GUARDIANS OF HISTORY

By María Suárez Toro, and RIF-Fire Communications Center
Feminist International Camp

Translation by Amandla Gigler, Executive Director at CALALA Fondo de Mujeres / Women's Fund

Lise Marie Jean, a feminist leader from SOFA in Haiti, warned us about the situation of buried historical records, during a gathering of over three dozen Latin American and Caribbean feminists, in the Dominican Republic on January 26-27. She told us that Haitian women grieve over the irreparable loss of many lives, "but also because buried under the rubble of what was EnfoFam’s office, is the historical record of the origins of feminism in our country, as this was the first [feminist] organization."
She told us about the damage to Kay Fam, another feminist organization, the national library buried in the center of the city and the documentation centers on culture, human rights and other issues.

We went to Port au Prince to honor the thousands of people, including feminist leaders, who had died, to show solidarity with the people who had survived, to bring humanitarian aid and to alleviate other needs, and to see what more could be done. And while we covered the news from our feminist gaze, we knew we had to say farewell to our historical memory in Haiti, also.

Feminists in the region had already agreed at the meeting that all of the communication networks will excavate Haitian interviews and documents that they have in their own records of the past 30 years. The Latin American and Caribbean Network of Journalists, the Feminist International Radio Endeavor and the Center for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) are launching a call to others.

Upon reaching the city, we ask Lise Marie to take us to the ruins of EnfoFanm’s locale, to document the reality. It was a two-story house in a suburb near the city. Our gazes cloud over at the site of the old sign with the name of the organization that sways in the Caribbean breeze, hitting the shattered cement.

We find ourselves against the grain of the first guardian of history. Madame Lisie comes over from the house across the street to tell us that we cannot enter.

But she knows Lise Marie, who is accompanied by Flavia Cherry with RIF's camera. I arrived later. They filmed to tell the world. When I arrive, I'm reluctant to make my farewell. "They are there, intact, look at them!"

We must make an appeal to UNESCO and UNIFEM to come recue them. The building, although it is destroyed, still has its frame standing, although it is extremely vulnerable. Some things inside are visible. There are the files. We return the next day with Silvie from the Ecumenical Center for Human Rights. The guardian comes out like a friend, but we explain ourselves and she speaks with us. We thank her for her vigilance and go on to our next encounter with the present and the past. We see that the Executive Secretary of the organization arrived this morning. This makes us glad. Whatever can be saved should be placed in her hands; this is the legacy of the protagonist-guardians.

We go to the second locale, Kay Fanm’s office. Again we are intercepted immediately. This time is a young Canadian man - Etienne Cote-Paluck - who is protecting the locale, this one not completely destroyed, but not habitable. All of the activists were unharmed, except the organization’s director, Magali Marcelin, who, when the earthquake struck, had just stepped out of a building where she was in a meeting.

He asks us for identification and explanations. He lets us in and tell us what has happened. He breaks down in the middle of the story. "Magali was a second mother to me. I am the son of a Canadian feminist and the truth is that they raised me! "

He tells us that he already knows about the International Feminist Camp and is working to provide coverage to MSNBC in Canada, and he wants to interview us. He carries out his journalism from his position as guardian of memory.

Magali lives among us and the new generation of young people who were marked by her. I am encouraged.

The third visit is the office of the "Ministry for the Status of Women and the Rights of Women". All that remained standing was the sign that faces the street. The view is horrible. Not one stone is left to support another.

The silence embraces us, the rubble shakes us, legs falter, instincts are incite, although if the ground were to tremble there's nothing that could fall. Two floors of concrete lying on the floor like paper watered by the wind.

At the entrance there is no guardian. Myriam Merlet, one of the feminists who passed, who with others founded Enfo Fanm, had put so much political strength to that Ministry. The Minister and many staff had also died.

I pick up a page, out of all the scattered material between pieces of concrete. It is an invitation dated 10 May 2007, addressed to the Minister, for a "National Forum on Education for All". The Minister of that time was Marie Laurence Lassegue, the current Minister of Culture, one of the survivors.

My hand shakes. It seems incredible that a piece of paper can suddenly be charged with so much meaning. I don’t know if it is the first piece of history that is recovered, but I'm taking a Haitian women's organization for their museum, or perhaps I’ll look for the Minister of Culture when the time is right, to request assistance from UNESCO and UNIFEM to recover the memory.

A deep sadness mixes in me with the wind on a road toward the recovery of memory. I pay tribute to those missing from history, so that we do not lose them.

Haiti Live - January 29 - Radio Feminista broadcast

Radio Feminista is broadcasting from Haiti this afternoon - call ins are welcome! The schedule is as follows (all times are local to Haiti):

3-4pm Spanish

4-5pm English

5-6pm Kreyòl

Tune in via the following link:

www.radiofeminista.net and click the yellow speaker button in the center of the page.

Feminists in Resistance March in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Pepe Lobo was inaugurated as the new president of Honduras today. After the inauguration, ousted president Mel Zelaya left Honduras with a "salvo conducto" pass from the new government. Although the Resistance opposed it, the new congress voted yesterday to grant amnesty to everyone involved with the military coup that took place on June 28th, 2009. Amnesty, however, does not extend to those who committed human rights violations during the oppressive coup regime, including the myriad violations against women that occurred, but as of yet there are no plans in place to persecute these criminals.

Feminists in Resistance joined the greater resistance movement in a march to the airport to bid farewell to the ousted president. The massive group of protesters gathered at the end of the runway of Toncontin airport, the scene of a bloody conflict between protesters and the military on July 5th, 2009. Energy and spirits were high among the Feminists in Resistance, who chanted anti-coup slogans and shouted for women's rights and pro-democracy to be upheld by the new regime, and for justice to prevail. "The coup leaders and perpetrators should be held accountable for their actions, especially for the violence against women and human rights defenders that went on with impunity these past several months. No more coups, no more violence against women!" said a protester. Today marks a closing point for many and the mood was one of exuberance tinged with sadness and disappointment as the democratically elected president of Honduras leaves the country.

