by Charlotte Page
Because we’re not even close to getting it right.
I have been wearing black on Thursdays for over a year now to stand in solidarity with those who experience violence and discrimination on the basis of gender and the more I look into the issues the more angry I am that this is being allowed to happen. I am proud to wear black to stand alongside women who experience gender based violence, and I am happy to stand up for human rights and I am appalled at the awful abuses that happen to women every day because they are not treated with respect and as equals.
Thursdays in Black is not about devaluing raising awareness of discrimination and violence against men, it is not about female supremacy, it is about putting the issue of gender equality on the table and saying ‘are we really going to let this happen?’
I have a friend who is deeply suspicious of statistics, and so am I, but I hope he will forgive me for highlighting a few here because I think they deserve to be known:
Out of the 130 million out-of-school youth in the world, 70% are girls.
75% of all HIV/AIDS infections in sub-Saharan Africa among people aged 15-24 are young women
Around 80% of maternal deaths could be averted if women had access to essential maternity and basic healthcare services.
These are issues that represent much deeper issues. It has been proven that educating girls is one of the most important things that can be done to tackle gender inequality and consequently to tackle poverty. Girls who are educated can earn more, are more likely to educate their own children and are more able to protect themselves against HIV. Children of both sexes whose mothers die in childbirth are less likely to attend school and more likely to live in poverty.
Gender equality is something that is tied up in economic development, poverty and injustice. But it is not just something affecting less developed countries. We can’t sit back and pat ourselves on the back. While I don’t pretend to understand how the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index is worked out (though they do explain it in the report) I do understand that they measure equality of opportunity between the sexes in all the countries in the world and represent it on a scale of 0 to 1. You don’t need to understand all the maths to know that if the country ranked first in the world is only achieving a number of 0.8276 we have nothing to be complacent about.
For me, wearing black on Thursdays is about recognising that these issues exist, that they are important and that I should not get complacent. It’s about the individual stories of women who are living through appalling injustices and it is about the bigger picture across the world. But mostly it is about recognising that if we can get this gender equality thing right then the world will be a better and fairer place for all, not just women.
Sources: All statistics are from The World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report which can be found at: http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/GenderGapNetwork/index.htm
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
The Bare Facts - Violence
Statistics on violence against women: the global picture
Sexual and gender based violence against women paints a disturbing picture, up to one-third of adolescent girls report forced sexual initiation.
For example, a recent study suggests that in the United Kingdom:
- one in three teenage girls has suffered sexual abuse from a boyfriend,
- one in four has experienced violence in a relationship,
- one in six has been pressured into sexual intercourse,
- one in sixteen said they had been raped.
- Mass rape of women and girls continues to be seen as somehow a legitimate military weapon.
Reports suggest that, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a war that lasted a mere three years, somewhere between 10,000 and 60,000 women and girls were raped.
Sexual violence against men and boys continues undaunted, unreported, understudied, and too often a source of ridicule and derision.
According to a number of studies, somewhere between 5 and 10% of adult males report having been sexually abused in their childhood.
Women suffer violence in health care settings, “including sexual harassment, genital mutilation, forced gynecological procedures, threatened or forced abortions, and inspections of virginity.”
Sexual violence in schools abounds almost in every country in the world, in Canada, 23% of girls experience sexual harassment.
There was a 25% rise in rape and sexual assaults between 2005 and 2007, among all violent crimes, domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault showed the largest increase.
Adapted from www.cabsa.org.za
Author: Pieter Visser, accessed 25th November 2009
Sexual and gender based violence against women paints a disturbing picture, up to one-third of adolescent girls report forced sexual initiation.
For example, a recent study suggests that in the United Kingdom:
- one in three teenage girls has suffered sexual abuse from a boyfriend,
- one in four has experienced violence in a relationship,
- one in six has been pressured into sexual intercourse,
- one in sixteen said they had been raped.
- Mass rape of women and girls continues to be seen as somehow a legitimate military weapon.
Reports suggest that, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a war that lasted a mere three years, somewhere between 10,000 and 60,000 women and girls were raped.
Sexual violence against men and boys continues undaunted, unreported, understudied, and too often a source of ridicule and derision.
According to a number of studies, somewhere between 5 and 10% of adult males report having been sexually abused in their childhood.
Women suffer violence in health care settings, “including sexual harassment, genital mutilation, forced gynecological procedures, threatened or forced abortions, and inspections of virginity.”
Sexual violence in schools abounds almost in every country in the world, in Canada, 23% of girls experience sexual harassment.
There was a 25% rise in rape and sexual assaults between 2005 and 2007, among all violent crimes, domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault showed the largest increase.
Adapted from www.cabsa.org.za
Author: Pieter Visser, accessed 25th November 2009
Friday, 13 November 2009
A Poem for Thursdays
by Melanie Frew
A Poem for Thursdays
Black for the night-fall; your fear of his return
Black for the bruise you try to explain away
Black for the widow; disregarded, disrespected
Black for the alcohol you drink to forget
Black for the child ripped from your womb
Black for the blood of another wasted month
Black for the skirt torn in frenzied attack
Black for the slashes on your face as a sign
Black for veil of a marriage arranged
Black for the bedroom where there’s no choice
Black for the market on which you are sold
Black for the memories of a childhood stolen
Black for the self-hatred
Black for the self-loathing
Black for the darkness that surrounds all you are
Black for the final escape on the tracks
A Poem for Thursdays
Black for the night-fall; your fear of his return
Black for the bruise you try to explain away
Black for the widow; disregarded, disrespected
Black for the alcohol you drink to forget
Black for the child ripped from your womb
Black for the blood of another wasted month
Black for the skirt torn in frenzied attack
Black for the slashes on your face as a sign
Black for veil of a marriage arranged
Black for the bedroom where there’s no choice
Black for the market on which you are sold
Black for the memories of a childhood stolen
Black for the self-hatred
Black for the self-loathing
Black for the darkness that surrounds all you are
Black for the final escape on the tracks
Sunday, 8 November 2009
The Bare Facts - Economics
Economic Deprivation
• Women produce nearly 80% of the food on the planet but receive less than 10% agricultural assistance i.e. access to land seeds, fertilizer or information (peace keeper)
• More than 1 billion people live in abject poverty on less than $1 a day. 70% of those people are women (kamilat.org)
• Women do 66% of the world’s work and get paid less than 10% of its income – in Africa it’s 80%
• Women comprise 21 of the 37 million people living below the poverty line in the US
• One year out of college women earn 20% less than men and 10 years later 31% less
• Women on average are away from workforce for 14.7 years compared to 1.6 years for men
• Women own around only 1% of the world's land
• Girls as young as 8 turning to prostitution in the DRC due to poverty
• 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women
• Females in developing countries on average carry 20 litres of water per day over 6 km
• Women produce nearly 80% of the food on the planet but receive less than 10% agricultural assistance i.e. access to land seeds, fertilizer or information (peace keeper)
• More than 1 billion people live in abject poverty on less than $1 a day. 70% of those people are women (kamilat.org)
• Women do 66% of the world’s work and get paid less than 10% of its income – in Africa it’s 80%
• Women comprise 21 of the 37 million people living below the poverty line in the US
• One year out of college women earn 20% less than men and 10 years later 31% less
• Women on average are away from workforce for 14.7 years compared to 1.6 years for men
• Women own around only 1% of the world's land
• Girls as young as 8 turning to prostitution in the DRC due to poverty
• 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women
• Females in developing countries on average carry 20 litres of water per day over 6 km
Saturday, 7 November 2009
The Bare Facts - Health
Women's Health
• Reproductive health services for all women would cost $12billion a year – as much as we spend on perfume in the US and Europe every year (Alan Guttmacher Institute)
• Around half of pregnant women in Southern Asia and a third of women in many countries in Africa receive no antenatal care ( UNAIDS)
• 55% of all HIV positive adults in sub Saharan Africa are women (indiafemalefoeticiede.org)
• Annually 2 million girls worldwide are forced into marriage (secondsightresearch.tripod.com)
• Annually 2 million girls between the ages of 5 – 15 are abducted, sold or trafficked into the illegal sex market (international humanitarian campaign against the exploitation of children)
• Globally women account for the majority of people aged over 60 and over 80
• Pregnant women in Africa are 180 times more likely to die than in Western Europe
• AIDS sees women's life expectancy at 43 in Uganda and Zambia
• In India, 25% of girls die before they turn 5, mostly starved or neglected.
