Friday, March 30, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Raising daughters as sons in Afghanistan

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:30 AM PDT

Ivana Davidovic
WVoN co-editor 

"Why do we need to give a girl a boy’s face to give her freedom?"

That is the question asked by Azita Rafhat, a former member of the Afghan parliament, who opted for a radical decision to raise one of her four daughters as a boy.

Although clearly well-educated with a career and political influence, she has nevertheless had to succumb to the prevailing social perception which dictates that, until you bear a son, you are a nobody.

Rafhat is one of the few people who agreed to participate in the short documentary The Trouble With Girls, produced by BBC Persian, which looks at the long-standing but rarely discussed tradition of Bacha Posh – disguising girls as boys.

These girls are dressed as boys; they are given a masculine haircut and an appropriate name. They are sent to boys’ schools, allowed to play outside and generally are awarded all of the freedoms that girls and women are so often denied in patriarchal Afghan society.

The mullahs appear to turn a blind eye to the practice and families seem to accept this state of collective suspended reality. So deeply entrenched is the desire to have a son that even a temporary optical illusion seems to be acceptable.

But what about the girls?

Most of them have to stop living as a boy when they reach puberty, although some parents continue raising them as boys until they are fully grown adults.

Some contributors to the film, including a women’s rights activist, claimed that being raised as a boy increased their confidence and allowed them to become independent women with jobs and fulfilling lives.

However, The Trouble With Girls offers only glimpses of the psychological damage caused by this sort of an upbringing.

“If my parents force me to get married, I will compensate for the sorrows of Afghan women and beat my husband so badly that he will take me to court every day,” says Elaha.

She lived as a boy for 20 years and only reverted to her own sex when she had to go to university to study law. She, just like the daughter of the MP, comes from a well-educated family of doctors.

The audience at London’s Frontline Club where the documentary was screened on Tuesday, picked up on the uneasy feeling about what was left unsaid.

The Q&A session with the author Tahir Qadiry revealed a far more sinister story than the film implied.

"Many things we needed to leave out. The lady in the film [the ex Afghan MP] is her husband’s second wife. He didn’t have a son with his first wife, so he married her.

“They only had four daughters, so he was planning to get married for the third time. That’s why she forced to do this, otherwise her husband would leave her," explained Qadiry.

"She may be a breadwinner and educated, but she feels that, if she doesn't have a husband her life will be a nightmare. And her daughter is the victim of that situation."

Qadiry said that despite being Afghani, he found it very difficult to find contributors willing to talk to him on camera even though the practice is widespread and accepted in Afghan society. Himself a father of a little girl, he found the subject matter difficult.

"I found it quite disturbing. Giving girls all of the freedoms and then taking them away is very challenging.

"I asked my contributor – don’t you think this is enough? Why don’t you fight with your husband about this? She said that was impossible, that is how things are in the Afghan society. You are more privileged if you have a son."

However, despite all of the difficulties facing women in Afghanistan, it is not all doom and gloom.

In the film we were able to see younger women escaping the shackles of traditional roles – they study, work, protest. Increasingly they are joined by men who understand that equality can only be good for society as whole.

"The younger generations are changing," says Qadiry, "they are on Facebook for example, Young Afghans for Change, they are saying that men and women are equal. They are taking steps to fight injustices, but it will take time.

"They are saying that we have to give equal rights to men and women through our constitution, not though the creation of fake identities."

However, even to be in a position to protest, to understand what that means, to be able to write slogans on placards and use the internet, you must belong to a small minority of privileged women whose families believe that education is for all of their children.

In Afghanistan only about 12 per cent of women are literate and human rights groups estimate that 86 per cent have suffered from sexual, physical or psychological violence.

Without basic education a large proportion of victims are unable to seek help, understand their rights or how the legal and court systems work.

Even if they do, the odds are stacked against them and many end up in prison for the "crime" of fleeing their matrimonial home.

Possibly because of these obstacles, some women in the film talked very positively about the liberating and confidence-building experiences of being raised as boys.

Qadiry suspects that "maybe they were not telling the full truth.

"They don’t want to tell you the negative side of it. They may worry you would make fun of them or disapprove of their family.

"Still, a more liberal generation is on the rise, which raises their daughters differently, giving them all of the opportunities without pretending that they are boys.

"But those families exist in cities and we need to understand that Afghanistan is not only Kabul or Herat, but many other provinces too."

