Women's Views on News |
- In memory of lives lost 1914-1918
- Urgent call for arms embargo on Israel
- The Istanbul Convention comes into force
- Emma Watson joins laugh protest
| In memory of lives lost 1914-1918 Posted: 04 Aug 2014 12:56 PM PDT
Diplomacy had failed. The tragedy had begun. It drew in people from every continent, killing millions and bringing down empires. But did we learn our lesson? All this year, writes Emma Wallis, I’ve been avidly consuming the TV dramas, the recreations, the poetry and the literature relating to the First World War and its anniversary. And every time I read, watch or listen, I cry. It doesn’t matter who died or whose side they were on. What is sad is the senseless waste of life: that millions of ordinary people, like us, got swept up into that horror and were forced to lay down their lives in the mud and the earth. We remember you.  |
| Urgent call for arms embargo on Israel Posted: 04 Aug 2014 06:40 AM PDT
Writing after further international concern over the action of the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza, Caroline Lucas, MP, said, “Reports suggesting that weapons containing components made in the UK are being used against Gaza – including weapons control and targeting systems, ammunition, drones and armoured vehicles – raise serious questions about the UK Government’s complicity with the Israeli authorities. “According to research by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), arms exports licenses worth £42m have been granted to 130 British defense manufacturers since 2010 to sell military equipment to Israel, including to two UK companies supplying components for the Hermes drone, widely used during the ongoing military offensive in Gaza, one of which also supplies components for Israel’s main battle tank. “It was concerns about British involvement in arming Israel that prompted my question to the Prime Minister in the days before Parliamentary recess, calling for an embargo on all military co-operation with Israel. “Sadly, rather than answering the question, David Cameron chose to ignore it, preferring to claim that what I had said amounted to “justification” for the rocket attacks by Hamas. “Since I had specifically prefaced my question with reference to Hamas rockets, stating very clearly “I deplore those attacks”, his response was both dishonest and evasive. “That’s why I raised a Point of Order with the Speaker at the end of the session: “In his response to my question on Gaza, the Prime Minister accused me of seeking to justify Hamas rocket attacks. “Seeking to understand a conflict is very different from justifying it, yet so often in the Israel-Palestine debate it suits some to conflate the two, which is both lazy and unhelpful. “Given that in my question I clearly said I deplored the rocket attacks, as I deplored the Israeli incursions, would it be appropriate to ask the Prime Minister to retract his earlier statement?” “Sadly the Speaker’s response was almost as extraordinary as the Prime Minister’s: “These things are all a matter of context and interpretation … I do not want to umpire on what really are considerations of preference, taste and judgment”. “In reality this is nothing to do with preference, taste and judgement, and everything to do with prevarication, cowardice and deliberate misinterpretation. “The same prevarication and cowardice that still prevents both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary from acknowledging that Israel’s assault on Gaza is hugely disproportionate – and indeed, according to the UN, may well constitute war crimes. “The Government’s failure to condemn Israel’s actions is irresponsible enough; but recent evidence from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade suggesting that it has been continuing to arm Israel is nothing short of scandalous. “That’s why there must be an immediate embargo on all arms sales and military co-operation with Israel. “The subject has particular relevance to people in my Brighton Pavilion constituency, since the city is home to EDO MBM, an arms manufacturer which has regularly been linked to weapons used by Israeli forces. “Local opposition to this came to a head in 2009, during the last Israeli assault on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, when seven peace activists took direct action to “decommission” the factory. “After a court case the following year, they were acquitted, having made the case that they were seeking to stop Israeli war crimes. “Significantly, back in 2009, the then Foreign Secretary David Miliband himself acknowledged that IDF equipment used during Operation Cast Lead had “almost certainly” contained British-supplied components. “Past sales of UK weapons have included displays for F-16 jets, and parts for Apache attack helicopters made by at least half a dozen UK companies or subsidiaries. Both weapons have been used in Gaza in recent weeks. “The Government should not be able to avoid taking responsibility for what happens when weapons it has sold into war zones are used. “It could start, as the Campaign Against the Arms Trade has pointed out, by applying some consistency. “Just a few weeks ago, the new Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: ‘The Russians… have been supplying [pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels], they have been supporting them, they have been providing them with succour. They cannot deny their responsibility for the acts that these people are carrying out.’ “That same logic should be applied to the UK’s relationship with Israel. I have written to both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary urging them to end these double standards. “Please join me in supporting CAAT’s petition to end UK arms sales to and from Israel, and an end to all military collaboration.” Caroline Lucas is Green MP for Brighton Pavilion. A version of this article appeared on her website on 3 August 2014.  |
| The Istanbul Convention comes into force Posted: 04 Aug 2014 04:30 AM PDT
