Alexandra Szydlowska

The World Bank and Fotopedia have collaborated on a new app called ‘Women of the World’, where iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch users can catch a glimpse into the lives and stories of women around the world.

The free app, which was launched earlier this week, allows access to hundreds of stirring images put together by French photojournalist Olivier Martel, who travelled to more than 75 countries to photograph women struggling – or succeeding – in their social environment.

These include images of a bride at her wedding in Singapore, women minesweeping the fields of Cambodia, girl soldiers in Mozambique and nuns in a convent in France.

In Martel’s own words: “These topics require a persistent but discrete approach, determination, and a lot of patience. This work is about giving women the opportunity to share their hopes and daily struggles, and giving them their dignity in a photographic homage that takes the form of a search for beauty.”

The creation of the app is part of the World Bank’s #thinkEQUAL campaign to increase awareness of gender inequality around the globe.

“We hope these images inspire women to act,” says Jeni Klugman, the World Bank’s Director of Gender and Development.

“Much has improved but in many parts of the world women’s rights and opportunities remain very constrained. This inequality is very unfair and it is bad economics. It hampers poverty reduction and limits development.”

You can download ‘Women of the World’ for free here.

An Egyptian women’s group has released a documentary, “She and Elections,” which describes the experiences of female candidates in the country’s recent parliamentary vote.

The findings of Nazra for Feminist Studies come at a time when the future of women’s rights in revolutionary Egypt seems grim, with scarcely any representation in the government and reports of widespread sexual assault during some protests.

The organization filmed and interviewed women who ran in the elections, such as 28-year-old Teriza Samir.

“I have decided to run for the elections because I believe it is a very important stage in the history of Egypt, and I also see that my role in Upper Egypt, when I say, ‘I am going to run,’ this will break many taboos,” Samir said in a YouTube clip of Nazra’s film.

Only eight women won seats in Egypt’s lower house of Parliament, the People’s Assembly ‒ less than two per cent. Elections for the upper house, whose role is largely advisory, will end later this month.

Nazra found female candidates faced obstacles that put them at a disadvantage to male candidates.

A significant factor was women’s placement on party lists. Egypt’s ruling military council passed an elections law for the transition period that required parties to put women on their lists.

But most parties of all ideologies chose not to risk putting women at the top of their lists, making it less likely for them to win seats.

Nazra found women’s representation on lists about equal between Islamist and civil parties, with 16 and 17.5 per cent respectively, the organization said in its report.

“A look at the party lists and the placement of female candidates reveals that no one political bloc was more woman-friendly than others,” it said.

Religious discourse that dominated the parliamentary elections also hurt female candidates for civil-oriented parties because it made women’s issues a priority.

Nazra said the situation forced female candidates for civil parties to raise women’s issues as a social problem but simultaneously present themselves as candidates who would represent their constituencies, not just women.

Large constituencies drawn up by the military hurt both women and Coptic Christians and made it difficult for them to win individual seats in particular. No women running as individuals won.

Of the 16 women Nazra worked with for its report, only Sanaa el Said, a candidate in the Upper Egypt governorate of Assuit, won.

She said in the documentary that she hoped all women could run in the elections and participate in political life.

“This is the natural role of women in the society,” Ms el Said said.

Nazra will issue a final report after parliamentary elections end.

Thousands of Iranian women are training to become Kunoichi (female ninjas) in a small Ninjutsu club in Iran.

The school opened in 1989 and now has 3,500 women mastering the increasingly popular form of martial arts.

In a video recently uploaded to YouTube, reported by Iranian TV station Press TV, the women are shown practising their skills in the club and outdoors in what could be mistaken for a martial arts film trailer.

In an intense training session the women demonstrate choreographed combat moves with kicks and chops and impressive gymnastics.

They are also shown brandishing dangerous weapons such as bows, swords, nunchucks and shurikens – allowed to be used after two years of training. Reporter Gisoo Misha Ahmadi calls the shurikens “the most iconic weapon in Ninjutsu.”

Ninjutsu was established in Iran by Sensei Akbar Faraji when he set up the club 22 years ago; it now has 24,000 members.

Mr Faraji told Press TV: “’In Ninjutsu, we call men Ninjas, while females are called Kunoichi.”

He added: “Being a ninja is about patience, tolerance and fortitude…It literally means the art of becoming invisible.”

Ninjutsu, considered to be the deadliest form of martial art, is reported to have become increasingly popular among women because it teaches them how to maintain a healthy mental and physical balance.

Ninjutsu instructor Fatima Muamer told Press TV: “the most important lesson is respect and humility.”

“They learn to respect themselves. First respect their existence and then the art they are mastering.

“Calmness is the most important lesson they learn.”

Looking past the combat moves and production of the video, the most important point is how seriously the women take the sport as a means of self-empowerment.

In a society that seeks to rob them of power, it is perhaps not surprising that it is proving so popular.

Julie Tomlin

Prominent activist and blogger Salma Said has joined the growing numbers of protesters injured by Egypt’s security forces using rubber bullets and bird shot.

Said claimed she was shot while filming an armoured personnel carrier (APC) after police responded violently to a peaceful protest in Cairo, following the Port Said football stadium tragedy on February 1 that left at least 74 people dead.

“We were protesting to denounce police negligence, and to signal that we believe they deliberately plotted this crime against innocent football fans,” said Said in a video posted on Youtube by film collective Mosireen.

Said was first shot in her face and in her hand by a masked man as she was filming shots being fired at protesters from an APC.

“My right side wasn’t shielded, as I was trying to film what the APC was doing, which wasn’t very smart,” said Said, who was shot again in her legs after she fell and a third time as people were carrying her away.

“I was shot with shotgun pellets in my face, arm and chest and in my stomach, pelvis and legs, both right and left,” she said. “I don’t know how many are still left, but there are about 33 in my right leg.”

Said added she was “so lucky” that a pellet missed her eye by about 4 mm – many have lost eyes after being shot in what is claimed is deliberate targeting of protesters’ heads by Egyptian security forces.

“People rose up and revolted because they were living in misery, and here we are a year into the revolution and nothing has changed,” said Said, who said the revolution had reached an “impasse” because its tactics of peaceful demonstrations and sit ins had failed against the regime.

She called on “all sectors”, including “industrial workers, teachers and doctors” to take part in a campaign of civil disobedience that is scheduled to begin on 11 February unless the Military Council responds to its demands (See WVoN story).

Their participation was key to the success of the partial strikes that could build to a general strike to bring down the “dictatorial state that is killing and wounding us every day” Said said.

Announcing she was “leaving hospital and going home” on Twitter yesterday, Said added: “what I’ve been through is nothing in comparison to the many heroes lying in many hospitals. Let’s visit them”.

Polly Trenow
WVoN co-editor 

A coalition of top industries and non-government organisations (NGOs) have come together to back a global initiative aimed at expanding women’s employment, access to finance, markets and education.

These are lofty aims, but who better to promote women’s economic participation than industry giants such as Goldman Sachs, the Coca-Cola Company, Ernst and Young and the World Bank who all pledged their support to the Third Billion Campaign launched last week in New York.

An initiative of La Pietra Coalition, the Third Billion Campaign is a decade long initiative which aims to tap into women’s economic potential as employees, entrepreneurs, producers and consumers.

Senior Director, Sandra Taylor said, “Women are the emerging market with the greatest potential for accelerating global economic growth over the next decade. Investing in women will transform their lives and lead to prosperity for their families, their communities and for business globally.”

The Third Billion Campaign was a result of work carried out by Booz & Company’s analysis of International Labor Organization data on women in the global workforce.

The Booz report found that around 860 million women worldwide are “not prepared” (lacking sufficient secondary education) and/or “not enabled” (lacking support from families and communities) to take part in the world economy.

The vast majority of these women, between the ages of 20 and 65  (822 million)  live in emerging and developing countries and the rest (47 million) live in North America, Western Europe and Japan.

Counting female births and those under age twenty, this number will add up to a billion in the next decade.

Dr. Victoria Kisyombe, founder and CEO of Sero Lease and Finance Corporation (SELFINA) of Tanzania and panelist at the launch event said, “The urgency of the situation is clear: Women are expected to help support their families but, particularly in rural areas, have virtually no employment opportunities.

“Small enterprises – selling produce, groceries or other items – are often the only alternative. But women lack access to productivity-enhancing technology, let along the basic assets necessary to start these businesses. We are ready, if we receive the tools, the skills and the financing to grow.”

The first action of the Third Billion campaign is a petition to the G20 member states ahead of the meeting in June 2012 in Mexico. The petition is demanding action on women’s economic participation.

Specifically they are asking governments to make commitments to a seat for women on the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, and that central banks and other national financial authorities develop methods for the collection and dissemination of gender-disaggregated data.

The petition also calls for research to determine reasons why so many women do not have access to banking services and for commitments to increase procurement of goods and services from women-owned enterprises.

You can add your name to the petition here.

Russell Brand part of the all-male line up for the Secret Policeman's Ball

Polly Trenow
WVoN co-editor 

Amnesty International has come under fire after announcing the line-up for its popular annual event, the Secret Policeman’s Ball.

Critics have expressed their concern that the line-up of comedians and musicians for this important annual event is all male and virtually all white.

The event, which is being held in New York for Amnesty’s fiftieth anniversary year, will feature comedians Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Russell Brand. Comedy duo Armstrong and Miller have also voiced an animation to promote the event.

Two all-white and all male bands, Coldplay and Mumford and Sons are also set to headline.

Reggie Watts is the only non-white performer set to appear.

Prominent feminist bloggers Bidisha and Cath Elliot raised their concern about the lack of diversity in the line-up when it was announced at the end of last month.

Bidisha claims she has been contacted by a high up “charity world insider” who expressed concern at Amnesty’s lack of cultural diversity.

The anonymous source is quoted on Bidisha’s blog as saying “[Amnesty] don’t learn from their mistakes – or perhaps they don’t think it was a mistake – they have been known to rely on such sayings as ‘it’s not about political correctness it’s about quality.’

“It’s a shame but basically Amnesty is not standing up for everyone.”

Apparently without irony, the press release announcing the line-up for the event quotes Amnesty International Spokesperson, Andy Hackman, as saying,“This year’s Secret Policeman’s Ball brings together an incredible representation of the best comedians and musicians in the world.”

Amnesty International say their vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

The Secret Policeman’s Ball is an event dedicated to free speech which was started in 1976 by John Cleese.

Examining the history of poor representation of women at the Secret Policeman’s Ball, prominent feminist writer and blogger Bidisha says,

“Amnesty are demonstrating with typical conviction and more than 30 years’ countable commitment to cultural femicide that when putting together an event in support of global human rights and free speech, you must get as many white men to perform as humanly, globally, rightfully possible.”

In 2008, Amnesty international came under fire when the newly launched Amnesty TV was led by an all white and all male team.

The news of the line-up came in the same week the BBC released a report criticising  panel shows including Mock the Week and QI for their lack of female representation.

The Church of England’s General Synod is once again under pressure over the question of female bishops, after rejecting the ‘compromise’ amendment put forward by the Manchester Diocesan Synod yesterday.

The amendment was an attempt to further allay the concerns of those opposed to the appointment of female bishops in traditionalist parishes. Those in support of equality in the church said that, if passed, it would turn women into ‘second class’ citizens within their jobs.

The motion proposed by the Manchester Synod would have increased the authority given to alternative male bishops in the most conservative parishes, giving them “co-ordinate jurisdiction” roles, with authority to intervene.

The powers would be different to those envisioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, which give traditionalists the right to access a male bishop – but intervention would be at the discretion of the female bishop.

While rejecting the concessions to traditionalists yesterday, the General Synod did agree to back possible further amendments.

A final vote on female bishops will be held by the General Synod in July at the earliest. A two thirds majority would be needed for it to progress to Westminster for full approval.

The question of whether women should be given the authority to become bishops is one that has split the Church of England for years. Many traditionalists oppose female bishops on the grounds that, in the Bible, the head of the church is synonymous with the ‘head’ of the house.

The Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Right Reverend Peter Price, warned that there was no backup plan if the compromise was not accepted – and that the church would be left in ‘shock’.

It seems though that no one was satisfied with the proposal:

“They produced a code for two bishops to work together, neither of whom believes in principle in what they are called to do – one to receive delegation from a person they might not regard in Episcopal orders, the other to give delegation to which they in principle object,” said Canon Chris Sugden, of the orthodox Anglican Mainstream.

The lobby group Women and the Church have stated their opposition to further amendments which would see women as second class bishops.

They won’t necessarily be from that day, but usually will not be more than a few days old.

The following are the ones we’ve found today.