Bosnia and Herzegovina must ensure justice for women survivors of war

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Alison Clarke
WVoN co-editor 

Twenty years after the start of the conflict, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina must honour its 2010 commitment to ensure justice, truth and reparation for hundreds of survivors of wartime sexual violence, Amnesty International (AI) has said in a briefing published today.

Its Europe and Central Asia Deputy Programme Director, Jezerca Tigani explained:

"Nearly two decades after the end of the war, hundreds of women continue to live with the effects of rape and other forms of torture, without proper access to the medical, psychological and financial assistance they need to rebuild their shattered lives. Meanwhile, most of the perpetrators go unpunished."

Amnesty International's briefing, “Old Crimes, Same Suffering: No justice for survivors of wartime rape in north-east Bosnia and Herzegovina”, focuses on the current situation of the women survivors of wartime rape living in Tuzla Canton in the north-eastern part of the country.

During the 1992-1995 war, numerous crimes under international law, such as rape and other forms of torture, sexual slavery, enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention were committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Tuzla was considered a "safe haven", where thousands of victims of crimes of sexual violence committed by the Serbian armed forces fled.

Many victims remained there after the conflict, as they were unable or unwilling to return to their homes in the now Serb-dominated Republika Srpska.

Only two years ago, following years of extensive pressure by local and international civil society groups, including AI, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina finally committed agreed to develop a "National programme for women victims of sexual violence in conflict and beyond".

Due to continuing political deadlock at state level the programme has still not been finalised and adopted.

Tigani added:

"The new government, formed at the end of 2011, has still to show its willingness to adopt and implement the commitments made by its predecessor. This is an urgent priority.

"High-level politicians, especially those in Republika Srpska, must acknowledge the fact that crimes of sexual violence were committed on a massive scale during the war.

"It took more than a decade for the Bosnian authorities to acknowledge their international obligations to wartime rape survivors.

“How long will it take them to overcome political deadlock and disagreement over the division of competencies between the state and local government to implement their commitments?

“How much longer will the thousands of women survivors be told they must wait for their rights to justice, truth and reparation."

Survivors living in Tuzla told Amnesty of the serious physical and psychological problems they continue to suffer, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, sexually transmitted diseases, diabetes, hypertension and insomnia.

Very few have health insurance adequate to address their specific medical conditions, which limits their access to the health services they desperately need, and most are unable to pay for all the medication they require.

None of the direct perpetrators of the crimes against the survivors interviewed during the research has been brought to justice.

Of tens of thousands of documented cases of crimes of sexual violence committed during the war, fewer than 40 have been prosecuted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague or by Bosnian domestic courts.

The briefing highlights the fact that the complex, multi-layered and under-resourced Bosnian judicial system obstructs the progress of criminal trials, denying survivors their right to justice.

Amnesty demands release of detained women in Maldives

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 07:30 AM PDT

Alison Clarke
WVoN co-editor 

Amnesty International (AI) has accused the police in the Maldives of beating and sexual harassing four women detained during an anti-government rally.

It has demanded that the authorities investigate the allegations and release the women.

According to testimony gathered by AI, the women, who were arrested on 19 March, were beaten during and after their arrest.

While in detention they were forced to undergo naked body checks on the spurious grounds of concealing drugs in their genitals. They were forced to strip and squat several times while in prison.

AI’s Maldives researcher Abbas Faiz, said:

"The Maldives has an image as a luxury holiday destination, and over the past few years, it had established a positive track record on human rights.

“But the fact is at the moment, not only is repression of peaceful political protest an everyday reality, it has taken an appalling new twist with this cruel and degrading treatment”.

The rally on 19 March was organised by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to protest about the opening of parliament where the new President, Dr Waheed was to give a speech.

Protests have continued in the capital Malé and other cities since 7 February in support of former president, Mohamed Nasheed, who was ousted after a police and military mutiny.

There is no indication that the women protesters were involved in any acts of violence during the rally. Their detention therefore was arbitrary.

Cases of molestation and other humiliating sexual acts against women have been reported in the past but these latest allegations highlight a new police drive to suppress political activity under the pretext of body searching female detainees for alleged possession of drugs.

Maldives police have denied the allegations and said those aggrieved should ask the Maldives Human Rights Commission (MHRC) to investigate their allegations.

But the MHRC has told AI that they have serious limitations in terms of trained investigative staff and dealing with human rights issues in a highly politicised environment is an overwhelming challenge for them.

The MHRC has yet to complete investigations into the alleged sexual harassment of female detainees in 2004.

Faiz concluded:

“By referring cases of police abuse of power to the MHRC, when it is clear that such investigations are beyond its capacity, the government is in effect forfeiting its own responsibility to enforce respect for human rights within the police force.

