Women's Views on News |
- United States Senate Federal Credit Union recommends boob jobs
- Seven women ministers in Haiti’s new cabinet
- Research reveals shocking harassment statistics in London
- Refused asylum in the UK: women victims of rape, violence and persecution
- Presidential elections offer little to inspire Egypt’s women
- Alabama women prisoners subjected to frequent sexual abuse by guards, report says
- Women fight to block Saving Face film in Pakistan
- Girls’ schools closing in Afghanistan as attacks on pupils continue
| United States Senate Federal Credit Union recommends boob jobs Posted: 29 May 2012 11:00 PM PDT
Yashar Ali, whose writing is featured on The Current Conscience, blogged about an odd piece of mail his female friend received. It was a large purple mailer from the United States Senate Federal Credit Union – yes, the one tied to the United States government that uses the official Senate seal in their correspondence. The front of it read, "Got Big Plans?" Inside is a picture of a woman’s ample (fake) busom. A little under half of the woman’s face is shown, including her chin, smile, blonde hair and a little bit of her nose. The caption reads: "Let us worry about the money… you’ve got a lot of living to do!" Ali summed it up nicely: "This disturbing mailer is just a reminder to all those people who say that women no longer face discrimination in our society. No need to look around or dig for examples, no need for nuanced arguments or exploration, a perfect example is sitting right in your mailbox from The United States Senate Federal Credit Union." The Huffington Post, among others, picked up on the story as well. Amber Wobschall spoke to the Huffington Post about receiving the mailer and her reaction toward it. "I got home from a nice holiday weekend late last night and found this in the mail," she said. "I’ve really been a lifelong credit union member. I’m also a feminist, so I was very disappointed to find this in my mailbox." Wobschall took action and started an online petition at Change.org. The petition makes three demands: A) Disciplinary action of the persons responsible for creation and approval of the mailing B) A mailed apology to everyone who received the mailing C) Anti-sexism training to help improve the environment in which this was allowed to occur. Although the story has circulated all day, the petition only has 124 signatures. If you sign it, let us know!  |
| Seven women ministers in Haiti’s new cabinet Posted: 29 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT Catherine Scott Although Haiti's record on women's rights has been far from exemplary, just over a third of its cabinet is now made up of women. They have been given seven portfolios out of a possible 22 (up from two women and 17 men in 2011), according to Haiti Libre:
Although the result of the presidential elections was announced in April last year, a new government led by prime minister Laurent Lamothe only began work officially last week, after the previous prime minister resigned in February. Lamothe has said he intends to prioritise the fight against extreme poverty and protecting the environment. And, he might have added, gender inequality. Although Haiti ratified the UN Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women in 1981, it wasn’t until 2005 that rape was made a criminal offence. The country also lacks specific laws against domestic violence, despite estimates that up to 70% of Haitian women are victims of violence. Marriage laws are unequal, with the minimum age for marriage set at 15 for women, 18 for men. And maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the region. Women were particularly affected by the lawlessness following the earthquake that hit the country in January 2010, according to an Amnesty International report. Sexual violence is still rife, not helped by a government in disarray, with many women forced to sell sex just to survive. Perhaps with more women fighting their corner in government, Haiti’s women and girls will start to see changes for the better. With female ministers heading areas such as finance, public health and human rights, it seems more likely that issues of violence and poverty affecting women will come to the political forefront. We can but hope.  |
| Research reveals shocking harassment statistics in London Posted: 29 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT Holly Peacock Research released last week by the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) coalition shows that 43% of women under the age of 34 have been subjected to harassment on the streets of London. The survey asked female residents about their experience of unwanted, sexual attention or contact in public spaces. The type of harassment reported ranged from verbal abuse and wolf whistling to physical assault. EVAW Coalition Co-Chair Professor Liz Kelly highlighted that much of the abuse occurs on public transport in London and said: “We need investment in public campaigns on transport and elsewhere saying this behavior is unacceptable, and training for transport staff about how to respond to it.” Demanding that the Government and local authorities take this type of abuse more seriously, The Independent published several case studies from sexual harassment victims country wide, showing that it was rife and not solely confined to London. The BBC also reported on the type of harassment women suffer in public spaces and looked at the response of other countries to the problem. BBC reporter Brigitt Hauck highlighted in her article 'Why do men shout at women in the street?' that other countries such as India and Japan have created “women-only subway cars." This type of extreme resolution is simply a temporary solution that in turn sends out the message that it is women who should be removed from the male gaze. Charities such as EVAW support the demand that we instead tackle the social acceptance of harassment and look at ways to alter the abusers’ approach to women.  |