• In India, one pregnant woman dies every 5 minutes, during childbirth.
• In India, baby girls are considered an economic burden, because of the high cost of weddings. While sons provide income and are seen as a type of insurance by their parents.
• Every year, more than 530,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes – that’s one every minute.
If this continues at the current rate, another 4 million women will die by 2015.
• Reproductive health services for all women would cost $12billion a year – as much as we spend on perfume in the US and Europe every year (Alan Guttmacher Institute)
• Around half of pregnant women in Southern Asia and a third of women in many countries in Africa receive no antenatal care ( UNAIDS)
• 55% of all HIV positive adults in sub Saharan Africa are women (indiafemalefoeticiede.org)
• Annually 2 million girls worldwide are forced into marriage (secondsightresearch.tripod.com)
• Annually 2 million girls between the ages of 5 – 15 are abducted, sold or trafficked into the illegal sex market (international humanitarian campaign against the exploitation of children)
• Globally women account for the majority of people aged over 60 and over 80
• Pregnant women in Africa are 180 times more likely to die than in Western Europe
• AIDS sees women's life expectancy at 43 in Uganda and Zambia
• In India, 25% of girls die before they turn 5, mostly starved or neglected.
• In India, one pregnant woman dies every 5 minutes, during childbirth.
• In India, baby girls are considered an economic burden, because of the high cost of weddings. While sons provide income and are seen as a type of insurance by their parents.
• Every year, more than 530,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes – that’s one every minute.
If this continues at the current rate, another 4 million women will die by 2015.
Friday, 6 November 2009
The Bare Facts - Violence
Violence against Women
• Violence causes more death and disability worldwide amongst women aged 15 – 44 than war, cancer, malaria or traffic accidents (Directorate of Public Health)
• One in 3 women worldwide have been beaten, coerced into sex or are abused in some other way
• In the former Yugoslavia 20,000 women were raped during the first months of the war (Physicians for Human Rights)
• Between 200, 000 – 300, 000 women are trafficked to Europe every year ( Human Rights Watch)
• Over $7billion a year is generated from sex trade trafficking (Peace Women)
• 2 million women in the USA are battered by their partners each year
• 75% of all Russian women suffer from some type of violence within the family.
• Every year 6,500 brides in India are murdered because their marriage dowries are considered inadequate
• 48 million women in Pakistan live under Karo-Kari law allowing them to be buried alive for refusing an arranged marriage.
• The 5 million women of Somalia are liable for public stoning for adultery
“It is now more dangerous to be a woman than to be a soldier in modern conflict”(Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, 2008, former UN Peacekeeping Operation commander in DR Congo)
• Violence causes more death and disability worldwide amongst women aged 15 – 44 than war, cancer, malaria or traffic accidents (Directorate of Public Health)
• One in 3 women worldwide have been beaten, coerced into sex or are abused in some other way
• In the former Yugoslavia 20,000 women were raped during the first months of the war (Physicians for Human Rights)
• Between 200, 000 – 300, 000 women are trafficked to Europe every year ( Human Rights Watch)
• Over $7billion a year is generated from sex trade trafficking (Peace Women)
• 2 million women in the USA are battered by their partners each year
• 75% of all Russian women suffer from some type of violence within the family.
• Every year 6,500 brides in India are murdered because their marriage dowries are considered inadequate
• 48 million women in Pakistan live under Karo-Kari law allowing them to be buried alive for refusing an arranged marriage.
• The 5 million women of Somalia are liable for public stoning for adultery
“It is now more dangerous to be a woman than to be a soldier in modern conflict”(Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, 2008, former UN Peacekeeping Operation commander in DR Congo)
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Wear Black wherever you are - 26th Nov
We're aiming to get as many people around the UK and beyond to wear black for a day as part of the '16 days against gender violence’, an international campaign that was started by the Centre for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) in 1991.
The 16 Days runs from 25th November - International Day Against Violence Against Women, to 10th December - International Human Rights Day to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasise that such violence is a violation of human rights.
Every Thursday people across the globe wear black as a personal and public protest against gender-based violence and inequality. It is a symbol of strength and remembrance, standing in solidarity with victims of violence and discrimination and demanding a fairer world for all.
Facts and stories will be appearing on this blog over the next few weeks.
Please take a photo of you and your friends and colleagues wearing black and send to thursdaysinblack@gmail.com or post to the Facebook group, event or this website!
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Another Me
by Stephanie Hubbard
‘Because … I am afraid what will happen if people know what I have gone through, and because I am a Muslim girl.' (17 year old subject of 'Hidden by the Burkha')
I was at Greenbelt Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend and whilst meandering around the various tents and stalls I came accross this rather amazing photo exhibition tucked away in one corner of the site.
Although only small reproductions, the photographs displayed had an extraordinary power and presence that made me want to discover more about the project, the photographer and the women involved.
'Another Me' is the name of this exhibition, described as 'Transformations from pain to power'. The subjects, all girls and women aged from 8 to 25 years, are survivors of trafficking, rape or abandonment, or are the children of sex workers.
This unique project is the work of documentary photographer Achinto Bhadra and was conceived by the Terre des hommes Foundation. The images show women dressed in elaborate costumes, face paint and masks which stems from a need to protect their identities but also as an aid to psychological transformation as they reveal hidden facets of their inner selves.
'Achinto's portrait's record trafficking survivors' imaginative visions of themselves as human, animistic and divine beings of power, love, revenge and freedom.' (Another Me website)
My favourite pictures are 'God' 'Durga, The Mother Goddess' and 'The Clown' but each photograph is beautiful from the vivid colours of the costumes to the poignancy of the stories that acompany each image.
To see all of the images and find out more about the project check out their website by clicking here.
Photograph: Hidden by the Burkha by Achinto Bhadra from www.rencontres-arles.com
‘Because … I am afraid what will happen if people know what I have gone through, and because I am a Muslim girl.' (17 year old subject of 'Hidden by the Burkha')
I was at Greenbelt Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend and whilst meandering around the various tents and stalls I came accross this rather amazing photo exhibition tucked away in one corner of the site.
Although only small reproductions, the photographs displayed had an extraordinary power and presence that made me want to discover more about the project, the photographer and the women involved.
'Another Me' is the name of this exhibition, described as 'Transformations from pain to power'. The subjects, all girls and women aged from 8 to 25 years, are survivors of trafficking, rape or abandonment, or are the children of sex workers.
This unique project is the work of documentary photographer Achinto Bhadra and was conceived by the Terre des hommes Foundation. The images show women dressed in elaborate costumes, face paint and masks which stems from a need to protect their identities but also as an aid to psychological transformation as they reveal hidden facets of their inner selves.
'Achinto's portrait's record trafficking survivors' imaginative visions of themselves as human, animistic and divine beings of power, love, revenge and freedom.' (Another Me website)
My favourite pictures are 'God' 'Durga, The Mother Goddess' and 'The Clown' but each photograph is beautiful from the vivid colours of the costumes to the poignancy of the stories that acompany each image.
To see all of the images and find out more about the project check out their website by clicking here.
Photograph: Hidden by the Burkha by Achinto Bhadra from www.rencontres-arles.com
Friday, 24 July 2009
Finding a Voice
by Sarah Owen
The first meeting with the young women of Kandi defied all our expectations. Downcast eyes, closed faces, silence that we didn’t know how to read. As young women there seemed so little that we shared. We recognised the need to dismantle our own preconceptions about the basics of communication.
Fast-forward to the final week of our project and the progress made was immense. The gathering of 25 weeping women as we embarked on our last bus ride was testament to the bonds forged over 10 week process together.
As 4 young British women, we were given the opportunity to volunteer in a mountainside community of Himachel Pradesh in Northern India. Funded by DFID, and working in conjunction with Indian NGO IDEX, Platform2 provides young people with volunteering experiences overseas which promote social development and cultural exchange.
The Women’s Group was established only 3 weeks prior to our arrival. We were given free reign to deliver the course content, aiming to educate, empower, enhance skills and build self confidence. Admittedly we were daunted – our lack of formal teaching experience, the language barrier, the setting – a small room in a villager’s house and 2 old, donated PC’s, all seemed major hurdles to overcome.