Story links:

After Susan G Komen debacle, senators launch women’s rights campaign, Huffington Post, February 8, 2012

More women in the Turkish workplace, World Bank, February 8, 2012

World Bank and Fotopedia launch new app, “Women of the World”, World Bank, February 8, 2012

Representatives call on Clinton to support UN resolution calling for worldwide ban on FGM, February 6, 2012

Arab women’s forum presents revolution lite, February 9, 2012

Women in boardrooms would aid recovery, says Cameron, February 9, 2012

Japanese artist wins new audience, February 8, 2012

Baby girls seen as mixed blessing in Afghanistan, February 9, 2012

Kenya tops in drive against female ‘cut’, Daily Nation, February 8, 2012

Pentagon to ease restrictions on women in combat, LA Times, February 9, 2012

Julie Tomlin
WVoN co-editor

Women should have half of the seats on the new council that Egyptian revolutionaries are demanding to replace the military council, claims prominent feminist and writer Nawal El Saadawi.

Revolutionary groups in Egypt have called for a campaign of civil disobedience starting on 11 February, unless the military council agrees to seven demands including that it step down and be replaced by a revolutionary council.

El Saadawi said women must make up 50 per cent of any council, committee or group to ensure that their interests are represented:

“Women should be 50 per cent and we need a new constitution that should say frankly that women are equal to men and we should apply international human rights law and anti discrimination standards inspired by international laws that make people equal,” said Saadawi.

The Egypt Revolutionaries’ Alliance – which was formed in the wake of clashes between protesters and police forces in Cairo last November brings together over 50 political groups including the April 6 Movement.

Its demands include that the interim government, led by SCAF-appointed (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) premier Kamal El-Ganzouri, be dismantled and replaced by a new body which would be selected by the People’s Assembly.

They are also demanding the formation of a special committee to investigate massacres and other crimes committed by the ruling authorities since 25 January 2011.

El Saadawi, who describes herself as the “spiritual godmother” of the Egyptian Women’s Union which was reformed last year, said the revolutionary movement needed to discover new creative methods after learning “a lot of lessons” in the year since President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on last year on 11 February.

While there has been a great deal of focus on how women’s rights might be affected by the outcome of the recent elections, many of those who were involved in the 2011 uprising are still focusing on the need to oust the military regime which they believe is resisting the revolution (see WVoN story)

El Saadawi has claimed that the attacks on women on International Women’s Day in Tahrir Square last year, when men told them they should “go back home where they belong” (see WVoN story) were carried out by hired thugs.

Women will again be marching from the Syndicate of Journalists’ building to Tahrir square despite the violent treatment of protesters in recent weeks, she insisted.

“They are killing us – there is blood everywhere,” said El Saadawi. “We are facing death every minute but people are no more afraid of death.”

Julie Tomlin
WVoN co-editor

A journalist could face charges in a Saudi court after she criticised the country’s religious police for their part in the death of 15 teenage girls.

A Saudi judge called for the arrest of Saudi journalist and TV presenter Nadin Al-Badir after she spoke out against the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on Egypt’s Dream2 TV.

Her criticisms came after the teenagers died in a school fire because the religious police stood at the door and refused to allow them to leave the building because they were not wearing the hijab, or traditional Islamic head covering. They also refused to allow the fire brigade to enter the school.

Al-Badir also told how a 28-year-old man Hassan Nabil Hmeid was beaten to death because he had grown his hair long.

“What matters is that this young man’s life came to an end because of backward, reactionary people, who would like to take us back hundreds of years in time.

“I don’t think the situation back then was as bad as they would like it to be,” said Al-Badir, who said that the only matters the religious police pursue are “superficial ones”.

The judge, Mutrak Al Bishr, charged Al-Badir with dishonoring the Saudi institution and demanded that international police forces repatriate her in order that she can appear before a Saudi court.

They won’t necessarily be from that day, but usually will not be more than a few days old.

The following are the ones we’ve found today.

Story links:

Katie McQuater

A court in Saudi Arabia has agreed to hear a complaint by a female activist against the de facto ban in the kingdom on women drivers.

Manal al-Sharif, a 32-year-old computer consultant and founder of the Women2Drive movement, announced on Sunday that she is pursuing the case.

Sharif was jailed by a Saudi court for more than a week in May last year after she posted a video of herself driving on YouTube (see WVoN story).

On the day of her arrest, she unsuccessfully filed an application for a driving licence and in November, started a lawsuit challenging that refusal.

According to Sharif’s lawyer, AbdulRahman Allahim, the case will be heard in the Board of Grievances, a court that hears citizen complaints against the government. Prosecution of women drivers is typically handled in religious courts.

Despite the historic decision by King Abdullah in September 2011 to allow women the right to vote and run in future municipal elections, male guardian laws under the country’s conservative Wahhabi interpretation of Islam remain largely unchanged.

The laws not only restrict women’s freedom of movement and expression but are detrimental to their health and wellbeing, says female Saudi activist Wajeha al-Hawidar:

“These laws make the woman like a child in all aspects of her life. She is not dealt with as an adult with a fully developed brain.”

The right to drive issue received further international attention when a report produced for the Shura Council, the country’s legislative assembly, claimed allowing women to drive would spell the ‘end of virginity’ among unmarried women.

Though there is no formal written ban on driving, women are routinely denied driver’s licenses and currently risk being fined, jailed or lashed for breaking the ban. Despite this,women have been taking to the roads in small numbers to test enforcement.

In a possible shift that could improve the chances of women demanding the right to drive, a local newspaper has been reported over the weekend as saying that Saudi Arabian authorities would create a new commission to handle social issues, including women driving.

While the report hasn’t been confirmed by the government, the suggestion that cases of women driving might be moved out of religious courts where they would usually be dealt with, has sparked new interest.

Riyadh academic and blogger Eman al Nafjan suggested that the proposal may have been prompted by embarrassment over the international coverage of the driving issue.

Speaking on the need to make progress on the longstanding issue of the right to drive, Manal al-Sharif said:

“It’s 22 years now. We have to just finish it.

Sarah MacShane
WVoN co-editor 

A reality show portraying the lives of five incredibly rich women aired recently in Brazil provoking criticism that it “glorifies inequality in Brazilian society”.

Mulheres Ricas, the first reality show to delve into the lives of Brazil’s super rich, focuses on five female millionaires – a businesswoman, a jeweller, an architect, a socialite and a formula truck pilot.

These women have reached the top financially, and provide an insight into “a world of travel, luxury cars, jewels, shopping and lots of champagne”.

Lydia Sayeg who runs an upmarket Sao Paulo jewellers believes that “being rich is beautiful…. I think everyone should strive to be rich”, commenting that “I take baths in mineral water… Is that extravagant? I don’t know. It’s our daily life”.

Brazil’s economy is booming, property prices are exploding and executive salaries are going through the roof. The boom has created 19 millionaires a day since 2007, while at the same time there are “11.5 million Brazilians living in slums last year, up from 4.5m in 1991”.

The columnist Renato Kramer from Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper has condemned the show as “pathetic”, arguing that women who are so financially secure should not feel the need to expose themselves in such a ridiculous way.

The show clearly not only highlights the growing inequality between the classes in Brazil but it demonstrates the willingness of rich women to flaunt their money, wealth and status in order to prove that they are part of Brazil’s elite.

I just wonder  - would men feel the same pressure?

Journalist and investigative filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has made history by becoming the first Pakistani  director to receive an Oscar nomination.  

Saving Face, which Chinoy co-directed with Daniel Junge, has been nominated in the Best Documentary, Short Subject category and has been applauded for raising awareness of the alarming rise in acid attacks on women in Pakistan.

The film follows the work of celebrated British-Pakistani plastic surgeon Dr Mohammad Jawad,  who led the revolutionary burns treatment on British model and television presenter Katie Piper after sulphuric acid was thrown in her face by a stalker in 2008.

Dr Jawad travels around central Pakistan to the cities of Karachi, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi, where he performs extensive and complex reconstructive surgery on other survivors of acid attacks.

In Saving Face Chinoy, who is known for making hard-hitting and revealing documentaries such as Transgenders: Pakistan’s Open Secret and Pakistan: The Taliban Generation, also tells the stories of two Pakistani women who were victims of horrifying acid violence and follows their progress as they try and rebuild their lives.

Acid attacks in Pakistan are rising, there are over  100 known cases a year and countless more that probably go unreported due to social stigma and the difficulties faced by women who try to access the judicial system.

The Acid Survivors Foundation Bangladesh says that victims are usually young women who are attacked by those closest to them for reasons such as refusing to accept marriage proposals, denying dowry or spurning sexual advances.

Robbery, family feuds, and land and property disputes have also been given as explanations for assaults which are often motivated out of jealousy or revenge.

The rationale for some of the attacks is astonishing – take the case of 22 year old Manzoor Attiqa. She was beaten to the point of unconsciousness then had acid thrown over her by her mother-in-law after a disagreement about cleaning the dishes.

Acid attacks are particularly sadistic because they are seen as a life long punishment. The number of deaths resulting from acid violence is low, but it is a permanent and painful reminder from which victims can never fully recover either physically or emotionally.

In many circumstances the perpetrator is male, but Chinoy says that older women who have been victims of abuse sometimes become abusers themselves.

A lack of education and exposure to female support networks means that they think that this is the norm, and so continue the cycle of violence.

There are organisations, though, that reach out to survivors. The Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) runs projects to give ongoing medical and psychological support to victims and to help them fight for justice.

However, the reality is that many of the women tend to go back to abusive families and relationships because they are unaware of their rights and because they have children.

Chinoy claims that a particularly high number of incidents occur in the cotton growing regions of the Saraiki belt, which is significant because the the cotton is cleaned with cheap and widely available acid.

Until recently there were no regulations to restrict the sale of acid nor to punish perpetrators, but after activists fought for a change in the law the Pakistan Senate passed two bills in December 2011 to impose strict penalties on those who attack women with acid.

The Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention laws call for a prison  sentence ranging from 14 years to life imprisonment and levies fines of up to 1 million rupees (£6,978) on the perpetrator of the crime.

The ASF said the move was ‘the first step won’, describing it as an important milestone for the survivors because it has shown that ‘democracy is not a myth anymore, they got justice’.

Sarah MacShane
WVoN co-editor 

There is  growing concern about the future of women’s rights in Tunisia as hard-line Islamists are increasing pressure in the public sphere for all women to be veiled.

Equally, some young women support the move, as part of a personal revolt against the authoritarian but secular and pro-women policies of the ousted rulers of Tunisia.

The focal point is  the faculty of letters at Manouba University, 15 miles from the capital Tunis which has 8,000 women students.

Egged on by Islamist men some students (both male and female) staged a protest. Nicknamed the ‘sit-inneurs’, they are refusing to go to classes or take part in any student activities until the current law which bans the use of niqab and public prayer is lifted.

The moderate, ruling Islamist Ennadha party is under pressure from radical Islamists know as Salafists, who are “demanding full-face veils for female university students”. The Salafists have beaten up journalists and university professors who speak out against them.

The government has removed the protesters citing “security concerns” if students are covered from head to toe. But some of the protesters inisist on their right to wear the veil.

They say that Tunisia’s new freedoms should allow them to practice Islam how they want – some women are choosing to cover themselves as part of an expression of identity with Islam and against their parents’ wishes.

Fatima Hazzi, a student at the Manouba faculty is on hunger strike until the law changes, saying that the niqab “covers my face but not my mind”.

February 14 is almost here again.

It’s time to profess love, reveal hidden passion, and expose your vagina in honour of V-Day.

Established in 1998, V-Day is a movement for ending violence against women (VAW) that evolved from American playwright Eve Ensler’s worldwide performances of Vagina Monologues.

Ensler says that many women shared their stories of sexual abuse after her performances, and from these conversations she realised that the play could be a force for change in exposing and ending sexual violence against women.

Based on interviews with women from diverse cultures, Vagina Monologues focuses on the experiences women have had with their bodies and particularly their vaginas.

From the raunchy, ‘My Angry Vagina” and “Reclaiming Cunt” to the poignant “My Vagina was my Village” and “Say It,” the monologues break the silence surrounding women’s sexual experiences and speaking out against sexual violence.

Every February, benefit performances of Vagina Monologues take place around the world with funds supporting local non-governmental organisations working towards ending sexual violence and the V-Day Spotlight Campaign.

The 2012 Spotlight Campaign focuses upon the women and girls of Haiti.

Thousands of V-Day events are taking place in 2012 from Mongolia to Saudi Arabia.

In Nairobi, Kenya, student Naomi Njeri Mwaura is part of the steering committee for a five-venue production across the city, including United States International University and Nairobi University in March.