| Refused asylum in the UK: women victims of rape, violence and persecution Posted: 29 May 2012 07:30 AM PDT Ilona Lo Iacono Nearly half of all women seeking asylum in the UK have survived rape as part of the persecution they fled, and 66% have experienced some form of gender-related persecution, according to a new report. Women for Refugee Women, launching “Refused: the experiences of women denied asylum in the UK”, said that most women claiming asylum in the UK are initially rejected. In addition to rape and gender-related persecution, 49% of women interviewed for the report had experienced arrest or imprisonment in their home country, and 52% had experienced violence from soldiers, police or prison guards. However, of the 5,000 women claiming asylum in their own right in the UK in 2010, 74% were turned down. Of the 70 women who were interviewed for the report, and who disclosed their initial application outcomes, 67 were refused asylum. While some had not understood their refusal letter, 76% said that they were rejected because they had not been believed, while 19% said that, while they had been believed, they had been told they could return to another part of their country and so could not stay in the UK. As the "Refused" study only covered women still in the UK, the 67 refused women were all clinging onto hopes of being granted refugee status. Without the right to work (96% of the women) or access welfare, 67% had been left destitute, with no accommodation or support, and 25% had been detained. Of those women left destitute, 96% had relied on charity for food and 56% had been forced to sleep outside; 16% had experienced sexual violence, and a similar number had worked unpaid for food or shelter. Some reported being forced into prostitution in order to survive. Unsurprisingly, 97% of the women said they were depressed, 93% said they were scared, and 63% said they had thought about committing suicide. And yet, not one of the women interviewed had thought about returning to their home countries. "I would rather die here than go back," one woman explained. Natasha Walter, director of Women for Refugee Women and one of the report's authors, told BBC Woman's Hour that women also find it more difficult than men to reach the UK to claim asylum. Men's claims of persecution are often easier to prove than women's. Many men are able to substantiate their claims by proving, for example, membership of a political organisation. Women's political activity often takes on different forms, and when targeted, their persecution is also often by different methods – including rape, which, unlike torture, is not explicitly covered by the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. The UK Border Agency issued a statement, saying: "We recognise that women may face particular forms of persecution which is why we have female interviewers and interpreters for women applicants. “We treat all asylum applicants with sensitivity … We are proud to offer refuge to those who need it, but when we and the courts have found that applicants are not in need of asylum, then we do expect them to go home." Immigration lawyer Julian Norman told Woman’s Hour that many women seeking asylum do not realise that they are entitled to ask for a female interviewer, or are afraid to ask because they don't want to be perceived as troublesome. Norman also said that the number of asylum seekers who are initially rejected but eventually accepted as genuine refugees, often after years of appeals, shows that initial assessments are often wrong. After the release of the 2006 report, "Misjudging Rape – Breaching Gender Guidelines and International Law in Asylum Appeals", Anver Jeevanjee, a former member of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, said: “Despite all the gender guidelines … judges often start from the position that a woman is lying. “They demand a much higher degree of proof from women. The idea that they wouldn’t tell their husbands or family members about a rape, for example, is regarded as absolutely implausible.” The "Refused" report indicates that too little has changed since then.  |
| Presidential elections offer little to inspire Egypt’s women Posted: 29 May 2012 05:30 AM PDT
Whatever the outcome of Egypt's presidential election, it's unlikely that either of the two men entering the June runoff offer much hope for women's rights campaigners. Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi and Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq have emerged as the two candidates who will be in the 16-17 June ballot. But as some of their opponents get ready to appeal the result because of alleged voting irregularities, there are no candidates who claim to represent the interests of the women who took part in the uprising of January 2011 that overthrew longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Television presenter Bothaina Kamel was the only woman to stand for the presidential election (see WVoN story) and she failed to make the ballot. None of the candidates have expressed any interest in women's rights and violence and intimidation by the ruling military has continued. Irrespective of whether it's a member of Mubarak’s “old guard” or the Islamists who wins, it's a time when women are at risk of being pushed further out of public life in Egypt, women's rights activists claim. "Not a single candidate made efforts to sit down with the female coalition’s movement during his campaign, except for Amr Moussa," Fatma Emam, a blogger and researcher at Nazra for Feminist Studies is reported to have said. "What's happening now in the elections shows that women's rights are not a concern." Women's rights campaigners, along with other opponents of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) are concerned that, as was the case with the parliamentary elections, the presidential race is an attempt