By Hilary Fisher. Ending violence against women got a little easier from 1 August 2014. A significant milestone has been reached with the coming into force of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the "Istanbul Convention" because it was opened for signature there three years ago. The Istanbul Convention is the first binding instrument in Europe dealing with violence against women that takes a comprehensive approach addressing prevention, protection, prosecution and coordinated policies. It requires Governments that have ratified it to take action to criminalise many forms of violence against women from domestic, sexual and psychological violence to stalking, forced marriage and FGM. It also requires them to provide or support the provision of specialist services, to promote coordinated action between relevant agencies and services, to raise awareness, and it has a strong independent monitoring mechanism to monitor compliance by governments. The need for a Convention was identified by the task force set up by the Council of Europe to lead a Europe wide campaign and evaluate national measures across Europe to protect women. As a member of the task force it was clear much needed to be done. We found legislation often not enforced, services for women scarce and underfunded and significant disparity in protection measures between member states. In our final report we recommended the adoption of a comprehensive, legally-binding, human rights law to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women. Recommending it was one thing, getting there another. It took two years of intensive negotiations in CAHVIO, the committee of government and other stakeholders set up to draft the Convention. Reaching agreement across the 47 Council of Europe member states was not easy and some sessions lasted into the night with pizza and fizzy drinks to keep us going. The text was finally agreed in December 2010 and states could sign up to it from May 2011. Since then 23 have signed and 13 countries ratified it. The Convention clearly links eradicating violence against women with achieving equality and ending discrimination, an issue the TUC has long campaigned for. It recognises the key role women's organisations play in running support services for survivors and raising awareness and calls on Governments to encourage the work of NGOs and ensure they are adequately funded. The importance of specialist services is recognised in the Convention and provision for these is specifically called for. In England specialist independent women-only services with a long history of providing the holistic support women need to rebuild their lives are under threat. The removal of ring-fenced funding and poor commissioning decisions has had a devastating effect. In the last three years, 21 specialist refuge services have closed completely. The UK signed the Convention in June 2012 and the Prime Minster announced in January this year that the UK will ratify it, following a campaign by Women's Aid and the TUC. However, the Government has not ratified it yet; until then there is more campaigning to be done. Hilary Fisher is Director of Policy, Voice and Membership at Women's Aid Federation England, the national domestic violence charity better known as Women’s Aid, and was a member of the Council of Europe Ad Hoc Committee 2008 – 2011 that drafted the Istanbul Convention. A version of this article appeared on the Touchstone website on 1 August 2014.  |
| Emma Watson joins laugh protest Posted: 04 Aug 2014 01:09 AM PDT
Actress Emma Watson is among many who have reacted to the Turkish deputy prime minister, Bulent Arinc, for claiming that women should not laugh in public. The debacle began on 28 July when Arinc made a speech to mark the end of Eid al-Fitr in which he said: “A woman should be chaste. “She should know the difference between public and private. “She should not laugh in public.” The comments sparked a furore on Twitter with women from all over the world posting pictures of themselves laughing with the hashtags #direnkahkaha (resist laughter) and #direnkadin (resist woman). And like thousands of other women, Watson responded to Bulent Arinc by posting a picture on social media of herself laughing. Many Turkish men also voiced their outrage over Twitter, with one saying: "The men of a country in which women are not allowed to laugh are cowards." Ekmeleddin Ihsangolu, the main opposition presidential candidate, tweeted: "More than anything else, our country needs women to smile and to hear everybody's laughter." Mehtap Dogan, a member of the Socialist Feminist Collective in Turkey, said of the deputy prime minister's comments: "His words perfectly illustrate his and the [ruling] AK Party's attitude towards women." "In their eyes, women should not have any rights, they treat us like a separate species", she added. Speaking later, Arinc said his comments had been taken out of context and that anybody who wanted to ban women laughing in public "would have to be an idiot". The deputy prime minister went on to accuse "certain stars" of "fake laughter". "You all had your moments of fame, but when that eluded you you tried to attract attention with alcohol and such fake women," he said. The picture posted by Watson, who has 13.8 million followers, was retweeted 2,400 times within 30 minutes and favourite 4,500 times. Watson was recently confirmed as a Goodwill Ambassador by UN Women. Her role is to promote the empowerment of young women and to serve as an advocate for UN Women's HeForShe campaign in fostering gender equality. Speaking about her new role, Watson said: "Being asked to serve as UN women's Goodwill Ambassador is truly humbling. "The chance to make a real difference is not an opportunity that everyone is given and is one I have no intention of taking lightly." "Women's rights,” she added, “are something inextricably linked with who I am, so deeply personal and rooted in my life that I can't imagine an opportunity more exciting."  |
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