Is it possible to build a strong transnational organization – part movement, part NGO, part network – that retains flexibility and energy, resists bureaucratization, and truly recognizes and builds on differences? That’s our goal as JASS! In December 2009, we gathered to track our journey, learn from each other and from allies’ experiences, and name the principles that underpin this work. Read more.
Murders in Juarez, Mexico
Emblematic of the violence and impunity facing Mesoamerican women, two young women – family members of two women’s human rights defenders – were brutally murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on November 28th and 29th. JASS worked closely with the Nobel Women’s Initiative to release a statement in English and Spanish calling on the Mexican government to bring an end to the violence.
Bridging Divides in Southeast Asia
Before Indonesia’s elections, PESADA and JASS Southeast Asia held political education workshops on women’s political rights on the North Sumatran island of Nias, emphasizing the importance of voting women onto the Legislative Council. JASS’ Niken Lestari also joined actions to raise women’s political awareness through a blog in Indonesian and a Vote Women! campaign that included a TV talk show.
Elections Alone Do Not Make a Democracy
Hondurans inaugurated a new president on January 27, following last November’s controversial elections. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is pushing the de facto president, who assumed office following last year’s coup, to resign, and for implementation of the Tegucigalpa/San José Accord. JASS and the Nobel Women’s Initiative urge the Obama Administration to condemn violence perpetrated against women’s and human rights defenders since the coup. Read more.
JASS Welcomes New
Mesoamerica Coordinator
This year, Jacqueline Nolley Echegaray joins JASS as the Mesoamerica Program Coordinator. She is a human rights professional with a focus on women's rights and reproductive rights. Most recently, she was Associate for International Programs at the Moriah Fund. Jacqui graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in political science and history; a proud Peruvian and a closet Texan, she has lived in the District of Columbia since 2003.
Who’s Leading Women’s Organizations?
“My safe space called the women’s movement is going, or even gone. It’s been taken over by men. And I am scared and angry," writes the provocative Zimbabwean feminist Everjoice Win on the JASS blog. When conducting an assessment for a movement building institute in Zambia, the JASS Southern Africa team was struck by the large number of men who are leading women’s organizations. A subject of debate, we invited Everjoice share her thoughts on this topic. Read the blog and join the discussion.
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