Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Lifting of restrictions on Sunday trading in Britain bad news for women

Posted: 24 Jul 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Tara Doyle
Contact Law

Although deregulation of Sunday trading is hugely unpopular in Britain, the government recently fast-tracked legislation to suspend the restrictions on Sunday trading during the Olympics which open this week.

Although large shops in England and Wales can normally open for only six hours on Sundays according to the Sunday Trading Act, the amended statute allows these restrictions to be lifted on eight Sundays around the Games.

Retail employees in Britain are among the lowest paid and least regarded section of the workforce; further de-regulation, such as longer opening hours on Sundays, are likely to make things worse.

Women shop workers in particular experience many disadvantages. Even in terms of career advancement, women do not get promoted within stores as often as their male colleagues.

According to the Skillsmart Retail Analysis, around 60 per cent of women work in lower-paid customer service roles, while only 13 per cent achieve managerial status.

However, while 47 per cent of male employees in the retail sector work in customer service roles, 25 per cent of retail managers are male.

Lack of flexibility plays a part in this imbalance. Women retail workers often feel it is not worth their while to return to a low-paid job after giving birth, given that childcare is so expensive in the UK.

The average cost of a nursery place is around £117 per week; even the manager of a medium-sized store outside the south east of England may take home, on average, only £400 per week net.

Stress is also an issue. Although their jobs may not be perceived as 'high-powered', women retail workers are on the front-line regarding customer services and violent incidents even in this sector are an increasing problem.

Long-term stress can lead to depression, and unfortunately women are more than twice as likely to experience depression, compared to men, at some point in their lives.

In a survey of its members, the shop workers union, USDAW, reported in March this year that women are also twice as likely to feel unsafe on journeys to and from work as men. This figure may be higher in the context of Sunday working, when public transport may be less frequent, car parks may be emptier and the streets more deserted.

Shop workers are, possibly rightly, concerned that the change in legislation is the thin end of the wedge and that the amendments will remain in place long after the Games have finished.

Killing of women is a state crime says UN expert

Posted: 24 Jul 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Jackie Gregory
WVoN co-editor

The killing of women in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a state crime and those responsible must be pursued with rigour and brought to justice, an independent human rights expert has said.

Rashida Manjoo, who is investigating violence against women as an expert for the UN Human Rights Council, called on governments in both countries to act immediately to stop tolerance of gender-related violence.

"The failure of States to guarantee women's right to a life free from violence allows for a continuum of violence which can end in their death," Manjoo was reported as saying.

"The killing of women is indeed a State crime when tolerated by public institutions and officials – when they are unable to prevent, protect and guarantee the lives of women, who have consequently experienced multiple forms of discrimination and violence throughout their lifetime" she added.

Earlier this month Farida Afridi, a human rights defender,  was gunned down as she left her office in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Hanifa Safi, a provincial head of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs lost her life in Afghanistan  when a bomb attached to her car exploded.

And a young woman called Najiba was executed after being accused of adultery in Afghanistan with a Taliban commander. She was tried and shot within one hour.

There are many other women whose names do not draw international attention but who are systematically abused or killed.

The execution of Najiba was condemned by Afghan President Hamid Kharzai and led to protests in Kabul (see WVoN story).

Manjoo said: "It is crucial to acknowledge that these are not isolated incidents that arise suddenly and unexpectedly, but are rather the extreme manifestation of pre-existing forms of violence experienced by women everywhere," she stressed.

"However, women suffering multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination face a greater risk of experiencing such violence."

She recommended to the UN council that effective investigations, prosecutions and sanctions are carried out; that victims and their families are treated with respect, and that reparations to victims and their families are made.

Mother and baby packs help prevent HIV in Africa

Posted: 24 Jul 2012 04:00 AM PDT

Jackie Gregory
WVoN co-editor

A colour-coded mother and baby pack is helping to save lives in Lesotho, Africa.

The kit provides essential medicines and supplies to pregnant women and, in particular, helps those who are HIV-positive to give birth to babies who are HIV negative, as well as supplying every pregnant woman with essential vitamins. It means that women who live far from clinics still have access to health care.

By ensuring that every woman has a pack, the stigma is taken away from those who are HIV positive.

Mampaleng Setente, 24, is pregnant with her first baby and is waiting for the results of her routine HIV check.

She already has a name for her child: Bohlokoa, which means 'the most important one'. She says the pack has given her confidence that she will give birth to a healthy baby.

"I know that in that package are medicines that will make sure that I have a healthy, HIV-free baby," she said.

A health survey carried out in Lesotho in 2009 found that mother-to-child transmission is the second most common mode of HIV transmission after heterosexual sex.

