Women's Views on News |
- Film student uncovers reality of street harassment in Brussels
- Women ‘main beneficiaries’ of South Africa initiative for smallholder farmers
- Summer reading list with a difference
- Iranian women call on world leaders to lift sanctions
- Safe taxi zone being trialled in central London
- Battle goes on for arms trade treaty that protects women
| Film student uncovers reality of street harassment in Brussels Posted: 07 Aug 2012 08:30 AM PDT
A Brussels film student has made a film highlighting the extent to which women are subjected to sexual harassment on the streets of Belgium. Tired of being whistled at, cat-called and propositioned for sex, film student Sofie Peeter used a hidden camera to record real-life instances of men harassing women in the street. Peeter also interviewed women about their experiences of male harassment. Responses included: “Walking down the street as a woman, you know that the street doesn’t belong to you” and “I do take it seriously, I am scared. I change the way I dress, the way I walk”. The documentary, called ‘Femme de la Rue’, was also shown on Belgian TV and prompted a massive response on Twitter, with many women saying they had had similar experiences. The problem of male street harassment against women is being highlighted by groups such as Hollaback which encourage women to speak out via the internet. Hollaback’s website says that: “Street harassment teaches us to be silent, that taking action will only escalate the situation [but] … We believe that by continuing to tell and map these stories, our voices will chip away at a culture that makes gender-based violence OK”. Peeter echoes this sentiment, saying she made the film to let other women know they are not alone. Belgian politicians responded by saying they are considering tougher legislation against sexual harassment.  |
| Women ‘main beneficiaries’ of South Africa initiative for smallholder farmers Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT
A new initiative in South Africa promises to provide more jobs and support for smallholder farmers, and the government says women – especially black women – will be the main beneficiaries. The Ezemvelo Direct Farm Programme was launched by Tina Joemat-Pettersson, minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, last week. She explained that the project will involve non-governmental organisation TechnoServe SA acting as an intermediary between smallholder farmers and international retail company Massmart. As well as having supply contracts in place for their produce, farmers on the scheme will also receive training, mentoring and technical assistance. According to Joemat-Pettersson, the majority of the farmers who will benefit from the programme are women, mainly black women. The project launch coincides with the start of the country's Women's Month, celebrated throughout August. Lulu Xingwana, minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, highlighted the advances that have been made over the past two decades – but also emphasized that huge changes are still needed. She said: "Women continue to be marginalized and discriminated against in terms of economic opportunities, the labour market as well as access to land, credit, and finance. "In addition, a life of abuse, discrimination and violation of human rights remain the harsh reality for the majority of the women in our country." In particular, she spoke about the need to facilitate women's access to land, and said this would be a priority for her own department, in collaboration with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.  |
| Summer reading list with a difference Posted: 07 Aug 2012 05:30 AM PDT Meg Kissack Like many, I enjoy reading, but sometimes find it hard to track down a good book. After a while, the book charts and the summer reading lists all start to look the same – murder mysteries, family dramas, sagas, chick lit and historical fiction, but not much else. Unless you count the latest 50 Shades of Grey frenzy, but that rant is for another day! So I’ve compiled a reading list of books that I think WVoN readers will enjoy. There is a mix of memoirs, autobiography and fiction, but with one thing in common – they are all about women who defy convention and have the boldness and audacity not to be afraid to stand out. The This book follows the journey of American Debbie Rodriguez as she travels to Kabul and sets up a beauty training school for Afghan women. Detailing the stories of the women she meets in Kabul, Rodriguez takes the reader into the lives of Afghan women post-Taliban. Hair dressing and beauty salons were banned under the regime. Today they are two of the few professions which give women independence and a real sense of freedom. In the most dangerous country in the world, Rodriguez's account is inspirational and hopeful, and will leave part of your heart in Afghanistan.
O’Farrell examines what it is to be an unconventional young woman in 1930s Edinburgh and the 21st century in this thought provoking read. Esme Lennox was sent to an asylum at the age of sixteen for being unruly; refuseing to participate in etiquette and behaviour which was expected of a young woman and daring to declare that she would like to stay on at school, and not get married. Sixty years after she was incarcerated, a young woman, Iris Lockheart, receives a letter stating that her great-aunt Esme (whom she had never heard of) was about to be released. In the midst of her busy life running a vintage clothes shop and having various affairs, the two women's lives collide . O'Farrell's novel is well-researched and paints a thought provoking picture of what it is to be a woman challenging the boundaries of her gender in 1930s Britain.