Mwaura says: “With the high level of unemployment among the Kenyan youth . . . young people are willing to volunteer their time and skills towards helping in organizing, marketing, photography and blogging.”

However, she says that funding for the productions has been difficult to secure.

Domestic violence is a particular problem in Kenya because of the limited legal infrastructure to protect victims.

“In most cases, the woman is expected to stay in the violent marriage and avoid doing things that upset the husband to the point of marriage,” Mwaura says.

“If things get worse, the extended family will intervene and try to settle the marriage woes but nobody expects the woman to leave the marriage”

According to George Onyore William, a proposed Family Protection Bill will “provide the legal basis and framework for prosecuting domestic violence.”

The funds from the benefit performance will go to Nairobi Women’s Gender Violence Recovery Centre.

In the United States territory of Guam, Theatre Professor Michelle Blas is directing her second production of Vagina Monologues for a University of Guam and community audience.

The 2005 production spawned much controversy and protesters from the largely Catholic community picketing the theatre.

Blas says it may happen again this year, but she is encouraged that word is out and more women have auditioned for the 2012 performances.

Resistance, she says, has come specifically from men.

When a guest on a radio talk show, the male presenter argued that he needed to be convinced to go and see a production by and about women because he felt men were excluded.

Blas says, however, that men have a lot to gain from watching Vagina Monologues—more appreciation of the women in their lives and sometimes even a wake-up call to those men who are veering into abusive or potentially abusive behaviour.

The Vagina Monologues are, she says, empowering for men and women alike.

Directing the production also involves personal transformation, Blas explains, by allowing her to acknowledge and admit her own femininity from the humorous aspects of being a woman to overcoming the fear of the V-word.

Cast members too chart the personal importance of the work they are doing.

Wilma and Trinity Diosa, performers of “They Beat the Girl out of My Boy,” explained that performing a monologue about transsexual experience is empowering and speaks to their own experiences of transitioning from male to female.

Louresta Dodson-Lankard explains that “performing is very cathartic” because she can “act out the feelings” of her own experience as a battered child and offer the audience awareness and cleansing.

Sarah Gibson finds performing “Coochie Snorcher” joyful because, she says, every girl can find her own story in the monologue and see the potential for transformation.

Funds from the University of Guam production of Vagina Monologues will go to Erica’s House, Island Girl Power, Oasis Empowerment and Victims Advocates Reaching Out.

For her part, Mwaura hopes that the Kenyan productions will:

“strip away the shyness [and] shame that can often be associated with the female gender and just appreciate the importance of openly discussing issues around sex, especially in the African culture where the lack of transparency opens up an avenue for abuse and abusers.”

Juanita Blaz, director of Island Girl Power, one of the recipients of Guam V-Day funds, said in an interview in the Guam Pacific Daily News:

“It’s so important we learn to accept ourselves. We can only accept ourselves when we have a little bit of an open mind.”

For more information about the Nairobi productions, contact Naomi Njeri Mwaura at naomimwaura@ymail.com

The Guam production will be take place at the University of Guam Theatre, February 23-25 at 8:00 p.m.  A production of original monologues is scheduled for March 1-3.

Ilona Lo Iacono
WVoN co-editor

The Scottish Government is launching a new health campaign, encouraging women to “drop a glass size” as an easy way to consume less alcohol.

The DrinkSmarter website explains: “Sometimes slimmers switch to a smaller plate so they eat less. Dropping a glass size uses the same principle for alcohol.”

The Scottish Health Survey reveals that around 38 per cent of Scottish women regularly exceed daily and/or weekly sensible drinking guidelines.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon said:

“Everyone by now is aware that bold action is needed to tackle Scotland’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol. The impact of our consumption is estimated to cost Scots £3.56 billion each year. That’s £900 for every adult.

“With Scots drinking more than any other part of the UK, this campaign aims to encourage adults in Scotland, particularly women, to recognise how much they are actually drinking and to help them make small changes to the way they drink which can improve their health and well-being.”

Users of the DrinkSmarter website can use a calculator to measure the effects of simply reducing the size of their wineglass.

Although the calculator does state that drinkers should have at least two alcohol-free days per week, it does not suggest cutting down the number of glasses of wine consumed per day.

The benefits of reduced glass sizes are shown quite clearly in terms of reduced calorie intake over the course of a year, and equivalent grams of fat (illustrated with blocks of lard).

The amount of money saved yearly – assuming the consumer is drinking £5 bottles of wine – is displayed on a pink handbag.

Throughout the website, the serious long-term health effects of alcohol misuse appear secondary to the more immediate effects: the number one reason to drink less is that “your skin will love you”.

“Alcohol dehydrates you leaving your skin dull and tired. Ask a supermodel. Many go on record in magazines saying they stay away from alcohol before big photoshoots.”

Other stated benefits include clothes fitting better, healthier hair, providing a good example to children, and improved energy and concentration.

As part of the Scottish Government’s Alcohol Behaviour Change campaign, a new smart phone app, Drinking Time Machine, has also been launched.

The app, which is available free for one month, shows users how drinking too much alcohol affects their appearance by speeding up the ageing process.

Auriole Price, the app’s designer, said:

“The main aim of the app is to shock people into drinking just a little bit less. We are appealing to people’s vanity as the effects of alcohol can include red broken veins on the cheeks, bloodshot eyes, a bloated face and deeper wrinkles.”

User reviews seem to indicate that the tactic just may work.

“Put you off having ‘just 1 more’,” says one user, *Kate*d*.

Says techno.toes: ”When you select the ‘bottle or more option’ – it’s just plain scary. I definitely have a stronger motive for cutting down now. If it’s doing that to your face, what’s it doing to your insides?! Yikes.”

The DrinkSmarter website does state some serious statistics: in Scotland alone, 500 new cases of breast cancer each year can be linked to alcohol consumption.

Meanwhile, the chronic liver disease rate amongst 45-64 year old women in Scotland is higher than that among men in England and Wales.

Meanwhile, the BBC has reported that in 2010, there were 1,318 alcohol-related deaths in Scotland – an increase of 36 (3 per cent) compared with 2009 – 409 of these deaths were women.

A 2008 Scottish Government paper on changing Scotland’s relationship with alcohol found clear links between alcohol consumption and violent crime, including assault, domestic violence and homicide.

The paper also states that “as alcohol intake increases so does the relative risk of death from all causes”.

The low cost of alcohol is considered a contributing factor to its overconsumption: according to the Scottish Government, it is possible for a woman to exceed the weekly guidelines for less than £3.

Sturgeon is to meet in Brussels with the European Commissioner for Health John Dalli and Scottish MEPs this week to discuss minimum alcohol pricing.

Ilona Lo Iacono

Amnesty International (AI) has called for the Cambodian authorities to stop using “excessive force against peaceful land and housing activists”.

The organisation says that a group of around 150 women protesting forced evictions in the capital Phnom Penh on Wednesday was “violently” dispersed by police.

The Guardian reported that many of the women were frail and elderly, and two of the women tore their shirts off in apparent desperation: a highly unusual act in Cambodia.

According to the Phnom Penh Post, the protest began with 50 female evictees from Borei Keila and Boeung Kak Lake attempting to get municipal governor Kep Chutema’s attention by blocking traffic outside the city hall.

The district governor, Sok Sambath, reportedly ordered security forces to arrest the protesters using “five [security guards or police] to each woman”.

According to AI, police “grabbed and beat the protesters, including elderly women, to the ground”. Six women, five of whom were previously detained and held without charge after a protest in January, were thrown into a police van and detained overnight at Phnom Penh police station.

At least two of the women were reportedly injured during the arrest but received no medical care, while none of them were given full access to lawyers.

All six were released the next day, although other evictees remain in detention.

More than 300 families were evicted from the Borei Keila development site on January 3. The developer, Phan Imex, has failed to complete construction of the on-site housing it promised them in 2003.

Evictees have been demanding compensation for damaged property and calling on the authorities to address their housing needs.

The Phnom Penh Post reported that 130 evicted families had relocated to Srah Po village in Kandal province. Many still have no plots of land on which to build a new home, and have found the $100 compensation completely inadequate, especially as the evictees are now too far from Phnom Penh for many of them to find work.

Suy Sophan, the owner of Phan Imex, told the Phnom Penh Post she would not give land to “those who pretended to be Borei Keila residents or family members of those who had already received houses”.

She said that 64 families who were demanding compensation for their demolished houses did not have the documents to prove they had owned a house on the site.

Protesters from Boeung Kak Lake are calling on the Cambodian authorities to grant land titles to remaining residents and allow construction of on-site housing around the lake. They have also requested that the authorities take measures to alleviate flooding caused by the company filling in the lake.

Former residents are calling for additional compensation for being forced to leave their homes and relocating elsewhere.

Donna Guest, of AI, said: “The Cambodian government is saying one thing and authorities at the local level are doing another. Yesterday’s use of excessive force by police in Phnom Penh contradicts the Prime Minister’s call for peaceful resolutions to land disputes.

“Instead of trying to silence these communities through intimidation and violence, the Phnom Penh authorities should listen to them. These communities have a right to a prompt solution that meets Cambodia’s international legal obligations to provide adequate housing.”

AI reports that elsewhere in Cambodia, violent land disputes continue. Activists were shot and injured in Kratie province by military personnel working for a private company, and in Battambang province in the west by military police.

Josefina Vázquez Mota pledged on Sunday that she’s “going to be the first female president of this country!” after winning the nomination of Mexico’s National Action Party (PAN).

She took about 55 per cent of the vote in a nationwide poll of members compared to her nearest rival, Ernesto Cordero, the country’s former finance minister who received about 38 per cent.

Her main rival for the presidency in elections on July 1 is Enrique Peña Nieto, leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which is fighting to return to power after a 12-year break.

Although the PAN currently trails the PRI by about 20 percentage points, national polls show that she has the best chance of beating him.

Vázquez Mota is an economist and businesswoman who held the position of Secretary of Public Education in Mexico from 2006 to 2009.

She is also the first female presidential candidate for a mainstream political party in a country where women only got the vote in 1953.

They won’t necessarily be from that day, but usually will not be more than a few days old.

The following are the ones we’ve found today.

Story links:

Nearly 2000 African communities end FGM, UN news centre, February 6, 2012

Egypt’s women call for power transfer, Aswat Masriya, February 5, 2012

FGM in Karamoga: we either ‘kill’ culture or preserve life, Monitor, February 7, 2012

Saudi women in a shift, sue for right to drive, Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2012

They live on in Cyberspace, The Hindu, February 6, 2012

Romney finding support where women hold sway, Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2012

Minimum wage doesn’t pay for hard work, WeNews, February 7, 2012

Growing resentment towards Chinese women opting to give birth in Hong Kong has led residents of the special administrative region to air their grievances against mainland compatriots in Hong Kong’s free media.

A full page advertisement ran last week in widely read Hong Kong paper Apple Daily calling pregnant mainland women “locusts”.

It urged the authorities to take regulatory steps to stop mainland expectant mothers flooding the former British colony and burdening its healthcare system to the detriment of locals.

Increasing numbers of mainlanders flock to Hong Kong to deliver their babies. Babies born to mainland Chinese parents where neither was a Hong Kong resident accounted for 37% of all babies born in the region in 2010.

World-class hospital facilities and the identity cards and welfare benefits to which newborns are entitled make this a very attractive prospect for many Chinese mothers-to-be.

However, many local women have complained they are unable to access maternity care as a result of mainland women booking up ward spaces. Concern is also rising about the pressures increased births will have on schooling and property prices.

The advertisement was reportedly funded by donations from Hong Kong residents supportive of the cause. It is not the only demonstration of anger as indignant Hong Kong mothers have marched, protested and established at least two Facebook sites in objection.

Official measures have already been implemented to address the problem. A cap on the maximum number of mainland births has been set at 34,400 for 2012, although the effectiveness of the policy is in doubt.

There are reports of a growing trend of mainland women flouting the rules by seeking hospital admission only when in labour – something they cannot, by law, be refused.

This has led to authorities implementing more drastic measures, including tighter border checks for heavily pregnant women crossing over from the mainland.

Reports from the People’s Daily, last Thursday, revealed that officials raided 43 residential areas that were suspected of illegally harboring pregnant mainland women.

Other approaches are being adopted in an effort to deter women. According to news agency Reuters, some hospitals are making plans to expand maternity wards and raise fees for mainland mothers. They are likely to be as high as $7,500 for a natural birth in a shared room at private hospitals, or $5,000 at public ones for a pre-booked bed.

This trend belies a growing division between Hong Kongers and mainland Chinese: a semiannual survey by the University of Hong Kong revealed that as few as 16.6 percent of Hong Kong citizens identify themselves as Chinese — the lowest figure in a dozen years.