Delegations from Cameroon and Zambia, along with UNICEF Chief of HIV and Aids Craig McClure, visited Lesotho earlier this month to see the system in action.

The UNICEF visit was made ahead of this week’s International AIDS Society’s biennial conference in Washington DC which began on Sunday. The event brings together 20,000 delegates including technical experts, civic leaders, youth and people from key populations.

PressTV reported that UNICEF estimate that 1,000 children become infected with HIV every day, many of whom are born in sub-Saharan Africa.

"In order to reach an AIDS-free generation, we must get to zero new HIV infections," said the UNICEF statement.

"How do we get to zero? Test mothers and babies, and give them the medicines they need. Treat and console those living with HIV, and also focus on prevention. Let's get to zero."

McClure says that while much work is being done to eliminate mothers passing on HIV to their babies, a programme addressing the needs of adolescent girls must be put in place.

"Our focus [in adolescent programming] is on young girls in sub-Saharan African who bear the brunt of HIV infection," McClure said.

Eaves charity to host fundraising poker night in aid of vulnerable women

Posted: 24 Jul 2012 02:30 AM PDT

Sarah Graham
WVoN co-editor

Women's charity Eaves is to host their first ever 'All-In for Eaves' poker night this October, hoping to raise tens of thousands of pounds for women who have experienced violence.

The fundraising event, to be held in Distillers bar, central London, on 18 October, will also boast a line-up of comedy entertainment and casino games, as well as a drinks reception and finger buffet.

The Texas Hold'Em poker tournament is open to players of all levels, with a complementary lesson offered to beginners before games get underway.

All proceeds will go to Eaves, but tournament winners can look forward to top prizes, generously donated by supporters.

Fundraising manager Laura Bassett said: "I'm a novice poker player but I've been working on my poker face so that I can be convincing.

"What I'm really looking forward to is a night of poker where there will be more than one winner; those that come along to enjoy the game as well as Eaves and the women they support."

With a generous buy-in of £250 per player, and the chance to bid for luxurious auction prizes, Eaves hopes to raise at least £25,000 to help them support victims of sexual and domestic violence and trafficking.

Non-players can purchase tickets for £100, which includes food, drink and entertainment.

Venetia Barton, head of corporate and event fundraising at Eaves explained the reasons behind a poker evening:

"Eaves wants to get more men involved. Also we like the idea of getting more women into what's traditionally a man's game, so we're hoping lots of women come too."

She added: "Denise [Marshall, chief executive of Eaves] is a keen poker player so that's helped on the advice side!"

In April 2011 Eaves suffered a dramatic funding shortfall after The Poppy Project – the branch of Eaves that offers specialist services to victims of trafficking – lost a £6 million government contract, reducing funding by 60 per cent per victim.

The Poppy Project has since received generous contributions from individual and corporate supporters, including a pledge of £300,000 over three years from Man Group Charitable Trust in July 2011.

For more information about the poker night, or supporting Eaves in other ways, visit Eaves website.

Indian man arrested for piercing and padlocking wife’s vagina

Posted: 24 Jul 2012 01:00 AM PDT

Laura Bridgestock
WVoN co-editor

Last week, horrific reports emerged from India of a man  arrested on suspicion of having pierced his wife's vagina in order to padlock it shut.

The situation came to light when the woman, identified as Sitabai Chouhan, was taken to hospital. She had apparently attempted suicide by taking poison.

While treating her, staff at Maharaja Yashwant Rao Hospital, Indore, discovered the homemade 'chastity belt', and contacted police.

When the husband, named as Sohan Lal Chouhan, was arrested, the key was discovered in his sock.

It is believed that he had attached the padlock to his wife four years previously by drugging her and then using a needle to make holes in her genitals.

He reportedly told police he had committed the brutality in order to prevent his wife from having extramarital sex while he was at work.

The incident is shocking, but not isolated.

In 2007 the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported that many women in the state of Rajasthan were forced to wear chastity belts.

The organisation had even come across a website advertising 'designer' chastity belts, made from expensive metals such as gold and silver.

As AHRC pointed out at the time, chastity belts are just one aspect of the brutality many women in India face.

In this instance, it's reported that Sitabai had been married at just 16. Police said her husband was addicted to alcohol and marijuana, and had kept her locked in the house.

There are also reports that shortly before Sitabai took the poison, her husband had attempted to rape the oldest of their five children. However, the police reports have not mentioned this.

In a recent survey of gender specialists, India was voted the worst place in the world to be a woman, due to the continuing prevalence of child marriage, abuse and exploitation, and a general tendency to see women as inferior and of less value than men (WVoN story).