The women were aged 11 to 21, and we were exited about the prospect of learning about, and sharing, aspects of their lives. We soon found however, that Indian education seemed to do little to encourage creativity and individual thought. Value appeared to be placed instead on copying, parroting. This was a tough barrier to breach, and highlighted the huge difference between our own backgrounds where freedom of expression and encouragement to use our initiative had been the normality. The transition for each woman to formulate a unique and personal response was not an easy one. The concept that there was no ‘right’ answer to our questions about their lives, thoughts and feelings seemed alien to them.
In hindsight I think that the realisation of how hard it can be to obtain information from an individual or group from a culture different to my own became one of the biggest lessons I learnt while in India.
It was a privileged and poignant experience to build bridges with the girls. Each individual was beautiful and gradually transformed from downcast gazes and unreadable expressions into blossoms of Lata, Reyka, Rashma, Keiran… With every day the portrait of each life grew more vivid; more colourful. Doubtless our desire to fill our classes with discussion, debate, creative writing was frustrated by the language barrier. Yet by introducing the building blocks of grammar and vocabulary, we began to explore.
During one session we used an old English folk song as a template for writing. Each line of the song began ‘I wish I were…’ and used nature as its inspiration. The girls found it difficult to take this leap into the abstract, especially in English, yet they achieved it. One girl wrote ‘I wish I were a tree so that I could live and be evergreen’ another wrote ‘I wish I were river so that people would drink from my water.’ This was a good introduction into our next project, ‘Mother Nature’ where we used photography to document life in the village and subsequently a movie in Window Movie Maker. It was fascinating to see the women frame the images of their lives.
Working on the computers was just one part of a jigsaw; my own background in leading singing groups was another. As I taught English songs, the women started to teach us their own traditional songs - Gaddi tribal songs infused with tales of love and separation. Singing brought smiles, mutual interest, bonds; the shared knowledge that singing together as a group creates something bigger than the sum of its parts.
Another focus was to raise levels of health awareness in the villages. According to the local Doctor, half of the health problems in the area are due to poor personal hygiene. And indeed, I spent my mornings in a government school without any toilet facilities and running water, where each child and teacher would have to relieve themselves around the side of the building. Coming from a culture where hygiene is so deeply ingrained it is easy to believe that good personal hygiene is intuitive; yet the harsh reality was that these things are by no means innate. How can children learn hygienic toileting habits when toilets and running water do not exist?
During our final month we explored several different health issues; HIV and AIDS, healthy eating, personal hygiene, and menstruation. We were concerned about the cultural differences. Would we cross unacceptable social boundaries? Would we offend people? We wanted desperately to be sensitive, but when you are initiating discussion on a taboo subject in a county that is not your own, you never know where the potholes may lie. However we were assured and encouraged by our IDEX staff members to go ahead.
During our HIV and AIDS sessions, we explored concepts such as stigma and discrimination. We took the girls on a bus ride to our house, over the huge rocky ravine that had isolated the community for so long before the recent building of a bridge. Here they could use the internet to do their own research; their first time online.
One of our most striking moments was our discussion of menstruation. The previous night we had made several posters detailing the female reproductive system and stages of the menstrual cycle. We had labeled them in English, and we planned to add Hindi the next day. However, in the following session we discovered that none of the women, even the two IDEX staff members, had ever been given access to this information. They had no vocabulary for these parts of their body, and had no idea how to describe them in their own language. They told us of the depth of the feelings of secrecy and shame surrounding periods, along with the scant information they had received from older sisters and friends. It struck us how keen both of the staff members were to seek information about sanitary wear and how to use it; it was as if so many questions had been unanswered for such a long time. Each women declared she felt it was important for younger women to have the information that they themselves had not had
.
We focused the group's momentum into creating the first issue of a community magazine - the 'Kandi Women's Magazine'. All content was written by group members and produced using the computer skills they'd learnt. It featured a report of our research project into HIV and AIDS which encouraged support and friendship towards people affected by the virus, tips on how to stay healthy, articles with facts about periods, and a healthy eating pyramid diagram. To all of us it felt like the start of something, and we hope this first issue of the magazine is one of many.
How is it possible to return home with more questions than I had when I left? India's impact in my life feels far-reaching as I still try to process my experiences. My notebook full of Gaddi songs, kindly written for me by girls from the group, is a prized souvenir. I have taught the haunting songs sung to me by Lata, Reyka, Rashma, Keiran to youth choirs in my community. To my delight these British young people have been eager to lend their voices to these melodies, and in doing so have gained some small glimpse into life in Kandi. One of the women's songs, titled 'Tera Khayala' was recently performed to an audience of 1000 by the Devon County Youth Folk Choir. I hope to spread the stories and songs that I was privileged to witness at the women's group, and it is my wish that in Kandi the women's voices continue to grow stronger.
The first meeting with the young women of Kandi defied all our expectations. Downcast eyes, closed faces, silence that we didn’t know how to read. As young women there seemed so little that we shared. We recognised the need to dismantle our own preconceptions about the basics of communication.
Fast-forward to the final week of our project and the progress made was immense. The gathering of 25 weeping women as we embarked on our last bus ride was testament to the bonds forged over 10 week process together.
As 4 young British women, we were given the opportunity to volunteer in a mountainside community of Himachel Pradesh in Northern India. Funded by DFID, and working in conjunction with Indian NGO IDEX, Platform2 provides young people with volunteering experiences overseas which promote social development and cultural exchange.
The Women’s Group was established only 3 weeks prior to our arrival. We were given free reign to deliver the course content, aiming to educate, empower, enhance skills and build self confidence. Admittedly we were daunted – our lack of formal teaching experience, the language barrier, the setting – a small room in a villager’s house and 2 old, donated PC’s, all seemed major hurdles to overcome.
The women were aged 11 to 21, and we were exited about the prospect of learning about, and sharing, aspects of their lives. We soon found however, that Indian education seemed to do little to encourage creativity and individual thought. Value appeared to be placed instead on copying, parroting. This was a tough barrier to breach, and highlighted the huge difference between our own backgrounds where freedom of expression and encouragement to use our initiative had been the normality. The transition for each woman to formulate a unique and personal response was not an easy one. The concept that there was no ‘right’ answer to our questions about their lives, thoughts and feelings seemed alien to them.
In hindsight I think that the realisation of how hard it can be to obtain information from an individual or group from a culture different to my own became one of the biggest lessons I learnt while in India.
It was a privileged and poignant experience to build bridges with the girls. Each individual was beautiful and gradually transformed from downcast gazes and unreadable expressions into blossoms of Lata, Reyka, Rashma, Keiran… With every day the portrait of each life grew more vivid; more colourful. Doubtless our desire to fill our classes with discussion, debate, creative writing was frustrated by the language barrier. Yet by introducing the building blocks of grammar and vocabulary, we began to explore.
During one session we used an old English folk song as a template for writing. Each line of the song began ‘I wish I were…’ and used nature as its inspiration. The girls found it difficult to take this leap into the abstract, especially in English, yet they achieved it. One girl wrote ‘I wish I were a tree so that I could live and be evergreen’ another wrote ‘I wish I were river so that people would drink from my water.’ This was a good introduction into our next project, ‘Mother Nature’ where we used photography to document life in the village and subsequently a movie in Window Movie Maker. It was fascinating to see the women frame the images of their lives.
Working on the computers was just one part of a jigsaw; my own background in leading singing groups was another. As I taught English songs, the women started to teach us their own traditional songs - Gaddi tribal songs infused with tales of love and separation. Singing brought smiles, mutual interest, bonds; the shared knowledge that singing together as a group creates something bigger than the sum of its parts.
Another focus was to raise levels of health awareness in the villages. According to the local Doctor, half of the health problems in the area are due to poor personal hygiene. And indeed, I spent my mornings in a government school without any toilet facilities and running water, where each child and teacher would have to relieve themselves around the side of the building. Coming from a culture where hygiene is so deeply ingrained it is easy to believe that good personal hygiene is intuitive; yet the harsh reality was that these things are by no means innate. How can children learn hygienic toileting habits when toilets and running water do not exist?
