Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Pakistani gunshot victim brought to the UK

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

 

Pakistani gunshot victim Malala Yousafzai is to be treated in the UK.

Malala Yousafzai, who was the victim of a Taliban attack in Pakistan’s Swat Valley region leaving her in critical condition, is to be treated in the UK.

Last Tuesday Taliban gunman shot Malala Yousafzai in the head as she was leaving school in her home town, Mignora, in Swat Valley, Pakistan.

Malala was then flown to Peshawar where doctors performed emergency surgery on her injuries.

A statement released on Sunday by the Pakistani military announced that Malala was “making slow and steady progress.”

The deliberate attack against the 14 year old school girl has caused both national and international outcry against militant violence towards innocent civilians.

In particular, Pakistani media outlets were quick to condemn the attack on the school girl. Islamabad’s The News, declared,

“Malala Yousafzai is in critical condition today, and so is Pakistan. We are infected with the cancer of extremism, and unless it is cut out we will slide ever further into the bestiality that this latest atrocity exemplifies.”

In a showcase of their support, the UK government has offered full medical treatment for Malala.

In a press release, the Pakistan military explained,

“The panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted abroad to a UK centre which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury.”

Malala will be moved to Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital in Birmingham which houses a trauma department specialising in gunshot victims.

Taliban representatives have openly admitted to targeting the teenager, with one spokesperson of the extremist group, Sirajuddin Ahmed, claiming that, "We had no intentions to kill her but were forced when she would not stop speaking against us.”

Two members of a special hit squad had been dispatched to target the school girl.

Ahmed also added that they would kill Malala’s father who had spoken out against them.

Malala had already gained much popularity over the last few years after becoming a much needed insider voice about living under Taliban rule.

She began writing diary posts at the age of 11, under an anonymous pen name, for BBC Urdu, commenting on the ever growing control of the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley:

“I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taleban,” Malala wrote in one of her entries.

“I was afraid going to school because the Taleban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools.”

“Only 11 students attended the class out of 27. The number decreased because of Taleban’s edict. My three friends have shifted to Peshawar, Lahore and Rawalpindi with their families after this edict.”

While her diary posts commented mostly on the militant extremism of the Taliban, her main criticism was towards the banning of education for all women and girls.

It was soon after the Taliban occupation of the Swat Valley that the Taliban banned all girls’ schools.

Pakistan’s General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani saluted Malala, and insisted that the Taliban had failed to “grasp that she is not only an individual, but an icon of courage.”

Rallies of protests in support of Malala erupted in Pakistan’s major cities of Lahore and Karachi as well as Malala’s hometown of Mignora. Schools also closed down in a mark of respect for the injured girl.

However, concerns of Malala’s safety following her recovery period are now coming into question. BBC Islamabad reporter Ilyas Khan claimed,

“Even if Malala Yousafzai survives, life is not going to be the same for her and her family. No place in Pakistan is safe for people targeted by militant groups.”

“She may have to live under state security or in asylum abroad.”

“In either case, her life and her ability to campaign for girls’ education in north-western Pakistan will be severely limited.”

Malala will remain in the UK for the full extent of her recovery.

Support maternal health in Sierra Leone

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Petition Sierra Leone’s next President to support free health care initiative.

Activists in Sierra Leone, along with human rights group Amnesty International members worldwide, have been campaigning for the access of women and girls to maternal health care in Sierra Leone since 2009.

In 2010, the government of Sierra Leone launched the Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI), aimed at providing free health care for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five.

Since then, thanks to the Initiative many women and girls living in poverty in the country have been able to access vital care that they would not otherwise be able to afford.

Prior to the Initiative, 1 in 8 women died during pregnancy or whilst giving birth.

Whilst many women, especially in rural areas, still have problems accessing the healthcare FHCI provides, the Initiative has, in two years, cut mortality rates in children and women by half.

But all this could change when the next government takes office after elections due to be held on November 17, as the initiative is not currently enforced by law.

The upcoming election is an opportunity to urge whoever is President afterwards to protect free health care in Sierra Leone – and to make the FHCI not only legally enforceable, but to create accountability mechanisms for its implementation.