Superbly written, Stockett's novel The Help is set during the civil rights era in the southern states of the US, when racism was rife. It is told from the point of view of the three main characters – Skeeter, a white aspiring journalist; Abileen, a black maid who has spent her life raising white children and who recently lost her only son; and Minny, a sassy- mouthed maid with a reputation. The novel is about female friendship, empowerment, and the importance of women telling their stories, in the face of discrimination and in the risk of losing it all. The book has been made into a movie which I strongly recommend, you can watch the trailer here (it does however give away a few spoilers). The House of the Allende's novel follows the lives of three generations of headstrong Chilean women leading up to and during the Chilean revolution. Named as one of the most prolific female writers of the Latin American literary boom, Allende is an astounding storyteller and weaves magic into the various elements of this novel, from the way domestic space is transformed into a magical female space, and how women are treated in a period of political turmoil and violence. A great novel that will leave you wanting to read much more of Allende’s work. If you have anything to add to our summer reads, we’d love to hear your suggestions so please comment and we will add them to this page.  |
| Iranian women call on world leaders to lift sanctions Posted: 07 Aug 2012 04:00 AM PDT
Sanctions against Iran are harming women and giving conservatives increased ground to restrict their rights, campaigners have claimed. Far from challenging its nuclear ambitions, sanctions have allowed the Iranian government to exploit the current "state of emergency" to justify the repression of dissent and allow more conservative leaders to pursue an agenda to restrict women's entry into higher education and employment, a new report claims. One women's rights activist is quoted saying: "the international community's sole focus on the nuclear issue has resulted in the adoption of policies that inflict great damage on the Iranian people, civil society and women. “Militarization of the environment will prompt repressive state policies and the possibility of promoting reform in Iran will diminish." Spiralling food prices and unemployment as a result of the sanctions against Iran's oil, gas banking and finance sectors, have already led to girls being pulled out of education, with many being married off early by families who can no longer afford to feed them. The number of women entering into sex work is growing and there has been an increase in the trafficking of women. "Reduction in family income inevitably is forcing women to find new sources of income," the report says. "Their coping strategies will likely include cutting back on their own health, wellbeing and dietary needs to provide for their dependents. “As in other countries, for the most vulnerable, poverty will likely lead to risky survival strategies including child labor and sex work- informal sectors which have expanded in Iran in recent years." Iran's women's movement has been under increasing pressure since the pro-democracy protests of 2009. Now activists fear that sanctions could have a long term impact on their position in Iranian society while destroying the lives of ordinary people in the same way that Iraq experienced during 13 years of sanctions that began in 1990. "We have already seen in Iraq that sanctions aren't really effective and that they impose the greatest harm on the civilian population, especially the most vulnerable," said Sussan Tahmasebi, co-founder of the International Civil Society Action Network who co-authored the report. "What the women we spoke to told us suggests that what's happening in Iran mirrors events in Iraq." The report also raises questions about the potential hypocrisy of the United States, the European Union carrying out a "silent war" that is harming Iranian women at the same time as they are "heralding their national action plans on women, peace and security that highlight the need for women's protection in times of crisis and their participation in conflict prevention and peacemaking". Women who contributed to the report told the authors that their lives are being affected in a wide variety of ways, including food scarcity, domestic violence, a lack of medicines and sanitary products and increasing isolation as a result of restrictions on the sale of computers that have affected internet access. The report echoes a statement issued by women’s rights activists on International Women’s Day this year opposing war and urging Iranian and Western leaders to engage in peace talks. "We have seen that sanctions don't work, they don't prevent war," said Tahmasebi. "Far from harming the government, they weaken society in a way that women have described as inhumane and immoral."  |
| Safe taxi zone being trialled in central London Posted: 07 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT
A safe area for waiting for taxis is being trialled at New Oxford Street, London. The area, which will be staffed during the night and into early morning, is aimed at both men and women travelling at unsociable hours. The Taxi Wait Safe Zone is situated at the recently opened GotoMidtown shop at 56 New Oxford Street. As well as ordering taxis from the GoToMidtown store, customers can order them online or via a bespoke iPhone app. Branded ‘Touch & Go’ kiosks will also be available to businesses in the central London area who want easy access to the car service. Carbon emissions for the fleet of 420 cars are said to be lower than for licensed black cabs. The taxis are fully tracked and monitored with a 24-hour customer services team who have instant access to their exact location. The GoToMidtown Town Car service is run by inmidtown and London Executive. Established in 2005, inmidtown is a Business Improvement District (BID) that represents the interests of businesses in Bloomsbury, Holborn and St Giles. A BID is a public-private partnership in which businesses in a defined area pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district’s boundaries. The businesses represented by inmidtown will be alerted to the new town car service via a newsletter. The area of Bloomsbury Holborn and St Giles is located between the West End and the City of London as the geographic centre of London and a major business, commercial and employment centre.  |
| Battle goes on for arms trade treaty that protects women Posted: 07 Aug 2012 01:00 AM PDT
The failure of world leaders to draw up an international treaty on the multi-billion-dollar arms trade was a disappointment for campaigners demanding restrictions on the sale of arms that could be used for sexual violence.. The month-long arms trade treaty discussions had been a particular focus for a number of organisations including Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS), Oxfam and Amnesty International, which were seeking gender-based regulations governing the sale of arms. During Sierra Leone's civil war of 1991 to 2002 it has been estimated that 64,000 women, or close to 50 per cent of the entire female population suffered from sexual violence at gunpoint. Weapon-aided rape has also occurred in the conflicts of the Darfur region, northern Uganda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and the former Yugoslavia. In their report Putting Women's Rights into the Arms Trade Treaty, authors Chitra Nagarajan of GAPS and Caroline Green of Oxfam argue that the Arms Trade Treaty must "explicitly recognise" the negative impact to date of the unregulated arms trade on women's rights. "It must ensure States take specific steps to prohibit an arms transfer if there is a substantial risk those arms will be used to perpetrate or facilitate acts of gender-based violence, by reflecting and prioritising this issue within risk assessments. The month-long talks ended without a deal after the United States, then Russia and China, said that they needed more time before signing the treaty. But despite disappointment, campaigners believe that "momentum is gathering for an international and legally-binding treaty" that will bring the arms trade "under control". Oxfam's Head of Arms Control Anna Macdonald said: "The majority of governments in the world have agreed that we need tough rules based around international human rights and humanitarian law to bring the arms trade under control. “They've made a statement today confirming their intent to see a treaty realized. "It's not a matter of 'if' but 'when'. We will continue campaigning to secure a treaty that will save lives. "Some 50,000 people lost their lives through armed violence during the course of these month-long negotiations. The out-of-control arms trade must – and will – be stopped."  |
Joanna Perkin
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