During our final month we explored several different health issues; HIV and AIDS, healthy eating, personal hygiene, and menstruation. We were concerned about the cultural differences. Would we cross unacceptable social boundaries? Would we offend people? We wanted desperately to be sensitive, but when you are initiating discussion on a taboo subject in a county that is not your own, you never know where the potholes may lie. However we were assured and encouraged by our IDEX staff members to go ahead.
During our HIV and AIDS sessions, we explored concepts such as stigma and discrimination. We took the girls on a bus ride to our house, over the huge rocky ravine that had isolated the community for so long before the recent building of a bridge. Here they could use the internet to do their own research; their first time online.
One of our most striking moments was our discussion of menstruation. The previous night we had made several posters detailing the female reproductive system and stages of the menstrual cycle. We had labeled them in English, and we planned to add Hindi the next day. However, in the following session we discovered that none of the women, even the two IDEX staff members, had ever been given access to this information. They had no vocabulary for these parts of their body, and had no idea how to describe them in their own language. They told us of the depth of the feelings of secrecy and shame surrounding periods, along with the scant information they had received from older sisters and friends. It struck us how keen both of the staff members were to seek information about sanitary wear and how to use it; it was as if so many questions had been unanswered for such a long time. Each women declared she felt it was important for younger women to have the information that they themselves had not had
.We focused the group's momentum into creating the first issue of a community magazine - the 'Kandi Women's Magazine'. All content was written by group members and produced using the computer skills they'd learnt. It featured a report of our research project into HIV and AIDS which encouraged support and friendship towards people affected by the virus, tips on how to stay healthy, articles with facts about periods, and a healthy eating pyramid diagram. To all of us it felt like the start of something, and we hope this first issue of the magazine is one of many.
How is it possible to return home with more questions than I had when I left? India's impact in my life feels far-reaching as I still try to process my experiences. My notebook full of Gaddi songs, kindly written for me by girls from the group, is a prized souvenir. I have taught the haunting songs sung to me by Lata, Reyka, Rashma, Keiran to youth choirs in my community. To my delight these British young people have been eager to lend their voices to these melodies, and in doing so have gained some small glimpse into life in Kandi. One of the women's songs, titled 'Tera Khayala' was recently performed to an audience of 1000 by the Devon County Youth Folk Choir. I hope to spread the stories and songs that I was privileged to witness at the women's group, and it is my wish that in Kandi the women's voices continue to grow stronger.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Why I Wear Black
by Laura McAdam
Let's get this straight, I'm not a militant man hating fembot, honestly. I do however believe in people's right to do more than scrape by, to be treated with respect and to be free. I believe in choice, joy and life in all its fullness. I know that discrimination on the basis of gender is wrong, and that violence and oppression do not belong in this world.
It's hot today, and wearing black certainly isn't comfortable. I'll leave you to make your own link on that one...
I wear black so that I don't forget the stories I have heard, the people I've cried with and those fighting for justice despite the challenges. In itself, this statement won't change the world. Together maybe we'll raise a few eyebrows and engage with a certain audience. Maybe we ourselves will be be changed a little as we feel the weight of solidarity on our shoulders.
But put simply, I wear black because I must do something. I cannot be silent, I cannot shake from my mind what I know, I cannot go back to ignorant bliss.
I will be uncomfortable today, and every other Thursday and if I'm really lucky - every day I live until this world changes. Like so many people, I have no choice but to fight.
Let's get this straight, I'm not a militant man hating fembot, honestly. I do however believe in people's right to do more than scrape by, to be treated with respect and to be free. I believe in choice, joy and life in all its fullness. I know that discrimination on the basis of gender is wrong, and that violence and oppression do not belong in this world.
It's hot today, and wearing black certainly isn't comfortable. I'll leave you to make your own link on that one...
I wear black so that I don't forget the stories I have heard, the people I've cried with and those fighting for justice despite the challenges. In itself, this statement won't change the world. Together maybe we'll raise a few eyebrows and engage with a certain audience. Maybe we ourselves will be be changed a little as we feel the weight of solidarity on our shoulders.
But put simply, I wear black because I must do something. I cannot be silent, I cannot shake from my mind what I know, I cannot go back to ignorant bliss.
I will be uncomfortable today, and every other Thursday and if I'm really lucky - every day I live until this world changes. Like so many people, I have no choice but to fight.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Why I will be wearing black this Thursday
by Stephanie Hubbard
I'm in the process of moving house and whilst clearing through the mountains of boxes in my room I came across the diary I kept when I visited India at 18.
I always find it bizarre to read over my scribblings and looking back over the words I wrote makes me cringe a little as I feel I am an entirely different person to the one that wrote this. I wanted to share this experience with you, (almost) word for word as the work I saw on this particular day has become a foundation for what Thursdays in Black means to me.
‘This afternoon we travelled by rickshaw to Maher, a home for abused, exploited and destitute women and children. The journey was a real experience, I will never complain about driving in England again!
The traffic is so erratic with animals and people randomly wandering all over the roads. Drivers seem to use their horns before attempting any manoeuvre. At junctions you are deafened by the cacophony of horns from all vehicles ranging from huge lorries to bicycles and even carts as they are all vying for their place in the hierarchy of the road.
Rickshaw is my favourite way of travelling. Driving through the streets is a real assault on the senses with brightly coloured markets with spices and saris on show, cows sauntering through the city traffic and the smells of incense, sewage and mysterious treats sold by street vendors. All of these colours, smells and sounds are sharpened by the rain which has been falling on and off all day. Although we were drenched to the skin by the puddles we splashed through, the humid air would dry our clothes as soon as the deluge stopped.
At every junction the street children pressed their hands inside the rickshaw begging for money. Many of them are very young and some have been horrifically disfigured to encourage tourists to give more money. Yesterday I saw a boy with no legs pulling himself along on a skateboard, the driver told me it was common for children to be deliberately maimed by adults in this way.
This made me incredibly angry and I was frustrated by how powerless I am to prevent this. By giving money to the children you are proving that the violence is effective but by withholding money the children are punished when they return empty handed. There is no clear right choice and we are forced to ignore their outstretched hands or shout ‘Bas!’ if they get too aggressive to avoid being swamped. The guilt is overwhelming at times.
When we arrived at Maher all the women and children were lined up to greet us. They sang songs and performed a welcoming ceremony, presenting us with garlands of marigolds which the children placed around our necks.
The flowers symbolise sacrifice and are used in many ceremonies here. We were also painted with a red and yellow kum kum on our foreheads by the older girls.
One of the house mothers then came forward and began to tell us the story of how the home had started.
In 1991 a destitute woman came to Sister Lucy while pregnant begging for help. The woman’s husband wanted to kill her as he desired another woman. The sister had to turn the woman away as she had nowhere to house her that night, promising that if she returned the next day she would be able to accommodate her.
That night the woman’s husband doused her in Kerosene and set her alight. Both the woman and the baby died. From that day forward the Sister vowed never to turn away women in that situation and so set up Maher (Mother house) to council and rehabilitate the women, teaching them crafts so they can be re-introduced into the community and stand on their own two feet.
The work they carried out at the Maher house was amazing and it made me feel humble and privileged in my life at home. It is too difficult to describe all of the emotions I felt today but I think people in the UK need to know about what these women are suffering and help support these projects so that people like Sister Lucy will be able to go on helping them.’
It’s hard to see it from these words but India got under my skin like no other country I have visited before or since really. It was here that I first began to realise that development work was becoming a vocation for me. My experiences at Maher have been the driving force behind wanting to promote Thursdays in Black and why I will be wearing black this Thursday.
‘There is a huge task awaiting us, the task of changing the attitude of society, especially of men towards women. This is a gigantic task. Maher is therefore not just a project, it is a vision of a new society where men, women and children have opportunities for growth education and happiness.’ Fr. Francis D’sa
To find out more about the Maher project please go to their website: www.maherashram.org
I'm in the process of moving house and whilst clearing through the mountains of boxes in my room I came across the diary I kept when I visited India at 18.
I always find it bizarre to read over my scribblings and looking back over the words I wrote makes me cringe a little as I feel I am an entirely different person to the one that wrote this. I wanted to share this experience with you, (almost) word for word as the work I saw on this particular day has become a foundation for what Thursdays in Black means to me.