Several other incidents have tapped in on the growing chasm. A video of Hong Kongers berating a mainland girl for eating noodles on the subway received mass attention when it went viral, and Peking University professor Kong Qingdong further stirred the pot by calling Hong Kongers “people… used to being the dogs of British colonialists – they are dogs, not humans” in an interview with a Chinese website.

Maternity issues in general dominated the New Year celebrations in Hong Kong and the mainland, as residents celebrated the year of the dragon, the most coveted birth year of all in the Chinese calendar. It traditionally registers a sharp rise in births as families seek to cash in on the good luck, power and fortune that the mythical creature is thought to embody.

Progressive rabbis in Israel have founded a new Orthodox group that will focus on gender equality, in response to fears about the rise of religious extremism.

Osha Koren, a leader in Matan, an institute for women’s Torah study, founded the group Beit Hillel with ten other rabbis and has since found widespread support among the modern Orthodox community.

“The need for such an organization has been evident for some time,” Koren said.

“But the frustration grew following the recent events involving the exclusion of women.”

Israel’s long-ignored gender problem surfaced towards the end of last year with a series of incidents that highlighted the views of its ultra-Orthodox Haredim minority.

Women have been instructed to sit at the back of buses, told that women’s singing is “too sexual” to be allowed in public, and banned from speaking at conferences about women’s health, while billboards featuring women’s faces have been defaced, and in an incident in December that drew international attention to an ashamed Israel, an eight-year-old girl on her way to school was harassed by men with shouts of ‘prostitute’.

The Israeli activist Anat Hoffman has campaigned against gender segregation in Israel for years.

Hoffman is director of the Israel Religious Action Center, which campaigns for pluralism and tolerance in Israeli society, and became notorious in 2010 as leader of the protest group Women of the Wall when she was arrested for carrying a Torah scroll at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where women are forbidden from reading Torah (Haaretz).

She warns that gender segregation in Israel is something of an invisible, internal threat to the coherence of the state, much more potentially explosive than the current fears about the nuclear capabilities of Israel’s enemy, Iran.

Israeli security is usually understood, Hoffman said, “in terms of Israel being surrounded by millions of enemies”.

“But security is not just measured by soldiers on the border. It’s also measured by an 8-year-old girl’s ability to go to school without being bullied” (JWeekly).

The increasing confidence of the Haredim in Israel is connected to a general rise in religious feeling in Israel and the demise of the country’s ‘secular majority’.

A new study by the Guttman Center for Surveys, part of the Israel Democracy Institute, found that 80 per cent of Israeli Jews believe in God, and 67 per cent that the Jews are the chosen people. This is a marked increase compared to previous surveys in 1999 and 1991 (Haaretz).

The current government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reflects the increasing role of the religious lobby in public life: it is a coalition between his right-wing Likud and smaller, more extreme Haredi parties (Haaretz).

Israel has always seen itself as an early adopter of progressive politics, and the principle of gender equality was enshrined in the original Declaration of Independence in 1948, which promised “complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex” (Jewish Virtual Library).

Israeli women were and sometimes still are seen by the world, in feminist writer Leslie Hazleton’s words, as ‘independent souls with a grenade in one hand and a wrench in the other’ (TIME).

However, these images of enlightened gender relations served to hide the fact that sexism in Israeli society was as entrenched from its early Yishuv beginnings as it is in any society, with many national myths lionising male traits while relegating women once more to domestic work (Esther Fuchs ed., Israeli Women’s Studies, and Leslie Hazleton’s Israeli Women).

The rise of Haredi Jews should not be a chance to demonise a minority, but to reflect on gender equality more broadly in a country with a 35% pay gap in the private sector, only 24 women politicians in the 120-capacity Knesset, and a mere 22% employment rate among Israeli Arab women (Jewish Virtual Library).

Two international campaign groups have called on the European Union (EU) for more clarity on their commitment to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM) and other manifestations of violence against women.

The European Commission pledged to create plans to address violence against women, including FMG, in 2010, saying they would “adopt an EU wide strategy on combating violence against women, including practices of female genital mutilation”.

However, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) and Amnesty International have criticised the Commission for so far failing to produce a concrete manifesto for tackling these abuses of human rights.

The call for clarification has been made in a joint press release, which comes just ahead of the ninth International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation, marked every year on February 6.

Amnesty has also produced a video calling on European leaders to tackle FMG.

While FMG affects women on a global scale, figures issued by the European Parliament suggest that in Europe alone, around half a million women and girls will already have suffered some form of FGM, with around 180,00 more still at risk every year.

More broadly, figures have also suggested that almost one in two women in the European Union will be affected by violence in her lifetime.   Horrifyingly, one in ten will be raped, and one in five will experience domestic violence.

FMG, one of the most extreme forms of violence against women, is already criminalised in many European countries, including the UK, but there seems to be a lack of cohesion in state-wide policy.

According to Dr Christine Loudes, Director of the END FGM European Campaign, the solution to the problem is not simply about passing legislation.

She said “This shows that legislation is not the master key that will lock all doors to this human rights violation. The EU must take a holistic approach which engages community members to ensure girls are protected and their families are not stigmatized”.

While an EU cross-member state approach to eradicating violence against women in all its forms is as yet unforthcoming, Amnesty International and EWL say that individual state responsibility can be taken by signing and ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Secretary General of the EWL, Cecile Greboval said:

“Ending all forms of violence against women, including FGM, should be a priority, especially in times of crisis. We know that the EU has the means to end violence against women and deliver a strategy to guarantee all women the right to live free from violence; so what are we waiting for?”

Amnesty International called on the Bahraini authorities last week to release a female activist, Fadhila Mubarak, currently being held for her involvement in pro-reform demonstrations last year.

This followed a decision by the Court of Cassation in the capital, Manama, rejecting Mubarak’s appeal against her conviction for protesting and listening to “revolutionary” music (see WVoN story).

The Court upheld her 18-month prison sentence, commuted from an initial four year prison term after four appeal hearings.

Mubarak was detained at demonstrations which took place in Bahrain last year.  In February and March 2011, thousands of Bahrainis protested against the government and called for more political reforms, freedom, democracy and social justice.

Unlike successes seen in other nations where freedoms were won as a result of 2011´s “Arab Spring”, protests in Bahrain were harshly crushed in mid-March.

Dozens of peaceful protesters were killed, hundreds of people arrested and many more tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Many received lengthy prison terms, following unfair trials before military courts.

Amnesty is seeking Mubarak´s release on the basis that she suffered sustained mistreatment during her time in custody and was denied her right to fair legal proceedings. The organisation only became aware of Mubarak’s full story after other female inmates who were released on bail spoke up about her case.

Mubarak was without access to a lawyer before and during her first trial, and following her initial sentence.  Some witnesses have reportedly told the organisation that she was still being beaten on the bus while on her way to court.

Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Progamme said:

“Fadhila Mubarak is a prisoner of conscience who was reportedly beaten and tortured in detention and then sentenced in an unfair trial before a military court on spurious charges for standing up for her rights.

“The Bahraini authorities must release her immediately and unconditionally. Fadhila Mubarak’s sentence only serves to demonstrate the intolerance of the authorities and the failures of the justice system.

“They must also launch an independent investigation into allegations of torture against her and bring those responsible to justice.”

Mubarak was arrested on 20 March 2011, when her car was stopped by authorities at a checkpoint close to Rifaa, south-west of Manama. Also in the vehicle at the time were her eight-year-old son and two other children.

She was informed that she had been stopped for playing music calling for an end to the country´s regime. When she refused to turn the music down and requested identification from the police officer, she was forced out of the car, beaten over head, arrested and taken to Rifaa police station.

During interrogation she is said to have been subjected to repeated beatings all over her body by female policewomen, before being transferred to another police station, where she was beaten again.

On 17 May 2011, she was sentenced to four years in jail by a military court, which found her guilty of several charges. She faced false indictments of taking part in an illegal gathering of more than five people; taking part in illegal protests; possessing CDs and leaflets inciting hatred towards the regime, and assaulting a policeman by pulling his shirt.

Her lawyer saw her for the first time in court on the first day of her first appeal on 25 May 2011. During this hearing, her lawyer requested a forensic examination and also called on the policeman who beat her at the checkpoint to testify. These requests were denied.

The Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO) has issued a report showing that whilst Irish women are better educated than their male counterparts, men still overwhelmingly dominate senior and managerial positions.

The report, entitled “Men and Women in Ireland 2011“, looked at the differences between men and women in the areas of employment, education, income and occupations.

It shows that girls continue to outperform boys in secondary school exams while boys are more likely to leave school early.

More than half of Irish women between the ages of 25-35 are college-educated while fewer than four out of 10 men in the same age-bracket has a college degree.

But being nerdy won’t necessarily ensure an Irish woman makes it to the top of her profession.

Even in employment sectors such as education and health, which are overwhelmingly dominated by women, they still don’t get the top jobs.

At second-level schools, only 40% of managers are women although they account for 63% of teachers.

Women also account for four out of five employees in the health sector yet occupy only 36% of managerial positions.

The vast majority of Irish civil servants are male and they dominate the top positions: 82.4% of Secretaries General, 83.9% of Deputy and Assistant Secretaries, and 69.4% of Principle Officers are men.

The CSO report also reveals that while the employment rate of Irish men is higher at 63.3% compared to 46.7% for women, men’s unemployment rate is also 7.1% higher.

WVoN has previously highlighted the under-representation of Irish women at a Parliamentary level which currently stands at 15.1% of the Dáil (the lower house of Irish Parliament) compared to the European average of 24%.

Irish women also account for less than a fifth of local council members, one third of State Board members’ and just over a third of the membership of Vocational Education Committees.

The report found that women’s income was 73% of men’s.  When adjusted for the longer hours worked by men, it calculated that women’s hourly earnings were 94% of men’s.

As noted by the Irish Times however, the report does not account for unpaid domestic work, which continues to be overwhelmingly performed by women.

According to a 2008 study by the Irish Equality Authority and the Economic and Social Research Institute, Irish women’s total workload of both paid and unpaid labour is, on average, around 39 minutes longer per day than men.

A mere 20 years ago, the call of the clergy was still very much for the ears of men alone.  Now, it seems, the tide is turning.

It’s not quite 20 years since the Church of England first invited women to don the robes of priesthood, but figures released in the official Church of England Yearbook 2012 have revealed that more women than men were ordained in 2010.

Although the overall figure of men in the priesthood still far outweighs that of women, it appears that equality may finally be taking a foothold.

According to The Telegraph, of the 563 priests ordained in the year 2010, 290 of them were women, and only 273 were men.

While there is a clear increase in the number of women ‘joining up’, the figures also show that the majority of new women priests are ‘self-supporting’, meaning that they do not make a full-time living from the church.  Concerns have been raised around the causes for this.

Sally Barnes, spokesperson for the campaign group Women And The Church said:

“…it does concern us that there seems to be a bias at work during the selection process that means that once someone has committed to training as a NSM (non-stipendiary minister) it is very difficult/impossible to transfer to being stipendiary as personal circumstances/calling develops later and that this seems to cause difficulties for female NSMs particularly.”

However, she saw the increase of women priests as a positive indicator for the future, saying “The figures are very good news. They show the increasing numbers of women whose vocations are being recognised, accepted and valued by the Church.”

If these figures do mark a change in attitude within the church, can we now expect our first female bishop?

With a critical meeting of the General Synod, the Church of England’s governing body, taking place this week, the four debates it is due to hear on draft legislation to introduce women bishops will be even more significant.

Will the figures from the Church of England Yearbook influence the thinking of the great and the good within the church to allow women to engage first hand with the work of God even further?

Current proposals generally support the ordination of female bishops, but the meeting of the Synod this week could see the tabling of amendments to the proposals.

One such amendment under discussion would substantively reduce the role of female bishops to that of a simple figure head, giving male bishops the legal right to bypass the authority of a female counterpart entirely and look to a male bishop for leadership.

If, however, the proposals are accepted largely in their current form, they will go to a vote at the Synod meeting in York in July.

If women are at last to grace the corridors of Bishopdom, a two thirds majority vote is needed from all three ‘houses’ of the Church of England – laity, clergy and bishops.

The Telegraph has already named the ‘woman most likely’ to be the first female Bishop – Rose Hudson-Wilkin.

Although she seems to be a popular choice, her views on the matter are quite clear and make no bones about possible amendments to the proposals:

“No woman in her right mind will accept becoming a bishop unless she is able to do so on the same basis as a man,” she said.

Whatever the result, the figures around the ordination of women priests will undoubtedly be unsettling for some traditional religious leaders who still believe that men alone were destined to be leaders of the church.