by the military to legitimise its power. As Women’s Views on News’ new patron, the activist and writer Nawal El Saadawi argued recently, the movement has succeeded in only removing the "serpent's head" while the body of the regime remains. As what she describes as the "counter revolution" gathers strength, many are less concerned with the outcome of the elections than they are with how much power the SCAF will continue to wield. Challenging the power of the military, including its heavy-handed use of military trials has become a major focus for many in the movement. Women's struggles have become closely tied to it as a result of "virginity tests" allegedly inflicted on women such as Samira Ibrahim and others; and the use of excessive violence against female protesters including the "woman in the blue bra". In a climate when the revolution itself seems under threat, it's easy to see why social issues, including women's rights, are not at the forefront of the debate. Indeed, many younger women who were active in the revolution have been reluctant to focus on the issue of gender – as demonstrated by some who were angry at what they argued was a fixation with the “blue bra” woman and the angry reactions towards journalist Mona Eltahawy’s Foreign Policy article Why do they Hate Us? Other activists believe, like El Saadawi, that there cannot be true democracy if it does not apply to women. For them, the presidential elections, along with the parliamentary elections when just 10 women won seats, are not the key issue, even if Egypt's candidates are waking up to the fact that women's votes could be key to their success. As Nehad Abu ElKomsan, of the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights was reported saying, ”at an individual level" women have become very strong since the revolution. “They faced a very severe situation… even women who were not involved in any uprising movement, they have been in their homes responsible for everything in very difficult circumstances, and this makes them gain courage and self-confidence so they become stronger”. Whatever way the votes go in the presidential elections, it seems clear that "old politics" are unlikely to deliver progressive policies on women's rights. But it's also clear that many women will continue fighting for their voices to be heard in the drafting of the new constitution and in shaping a new Egypt that is entirely free from its old rulers.  |
| Alabama women prisoners subjected to frequent sexual abuse by guards, report says Posted: 29 May 2012 04:00 AM PDT Ilona Lo Iacono Women prisoners in Alabama are subjected to "frequent and severe" sexual violence by male correctional officers, according to a complaint filed with the US Justice Department last week. The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), filing the complaint, called for a "swift and thorough" federal investigation into the widespread sexual abuse of inmates at Tutwiler Prison for Women. Tutwiler, Alabama's only women's prison, holds more than 700 inmates in its closed-security section. A 2007 Bureau of Justice Statistics report found that it had the highest rate of sexual assault of any US women's prison, and the eleventh highest rate of sexual assault among all evaluated prisons across the nation. The "most visible and striking evidence" of Tutwiler staff members' abuse of incarcerated women is the resulting pregnancies, which have been "numerous" over the past few years, according to EJI's findings. The organisation says that common forms of sexual misconduct toward female inmates by male correctional staff include unwelcome sexual touching, harassment and taunting, and verbal abuse. Women incarcerated at Tutwiler reported that they have virtually no means of preventing male guards or other staff from watching them change clothes, shower, or even use the toilet. Inmates claim that male officers frequently stand in the toilet and shower areas of the prison. Guards have reportedly smuggled contraband items, including toiletries and food, into the prison, demanding sexual favours from inmates in return for the goods. They have also committed numerous sexual assaults, sometimes using other guards as lookouts. EJI believes that Tutwiler and Alabama Department of Corrections officials received dozens of complaints of sexual misconduct involving male staff and women prisoners between 2004 and 2011. Responses by prison authorities to women's complaints have reportedly ranged from laughter to punitive action against the alleged victims. Women who report sexual abuse at Tutwiler are routinely placed in segregation by the warden, where they are deprived of telephone, mail and visit privileges and have no access to recreation, programs, or work assignments. EJI says that inmates are not informed of the results of investigations conducted by the Department of Corrections, even when the claims of sexual abuse are substantiated and formal action is taken to terminate the officer. More than 20 Tutwiler employees have been transferred or terminated in the past five years for having illegal sexual contact with inmates. From 2009 to 2011, six correctional officers were convicted for criminal sexual abuse of women prisoners, but only one of those convicted faced more than five days in jail. EJI executive director Bryan Stevenson said that the harshest sentence – six months in jail – was given to a guard who raped and impregnated an inmate. "The baby was born, and DNA confirmed it was his.” Had the rape occurred outside prison confines, Stevenson added, the sentence could have been 50 years to life in prison. Such lenient treatment of guards guilty of abuse "actually makes you think you can do this with impunity,” he said. Sexual violence against inmates is "an ongoing thing, a daily thing,” according to Stefanie Hibbett, 31, a former Tutwiler inmate. She told CNN: “You see women raped and beaten, and nothing is ever done.” Hibbett said she was the victim of sexual assault in November 2010. Although she told the prison’s warden about the assault, no charges were ever filed against the guard who allegedly attacked her. An Alabama judge dismissed a civil suit she filed in the case in August. EJI has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Alabama Department of Corrections' failure to adequately protect prisoners from sexual violence by Tutwiler employees. Kim Thomas, the Alabama Department of Corrections commissioner, said the agency was aware of the allegations, and stated: “Sexual misconduct of any kind, including custodial sexual misconduct, is not tolerated by this department.”  |