‘This afternoon we travelled by rickshaw to Maher, a home for abused, exploited and destitute women and children. The journey was a real experience, I will never complain about driving in England again!
The traffic is so erratic with animals and people randomly wandering all over the roads. Drivers seem to use their horns before attempting any manoeuvre. At junctions you are deafened by the cacophony of horns from all vehicles ranging from huge lorries to bicycles and even carts as they are all vying for their place in the hierarchy of the road.
Rickshaw is my favourite way of travelling. Driving through the streets is a real assault on the senses with brightly coloured markets with spices and saris on show, cows sauntering through the city traffic and the smells of incense, sewage and mysterious treats sold by street vendors. All of these colours, smells and sounds are sharpened by the rain which has been falling on and off all day. Although we were drenched to the skin by the puddles we splashed through, the humid air would dry our clothes as soon as the deluge stopped.
At every junction the street children pressed their hands inside the rickshaw begging for money. Many of them are very young and some have been horrifically disfigured to encourage tourists to give more money. Yesterday I saw a boy with no legs pulling himself along on a skateboard, the driver told me it was common for children to be deliberately maimed by adults in this way.
This made me incredibly angry and I was frustrated by how powerless I am to prevent this. By giving money to the children you are proving that the violence is effective but by withholding money the children are punished when they return empty handed. There is no clear right choice and we are forced to ignore their outstretched hands or shout ‘Bas!’ if they get too aggressive to avoid being swamped. The guilt is overwhelming at times.
When we arrived at Maher all the women and children were lined up to greet us. They sang songs and performed a welcoming ceremony, presenting us with garlands of marigolds which the children placed around our necks.
The flowers symbolise sacrifice and are used in many ceremonies here. We were also painted with a red and yellow kum kum on our foreheads by the older girls.
One of the house mothers then came forward and began to tell us the story of how the home had started.
In 1991 a destitute woman came to Sister Lucy while pregnant begging for help. The woman’s husband wanted to kill her as he desired another woman. The sister had to turn the woman away as she had nowhere to house her that night, promising that if she returned the next day she would be able to accommodate her.
That night the woman’s husband doused her in Kerosene and set her alight. Both the woman and the baby died. From that day forward the Sister vowed never to turn away women in that situation and so set up Maher (Mother house) to council and rehabilitate the women, teaching them crafts so they can be re-introduced into the community and stand on their own two feet.
The work they carried out at the Maher house was amazing and it made me feel humble and privileged in my life at home. It is too difficult to describe all of the emotions I felt today but I think people in the UK need to know about what these women are suffering and help support these projects so that people like Sister Lucy will be able to go on helping them.’
It’s hard to see it from these words but India got under my skin like no other country I have visited before or since really. It was here that I first began to realise that development work was becoming a vocation for me. My experiences at Maher have been the driving force behind wanting to promote Thursdays in Black and why I will be wearing black this Thursday.
‘There is a huge task awaiting us, the task of changing the attitude of society, especially of men towards women. This is a gigantic task. Maher is therefore not just a project, it is a vision of a new society where men, women and children have opportunities for growth education and happiness.’ Fr. Francis D’sa
To find out more about the Maher project please go to their website: www.maherashram.org
Monday, 22 June 2009
The Truth About Women
Did you know that on average women use 20,000 words a day while men only use 7,000?
Here are some more gender facts for you:
Every year, more than 530,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes. That's one every minute. If this continues at the current rate another 4 milion women will die in the next 6 years.
Women do 66% of the world's work and get paid less than 10% of its income, in Africa it's 80% of the work.
In the UK, women working full-time are paid on average 17% less an hour than men.
75% of all Russian women suffer from some type of violence within the family.
And of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around the world, 70% are women.
Kofi Annan said that 'Gender equality is critical to the development and peace of every nation.'
And that's what Christian Aid partners and beneficiaries believe too. We work with communities, campaigners and educators to change the attitudes and structures which keep women downtrodden around the world. An inspiring female Indian leader once said 'Educate your women and the nation will take care of itself... the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.' And if we are serious about making a fairer world for all, then we have to challenge the inequality in our own communities too.
We may use more words than men, but the majority of women around the world still need their voices to be heard.
Here are some more gender facts for you:
Every year, more than 530,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes. That's one every minute. If this continues at the current rate another 4 milion women will die in the next 6 years.
Women do 66% of the world's work and get paid less than 10% of its income, in Africa it's 80% of the work.
In the UK, women working full-time are paid on average 17% less an hour than men.
75% of all Russian women suffer from some type of violence within the family.
And of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around the world, 70% are women.
Kofi Annan said that 'Gender equality is critical to the development and peace of every nation.'
And that's what Christian Aid partners and beneficiaries believe too. We work with communities, campaigners and educators to change the attitudes and structures which keep women downtrodden around the world. An inspiring female Indian leader once said 'Educate your women and the nation will take care of itself... the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.' And if we are serious about making a fairer world for all, then we have to challenge the inequality in our own communities too.
We may use more words than men, but the majority of women around the world still need their voices to be heard.
Saturday, 20 June 2009
The Greatest Silence
by Kevin E.G. Perry
Back in March, I was invited to speak at the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice’s Human Rights Film Festival, at Oxford Brookes University, following a screening of ‘The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo’. It is a powerful and shocking documentary made two years ago by Lisa F Jackson, who draws on her own experience as a rape victim, and I would highly recommend it although it is far from comfortable viewing. At one point a Congolese doctor describes how he thinks that each patient he sees has the most harrowing story imaginable, until he encounters the next, and the film is similar – each story, told firsthand, brings a fresh horror to what has gone before.
Video is here
It was difficult to find any glimmers of hope following such a distressing film, but I tried to highlight some of the remarkable work that Christian Aid’s partners are able to do, even in the war-torn East, to rebuild lives torn apart by sexual violence.
I told the story of Afua, who was abducted by Mai Mai militia in 2002 while out farming in the fields and was gang raped while being held at a military camp. She told Christian Aid’s partners that when the soldiers eventually left the area, she immediately sought out medical help. ” I was physically sick with worry that I had caught AIDS. I was in trouble with my husband. He didn’t want me anymore – he wanted me out of the house and away.”
Afua was helped by Madame Albertine, head of Christian Aid partner UMAMA. She arranged medical tests which proved Afua was free from disease and gave counseling, acting as a bridge between Afua and her estranged husband, who had accused Afua of seeking and enjoying sex with her attackers. As ‘The Greatest Silence’ explores, this view of rape victims is common. Afua was eventually reconciled with her husband and children, after Albertine had made it clear to him that his wife had been a victim, targeted because she was vulnerable in the fields where she worked to feed her family.
UMAMA also helped Afua with a loan of $100 for a bread oven, allowing her to earn a living without the obviously traumatic need to go back into the fields where she was attacked. She now earns $20 a week, the same amount her husband, a nurse, earns in a month, and is able to pay back $10 each month to pay off UMAMA’s loan.
Afua says now that “UMAMA is a good organization. It helped our family to survive and stay together.” While the scars of her attack remain, organisations like UMAMA are, in some way, able to rekindle hope. It brings to mind another partner organisation, Fondation Femme Plus, who are made up of women living with HIV-AIDS and its consequences. They specialise in psychological, social and medical support, as well as promoting income-generating activities for women with HIV-AIDS such as a restaurant, a tailor’s workshop and photography training. Their slogan is “Rendre l’espoir est notre vocation” - Returning hope is our job.
This article originally appeared on Congolese Dawn
Back in March, I was invited to speak at the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice’s Human Rights Film Festival, at Oxford Brookes University, following a screening of ‘The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo’. It is a powerful and shocking documentary made two years ago by Lisa F Jackson, who draws on her own experience as a rape victim, and I would highly recommend it although it is far from comfortable viewing. At one point a Congolese doctor describes how he thinks that each patient he sees has the most harrowing story imaginable, until he encounters the next, and the film is similar – each story, told firsthand, brings a fresh horror to what has gone before.Video is here
It was difficult to find any glimmers of hope following such a distressing film, but I tried to highlight some of the remarkable work that Christian Aid’s partners are able to do, even in the war-torn East, to rebuild lives torn apart by sexual violence.