Thelma Etim

Since the March 2011 uprising in Syria which saw its citizens openly revolting against their leader Bashar al-Assad, more than 5,000 have lost their lives.

Among the dead are women who have been protesting against a regime which has been roundly denounced for its aggression and brutality on the international stage.

Last week UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, made an unequivocal statement about Mr Assad’s future as President of Syria.

He told CNN he “hoped” the general secretary of the Baath Party would acquiesce to a request by the international community to vacate his post by the end of 2012.

Mr Cameron’s comment — while attending the Word Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland — echoes the US position on Mr Assad’s controversial reign.

The White House said the commander of the armed forces “had lost control of Syria” and “will go,” BBC News reported.

Western and Arab diplomats believe the impasse can be resolved with a UN Security Council resolution calling for Mr Assad to devolve power to his deputy.

Although the resolution enjoys backing from 10 security council member states, its fate largely depends on whether Russia uses its veto to blow the plan out of the water next Tuesday.

While the mainstream media focuses on the political game of chess the world’s most powerful leaders are involved in, the contribution of Syrian women in the battle for freedom continues to be under-reported.

The fact that they are not visible in most media reports — despite being involved in the now famous “flash mobs” — has prompted some quarters to question whether they are fully taking part in the revolt.

Dr Mohja Kahf, Associate Professor 
at the US.-based University of Arkansas and author of “Women’s mass protests during the Syrian Revolution: A Preliminary Analysis,” argues this perception is misleading.

She points out that Syrian women have been “providing logistical work for protest activity.”

“Because women were not seen street-protesting in the first few electrifying days of massive protests especially in Daraa March 18-24, the Syrian revolution was early typified by the viewer reaction, “Where are the women?”

Dr Kahf also states women have been involved in “day and night protests, marches, candle-lit vigils, sit-ins,” as well as “interfaith and inter-sect rallies.”

“Women have innovated one form of protest men have not done: the Indoor Protest,” she adds.

During one of these events women read statements while the congregation holds up banners and chants protest songs.

In an effort to ensure the individual sacrifices they are making are to be documented, Syrian women have been relying heavily on the social media — i.e. Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and blogs.

In this context, there are a number of videos of the prominent Syrian actress turned activist Fadwa Soliman on YouTube.

She belongs to the country’s Alawite sect — the minority religion to which most of the regime belongs.

Last December, Al Jazeera reported Ms Soliman had been “disowned by her family for her leading role in the protest movement.”

In one video she claims “millions of Syrians are rebelling in order to recover the freedoms that were taken from them.”

The revolutionary, who shaved off her long hair in protest, goes on to describe “the torture and killing” in the beleaguered country before calling on Canada to encourage the world’s most powerful nations to intervene.

Facebook pages also detail a bloody roll call of the females — young and old — who have been killed in the mass revolt so far.

So why is there a dearth of mainstream news coverage on Syrian women protesters? There are a number of possible contributing factors.

One reason could be the fact that western journalists are severely restricted inside the country so corroborating claims is difficult.

The reason may also lie in how news is managed.

When Kira Cochrane, features writer for the Guardian, examined the British media she found that “in a typical month, 78 percent of newspaper articles are written by men, 72 percent of Question Time contributors are men and 84 percent of reporters and guests on BBC Radio 4′s Today show are men.”

Furthermore, women linked to protesters are being singled out by government forces, according to Syrian/Palestinian American and Michigan based lawyer Muna Jondy.

She told Christa Blackmon, Social Media Editor for Aslan Media, of one incident where “the wives of democracy activists were being stripped and forced to parade the streets of their town until their husbands surrendered themselves into the hands of the government.”

Ms Blackmon goes onto to state that because journalists inside Syria face many restrictions “it may be a long time before we uncover the full extent of the gender violence.’

They won’t necessarily be from that day, but usually will not be more than a few days old.

The following are the ones we’ve found today.

Story links:

Women’s role in ANC not recogised, Times Live, February 5, 2012

Saudi women in drive ban legal bid, PA, February 5, 2012

Political and economic turmoil threaten women’s progress, February 2, 2012

Rural women’s banks ease tough times, IPS news, January 30, 2012

Imams issue fatwa against honour killings, City News Toronto, February 4, 2012

Dowry death – one bride burnt every hour, Times of India, January 27, 2012

Tipped workers hope for hike in sub-minimum wage, WeNews, February 6, 2012

Women in the Georgian labour market, Finchannel, February 6, 2012

Saudi women accelerate anti-driving campaign, The Australian, February 6 2012

I often have a laugh to myself at some of the terms that bus drivers use to address me, such as darling, love or – more recently – chick.

I don’t usually get annoyed (more amused really), so I was interested to read that it has become something of a hot topic recently.

A woman in Brighton, Jo Walters, wrote to her local bus company to let them know that she didn’t like being called ‘love’ ‘darling’ or ‘babe’ by its drivers.

She wasn’t making a complaint. She just wanted them to know that, although she usually found their drivers friendly and courteous, some of them sometimes used language towards her that she found demeaning.

The bus company agreed with her and promised to let their drivers know.

But before you could say ‘Oi, love’, the local radio reported that drivers had been asked not to call people ‘babe’.

It then appeared in my local newspaper, the Metro and the Mail Online. It was discussed on Loose Women and various local radio stations.

Walters then wrote a piece for the Guardian (an English newspaper) about the coverage and the comments that it had generated, much of it painting her as an angry woman who should be grateful for the apparent compliment.

She didn’t make it a gender issue; the coverage and comments did.

In an e-mail interview with WVoN, she said that:

‘It’s a big generalisation and there have been lots of exceptions, but typically men are more critical and more likely to make comments like ‘get over it darling’.

There have been lots of women who don’t agree with my viewpoint (which is fine) but they were more likely to be supportive. I’m still very suprised by how much coverage the issue got and how angry it seems to have made some people!

Some of the comments were personal and made assumptions about my appearance, class, attitude and intentions. I was (sadly) expecting this sort of response but maybe not quite that level of malice.

It was interesting to see that lots of commenters had missed the point of my article which was that I didn’t think my email to the bus company was particularly newsworthy and that lots of the coverage was untrue so their comments reinforced some of my points about attitudes to women!’

But she should take comfort that she’s not alone. Most women asked by the Leicester Mercury said they would not complain – but were adamant they did not like being called “babe”.

Maria Kilgarriff, 29, from Evington, Leicester, said: ‘I would be offended by someone calling me ‘babe’ because there are connotations.’

Shannon Parkin, 16, from Aylestone, Leicester, said: “I don’t mind ‘darling’ but I don’t like ‘babe’.

‘It’s something only your boyfriend should be allowed to say to you.’

And Sophie Arnold, 18, Hinckley, unemployed was quite clear on how it makes her feel:

‘If a bus driver called me ‘babe’ I’d punch him! ‘Darling’ would be pushing his luck.’

So bus drivers be warned – next time I may not be so generous, particularly now I know I’m not alone.

Alison Clarke

At a press conference in New York yesterday to report on the first year of operations, the executive director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, called for greater commitment and action from member states on women and gender equality.

With austerity measures, budget cuts and political changes impacting women’s lives worldwide, Ms Bachelet outlined her action agenda for this year.

“My top priority for 2012 will be to make a renewed push for women’s economic empowerment and political participation.

“This is in response to women’s demands and also to recent events, to the transformations taking place in the political, social and economic spheres”, she added.

“With rising demand for justice, upcoming elections in many countries and political transition, we can open doors wider for women in pursuit of the dignity and rights which all human beings are entitled”.

Focusing strongly on the two major developments that dominated global debate in 2011— the democracy movements in the Arab states and the continued financial and economic crisis – Ms Bachelet highlighted the challenges that have emerged for women’s rights, but also the opportunities.

UN Women, for instance, supported the establishment of the Egyptian Women’s Union, an association of 500 groups, and facilitated the formulation of their demands in the Egyptian Women’s Charter.

The organization is also working increasingly with the private sector: 257 CEOs have so far signed up to the Women’s Empowerment Principles that guide companies in creating better and more equitable conditions for women.

The principles were developed by UN Women in collaboration with the UN Global Compact.

Ms Bachelet spotlighted some further key achievements from the first year, including:

• bringing women leaders together during the UN General Assembly to call for more women leaders in politics and the adoption of a new GA resolution in December that calls on countries to take concrete steps to increase women’s political participation
• working on enabling environments and markets to empower rural women
• launch of a global policy agenda to end violence against women and initiative to provide essential services to survivors
• expanding the role of women in peace talks, peace-building and recovery by training women in Africa and Asia as mediators in conflict prevention and facilitating women’s participation in international engagement conferences for Afghanistan and South Sudan
• advancing capacity-building efforts in more than 50 countries in gender analysis and budgeting for more equitable budgets and policies.

A system-wide plan facilitated by UN Women now also forms a stronger foundation for promoting better coordination and accountability within the UN System on gender-related activities.

In 2011, contributions to UN Women totalled $235 million, representing a 33 percent increase from 2010, and a widening of the donor base. However intensified fundraising efforts are required to meet the target of $700 million for 2012-2013.

Calling on all partners to ensure that political changes and budget cuts do not push back the hard won gains made by the women’s movement globally, Ms Bachelet underlined the need to protect and advance gender equality as a matter of moral prerogative as well as practical necessity.

“We simply can no longer afford to deny the full potential of one-half of the population. The world needs to tap into the talent and wisdom of women.

“Whether the issue is food security, economic recovery, health, or peace and security, the participation of women is needed now more than ever,” Ms Bachelet concluded.

Beauty x is a short ebook, from the Eat Campaign, a Facebook-based network of ‘beauty ambassadors’ and ‘right to eat activists’, which uses pictures and experiences of celebrities to warn and educate young women about the dangers of under-eating.

The book starts with a letter by the author, Ranko Tutulugdzija, to a young woman called Kristen, who is suffering from an eating disorder.

Tutulugdzija explains the medical impact of not eating – anaemia, followed by oedema, when the face and eventually the whole body swell up with fluid as the kidneys, weakened by lack of food, are unable to dispose of waste properly.

Food=beauty, he writes.

Tutulugdzij describes how he travelled to China to get treatment for the constant muscle pain and fatigue caused by over exercise and a protein-only diet, whilst on a college soccer scholarship.  He had no medical insurance, and taught English to get his visa.

He became very aware of how college girls in China, like young women all over the world, ate hardly anything.  They were losing their beauty, unlike the  older women he met, who at 60, looked more like 30.

He describes the psychological effects – fear, insomnia, panic attacks – operating in a kind of survival mode brought on by near starvation, and is concerned that many young women who present to doctors with these symptoms are prescribed anti-depressants, ignoring the real causes.

He warns against calorie counting, consuming ‘dead empty matter’  (foods full of processed white sugar), and eating just one type of food.

Unlike many nutritionists, he tells his readers not to worry about eating white rice or flour, as these are staples in countries like China.

The book is aimed not at those suffering severe anorexia, but at the millions of women and girls for whom under-eating is a way of life.

The campaign is clever in its use of social networking, celebrity and on-line activism to draw women away from dieting and the damage it can do, but does not move far enough away from the myth that beauty is all about being thin and looking young.

However, hopefully young women will follow the spirit, if not the letter, of his message.

Samantha Reeves
WVoN co-editor 

The Times newspaper has launched a national ‘Cities fit for cycling’ campaign in the UK, months after one of their own journalists, Mary Bowers, was hit by a cement truck on her way to work.

She has been in a coma ever since.

In November last year, Central St Martins student Min Joo Lee become the third female cyclist in five years to die at Kings Cross.

The Times has produced an eight point manifesto, including demands for trucks entering cities to have extra sensors and mirrors, a call for 500 of the most dangerous road junctions to be identified and suggestions for cyclist training.

You can read the manifesto and pledge your support here.

At the same time however, London’s transport authority, TfL, has tried to keep secret its own report showing that women are more likely to be hit by lorries on London’s roads.

It shows that men are less likely to be hit by HGVs because they are more likely to disobey red lights. Women, who are generally more cautious cyclists, tend to hug kerbs and obey red lights. As a result they get caught in lorry drivers’ “blind spot”.

The National Cyclists’ organisation said that 10 of the 13 people who died in cycling accidents in the capital in 2010 were women, eight of them killed by heavy goods vehicles, although there are three times more male cyclists than female.

Dawn Foster, the blogger behind 101 wankers, documenting cases of sexual harassment whilst cycling around London, has given up cycling in London because of the dangers at this – now – infamous Kings Cross junction, among others.

Conservative members of the Greater London Authority have twice walked out on a debate at city hall about removing the 20 mph speed limit on London’s Blackfriars bridge.