It is also an opportunity to ensure remedies are provided for women and girls when their rights to free health care are violated.

Please help.

Call on the next President of Sierra Leone to ensure that the rights of women and girls in the country are respected and protected.

Click here to see Amnesty's letter to the President and sign the petition.

Need for police borders to change

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 07:59 AM PDT

Help for victims of rape in Coventry delayed by policing geography.

A new Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) due to open in Nuneaton will not be available to victims in Coventry.

The new Blue Sky Centre, opening at Nuneaton’s George Eliot Hospital next year, has been long anticipated and will provide 24-hour access for victims of sexual assault and rape.

Victims will be offered medical care, counselling, emergency contraception and forensic care should they wish to report the incident to police.

However, the Coventry Telegraph revealed last week that if Coventry residents report sexual assault or rape to the West Midlands police, who serve the Coventry area, they will not be taken to this new, state-of-the-art facility about 12 miles away.

Police boundaries mean that the new centre falls within the juristiction of the Warwickshire Police service, not the West Midlands Police regional area.

This means that anyone who reports to the police in Coventry will be taken to the nearest SARC in the West Midland Police area, which is in Walsall - some 30-plus miles away.

Not only is the Walsall centre less well equipped than the Nuneaton-based centre, it is also over an hour’s drive away – and time is crucial in gathering vital evidence after an assault or rape that could lead to a conviction.

This revelation has caused outrage in Coventry, not least because Coventry City Council contributed £150,000 towards the building of the new centre.

Reamarking on this, Conservative councillor Kevin Foster said: "It's unbelievable. We had assumed once this was open, driving rape victims to Walsall would be a thing of the past. We wouldn't have approved £150,000 for something Coventry people couldn't use.”

And the manager of Coventry Rape and Sexual Assault Centre (CRASAC), Di Whitfield, said: "It's a ludicrous situation. Why would we do this to victims? Why wouldn't we send victims to the nearest possible FME that reduces the time when they are already traumatised.

"We have a specialist centre that is ten minutes away but we are sending vulnerable victims for an hour-and-half all the way to Walsall."

West Midlands Police have responded, defending the decision. They claim that the two current SARCs at Walsall and Castle Vale will be updated, and plans for a third centre are underway.

But they face increasing pressure to revert on this present decision.

MP for Coventry North, Bob Ainsworth added his voice to the debate last week, saying: "This issue of having to take rape victims to Walsall is something we've been trying to fix for some time.

“This is a ludicrous situation. Bureaucratic convenience cannot be allowed to stand in the way of what is best for vulnerable people subjected to a sex crime.”

He said that the people of Coventry and Warwickshire should come together to ensure that Coventry citizens would have access to the new centre, adding: "I've never known a situation where the bureaucratic boundaries have had such grave consequences for such a vulnerable group. It's ridiculous. This is as bad as it gets.

“If we can't get our heads together and sort this out then there's little hope for us. We really must get together to make sure this doesn't happen."

Coventry has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the country.

A report published last year recorded a rate of around 71.3 per 100,000 population.

This is high compared with the overall West Midlands rate, which stood at 47.4 per 100,000 population, and the national rate  of 42.5 per 100,000.

But even these figures do not give a true picture of the problem, as many victims do not report incidences of sexual assualt and rape.

Recent research by Warwickshire Police indicated three main reasons that victims of these crimes do not come forward: lack of awareness of services, lack of easy access to services and fear that they won't get a high quality response from local services.

The decision over the new Nuneaton SARC would seem to substantiate these concerns. Victims who self-refer to the centre can be treated there, but, as this research shows, many victims are not aware of these services, and so it would be unlikely or rarely that this would be the case.

The issue is likely to be a key talking point in the lead up to the elections for a West Midlands Police Crime Comissioner (PCC) in November. Indeed several of the candidates have already made clear where they stand.

Matt Bennett, the Conservative candidate for the West Midlands role promised: "I will put this right if elected."

Women in Coventry will have the opportunity to quiz the other candidates on their position at a hustings being organised by women’s organisation Coventry Women’s Voices.

And amid all the headlines and outrage we must not forget that at the centre of the issue are victims of horrifying crimes. Anybody who finds themselves in the position where they need to visit a SARC has already been subjected to something truly terrible.