| Women fight to block Saving Face film in Pakistan Posted: 29 May 2012 02:30 AM PDT
Women who took part in the Oscar winning film about surviving the horror of acid attacks are taking legal action to prevent it being screened in Pakistan. Fearing they will be shunned in their communities, some of the women who appear only fleetingly in the film are taking legal action against the producers, claiming they were told it would only be shown if each person in the film gave their consent. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was feted in Pakistan after she won her country's first Oscar for the 40-minute film exposing the horrors endured by women whose faces are obliterated in acid attacks carried out by relatives who believe they have brought shame on the family (see WVoN story). The film focuses on the struggle of Zakia and Rukhsana, who were both attacked by their husbands, and the work of British Pakistani plastic surgeon Mohammad Jawad who tries to help restore their faces. Awarded the best short documentary prize, Oscar Awards (see WVoN story) the film was made with the cooperation of the Acid Survivors Foundation Pakistan (ASF). But now ASF has hired lawyers to represent the victims and legal notices were sent to Obaid-Chinoy and fellow producer Daniel Junge on Friday. Naila Farhat, who was 13 when the man she refused to marry threw acid in her face, was one of the women who appears briefly in the film who claims she never agreed to the film being shown in Pakistan. Now 22 and training as a nurse after a long and painful recovery, Farhat expressed surprise that the film had been so successful: “We had no idea it would be a hit and win an Oscar," she said. “This is disrespect to my family, to my relatives and they’ll make an issue of it. You know what it’s like in Pakistan. They gossip all the time if they see a woman in a film,” she added. “We may be in more danger and we’re scared that, God forbid, we could face the same type of incident again. We do not want to show our faces to the world.” Obaid-Chinoy has insisted the women signed legal documents allowing the film to be shown anywhere in the world, including Pakistan. She said that Rukhsana had been edited out of the version to be shown in the country out of respect for her concerns, adding she was “unclear about the allegations” and would respond to the legal complaints “when a court orders us”. Lawyer Naveed Muzaffar Khan who is representing the women said they were regularly threatened by their husbands or relatives and were fearful of what would happen to them if the film was shown on Pakistan television. “Pakistan is a conservative society,” he said. “These women come from rural areas. It will be extremely difficult for them to face their families and friends. “They fear this is going to lead possibly to more violence and more attacks.”  |
| Girls’ schools closing in Afghanistan as attacks on pupils continue Posted: 29 May 2012 01:00 AM PDT
Up to 550 girls’ schools in Afghanistan have reportedly closed down as conservatives are blamed for the second poisoning of pupils and teachers since April. More than 120 schoolgirls and three teachers were taken to hospital after they were poisoned in Takhar province, where police radicals opposed to education of women and girls had contaminated the air in classrooms (see WVoN story). Last month in the town of Rostaq (see WVoN story) 171 pupils and staff were admitted to hospital after drinking contaminated water. Attacks on girls' schools are not new: arson, rocket attacks and poisonings have all been used by those opposed to girls’ education.Teachers have been threatened and schoolgirls have even been targeted with acid attacks. But the revelation by Afghanistan's Ministry of Education that 550 schools in 11 provinces have recently closed down in areas where the Taliban enjoys popular support will only serve to increase fears that the influence of the extremists is strengthening. "Most of these are girls' schools and it is obvious that the Taliban are responsible for the threats against them," ministry spokesman Amanullah Iman said. The Taliban has denied involvement, but the attacks reinforce fears that advances made by women in recent years are in the process of being reversed. Girls and women who had been banned by the Taliban from receiving an education returned to school after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, especially in the capital Kabul. Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, has said however that the Taliban are intent on closing schools ahead of the withdrawal by foreign combat troops in 2014. Women's rights campaigners have continued to call for guarantees that women's rights will not be sacrificed in any peace deal with the Taliban (see WVoN story). In an open letter to President Barrack Obama and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, Amnesty International raised concerns that "significant gains" made by women and girls in Afghanistan may be threatened as US and allied troops leave the country. "We urge you to adopt a comprehensive action plan to guarantee that the clock is not turned back on a decade of strides in education, health, security and employment for women and girls."  |
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