They won’t necessarily be from that day, but usually will not be more than a few days old.

The following are the ones we’ve found today.

Story links:

UN Women to focus on economic empowerment and political roles, UN new centre, February 2, 2012

Controversy engulfs Susan G Komen for the Cure, WeNews, February 3, 2012

Women entrepreneurs fear failure more than men, Reuters, February 2, 2012

No women on Facebook board shows white male influence on social agenda, Bloomberg News, February 3, 2012

Affirmative action for women in maths contests boosts participation, Arstechnica, February 2, 2012

Handgun ownership rising among women, Dayton Daily News, February 2, 2012

Too fat? Next top model winner sues agency, Guardian, February 3, 2012

Susan G Komen loses support after Planned Parenthood decision, Huffington Post, February 2, 2012

Feminist punk band Pussy Riot take revolt to the Kremlin, Guardian February 3, 2012

Susan Newcombe
WVoN co-editor 

Recession and political crises in Italy must not detract from efforts to combat violence against women says a UN independent expert.

With current figures indicating the country is likely to stay in recession until 2013 UN special rapporteur on violence against women, Rashida Manjoo,  said there remains an urgent need to address violence against women.

“The continuum of violence in the home is reflected in the increasing numbers of victims of femicide,” said Ms Manjoo following a 12- day fact-finding trip.

“There is an urgent need to address the underlying structural causes of inequality and discrimination,” she added.

Sources estimate domestic violence affects around 70 – 87 per cent of the female population with statistics indicating that in 2006, 101 women were killed by a partner, spouse or former partner with the figure increasing to 127 in 2010.

Ms Manjoo said that, because of the family-oriented and patriarchal structure of Italian society, domestic violence is not always perceived as a crime.

Economic dependency and perceptions that the state response to such complaints will not be appropriate or helpful also made it harder for women to come forward to report incidents.

“A fragmented legal framework and inadequate investigation, punishment and compensation for women victims of violence also contribute to the silencing and invisibility surrounding this issue,” she said.

“These statistics may not include women from the Roma, Sinti and other minority communities who face multiple forms of violence in both the private and public sectors and whose situation is often characterized by a lack of adequate housing, health, education and unemployment services and opportunities,” she added.

Ms Manjoo’s visit focused on violence against women in four areas including the home, the community, violence perpetrated or condoned by the state, and violence in the transnational context.

She held meetings in Rome, Milan, Bologna and Naples with state officials and individuals and organisations at civil society level as well as survivors of violence.

She stopped off at anti-violence shelters for women, an authorised camp for the Roma and Sinti community, prisons and detention facilities for women and children, an immigration detention centre for irregular migrants and a university.

She did, however, commend the government’s efforts to address the issue of violence against women, including a law on stalking and a national plan for the inclusion of women in the labour market.

Ms Manjoo’s mission is the first visit to Italy made by an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor violence against women.

Sarah MacShane

Four men have been given an 18-year jail sentence for stabbing and stoning Zoliswa Nkonyana, a 19 year old openly gay woman from Khayelitsha, a small village near Cape Town.

She was murdered in what was  clearly a homophobic attack.

Even though South Africa has a liberal constitution and is the only country in Africa where same-sex marriage is permitted, violence against homosexuals in South Africa is prevalent; more than 30 lesbians have been killed in the past 10 years according to gay activists.

The constitution ‘protects people from discrimination based on sexuality’ but lesbians are often subjected to ‘corrective rape’ by men who think it will ‘cure’ their homosexuality.

The sentence has been welcomed by many gay activists as it is the first of its kind to recognise a murder committed because of someone’s sexual orientation.

Jill Henderson from Triangle Project– a non-governmental organisation that fights for the rights of gays and lesbians in Khayelitsha said the ruling ‘set a precedent’ as it was the first criminal trial to ‘name hate and intolerance on the basis of sexual orientation as an aggravating factor’.

The magistrate said it was clear that the motive was hatred and homophobia and that the ruling sends out a message that ‘violence based on sexual orientation will not be tolerated’.

European Parliament

Una Purdie
WVoN co-editor 

What has Europe ever done for women?

If you listened to some parts of the UK media, European institutions do nothing but create messy bureaucracy and meddle in sovereign affairs.

Others would argue that it has been a beacon of progress for gender equality, and we need to work together more, not less, to build better societies.

And indeed, to get Europe out of the fine economic mess it has gotten itself into…

Equality between men and women is one of the European Union’s founding values – the principle of equal pay for equal work goes back to the Treaty of Rome of 1957. Not that European employers always seem to take notice…

There have certainly been many positive steps to tackle gender-related issues at a European level, which recently included measures to combat trafficking and protect victims of crimes such as gender-based violence across the continent.

There’s also been a lot of legislation to combat gender discrimination.

Yet today on this site we’re reporting the same old stories of unequal pay, age discrimination against women, and the dearth of women in boardrooms.

So what difference has Europe made over the years, and what measures should or shouldn’t it do in future to advance the cause of gender equality?

On March 2nd, in the run-up to International Women’s Day, the European Parliament’s London office is hosting a debate to discuss these and other issues.

It should be a lively event.

Amongst the speakers are two Members of the European Parliament who are on the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, the Conservative Marina Yannakoudakis (who has guest posted for WVoN here) and Labour’s Mary Honeyball (also written for us – here). They have opposing views on issues like boardroom quotas, but have worked together in other areas like promoting women entrepreneurs.

Also on the panel is Shadow Europe Minister Emma Reynolds MP and businesswoman, and Weekend Financial Times columnist Heather McGregor.

Journalist Shirin Wheeler , presenter of  The Record Europe, is moderator.

Women’s Views on News are going to be there too – we’re hosting a live forum to report and debate the issues online.

We will be looking for your questions and points to put to the panel, both before and during the event.

I’ll be writing about some of the issues over the coming month.

In the meantime, if you’re in the London area and would like to attend, details can be found here.

Please email the European Parliament to book your seat: lucinda.pickersgill@europarl.europa.eu

Otherwise, make note and follow the debate online with us.

Karen Whiteley
WVoN co-editor 

I know, you’re already a feminist, right?  Of course you are.

But if you’re in London this weekend, take some time out from the annoyances of the Patriarchy to treat yourself to a day in the glorious company of other feminists.

Because the Go Feminist conference, taking place this Saturday, will be full of them.

The conference, an all day affair, offers workshops on everything from Feminist Art to Consumerism & Anti-Capitalism, to Faith and Feminism.

Plenary sessions include women and economics, sexism in popular culture and women’s activism past, present and future.

The conference bills itself as feminism ‘moving from the margins to the mainstream’, and according to Shannon Harvey, one of the conference organisers, that’s exactly what the conference hopes to achieve.

‘The idea was to create a space to bring together women involved in all different forms of feminist activism, including activism which intersects with feminism, such as anti-capitalism and anti-racism.

“We want to bring a feminist analysis to those different movements and discuss how feminism can move forward with them.’

According to Harvey, this intersectionality is one of feminism’s biggest challenges:

‘Some of the obvious feminist issues, such as porn and sexualisation of girls are being talked about a lot in the media, but feminism really needs to go beyond that and address the marginalisation of specific groups of women.’

Current media interest in feminism is high.  We are, we’re told, in the middle of a ‘resurgence’ of feminism.

Whilst this is undoubtedly better than the other media trope that feminism is, in fact, dead (I keep missing that memo), the conference aims to challenge the idea of a resurgence, in the UK at least.

‘We would definitely dispute the idea of a resurgence,’ says Harvey.

‘Feminist activism has never stopped.  We are simply seeing more and more women coming to a feminist viewpoint.’

According to Harvey, the banking crisis has played a part in this.

‘We know that women are being disproportionately affected by the current economic situation, in the UK and elsewhere, through government cuts and otherwise.

‘But women are still not being represented and their needs are still not being taken into account.  More and more women are starting to realise this.’

The Go Feminist conference will take place on Saturday 4 February 2012, at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL, from 10am to 6pm.

Tickets, priced on a sliding scale depending on income, are available here.

I’m going feminist on Saturday; fancy coming with me?

Rachel Salmon
WVoN co-editor 

Rumana Hashem  is one of a group of campaigners successfully fighting plans by a British company to dig a massive open cast mine on prime agricultural land in north western Bangladesh, which could displace nearly a quarter of a million people.

I spoke to her recently about the campaign and how she became involved.

Hashem first discovered in 2006 that Global Coal Management (GCM) planned to develop the mine, an area the size of Edinburgh, near the town of Phulbari in her native Bangladesh.

“I wanted to find out how many people would prosper and what the mine would be used for,” she said.

She researched both sides of the argument; first, the company analysts who said the mine would produce 15m tonnes of coal a year, contribute billions to the economy and help the country meet its energy needs. 

They said that 50,000 people would be displaced over the course of its 35 year lifespan and that measures would be taken to address water depletion, noise and pollution.  GCM would build a new town to house the displaced.

And then she spoke to opponents, like the International Accountability Project (IAP), which said the project would lead to disaster. 

It estimated that water levels would fall by 15-25m - a concern, as most local people use tube wells.

IAP claimed the project could damage the Sunderbans, a UN-protected mangrove forest, home to endangered species like the Royal Bengal tiger, as GCM planned to transport eight million tonnes of coal a year by barge, and build a reloading port just off the coast.

Eighty per cent of the coal would be exported.

An expert committee, established by the Bangladesh government in 2005, concluded the project broke laws and regulations prohibiting open cast mines of more than eight square kilometres and stipulating that licences should only be granted for a maximum of 10 years initially. 

In 1994, when the initial agreements were signed, tax on coal was 20 per cent, but in 1995 the government reduced this to six per cent, and GCM were granted an initial nine-year tax holiday.  No export duties would be paid.

The committee found that, given the number of leases and exploration licences held by GCM, and given the population density and predicted growth, the mine could displace up to 220,000 people.

It reported widespread local opposition, and was worried by claims that consultation forms had been printed in English, and believed some of the information put out by GCM to local communities was misleading.

Hashem travelled to Phulbari and the following day was interrogated by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), an elite corps originally established to tackle crime and terrorism which, according to Human Rights Watch, has been responsible for the deaths of over 1,600 people since they were formed in 2004.

“This made me more worried about the situation.  I wanted to find out why people were not allowed to enter the region,” she said.

On August 26, 2006 Hashem attended an 80,000-strong demonstration organised by the National Committee for the Protection of Oil Gas Mineral Resources Power and Ports.

“The BDR were everywhere and they were the first to open fire. I believe they were advised by the company,” she said.

“They tried to stop people joining the demonstration and said there would be violence. 

“This gives us an indication that violence was being planned. 

“Local people told me that they were being intimidated and company agents warned them that there would be serious violence,” she said.

Three people were shot and 200 injured. 

Since then groups opposed to the project have complained of mass arrests of demonstrators, beatings and interrogation.

In 2007 a local National Committee leader, SM Nuruzuman, claimed he was arrested and tortured, and its general secretary, Professor Anu Muhammad, said he had received abusive messages and at least one death threat from GCM investors.

“The area around Phulbari is extremely fertile and densely populated,” he said.

“It is also one of the few regions in Bangladesh that is safe from flooding and other natural catastrophes, and therefore plays a key role for the food security of the entire country.

“The proposed ‘development’ project is merely a scheme to loot natural resources from a poor country for the rich.

“We will not allow GCM Resources to turn a land of food for the people into a black hole for corporate profit.” 

Hashem said she was called a ‘door mat’ and a ‘bad omen’ by an investor in 2010, whilst picketing a meeting in London, and received threatening phone calls.

In October 2010, Hashem said she discovered a fire at her home and she and her husband were forced to move out for six months while the house was rebuilt.

She believes the fire was started deliberately and was linked to her opposition to the project.

Some experts, like geologist Mark Muller, believe open cast mining is unnecessary in Phulbari, and claim alternatives like Coal Bed Methane (CBM) and Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), are cheaper, quicker, cleaner and almost as efficient as mined coal.

The Bangladesh government is beginning to listen.

On January 14, in a speech to the Institute of Engineers, the prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, indicated she was against extracting coal in areas of high population density, and that it should be left in the ground for future generations while the country waited for new technology. 

But four days later Alamgir Kabir, chairman of the Bangladesh Power Development Board, invited tenders to help build four new coal-fired power plants.

He said the new plants would “initially utilise imported coal” but that “local coal will be utilised once the country starts extracting local coal significantly”.

On February 1, GCM reported a loss of £690,000 after tax in the last half of 2011, but chief executive Steve Bywater said the company had continued to meet with government officials to convince them of the project’s benefits.