It is paramount that when victims have the courage to come forward and report such crimes they are cared for and helped in the best way possible.

If you are the victim of sexual assault or rape and need someone to talk to you can phone CRASAC‘s confidential helpline on 02476 277777 from 10am – 2pm Monday to Friday, 6pm – 8pm Monday and Thursday. There is a 24-hour answerphone at all other times.

You can also email helpline@crasac.org.uk. Emails are checked twice each weekday - if you require an immediate responce we recommend you telephone us.

The party conferences – a woman’s verdict

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:00 AM PDT

What can women take away from this year’s party conferences

Taking centre stage at the Liberal Democrat conference, Jo Swinson, minister for business and minister for equalities (pictured), called for a “modern workplace revolution” to “unlock the potential of women across our economy, at all levels”.

Her speech prompted The Spectator to pose her as a future leader of the party and as an answer to its "women's problem".

This was something also addressed by Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, in an article for The Telegraph.

"Conference again reminded me that the Lib Dems need to do much more to improve our female representation," she said.

However, this is probably going to get more difficult to achieve. Willott revealed that changes to the Equality Act debated at conference mean the Liberal Democrats will now have to abandon its female quotas.

Meanwhile, a fringe meeting on body image saw men outnumber women in the audience, while another event focused on the impact of austerity on women.

Though this perhaps came across most starkly in the main hall, where a disabled female party member gave a speech in which she revealed that coalition cuts to her benefits have left her living on 50 pence a day.

 

At the Labour party conference the following week in Manchester, Ed Milliband may have focused on his "one nation" vision, but it was the impact of the cuts on women that was central to Yvette Cooper's speech to the women's conference.

The party's minister for equalities highlighted how the ConDem government has "failed" women, with the rise in female unemployment, cuts to child care and refuge closures.

She then outlined the ways in which Labour would "improve women's lives", with the introduction of more flexible working, better child care and support for those caring for elderly relatives.

She also argued that it's, "time for us to use the f word again", defining a Labour Party feminism as one which is, "welcoming and inclusive" and that, "listens to the varied voices and supports the different choices women make".

Although in her report for The Telegraph, Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, warns, "just don't call us Labour feminists butch…".

Yvette Cooper continued to focus on women later in the week, when she spoke at the main party conference in her role as shadow home secretary, calling for urgent action to tackle violence against women.

Caroline Flint, shadow energy secretary, also addressed the main conference. This time there were calls for an "energy revolution", to secure a "cleaner future", as well as a "fairer… market" for bill-payers.

The conference was not without some controversy. A 16-year-old girl was heckled as she spoke in support of her academy school.

Then there was Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman's attempts at comedy during the conference's closing speech, particularly her impression of a Page 3 girl, leading model, Petra Todd, to defend her career choice the following day in The Sun.

 

As we reported last week, there was plenty for women to take from the Conservative party conference in Birmingham.

Chancellor George Osborne's announcement of further cuts to benefits, along with plans to curb employee rights, including maternity leave, in exchange for company shares, prompted particular concern.

Then there was health secretary, Jeremy's Hunt's support for a reduction in the abortion time limit to just 12 weeks.

This followed comments made by Maria Miller, minister for women and equalities, who said she favoured a reduction from the current 24 week limit down to 20 weeks.

However, in her speech she maintained her support for gay marriage.

"The state should not stop two people from making the commitment to be married unless there's a good reason. I don't believe being gay is one of them," she said.

Meanwhile, Teresa May, home secretary, used her speech to pay tribute to the two female police officers who were recently killed while on duty in Manchester.

The Tories also held a fringe meeting on women and austerity, with the "unequivocally pro-choice" Tory MP, Amber Rudd on the panel.

Reporting on the event, she said, "it covered most different aspects of women’s lives, from child care to flexible working, from sexual harassment to abortion. We really tucked in."

In her article she also makes reference to the 'Boris' effect: "Recently the Conservative Party conference has begun to attract more women, but they are still substantially outnumbered. Except at Boris events."

Though this is probably not something Conservative Future Women will rely on as they seek to increase female participation in the party.

Now have your say – click here to find out more about the Feminist Lobby of Parliament taking place on 24 October.