“This is the wrong message to give to the police as it will encourage police officers to violate human rights with impunity. The Maldives government must ensure that the right to freedom of assembly and expression is protected at all times.“

Mother peer counsellors fight malnutrition in Guatemala

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Sara Dzregah
WVoN co-editor

A network of Guatemalan mothers are working to educate families about nutrition and feeding practices in communities where over 80 per cent of young children suffer from under-nutrition.

At 50 per cent, Guatemala’s rate of chronic under-nutrition for the under-fives is the highest in the region, and the fourth highest in the world.

Stunted growth is common and Guatemala belongs to a list of countries that account for 90 per cent of all stunting in the world.

So far, 228 mothers have been trained to volunteer in a project which aims to reduce malnutrition among children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

“I learned that our children have to be very clean, they should only drink their mother’s milk and eat healthily to grow without malnutrition.

“When they go to school, I need to prepare food so they concentrate on their lessons and grow healthy” said Catarina, one of the volunteers.

The project is supported by a range of UN agencies as well as the Guatemalan government and is targeting 40 indigenous communities in the Totonicapán area, where child malnutrition is 82 per cent, the highest in the country.

Irma Chavarría, the head of the Community Education Strategy Programme that trains mother-to-mother counsellors and provides support to local groups, said:

“During the past year, we have accompanied and monitored the group of mother peer counsellors who have been receiving training through the Joint Programme’s Community Education Strategy to improve the food security and nutrition of children in Totonicapán”.

“These women are elected leaders in their communities. They are committed volunteers willing to share proper practices on breastfeeding, the timely introduction of complementary and fortified food to small children, and local good practices in the family diet for pregnant and nursing mothers”, she said.

Vilma Argueta, one of the volunteers, explained how taking part in the project had impacted on her.

“I like being a mother peer counsellor because I can help my community and feel useful.

“The women in my support group are grateful for the information on the topics we discussed. It helps them care better for their children if they are sick and improve their care so they don’t get sick”.

Estonia is last country in the EU to ban human trafficking

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 03:30 AM PDT

Sara Dzregah
WVoN co-editor

Last week, Estonia became the last European Union (EU) country to pass legislation to make human trafficking illegal, after pressure from within the EU and the United States.

Michelle Schohn, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Tallin, commented that the new legislation “is a testament to the commitment both of Estonian lawmakers and of the NGOs who have worked tirelessly to secure justice for the victims of human trafficking.”

Estonia can now be struck off the US ‘watch list’ of nations it regards as weak in addressing human trafficking.

In its last ‘Trafficking in Persons Report’, it described Estonia as “a source, transit and destination country for women subjected to forced prostitution, and for men and women subjected to conditions of forced labour”.

The Estonian parliament voted 91-0 in favour of the legislation, which will take effect in the next few weeks.

Andres Anvelt, of Estonia’s opposition Social Democratic party, called the legislation “a breakthrough”.

“This is the first step forward in fighting human trafficking,” he said.

Transgender woman barred from Miss Universe Canada beauty pageant

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 01:30 AM PDT

Liz Draper
WVoN co-editor

A transgender woman has been barred from the final of the Miss Universe Canada beauty pageant.

Jenna Talackova, 23, was one of 65 finalists due to compete to represent Canada in the Miss Universe contest in May.

However, her profile was removed from the organisation’s Canadian website after organisers discovered that she was born a man.

Beauties of Canada announced on Friday that Talackova would not take part because "she did not meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form".

Although Beauties of Canada did not specify which requirements Talackova failed to meet, the Miss Universe organization stated that: "the Miss Universe pageant has rules which apply to all of its franchises around the world… The rules currently state that all contestants must be naturally born females".

Talackova realised she was female when she was four years old, began hormone therapy at the age of 14, and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2010. She is open about her past, describing herself as "a woman with a history".

In 2010, she was a finalist in Thailand's Miss International Queen pageant for transgendered women.

Talackova's disqualification has provoked mixed responses. Several online petitions have been set up to call for her reinstatement.

The biggest, which calls the disqualification "discriminatory, unjust, and quite frankly disgusting", has attracted more than 41,000 signatures.

However, some have defended the decision, arguing that contestants should only be allowed to compete based on their natural abilities.

Talackova herself has not spoken to the press, pending possible legal action. However, she has taken to Twitter to thank her fans for their support.

"I'm not going to just let them disqualify me over discrimination", she tweeted last week.