“Because of the unique contribution that the project can make to the development of the electricity capacity of Bangladesh, we have confidence that it will ultimately be developed,” he said.

Professor Muhammad said the struggle was not yet over, but public opposition to open cast mining was so strong that any attempt to give a licence to GCM or any other company would be disastrous for the Bangladeshi government.  

“It is the people’s victory.  Nevertheless, for obvious reasons, we should remain vigilant and active,” he said.

Laura Bridgestock

Every year in China, says documentary maker May Tchao, more than 300,000 foetuses are aborted because of their gender, and more than 500,000 baby girls abandoned.

Thousands more girls and women, she says, face domestic abuse and even kidnapping.

Tchao, born in China but now resident in the USA, is on a mission to expose the “sexist culture” that underlies these statistics.

Her film, Rise of the Phoenix, explores life in today’s China through the experiences of five women, from diverse socio-economic backgrounds – but with a particular focus on challenges for women in rural areas.

“I am proud of China and how far it has come… But I’m also still appalled at some of the traditions holding it back, especially for women,” Tchao says.

She started filming in 2010, working with a Chinese production company “under the radar of the government.”

One of the women interviewed describes how she grew up in a remote rural region, where all her dreams seemed “beyond my grasp”.

Another talks about the dissolution of her marriage after the earthquake of 2008, and how she is supporting her daughter by working as a maid.

A third discusses her role as a partner in a leading legal firm.

Tchao is currently raising funds in order to return and complete the film, which she says will include the stories of a woman sold into marriage, and a migrant factory worker.

The UN has expressed concerns about China’s slow progress on gender equality, particularly in rural areas. In 2010 it reported that women constitute 65% of the rural labour force, but occupy only 1-2% of local decision-making roles.

According to the UN’s 2010 report, the problem of “missing” women and girls is actually growing. As well as prompting abortions and abandoned children, discrimination also means many women die due to inadequate health care or nutrition.

China’s UN Mission has expressed the nation’s commitment to promoting gender equality, and outlined a fairly extensive series of policies aimed at achieving this.

But for the time being, Tchao says, there remain huge contradictions in a society that “celebrates female independence and self-expression,” while also treating women as “second-class citizens.”

Liz Draper
WVoN co-editor 

British private sector companies are appointing women to non-executive positions instead of senior executive roles, according to former cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell.

In an interview with the Financial Times, he suggests that businesses are artificially improving gender balance on their boards by appointing more women as non-executives, rather than having women run the company.

“I’m really, really worried about the private sector in terms of its failure to pick up on a huge reservoir of talent in terms of women”, he told the paper.

“I think this whole non-exec thing is a bit of a joke.”

Lord O’Donnell’s comments have drawn attention back to the issue of female representation on the boards of Britain’s biggest companies, which has been a growing concern since early last year.

A report by Lord Davies, published last February, noted that in 2010, 15.6 per cent of FTSE 100 non-executive directorships, and just 5.5 per cent of executive directorships, were held by women (see WVoN coverage).

One in five FTSE 100 companies had no female board members at all.

Although these figures represented an increase on previous years, Lord Davies called the rate of change “too slow.”

The report recommended that FTSE 100 boards aim to achieve at least 25 per cent female representation by 2015.

However, the response has been minimal, with only 33 FTSE 100 companies responding to the request to set targets.

Figures released by the business department earlier this month show that the number of female executives on FTSE 350 boards fell slightly over the last year.

Liz Draper
WVoN co-editor 

Women feel pain more acutely than men, according to a new study by Stanford University in California.

Researchers analysed the perceived pain of 11,000 people suffering from a variety of health problems. Patients were asked to rate their pain on a scale from zero to eleven.

In 39 of the 47 disorders covered by the study, women were more likely to report feeling more pain.

Dr Atul Butte, senior author of the study, which was published in the Journal of Pain, called the gender disparity “the most surprising finding” of the research.

Studies of pain are often restricted by the difficulty of accurately measuring pain levels, given that the perception of pain is subjective, and tolerance varies between individuals. However, the fact that the results emerged from such a large number of patients suggests that the gender difference is real.

Several possible explanations, both biological and cultural, have been put forward. Previous studies have suggested that women’s perception of pain is affected by oestrogen levels, and varies throughout the menstrual cycle.

The study’s authors suggested that cultural factors may also be at play: male patients may have been influenced by cultural stereotypes of toughness to understate the pain they felt, particularly when self-reporting to female nurses.

Mary Tracy
WVoN co-editor 

Television audiences have expressed concern over the lack of older women on the screen, according to a new report.

Question Time, Mock the Week and QI were singled out for failing to have women on their programmes, or relying on “token women”.

The report was commissioned by the BBC on behalf of the Cultural Diversity Network (CDN).

The research was aimed at finding out what members of the public and experts in the broadcast industry feel about the portrayal and representation of age on television, radio and online.

Participants in the study felt that female news readers and entertainment presenters had been unfairly treated when they lost their jobs allegedly due to their age, replaced by those whom people felt were less qualified but younger, more attractive women.

Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC and chair of the CDN, said that “There are lessons here for the BBC and the rest of Britain’s broadcasters”.

“We should also note the concern, expressed by older people generally, about the need for greater visibility for older women,” Mr Thompson added.

The report comes a year after the former Countryfile presenter Miriam O’Reilly won her ageism case against the BBC when she was dropped from the show (see WVoN coverage).

Speaking about the report, O’Reilly called for television executives to put more older women on screen.
“There is an entrenched view in television that viewers only want to see young faces. It is an outdated notion. Viewers want to see all ages represented.”

O’Reilly added: “TV executives put women on TV that they want to see, and this is primarily pretty young women. It isn’t what the viewers want and they ignore viewers at their peril.”

A 70 year old viewer interviewed for the report, one of the 180 participants who took part, said:

“I get annoyed when I see all the women presenters all glamorous when it doesn’t seem to matter what the men look like”.

One of the complaints raised was the age disparity between male and female newsreaders, apparent when an older male presenter was paired up with a much younger woman, implying that looks are more important than talent or expertise for older female presenters.

At the other end of the age spectrum, nearly 40 per cent of young people were dissatisfied with the negative way they are portrayed on television. They were particularly concerned that “young women may be more likely to be objectified than young men”.

Participants also pointed out that certain reality shows “showed young men as only interested in sex”.

The representation of older black and minority ethnic people (BME) was another of the issues raised. Participants could only think of a few older men from a BME background, but no older BME women.

Alison Clarke
WVoN co-editor

A council in England yesterday settled a long-running equal pay dispute with the union representing nearly 1,000 low-paid female staff.

Public sector union, UNISON, said that the women who included carers, cleaners and cooks were paid less than their male colleagues for doing work of equivalent value.

Bury was the first council targeted by Unison with mass litigation for equal pay in 2007 and estimates that it has wasted more than £1 million of public money by fighting the claims through the courts.

Yesterday’s settlement means that a Court of Appeal hearing, scheduled for March, will no longer go ahead.

UNISON Branch Secretary Steve Morton said:

“Nearly one thousand low paid women council workers are now a big step closer to the pay justice they deserve.

“It is the year 2012, more than 40 years after the Equal Pay Act, and women should have the right to expect fairness.

“The people who decided to lead Bury Council into expensive litigation, rather than negotiate reasonable settlements – as every other Greater Manchester Council did – have wasted more than a million pounds worth of public money. This money should have been spent compensating women rather than arguing with them.”

This agreement follows another in January when hundreds of women employed by Edinburgh city council won an equal pay settlement worth millions of pounds (see WVoN story).

Meg Kissack
WVoN co-editor 

I was walking back from a lecture today and I received this text message:

From West Mercia Service ATTENTION ALL GIRLS AND LADIES: if you walk from home, school, office or anywhere and you are alone and come across a little boy holding a piece of paper with an address on it, DO NOT TAKE HIM THERE! Take him straight to the police station, for this is the new ‘gang’ way of rape. This incident is getting worse. Warn your friends and family and family. Forward on.

As an activist working on issues of violence against women, I am used to reading horrific accounts of gender violence on a daily basis, but something about this made me freeze on the spot and put my hand to my mouth.

As I’m sure a lot of you will already guess, this is more than likely to be a hoax, and I’m not going to explore here whether it is fact or fiction (you can read more about it here) as this is not the point I am getting at.

What I want to focus on is rape culture and the normalisation of sexual violence in culture.

I told several of my female friends about the text message I received and their response was to roll their eyes. No shock, just a casual acceptance. This is when I truly realised the depth of the problem.

Feminists and people campaigning for human rights have been talking about rape culture and campaigning against it for years and it seems like it is getting no better.

The UK still has the lowest rape conviction rate in Europe, women are still blamed for being raped and, amongst the people I know at least, the idea that we can successfully challenge and change this culture has faded out.

In 2011, we saw a rise in the way rape culture seeps into everyday life. The word ‘frape’ continued to be used regularly on Facebook, a Canadian police officer told students not to dress as sluts if they didn’t want to get raped, police posters implied that if women dressed in a certain way or drank too much that it would be their responsibility if they were raped, and comedians like Frankie Boyle continued to use rape as the subject of their jokes.

While rape culture continues to spread, it seems that the feminist fightback is only getting stronger.

2011 marked the year of the SlutWalks, a global movement spurred from the incident in Canada which attempted to challenge the victim blaming culture. The movement was picked up by the mainstream media and it created a public dialogue on the subject.

Not to forget the Rape Never Funny campaign which featured WVoN’s own Jane Osmond.

The campaign challenged pages on facebook such as You know she’s playing hard to get when your chasing her down an alleyway  (sic) and successfully managed to get Facebook to take them down (See previous WVoN story here).

While I realise how entrenched rape culture has become in our society, I do believe that it can be challenged and greatly reduced. But in order for this to happen, the conversations that we as a society need to have will not be easy.

For a start, we need to go back to what some might call the basics and consider what constitutes rape.

Always at the back of my mind when I am discussing rape culture is a report carried out by The Havens which points out some really chilling statistics that need to be addressed.

We need the law to recognise gender as a category on which hate speech is based.

The Huffington Post wrote about an article entitled “Sexual Mathematics,” published on the website “UniLad,” the apparently number one online magazine for student ‘lads’.

The article said:

“If the girl you’ve taken for a drink… won’t ‘spread for your head’, think about this mathematical statistic: 85% of rape cases go unreported. That seems to be fairly good odds.”

In addition to this, the author then added at the bottom of the piece: “Uni Lad does not condone rape without saying ‘surprise’.”

Under current legislation, this is perfectly lawful.

We need to tackle our pornified culture which depicts men as aggressive consumers of culturally objectified women.

It seems like we have a massive feat ahead of us but we are making some progress.

Just this week, The Guardian reported how Alison Saunders, head of the Crown Prosecution Service in London, is questioning how the media helps to build pre-conceived images of female rape victims and how this can lead to acquittals.

We need to tackle rape culture, not accept it as inevitable. It is not inevitable and never will be.

Until we have a society that recognises it is still rape if the woman is asleep, it is still rape if she changes her mind, and a woman is never responsible, we need to open a discussion that spreads not only to popular culture, but to the judiciary system and government policy.

They won’t necessarily be from that day, but usually will not be more than a few days old.

Story links:
There is no honour in killing, The Commentator, Feb 1, 2012
Women taking the lead in Egypt’s economic revolution, Daily News Egypt, Feb 1, 2012
AU urged to recognise women’s role in trade, allAfrica.com, Feb 1, 2012
Healing Southeast Asia’s  ’comfort women’, Asia Times, Feb 2, 2012
Thai women forced into sex work in Sydney, NineMSN, Feb 2, 2012
Women better at parking, says UK study, CBC News, Feb 2, 2012
Can Grimsby lay claim to a milestone in women’s football?, BBC News, Feb 2, 2012
New twists and turns in Turkey’s head scarf debate, New York Times, Feb 1, 2012
Little Rock’s Daisy Bates gets a film of her own, Women’s enews, Feb 2, 2012
New directive on ‘modest’ dress outrages Iraq’s female civil servants, Radio Free Europe, Feb 2, 2012
‘Top Totty’ beer removed from MP’s bar after complaint, BBC News, Feb 2, 2012

Laura Bridgestock

The devastating impact of UK government cuts on services for vulnerable women was revealed in a major new report this week.

Last year Women’s Aid was forced to turn away an average of 230 women every day due to lack of space, according to the report  – around nine per cent of those seeking refuge with the organisation.

The charity provides support for women and children across the UK, largely depending on local governments for funding.

In Scotland alone, 84 per cent of Women’s Aid groups reported reduced or standstill budgets in 2011. As the charity was already stretched, this has meant it is now unable to meet the needs of women and children seeking help.

