently be shown in France, Canada, South Korea and the US.

To watch the trailer click here.

Foreign maids in Singapore to get a a day off a week

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Sara Dzregah
WVoN co-editor

Foreign domestic workers in Singapore will get a day off a week following new legislation taking effect in January 2013.

Singapore households employ over 200,000 foreign maids, primarily from India, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

When announcing the new requirement for employers, the Singapore government acknowledged that a weekly day of rest is a basic labour right, already applicable to non-domestic foreign workers.

Dr Noorashikin Abdul Rahman, Vice-President of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), said:

“This has been long overdue and signifies the first steps to put domestic workers on par with other workers who contribute to our economy significantly.”

This new right for foreign maids goes against public opinion. In a poll conducted last year by Yahoo Singapore, 46% voted against a weekly day of rest, while 44% voted in favour.

Pia Bruce, Executive Director of the Singapore Committee for UN Women, said: “Just following the in-country debate, we know it’s not an easy thing to do at the moment, though it is absolutely the right thing to do.”

The new entitlement applies to contracts issued or renewed after January 2013. The legislation allows for maids and their employers to mutually agree on monetary compensation instead of the time off.

TWC2 argues in a statement that at least half of the weekly days off should be protected and not allowed to be surrendered under any terms.

TWC2′s former president, John Gee, said: We feel that a lot of workers, particularly when they are new, are very open to pressure to give up their days off.

“When they arrive they typically have to repay placement costs of around about eight or nine months salary. So they are under a lot of pressure in those circumstances to get a job and earn as much money as possible.”

Singapore’s government hopes that the new employment rights will make the country more attractive to experienced foreign domestic workers.

Asian Football Federation leads the way in empowering women in Sri Lanka

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PDT

Penny Hopkins
WVoN co-editor

This week saw the start of two major events promoting the empowerment of women in Sri Lanka.

Not a surprising fact in itself, perhaps, until you learn that both were organised by the Asian Football Federation (AFF). 

On Friday, a girls' under-13 football tournament began in Colombo with six Asian nations taking part.

The week-long tournament is part of a larger initiative led by the AFF called "Dream Asia" which aims to promote healthy living and to raise awareness of the spread of HIV and AIDS in Asia.

The intention is to use the power of football to encourage social change.

The Sri Lankan senior women's team captain, Shanika Rajapaksha, has been involved in helping to hand out leaflets and information throughout the capital.  On Friday alone ten thousand leaflets were distributed at the railway station in Colombo.

Saturday saw 100 women attend a seminar in Colombo entitled "Women's Empowerment through Football".

In the first event of its kind, women's group leaders, school principals and army and police officers as well as women's football coaches came together to take part in a varied programme under the banner "towards a better quality of life."

The subjects included women's football development in Sri Lanka, training in leadership skills, how women can attain a decent work-life balance, education in sexually transmitted diseases and the principles of personal hygiene.

The commitment shown by the AFF is being seen as a clear indication that women are becoming more respected the Asian football world.

More women needed in UK sports governing bodies

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 07:30 AM PDT

Penny Hopkins
WVoN co-editor

A new report commisioned by the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) has found that one in five of the top positions on sports boards in the UK are now held by women.

The figures, issued in a press release on International Women’s Day, show that 22% of posts are taken by women, an improvement on 20% in 2010.  The number of boards without any women at all has fallen from 10 to six.

However this good news is tempered by the fact that there has been a drop in the number of women in the top jobs.  Only seven of the 47 governing bodies have a female chair.  Only ten have a woman as CEO.

It is a long-running issue for the WSFF.  The organisation argues that only by appointing women to boards at a senior level can the bodies engage with women and encourage interest in grass-roots participation.  This, in turn, will lead to more success at the elite level.

Since the publication of the first WSFF “Trophy Women?” report in 2009, the UK has seen a significant increase in the number of women in leadership roles.

In January 2012, Heather Rabbatts became the most high profile appointment when she became the first female non-executive director at the Football Association (FA).

Women make up 54% of the London Organising Committe for the Olympic Games.

The Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation CEO, Sue Tibballs, commented on the findings:

“The under-representation of women not only harms sport’s delivery and profile, but means sport is missing out on the massive potential  for growth from the women’s market.  These figures give us hope that governing bodies are starting to recognise the benefits of having more women involved.”

Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson, said:

“Today’s figures from WSFF are a small step in the right direction but indicate that we still have more to do to ensure all [national governing bodies] NGBs have modern, effective governance structures…

“Having a gender balance on boards can help sports focus on increasing female participation, which in many cases, lag behind men.”

WSFF is calling for governing bodies to be offered support in increasing the diversity of their boards and help in seeking out the best women to take on senior roles.

Short film about FGM wins Young Voice Award

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT

Sara Dzregah
WVoN co-editor

A short film about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) made by Bristol teenagers won the Young Voice Award at an event in London earlier this month.

The ten minute film ‘Silent Scream’ was made by young women from Bristol to raise awareness of FGM and campaign against it.

It was produced by Integrate Bristol, a charity working with, and for, children and young people who have come to Britain from other countries and cultures.

It won the category ’Young Voice’ at the First Light Awards, an annual event for young film makers. After the awards, one of the film makers said:

“It’s about a subject that no one really wants to talk about and we decided to let people know what FGM really is and the effects it has on people.”

As part of the research for the film, the young people spoke to women affected by FGM.

“During some of the interviews we’ll all be in tears because it’s such a powerful thing to hear about. Some of the women are absolutely inspirational.”

A study by the UK campaign group FORWARD, revealed that about 66,000 women in the UK have been subjected to FGM.

Although it is a criminal offence to assist or facilitate FGM, some parents travel abroad to have their daughters cut. According to the study, an estimated 20,000 girls in the UK are at risk of FGM.

‘Silent Scream’ was first screened on 30 June 2011 at the Watershed Cinema in Bristol.

Not such a laughing matter at the Secret Policeman’s Ball

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 04:00 AM PDT

 Jackie Gregory
WVoN co-editor 

The first two jokes were about breasts made by two middle-aged millionaires in suits. Ha, ha and 'tits' to you too.

It didn't get any better.

Welcome to Amnesty International's 'Secret Policeman's Ball' raising money to combat torture and injustice  through post-post-post-ironic-we're-all-liberals-now-so-we-can-be-fuckin-sexist boys' own humour.

The show, broadcast on Channel 4 on Friday night from the Radio City Music Hall in New York, had already been slated before the curtain went up for a lack of female comics on its line-up – because of course British comedian Sarah Millican standing there shouting 'hooters' would just not be funny. Ever. Full stop.

Ok there was Sarah Silverman on the bill, whose humour was all directed against herself, but that was about it.

The opening duo David Walliams and Ben Stiller eventually managed to stop spewing out names for random parts of the female anatomy to shuffle off stage looking pleased with their night's work.

Following shortly in their footsteps came Noel Fielding and Russell Brand who had three minutes to coerce people into becoming Amnesty members.

To do this they picked on one non-member – a woman. Brand called her 'a stupid cow' three times, a selfish bitch more than once, a vindictive woman and 'Hitler with a perm' before accusing her of getting off with Kim Jong-il – all in 180 seconds.

After shouting "I'm going to grab her" Brand hauled the woman up on stage and went into a routine about 10 women being stoned to death in Iran for adultery, suggesting he was responsible because he was the one having sex with them (groan, mutter, yawn, think up a new routine you sad,  so last decade, comeback lothario).

No doubt Brand was poking fun at regimes who arbitrarily pick off, abuse and kill women for just being women, but I am not sure a casual TV viewer on a Friday night who has no idea of what Amnesty stands for would get it.

Call me a patronising old cow if you like but I'll eat my bra (36C, Mr Walliams) if a few thousand watchers didn't just chortle at Brand hurling chauvinist vitriol  – he's such a lad – and missed the bigger picture altogether. ­­­­­­­­­­­

It would have been more edgy to stand up on stage and read out the list of human rights abuses around the world and the various bizarre but too real torture methods used.

Have you heard the one about Afghan men having their genitals twisted, wrenched and given electric shocks?

