Women's Views on News |
| NATO and Afghan women’s safety Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:04 AM PDT
World leaders met at a NATO summit in Wales last week to decide the future of Afghan security after the withdrawal of international troops. Now we have to ask our government to take action now to protect and secure women’s rights before NATO pulls out of Afghanistan. Samira Hamidi is an activist who has been working to protect and promote women’s rights in Afghanistan for the past ten years. Hamidi, who lives in Kabul, was in Cardiff when world leaders were meeting to discuss international security issues. She was photographed standing in a symbolic group of bowler-hatted men and holding a banner reading: “Nato: Talk to me, not about me”. Hamidi, who has a human rights law degree from York University, said women’s voices were “worryingly absent” from NATO’s talks. And she and other campaigners have criticised NATO's sexist make up; the UK’s delegation to the summit is all male, and only one in every 40 signatories on any global peace agreements over the past 30 years has been a woman. Joining campaigners from Amnesty International (AI) and lobby group No Women, No Peace, Hamidi said: “Peace and security agreements cannot be sustainable or effective without meaningful participation from 50 per cent of the population.” She has already been threatened because of her work, and worries about an increasingly dangerous future for women in Afghanistan. "I am like you, I just want to be able to go to work, to do my job and feel safe," Samira Hamidi said. "Most of the time I do not feel secure." "I sometimes even think I might not return back home in the evening as this has happened to many." And indeed over the past year many high profile women have been attacked. In August 2013 Rooh Gul, a member of the Afghan Parliament, survived an attack in which her 8 year-old daughter was killed and her 11 year-old injured. On September 16, Lieutenant Nigara, the highest ranking female police officer in Helmand province, was shot and killed on her way to work less than three months after the July 3 assassination of her predecessor, Islam Bibi. In September 2013 another member of parliament Fariba Kakar was kidnapped and held for ransom before being released. Also in September 2013 well known author Sushmita Banerjee was murdered. In December 2013 two policewomen and a pregnant teacher were murdered. In January 2014 Yalda Waziri, a senior government, official was murdered. British governments have worked to encourage women to take up public roles in Afghanistan – and women's rights were presented as one of the reason given for sending troops in to Afghanistan in the first place Now the government must act to ensure the rights women have gained do not slip away. Amnesty International says there are some very simple steps that the government can take to help support and protect Afghan women, like Samira, at risk for their work: Know who I am: The British Embassy in Kabul should create and maintain a database to know who is at risk. Talk to me: The British Embassy in Kabul should have staff whose job it is to keep in regular contact with women at risk. Stand with me: By knowing who is at risk and what support they need the British Government can better stand up for women's rights in Afghanistan. If the Afghan Government pass discriminatory laws the British Government should condemn them. If individuals at risk face threats or acts of violence the British Government should condemn them If individuals at risk face threats or acts of violence the British Government should have a system in place to provide emergency support – including safe houses and relocation. Please sign this petition, and ask the UK government to take action. Now. Before it is too late. Afghanistan has been called ‘the worst place in the world to be a woman’. Help change this.  |
| Posted: 08 Sep 2014 01:40 AM PDT
The national domestic violence charity Women’s Aid recently launched an SOS campaign calling on the government to preserve 'the national network of specialist refuges by exploring a new model of national refuge funding and commissioning.' Concerns have been increasing at the number of specialist domestic violence services experiencing continued budget cuts. The cuts are proving devastating, as refuges around the country are being forced to remain open by running on their financial reserves or close. Each closure could cost lives. Polly Neate, Women's Aid chief executive, said, 'Perpetrators of domestic violence will do everything they can to control their victim, which is why specialist support services are essential to help women escape and build independent lives. 'A national network of support services, which allows women to get help locally or escape the area as they need, is essential to protecting women and children.' As the national government continues to demand savings from local councils, commissioners are being forced to make difficult decisions over which services to fund. Evidence suggests that specialist services are increasingly being cut adrift. Women's Aid research found that 'between April and July 2014, ten specialist domestic violence services across England lost funding for services they were providing. 'All but one of those nine lost to a non-specialist service provider.' Specialist provision is essential because it focuses on minimising the long-term negative effects of abuse while maximising the potential for women and children to re-build their lives. Sadly, 'on one day in 2013, 155 women and their 103 children were turned away from refuge because they could not be accommodated.' Metropolitan Police crime figures show that in the 12 months to July 2014, overall numbers of rape, other sexual and domestic crime had all risen in London. The Home Office is currently consulting on strengthening the law on domestic violence, particularly in making coercive, controlling behaviour explicitly illegal, bringing the legal definition in line with the government's non-statutory definition of domestic abuse. The consultation runs until 15 October 2014. Women's Aid is asking supporters to write to and to Tweet their MPs, as well as sign the petition supporting the campaign. Tweet #saverefugessavelives To find your MP’s address, email and Twitter details click here. Please help.  |
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