On one day Scottish Women’s Aid reports 54 women (and their 51 children) requested refuge. There was only space for 17 (and their 24 children).

Eaves, another charity supporting women who have been victims of various kinds of violence, has also been hard hit.

A 95 per cent funding reduction for its Poppy Project has meant the loss of 39 bed spaces for women recovering from sexual trafficking.

In February last year, Eaves chief executive Denise Marshall returned the OBE she had received in 2007, on the grounds that it felt “dishonourable and wrong” to keep an award for providing services that the organisation could no longer continue.

Other refuge providers have been similarly affected.

The new report was commissioned by Trust for London and the Northern Rock Foundation. As well as vulnerable women being left without refuge, it shows that cuts significantly reduce women’s and children’s services including legal aid and advice, and access to police officers trained in domestic abuse cases.

Organisations such as the Women’s Resource Centre, which provides training, resources and support for women’s groups, have also been forced to reduce their services.

Perpetrators (top) and the victims (bottom)

Ivana Davidovic
WVoN co-editor

Outside the county courthouse in Kingston, Ontario, the prosecutor in the Shafia murder trial, Gerard Laarhuis, described a normally quiet Sunday as “a good day for Canadian justice.”

And it certainly was.

Just moments earlier, on January 29, the jury’s verdict brought to an end a murder trial which shook Canada and the international community because of its horrendous “honour” motive.

Three members of an Afghan family living in Canada had been sentenced to life in prison for the murders of three teenage sisters and the first wife of one of the defendants, Muhammad Shafia.

Shafia, 58, his polygamous wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their 21-year-old son Hamed were convicted of four counts each of first degree murders of their respective daughters and sisters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17 and Geeti Shafia, 13, along with their stepmother Rona Amir Mohammad.

“It is difficult to conceive of a more heinous, more despicable and more honourless crime,” Ontario Superior Court Judge Robert Maranger said.

“The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameless murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your twisted notion of honour, a notion of honour that is founded upon the domination and control of women, a sick notion of honour that has absolutely no place in any civilised society.”

The verdicts were a culmination of a tragedy which started to unfold on June 30 2009, when Zainab, Sahar and Geeti, together with their father’s first wife Rona, were found dead inside a car.

It was discovered underwater in the northernmost Kingston Mills lock of the Rideau Canal not far from Niagara Falls.

It soon became apparent that this was a premeditated murder.

While the couple’s sons were offered all the freedoms in the world, their daughters were granted no rights.

When the two eldest, Zainab and Sahar, started having boyfriends, Muhammed Shafia and his wife Tooba Yahya made a blood-chilling decision– to kill their own daughters.

According to witnesses, the youngest victim, Geeti, was too rebellious to control and too quick to talk about her home life at school and therefore had to be dealt with. The first wife Rona was treated as worthless collateral, as she could produce no children of her own and took the girls’ side.

The cold and calculated manner in which the parents decided to dispose of their “hard to control” daughters has been the subject of many debates in Canada and elsewhere.

Although the guilty verdicts brought a sense of relief that justice had been served, many questions remain about what the authorities could have done to prevent this terrible loss of life?

The children’s school and the girls themselves sought help from social services. However, a mixture of a perceived need for cultural sensitivity, a well-off and presentable family and children so frightened that they recanted, defeated the child-welfare system.

“Was this political correctness to a painful degree?” asked the Toronto-based activist and author of Their Jihad, Not My Jihad, Raheel Raza.

“It’s time to stop being so sensitive in the name of preserving multiculturalism”, she added.

“Immigrants bring this excess baggage with them and as a community, our biggest problem is that we remain in denial and we can’t address the issues,” said Pakistan-born Ms Raza.

During the trial, Montreal police detective Laurie-Ann Lefebvre, who investigated a 911 call, testified about her impression of Sahar:

“Well, I was surprised. She said she had no freedom, but she was well-dressed, wore jewellery, had nice makeup. She did not seem depressed.”

This serves as a stark warning that the oppression of girls and women has different faces, and some of them may not be what we expect – battered and outwardly abused.

Honour killing is a term which has been strongly associated with the trial, provoking criticism that it equates a murder with a ritual practiced in cultures far removed from the west.

However legal experts warn that could not be further from the truth. Women in Canada, just like in every country around the world, are killed just for being women.

“I think we’re fascinated right now with the concept of honour killings because that was the name given to it by the prosecution and the accused but that doesn’t change what the underlying activity is,” said Pearl Eliadis, a Montreal human rights lawyer.

“It’s a violent assault on women because they’re women.”

Although the Shafia murder case has been one of the most horrifying in Canadian history, there have been unfortunately many cases of men, angry with the behaviour of their wives and girlfriends, deciding to kill them or their children – or both.

In the Canadian province of Quebec in 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available, nine of the 11 people killed in conjugal violence were women.

There were 27 attempted murders, 23 of which were committed on women.

Police reported 17,321 domestic offences, 14,242 of which were against women.

In 86 per cent of the cases, the perpetrator was either the woman’s husband or her ex partner.

The Kingston-based executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Alia Hogben, says she has trouble with the word “honour killing.”

She prefers to call it “customary killing” since it maintains patriarchal customs.

She points out that the Shafia case went above and beyond that to blatant, outright “femicide.”

“If you look deeper, that’s what this issue is. Why do men think, in this patriarchy, that they have the control and the power to kill somebody because…[they think] they are doing the wrong thing or are deviant?”

She believes these kinds of killings can happen in any culture which is dominated by men.

“Anywhere there’s patriarchy, which allows you to say ‘Men have to be the protectors and guardians of women’ is heading for trouble.”

Karen Whiteley
WVoN co-editor 

Thirty five Ethiopian Christians, 29 of them women, are currently awaiting deportation from Saudi Arabia following their arrest for ‘illicit mingling’ at a prayer meeting in Jeddah in December 2011.

According to Human Rights Watch, the women were subjected to body cavity searches whilst in custody.

The women were arrested whilst praying in the home of one of them  and were subsequently charged with “illicit mingling” of unmarried persons of the opposite sex.  Saudi Arabia has no codified legal definition of ‘illicit mingling.’

Speaking to Human Rights Watch from prison, two of the women said that officials forced the women to strip.  An officer then inserted her finger into each of the women’s genitals, allegedly to search for illegal substances.

According to one woman, the officer wore a plastic glove that she did not change.

One of the jailed men also said that they were subjected to beatings and abuse for being ‘unbelievers’.

The women complained of conditions in the prison, citing unsanitary conditions and inadequate medical care. One female detainee suffers from diabetes but has received virtually no medical attention.

According to the jailed women, about 10 days after being arrested some members of the group were taken to court and forced to place their fingerprints on a document without being allowed to read it.  All 35 are now awaiting deportation.

In October last year, Saudi Arabia co-founded, and funds, an International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue.

However, according to Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, ‘while King Abdullah sets up an international interfaith dialogue center, his police are trampling on the rights of believers of others faiths.

‘The Saudi government needs to change its own intolerant ways before it can promote religious dialogue abroad.’

The Saudi government made a promise in July 2006 to stop interfering with private worship by non-Muslims, but this latest incident seems a clear indication that that promise is not being kept.

Human Rights Watch has called on the Saudi authorities to release those arrested immediately if there is no evidence of any offence which is recognizably criminal under international norms, and investigate the allegations of physical and sexual abuse.

Jane Osmond
WVoN co-editor 

The Mail newspaper reported yesterday on the strategies employed by ‘payday lenders’ in the UK aimed at targeting the female market.

The lenders offer ‘payday loans’ – sums of money that tide people over until their next pay cheque. But if the sum is not paid on time, the debt can quickly mount.

The Mail gave an example from Payday loan company Quickquid – a £200 loan spread over 30 days would cost £258, an interest rate of 2,222.46 per cent.

But if the person is unable to pay it back on the agreed date, the company adds an extra payment of £58.00, miss this date without arranging an extension, and the debt rises by another £12.00.

These loans are popular. A 2012 survey undertaken by Shelter (a charity that works to counter homelessness and bad housing) found that almost one million people in the UK took out a payday loan for rent or mortgage purposes in the last 12 months.

According to Platform 51 (formerly the YWCA) women seem particularly vulnerable to this form of loan for a number of reasons. These include lower pay, evidenced by both a gap in earnings of 12.6% and the fact that nearly two-thirds of low-paid workers are women.

Also, women tend to be primary carers for children and can be totally responsible for their children following separation or divorce:

Women, especially young women are often targeted by irresponsible lenders and persuaded to take out high-interest loans. What seems like a small loan can quickly spiral in to unmanageable debt. New mums need things for their baby, mums need to feed their families. Women sometimes use credit to help them buy the things they need and go without themselves.

However, this focus on women does seem somewhat puzzling when considering a survey of 3000 Britons by Lovemoney.com which found that women, on the whole, handle money more efficiently than men:

For years, women have been thought of as the big spenders, splashing their cash on clothes. But it seems men are gaining their own reputation when it comes to managing their finances while women are learning how to handle their money. A quarter of men admitted they often repay credit card bills late or forget them altogether, compared to 17 per cent of women who make the same mistake.

On the other hand, for women who cannot access regular sources of credit, such as a bank overdraft, loan or credit card, payday loans can be their only option.  People in this situation belong to the ‘sub-prime’ market, defined as people with ‘questionable or limited credit histories’.

In other words, the companies are targeting people who have lost their jobs and subsequently defaulted on a loan, or those whose earnings are so low that they do not qualify for a credit card  – in other words the very people who need access to reasonable interest rates – and enmeshing them in debt that they cannot possibly pay back.

In order to combat this, the government is currently considering introducing a cap relating to the total amount of debt that can be run up.

The debate took place earlier this month in the House of Lords with Baroness Wilcox, Parliamentary under-secretary for Business Innovation and Skills stating:

We are looking at all options, but we should always have in mind that it is difficult to take away from people the opportunity to have access to facilities that they need. One would therefore tread delicately in this area.

Julie Tomlin
WVoN co-editor

With politicians in the US and Afghanistan wrangling over who will take the lead in peace talks with the Taliban, women are increasingly concerned that they will be betrayed by the international community that once claimed to be acting in their interests, says Horia Mosadiq, Afghanistan Researcher for Amnesty International.

“Any peace or reconciliation talks should have human rights, women’s rights and the Afghanistan constitution at their heart,” says Mosadiq.

“But the international community is after a quick solution so that it can stick to the 2014 deadline and get out of Afghanistan.”

By holding peace talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia, the Afghan president Hamid Karzai is thought to be trying to ensure Afghan involvement.

Karzai is concerned that Washington will try to impose a peace deal on his government after it emerged recently that the Taliban had opened an office in Qatar to facilitate talks with the US.

The US denies this and the United Nations envoy to Afghanistan Jan Kubis said recently that any peace talks with the Taliban must be Afghan-led in order to be successful.

But as preparations for withdrawal of US troops in 2014 get underway Mosadiq says a regional approach is vital and that regional actors such as Pakistan, India, Russia and Iran should be included in the  talks.

“Right now the whole reconciliation is focused on how to protect the interest of USA and Karzai’s administration and it barely considers the interest of Afghan people particularly women in the reconciliation talks.”

Talks should be aimed at creating a meaningful and lasting peace where the rights of all Afghans, including women, are protected, she says.

“Women from civil society should be included because there is a fear that we could lose a great deal if the Taliban regain power,” says Mosadiq who says that despite advances they have made in recent years, women are being excluded at national and international level.

From the first Bonn Conference of 2001, the concerns and interests of women have been largely ignored says Mosadiq, who points to the “frustrating” lack of representation of women and other civil society groups at conferences in Paris 2008, London 2010 and in Bonn last year.

In Afghanistan, when President Karzai’s peace council was established last year, it only allocated nine of the 70 seats to women, despite the fact that according to the Afghan constitution 25 per cent of seats have to be allocated to women.

Although she is aware that many of the women who have held positions in Karzai’s government often held allegiance to him rather than to a women’s agenda, Mosadiq says that such constitutional advances should still be safeguarded:

“During the reconciliation not only the concerns of the USA and Karzai’s government should be discussed but the concerns of ordinary Afghan people should be addressed adequately,” says Mosadiq.

“All the talks are happening behind closed doors and no one really knows what is happening, but definitely women’s rights are not being considered.”

This is in spite of the fact that the need to liberate women from the oppression of the Taliban was frequently used as justification of the US led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

“Many women feel they have been betrayed by the international community,” she said.

“In 2001 the liberation of women gave legitimacy to the operation in Afghanistan. Ten years on we are simply seeing that the rights of women are being traded off in negotiations with the Taliban.”