I'm sorry though that I switched over to the Graham Norton Show (where the four male guests laughed about dating and groping women) before Liam Neeson came on stage to introduce Burmese comic Zarganar, but I caught up with it here.

He was jailed in 2008 for 59 years for standing up and telling jokes against the regime, and released last year in part due to pressure from Amnesty. He felt no need to shout 'hooters' to get his message across.

Zarganar said The Secret Policeman's Ball would never be allowed to be shown in his country  – and too right we are fortunate to have freedom of expression in Britain and the US.  But this freedom is precious and shouldn't be constrained by what dominant males pass off as humour.

It certainly doesn't mean sitting back and accepting all the tired old balls which Brand and co want to throw at us.

UK shopworkers feel unsafe as they travel to work

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 02:00 AM PDT

Jackie Gregory
WVoN co-editor 

Hundreds of female shopworkers feel unsafe as they travel to and from work in Britain.

Dark car parks, poorly lit streets and staff having to come and go on late evening or early morning shifts are some of the concerns highlighted in a survey by Usdaw, the shopworkers' union, which found that one in seven members had safety fears.

With the majority of shopworkers being women, and many working part-time anti-social hours to fit work around family life, the issues of transport and car parking are becoming more acute.

John Hannatt, general secretary of Usdaw, said:

“As the relentless drive to a 24/7 society continues unabated, this issue is going to have to be addressed more seriously by employers, policymakers and politicians, particularly as evidence is beginning to emerge that the impact of government spending cuts is actually making the situation worse.”

A report commissioned by the Labour Party also found that women’s safety is being compromised by cuts to street lighting and public transport.

In the foreword to its first interim report Everywoman Safe Everywhere, Yvette Cooper, shadow Home Secretary, wrote:

“Half a million street lights are being switched off with no assessment of the impact on women's safety or fear of crime.

“Overall, it is clear that government policy is now undermining action to keep women safe.

“Whilst Labour has always said that services across the board need to reform and make savings, we’ve also made clear the Government is cutting too far too fast, and there is now growing evidence that services supporting women’s safety are facing disproportionate cuts.”

A particular concern are plans recommended in the McNulty report, commissioned by the Secretary of State for Transport, to close 675 ticket offices in rail stations, leaving many completely unstaffed.

Low paid workers are also struggling to afford public transport with some in London experiencing increases of up to 50 per cent over the past four years.

Labour’s report also lists the counties that have switched off street lights to save money, with one switching off half of its 66.000 lights.

In the Usdaw survey, one woman highlighted how the store changed the shift times with the knock-on effect that it was impossible for staff to catch the last public transport home.

Others cited how stores banned night staff from parking in disabled or parent/child bays near the store during the night, even though these spaces were left empty at that time. Some stores switched their car park lights off during the night to save money.

Another respondent said:  "I drive to and from work, feel safe in my car, but in the winter I do not feel safe going to my car as it is dark and  staff have to walk down a dark alley. Customers have had handbags snatched in car park."

One woman detailed how she was watched leaving work by a group of men.

"Being watched by a group of men whilst walking across car park to my car in the dark, all lighting had been turned off since approx 11.00pm. Noticed that two of the men started walking towards the area I was going to."

Workers also say they are left outside their place of work for too long waiting to be let in at the start of a shift.

"Sometimes (most of the time) the backdoor entrance is closed for us, especially on Sunday. Nobody is on reception, so we have to wait for too long," said an employee.

The report entitled 'What's happening on your journey to work' also highlights how staff are trying to overcome these issues.

Some union reps have organised lift share schemes, campaigned for stores to put car parking lights on a timer during the night, and for louder bells and sensor lights to be installed at back entrances so staff don't have to hang around waiting to be let in.

Usdaw is also lobbying transport executives to ensure large workplaces are on bus routes.

Mr Hannatt said:

“For the vast majority of workers, travelling to and from work is a safe experience, although at times it can be frustrating and expensive.

“However, it is of great concern to Usdaw and it should be for employers and policymakers that such a significant number of workers, whether they are women or men, can feel unsafe on their way to and from work.”