I told the story of Afua, who was abducted by Mai Mai militia in 2002 while out farming in the fields and was gang raped while being held at a military camp. She told Christian Aid’s partners that when the soldiers eventually left the area, she immediately sought out medical help. ” I was physically sick with worry that I had caught AIDS. I was in trouble with my husband. He didn’t want me anymore – he wanted me out of the house and away.”
Afua was helped by Madame Albertine, head of Christian Aid partner UMAMA. She arranged medical tests which proved Afua was free from disease and gave counseling, acting as a bridge between Afua and her estranged husband, who had accused Afua of seeking and enjoying sex with her attackers. As ‘The Greatest Silence’ explores, this view of rape victims is common. Afua was eventually reconciled with her husband and children, after Albertine had made it clear to him that his wife had been a victim, targeted because she was vulnerable in the fields where she worked to feed her family.
UMAMA also helped Afua with a loan of $100 for a bread oven, allowing her to earn a living without the obviously traumatic need to go back into the fields where she was attacked. She now earns $20 a week, the same amount her husband, a nurse, earns in a month, and is able to pay back $10 each month to pay off UMAMA’s loan.
Afua says now that “UMAMA is a good organization. It helped our family to survive and stay together.” While the scars of her attack remain, organisations like UMAMA are, in some way, able to rekindle hope. It brings to mind another partner organisation, Fondation Femme Plus, who are made up of women living with HIV-AIDS and its consequences. They specialise in psychological, social and medical support, as well as promoting income-generating activities for women with HIV-AIDS such as a restaurant, a tailor’s workshop and photography training. Their slogan is “Rendre l’espoir est notre vocation” - Returning hope is our job.This article originally appeared on Congolese Dawn
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Unveiled
by Laura McAdam
I walked into an urban slum in India surrounded by the stench of sewage and rubbish through the tiny brick and mud homes, and into a large community hall.
In front of me sat a hundred or so Indian women singing and smiling at me. I knew that four years ago one of the partner organisations funded and supported by Christian Aid was invited by this community to help them from the brink of extreme poverty. As with so many other groups, these people had been excluded from wider society, ignored by the authorities and were plagued by domestic violence. When our partners first visited the women didn't come out of their homes and they wore sheer veils covering their heads - simply as a barrier to the outside world and everyone in it.
I was astonished to sit in front of this group of smiling, unveiled women as they told me what they'd acheived. Our partner had helped both men and women to raise the status of girls and women to have equal standing. For the first time these women believed that they had a big part to play in bringing their community out of poverty, and that they were equal and worthwhile human beings. The men saw too that they needed the women to become economically active.
The women told me how with a loan from us which they've now paid back, they have formed money lending group to help small businesses start and about the training courses they've undertaken to learn new skills including literacy. They told me how the women took off their veils and stood alongside their men to face the world. They told me how their unity was their strength and how they fearlessly take on the authorities to provide their basic rights like clean water and primary education. They told me how they rally and picket the police when they know corruption has taken place, and how they work with families to eradicate domestic violence in their community.
In front of me where the faces changing India from the roots, and they're doing it themselves. All they needed was to be told it was time take off their veils.
I walked into an urban slum in India surrounded by the stench of sewage and rubbish through the tiny brick and mud homes, and into a large community hall.
In front of me sat a hundred or so Indian women singing and smiling at me. I knew that four years ago one of the partner organisations funded and supported by Christian Aid was invited by this community to help them from the brink of extreme poverty. As with so many other groups, these people had been excluded from wider society, ignored by the authorities and were plagued by domestic violence. When our partners first visited the women didn't come out of their homes and they wore sheer veils covering their heads - simply as a barrier to the outside world and everyone in it.
I was astonished to sit in front of this group of smiling, unveiled women as they told me what they'd acheived. Our partner had helped both men and women to raise the status of girls and women to have equal standing. For the first time these women believed that they had a big part to play in bringing their community out of poverty, and that they were equal and worthwhile human beings. The men saw too that they needed the women to become economically active.
The women told me how with a loan from us which they've now paid back, they have formed money lending group to help small businesses start and about the training courses they've undertaken to learn new skills including literacy. They told me how the women took off their veils and stood alongside their men to face the world. They told me how their unity was their strength and how they fearlessly take on the authorities to provide their basic rights like clean water and primary education. They told me how they rally and picket the police when they know corruption has taken place, and how they work with families to eradicate domestic violence in their community.
In front of me where the faces changing India from the roots, and they're doing it themselves. All they needed was to be told it was time take off their veils.
Saturday, 13 June 2009
My Bracelet
by Laura McAdam
Visiting overseas projects with Christian Aid can sometimes be a bit embarrassing as they tend to give you presents even though they themselves have so little.
I was leaving a women's rights project in Northern India when they presented me with a number of gifts simply for giving them some of my time to hear their stories. One of them was a plastic red bracelet and as I sat in the back of a car on the to the station with a few of the project's ladies I explained to them that my wrist was unfortunately too big to wear such petite jewellery. They suddenly grabbed my hand while simultaneously producing some sort of cream and the next thing I knew my hand was contorted in a way it probably was never meant to be and I had a bracelet on my wrist which I was fairly sure would never come off again.
After my hand recovered and I had spent a few days with the bracelet annoying me, particularly as I tried to sleep with it on, I returned to the UK. For many many months after I returned from India I wore the same red plastic bracelet on my right wrist. Most of the time I didn't notice it but occasionally it niggled at me. I kept it on for two reasons (other than at the time it appeared to be indestructible). Firstly it reminded me of the strong women I met in India who are working to change the position of women in their country and bring themselves out of some of the most extreme cases of poverty in the world. And secondly, it was annoying. Unfortunately I still needed something tanglible to remind me that for the majority of the world life is more than simply uncomfortable, that if I get too comfortable then I become ineffective and I lost touch with not only my calling as a Christian but my responsibility as a human.
The bracelet eventually broke, but I still have it. It sits in my room, I see it every day and it still niggles at me. And I'll keep it in view as long as I still need reminding.
Visiting overseas projects with Christian Aid can sometimes be a bit embarrassing as they tend to give you presents even though they themselves have so little.
I was leaving a women's rights project in Northern India when they presented me with a number of gifts simply for giving them some of my time to hear their stories. One of them was a plastic red bracelet and as I sat in the back of a car on the to the station with a few of the project's ladies I explained to them that my wrist was unfortunately too big to wear such petite jewellery. They suddenly grabbed my hand while simultaneously producing some sort of cream and the next thing I knew my hand was contorted in a way it probably was never meant to be and I had a bracelet on my wrist which I was fairly sure would never come off again.
After my hand recovered and I had spent a few days with the bracelet annoying me, particularly as I tried to sleep with it on, I returned to the UK. For many many months after I returned from India I wore the same red plastic bracelet on my right wrist. Most of the time I didn't notice it but occasionally it niggled at me. I kept it on for two reasons (other than at the time it appeared to be indestructible). Firstly it reminded me of the strong women I met in India who are working to change the position of women in their country and bring themselves out of some of the most extreme cases of poverty in the world. And secondly, it was annoying. Unfortunately I still needed something tanglible to remind me that for the majority of the world life is more than simply uncomfortable, that if I get too comfortable then I become ineffective and I lost touch with not only my calling as a Christian but my responsibility as a human.
The bracelet eventually broke, but I still have it. It sits in my room, I see it every day and it still niggles at me. And I'll keep it in view as long as I still need reminding.
Thursday, 11 June 2009
In her own words: Gita’s Story
by Laura McAdam
Taken from an Interview in Kanpur, India in 2008
‘My father was a very cruel person, he was always beating my mother. After some time my mother died from my father’s torture. Then he married again, and he always beat his second wife as well. He was really very cruel.
He put my [step mother] in a box and locked it, sometimes he put fire so that she burned all up her body. He tied a chain and locked it round her ankle, sometimes he beat her so many times [she would] wet herself.
I was small and didn’t do anything, sometimes he tortured me also. There are still marks on my leg.
My step mother fell down and cracked her hip, nobody took her in so I admitted my mother to hospital. My Father was told, [came to the hospital] and threw my mother onto the garbage and said ‘Don’t bother with her’.
I went to my father and fought – ‘You should take care of my mother because she is injured and needs help from you!’ He refused.
Then Seema and Ranno (pictured below) told me about Sakhi Kendra (A Christian Aid partner organisation) and we contacted them six months ago (August 2007). They came and organised a public meeting at my father’s place. There were approximately 200 people there and they motivated and organised a signature campaign for justice, for shelter for my mother and for her rights.
About 150 women petitioned the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and gave him the signature campaign. Then the SSP ordered the police into organising an enquiry – the women said no to this [as it wasn’t enough] – so SSP ordered the police in charge to go with the women to the house of my father.
The women threatened that if the police didn’t help quickly then they would have sit down and hunger strike. This made the police help and they evicted my father.
The group of women went to the hospital and took my step mother and put her into my father’s house. My father was chucked out, he came wanted to take food and money but the group of women told him to go away. My step mother told him to go away because now it’s her house.’
All the women now provide support to Gita’s step mother. At present she can walk with a Zimmer frame but is in a lot of pain. Gita added ‘She said she couldn’t come here [to meet us] so told us to tell her story.’
Gita’s friend Seema said ‘We have acheived so much, perhaps we couldn’t have helped without Sakhi Kendra.’
Gita stated: ‘We want to help other women also, and we feel we have power. We can do anything.’
Sakhi Kendra is a partner organisation funded and supported by Christian Aid working for women’s rights, against violence and abuse against women, and helping individual women in trouble.
Taken from an Interview in Kanpur, India in 2008
‘My father was a very cruel person, he was always beating my mother. After some time my mother died from my father’s torture. Then he married again, and he always beat his second wife as well. He was really very cruel.
He put my [step mother] in a box and locked it, sometimes he put fire so that she burned all up her body. He tied a chain and locked it round her ankle, sometimes he beat her so many times [she would] wet herself.
I was small and didn’t do anything, sometimes he tortured me also. There are still marks on my leg.
My step mother fell down and cracked her hip, nobody took her in so I admitted my mother to hospital. My Father was told, [came to the hospital] and threw my mother onto the garbage and said ‘Don’t bother with her’.
I went to my father and fought – ‘You should take care of my mother because she is injured and needs help from you!’ He refused.
Then Seema and Ranno (pictured below) told me about Sakhi Kendra (A Christian Aid partner organisation) and we contacted them six months ago (August 2007). They came and organised a public meeting at my father’s place. There were approximately 200 people there and they motivated and organised a signature campaign for justice, for shelter for my mother and for her rights.
About 150 women petitioned the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and gave him the signature campaign. Then the SSP ordered the police into organising an enquiry – the women said no to this [as it wasn’t enough] – so SSP ordered the police in charge to go with the women to the house of my father.
The women threatened that if the police didn’t help quickly then they would have sit down and hunger strike. This made the police help and they evicted my father.
The group of women went to the hospital and took my step mother and put her into my father’s house. My father was chucked out, he came wanted to take food and money but the group of women told him to go away. My step mother told him to go away because now it’s her house.’
All the women now provide support to Gita’s step mother. At present she can walk with a Zimmer frame but is in a lot of pain. Gita added ‘She said she couldn’t come here [to meet us] so told us to tell her story.’
Gita’s friend Seema said ‘We have acheived so much, perhaps we couldn’t have helped without Sakhi Kendra.’
Gita stated: ‘We want to help other women also, and we feel we have power. We can do anything.’
Sakhi Kendra is a partner organisation funded and supported by Christian Aid working for women’s rights, against violence and abuse against women, and helping individual women in trouble.
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Life before Death - Madame Boudia's Story
by Laura McAdam
Madame Boudia’s family had been rice farmers for generations in Senegal, West Africa. She was widowed and left to care for her 6 daughters she faced the unpredictable seasons as the climate changed, making farming and harvesting ever more difficult. She soon struggled to sell the rice she did successfully grow at the local market as there were foreign imports bring sold right next to her for a lower price. As the situation got harder, Madame Boudia and her daughters had to do the unthinkable - and leave the land. They travelled to Dakar, Senegal’s capital, and begged on the streets to survive.
After 6 months, Madame Boudia was approached by ADPES, a Christian Aid partner organisation specialising in teaching tie dye. It is back breaking work with chemicals, but the family are committed to tirelessly building a new life.
‘I work with my daughters to make the tie dye cloth. We buy white cloth, the dyes and chemicals & make it here (on the roof of her house). I can make about 12m a week but the time taken for each one depends on the pattern. Some take a month, others a morning. I sell three pieces – 12m – for about £15 to £20. If it’s a good week I sell all of this.’
From the very brink Madame Boudia has been able to reclaim her livelihood, her independence and her dignity. It cost just £5.25 for her to buy the first palette of die and cloth, a loan which she paid back very quickly and now she doesn’t owe anyone anything. Christian Aid work to empower people to escape poverty and build themselves a better future.
But there’s more…
‘We are suffering from foreign cloth coming into our market. The Chinese bring in lower grade cloth with the same print & sell it for £4 for the same amount. But the Chinese cloth is poor quality so it tears easily and the colours wash out easily.’
Once again Madame Boudia and her daughters are under fire. They don’t ask for a life of luxury, simply to do more than just survive. But there will always be someone ready to take advantage, and so surely we must do more than tackle the symptoms of poverty and injustice?
Madame Boudia’s family had been rice farmers for generations in Senegal, West Africa. She was widowed and left to care for her 6 daughters she faced the unpredictable seasons as the climate changed, making farming and harvesting ever more difficult. She soon struggled to sell the rice she did successfully grow at the local market as there were foreign imports bring sold right next to her for a lower price. As the situation got harder, Madame Boudia and her daughters had to do the unthinkable - and leave the land. They travelled to Dakar, Senegal’s capital, and begged on the streets to survive.
After 6 months, Madame Boudia was approached by ADPES, a Christian Aid partner organisation specialising in teaching tie dye. It is back breaking work with chemicals, but the family are committed to tirelessly building a new life.
‘I work with my daughters to make the tie dye cloth. We buy white cloth, the dyes and chemicals & make it here (on the roof of her house). I can make about 12m a week but the time taken for each one depends on the pattern. Some take a month, others a morning. I sell three pieces – 12m – for about £15 to £20. If it’s a good week I sell all of this.’
From the very brink Madame Boudia has been able to reclaim her livelihood, her independence and her dignity. It cost just £5.25 for her to buy the first palette of die and cloth, a loan which she paid back very quickly and now she doesn’t owe anyone anything. Christian Aid work to empower people to escape poverty and build themselves a better future.
But there’s more…
‘We are suffering from foreign cloth coming into our market. The Chinese bring in lower grade cloth with the same print & sell it for £4 for the same amount. But the Chinese cloth is poor quality so it tears easily and the colours wash out easily.’
Once again Madame Boudia and her daughters are under fire. They don’t ask for a life of luxury, simply to do more than just survive. But there will always be someone ready to take advantage, and so surely we must do more than tackle the symptoms of poverty and injustice?
Friday, 5 June 2009
Afghan Women: Continuity or Change?
by Christopher Bowles
The U.S. and N.A.T.O. led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 was hailed for attacking, not only the Taliban’s terrorist capabilities, but also their cultural and religious presence. The group’s Islamic fundamentalist doctrine had not only placed them at loggerheads with the West, but had also led them to play a powerful role in gender politics. Laws defended by many as protecting women’s rights and dignity more often resulted in their freedoms being limited. The rights to education, to own property and to move around freely as an individual were all banned.
The triumph of the Western forces in ousting the Taliban from power was celebrated by women’s rights activists within the country and globally. The attempt to introduce liberal democratic practices seemed to offer the prospect of greater freedom and equality under the law. In 2003 the national conference of Women for Afghan Women presented ‘The Afghan Women’s Bill of Rights’, outlining reforms such as the increase of the marital age to 18 and the freedom to vote. The mere fact that the conference was able to present this draft Bill of Rights to the President Hamid Karzai seemed to demonstrate that the situation of women was improving.
However, this success did not go unrecognised. Conservative forces throughout the country have maintained a consistent opposition to any progression of female liberty. The intensity of this protest has increased in the years since the invasion to the extent that some now claim that they fared better under the Taliban. Whilst oppression was institutionalised under the Taliban, this has now been accompanied by random brutality. Traditional punishments of shootings and stonings for women believed to have acted impiously have been added to by attacks involving poison and acid. These punishments can be delivered for actions so simple as attending school or failing to fully veil. Although female education and more liberal dress codes are now permitted under the law, reactionary opposition within the country have prevented many from benefitting from the reforms. Only 5% of Afghan women attend secondary school and female illiteracy is still as high as 87%.
The most recent culmination of conservative opposition to the new prospects of women’s rights came in late March when the President signed the contentious ‘Shia Family Law’. Although only applicable to the Shi’te population which make up around 15% of the population it is seen as representing a shift in tolerance and equality. The law includes stipulations that women cannot refuse to have sex with their husbands and can only seek work, education or a doctor with their husband’s approval. A protest by 300 women against the new law met with violent resistance from both men and women who spat and threw stones until the protestors had to be rescued by police. Although the UN and Human Rights groups have openly condemned the motion by the Afghan government, many have responded that it is an ‘internal affair.’
The awareness of many within Afghanistan, both male and female, about women’s rights generally appears very low. In an interview at Kabul University most were unaware of the existence of the Shia Family Law. Many consider women’s rights to be bound within religion rather than as a cultural condition which can be changed. Attempts to reform restrictions on freedoms and liberties are naturally seen as a challenge to Islam, and one originating from the largely Christian nations of the West. Governments are often criticised for putting pressure on countries to alter decisions which they have made through a democratic process. Instead it may be the role of Charities and other organisations to educate and build change from a grassroots level.
The U.S. and N.A.T.O. led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 was hailed for attacking, not only the Taliban’s terrorist capabilities, but also their cultural and religious presence. The group’s Islamic fundamentalist doctrine had not only placed them at loggerheads with the West, but had also led them to play a powerful role in gender politics. Laws defended by many as protecting women’s rights and dignity more often resulted in their freedoms being limited. The rights to education, to own property and to move around freely as an individual were all banned.
The triumph of the Western forces in ousting the Taliban from power was celebrated by women’s rights activists within the country and globally. The attempt to introduce liberal democratic practices seemed to offer the prospect of greater freedom and equality under the law. In 2003 the national conference of Women for Afghan Women presented ‘The Afghan Women’s Bill of Rights’, outlining reforms such as the increase of the marital age to 18 and the freedom to vote. The mere fact that the conference was able to present this draft Bill of Rights to the President Hamid Karzai seemed to demonstrate that the situation of women was improving.
However, this success did not go unrecognised. Conservative forces throughout the country have maintained a consistent opposition to any progression of female liberty. The intensity of this protest has increased in the years since the invasion to the extent that some now claim that they fared better under the Taliban. Whilst oppression was institutionalised under the Taliban, this has now been accompanied by random brutality. Traditional punishments of shootings and stonings for women believed to have acted impiously have been added to by attacks involving poison and acid. These punishments can be delivered for actions so simple as attending school or failing to fully veil. Although female education and more liberal dress codes are now permitted under the law, reactionary opposition within the country have prevented many from benefitting from the reforms. Only 5% of Afghan women attend secondary school and female illiteracy is still as high as 87%.
The most recent culmination of conservative opposition to the new prospects of women’s rights came in late March when the President signed the contentious ‘Shia Family Law’. Although only applicable to the Shi’te population which make up around 15% of the population it is seen as representing a shift in tolerance and equality. The law includes stipulations that women cannot refuse to have sex with their husbands and can only seek work, education or a doctor with their husband’s approval. A protest by 300 women against the new law met with violent resistance from both men and women who spat and threw stones until the protestors had to be rescued by police. Although the UN and Human Rights groups have openly condemned the motion by the Afghan government, many have responded that it is an ‘internal affair.’
The awareness of many within Afghanistan, both male and female, about women’s rights generally appears very low. In an interview at Kabul University most were unaware of the existence of the Shia Family Law. Many consider women’s rights to be bound within religion rather than as a cultural condition which can be changed. Attempts to reform restrictions on freedoms and liberties are naturally seen as a challenge to Islam, and one originating from the largely Christian nations of the West. Governments are often criticised for putting pressure on countries to alter decisions which they have made through a democratic process. Instead it may be the role of Charities and other organisations to educate and build change from a grassroots level.
Monday, 1 June 2009
In her own words: Reema's Story
by Laura McAdam
Taken from an interview in Kanpur
'My name is Reema, I wanted to study but when I went to school some of the boys teased me. I answered back to them but they threatened to kill me saying ‘how dare you try and stop us’. One boy proposed to me but I told him I didn’t like him. Somebody told my mother about what had happened and my mother became very angry and suspicious thinking that I was not good. Then my parents organised a marriage for me and forced me to marry a different boy.
After I got married I was not happy. I had been studying and I had wanted to do something in life. My husband and my in-laws said ‘we’ve bought you so we can do anything to you.'
One night my husband made me lie down and then he tied me up and sexually tortured me all night. When I claimed he tortured me all night he said ‘we have bought you so all the rights of your body are mine.’ I said ‘no, this is not right’, and so he tried to hang me.
Then I gave my husband a glass of milk and he put his hand over my mouth saying I had attempted to murder him. I attacked him back and my husband called my parents and told them ‘your daughter is not good and does not obey me.’ My parents took my husband and my in-laws side. I attempted suicide as I thought that nobody in the world who would understand that my pain existed. Then someone found me and my husband carried me to the police. I told the superintendent everything and he didn’t know what to do with me because I didn’t want to go back to my husband and I didn’t want to go to my parents house either. So he called Sakhi Kendra (A Christian Aid partner organisation) telling them ‘There is a girl here who is suffering so much – can you help her?’ I was sent to the [Sakhi Kendra safe house] on 27th June [2007] at 6am.
At present I am very happy here because all of the members are like my family, only better. The best part is that they understand me and appreciate me. When I came here I was frightened but very quickly I liked it better than my own house.
I am [in 2008] 18 and studying for my graduation, and I am trying to become economically self dependent as soon as possible."
Sakhi Kendra is one of Christian Aid's partner organisations in India. Sakhi Kendra campaigns for women’s rights, against violence and abuse against women, and helps individual women in trouble.
Christian Aid works in some of the world's poorest communities in 49 countries through partner organisations. We act where the need is greatest, regardless of religion, helping people build the life they deserve.
Taken from an interview in Kanpur
'My name is Reema, I wanted to study but when I went to school some of the boys teased me. I answered back to them but they threatened to kill me saying ‘how dare you try and stop us’. One boy proposed to me but I told him I didn’t like him. Somebody told my mother about what had happened and my mother became very angry and suspicious thinking that I was not good. Then my parents organised a marriage for me and forced me to marry a different boy.After I got married I was not happy. I had been studying and I had wanted to do something in life. My husband and my in-laws said ‘we’ve bought you so we can do anything to you.'
One night my husband made me lie down and then he tied me up and sexually tortured me all night. When I claimed he tortured me all night he said ‘we have bought you so all the rights of your body are mine.’ I said ‘no, this is not right’, and so he tried to hang me.
Then I gave my husband a glass of milk and he put his hand over my mouth saying I had attempted to murder him. I attacked him back and my husband called my parents and told them ‘your daughter is not good and does not obey me.’ My parents took my husband and my in-laws side. I attempted suicide as I thought that nobody in the world who would understand that my pain existed. Then someone found me and my husband carried me to the police. I told the superintendent everything and he didn’t know what to do with me because I didn’t want to go back to my husband and I didn’t want to go to my parents house either. So he called Sakhi Kendra (A Christian Aid partner organisation) telling them ‘There is a girl here who is suffering so much – can you help her?’ I was sent to the [Sakhi Kendra safe house] on 27th June [2007] at 6am.
At present I am very happy here because all of the members are like my family, only better. The best part is that they understand me and appreciate me. When I came here I was frightened but very quickly I liked it better than my own house.
I am [in 2008] 18 and studying for my graduation, and I am trying to become economically self dependent as soon as possible."
Sakhi Kendra is one of Christian Aid's partner organisations in India. Sakhi Kendra campaigns for women’s rights, against violence and abuse against women, and helps individual women in trouble.
Christian Aid works in some of the world's poorest communities in 49 countries through partner organisations. We act where the need is greatest, regardless of religion, helping people build the life they deserve.
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