NEWS FROM UGANDA

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/707661 Cabinet debates homo draft law
Wednesday, 20th January, 2010
By Barbara Among THE Cabinet has debated the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill now before parliament and agreed to amend it. In a heated meeting yesterday, chaired by the second deputy Prime Minister, Henry Kajura, the Cabinet formed a committee which will deliberate on the matter before reaching a final position on the highly contested legislation. The committee, to be chaired by local government minister Adolf Mwesige, will come up with a proposal that will be forwarded to the legal, parliamentary, presidential and foreign affairs committees. “It was a heated debate for over two hours. Those who expressed reservations fear the cutting of aid by western governments,” said a source who preferred anonymity. “Those for it argued that we need to maintain our independence and values as a country,” the source added. There were 21 Cabinet members in the meeting. While broadly supported domestically, the 2009 anti-homosexuality Bill has caused a tempest abroad and anxiety from western donors who fund a large chunk of Uganda’s budget. Those opposed to the Bill say it is discriminatory and violates human rights. Breaking his silence on the proposed bill drawn by David Bahati, a member of the ruling NRM party, President Yoweri Museveni last week said it had become a “foreign policy issue” and needed further consultation before being voted on in parliament. The Minister of Ethics and Integrity, James Nsaba Buturo, said: “We took note of very strong feelings which both sides of the debate have expressed.” Asked about the Cabinet’s position on clauses proposing a death penalty, Buturo said: “I can only speak in general that there are some clauses or provisions which can be modified.” “There is a need to have a second look at some of the issues which have been raised by the international community and some Ugandans.” Sources said the Cabinet was divided on the clause spelling out the death penalty. After failing to agree on a position, works minister John Nasasira reportedly proposed that the Bill be delayed. His position was rejected, sources disclosed. “Once they have got a position, we will dialogue with the committees,” Buturo explained. “The cabinet, however, reaffirmed the obvious, that the Bill itself is a private member’s Bill. That it’s not the property of the executive,” Buturo added. He further disclosed that the meeting resolved not to withdraw the Bill from parliament, being a private member’s Bill. The meeting also agreed to uphold “traditional family values”, which they said was the spirit of the Bill. The Cabinet also discussed how to proceed following the political pressure that has come with the proposed Bill. The United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States and other countries have expressed strong concerns about the proposed law. Bahati, who was asked to make his case before the Cabinet on Wednesday, declined to discuss details of the meeting but said “the process of legislating based on our values as a country moves on.” The proposed law would impose the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality. Homosexuality was outlawed in Uganda by the 1950 penal code and 1995 Constitution. -Patience-

Prioritize Aid to Women in Haiti: Open Letter to the Heads of State and to the United Nations

If you would like to unite with us in calling on the U.N. and world leaders to prioritize aid for Haitian women in the wake of the earthquake. Please send your name and other information to maggie(at)justassociates(dot)org.


A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010. Estimates of the death toll currently exceed 200,000, and approximately one million Haitians have been displaced from their homes.

As a result of the gender inequality that permeates nearly all societies, natural disasters often have a disproportionately negative impact on women. According to the Pan-American Health Organization, women have less access to resources and are less likely to be involved in the decision-making processes critical to effective disaster preparedness, mitigation, and relief and recovery efforts. Furthermore, women’s gender-specific needs often receive short shrift in emergency relief planning, and numerous studies have found that the incidence of sexual and domestic violence often rises following natural disasters.

Women in Haiti suffer extremely high levels of poverty and discrimination, both of which will be greatly exacerbated by the effects of the earthquake. Furthermore, considering that 43% of Haitian heads of household are women, and that women are overwhelmingly responsible for housekeeping and childrearing, it is Haiti’s women who will be responsible for the survival of their families, of caring for and protecting their children in makeshift shelters, and of the reconstruction of their homes and communities.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call upon all heads of state, the United Nations, and other multilateral agencies providing aid to the people of Haiti to prioritize aid for women, and to guarantee that aid reaches women and their families directly. One way in which this can be accomplished is to support civil society organizations working directly with Haitian women.

Likewise, we call upon Haiti’s government to ensure that humanitarian aid is distributed in an equitable manner, and in such a way that competition for aid does not increase women’s marginalization and gender-based violence.

Women are critical to reconstruction efforts following natural disasters. Governments and other donors must help ensure that Haitian women have access to the resources required to rebuild their families, their communities, and their country, and that their human rights are respected.

~ Las Petateras

For more information on the earthquake in Haiti with a focus on women, please visit: http://www.justassociates.org/announce/haiti_relief.html.

A day in the life of a zimbabwean woman

Public taxis are a nightmare, the screaming and rude conductors, the cursing drivers and the vulnerable passengers. Normally I don’t pay particular attention to other passengers in these dilapidated taxis, but what I witnessed today left me with more questions than answers. I tried so hard to fight back tears as I felt a pang of pain which like a hot ball ran up and down my throat. I could have said or done something but I was weakened by sadness and anger at the same time.

Next to me sat an octogenarian who judging by her stature should be at home herself, probably resting, but there she was holding her 5 year old grandchild who was battling for breath. It was not long before this ailing child started coughing. For a few minutes the old woman struggled to hold the child in her hands as he was now fidgeting before violently throwing up in the taxi.

Overwhelmed by embarrassment, the lady then took her towel and wiped the vomit then she started explaining that both the child’s parents are late and she is the only surviving relative and has to go and get Antiretroviral drugs for this child at the clinic where she was headed. I could feel the pain in her voice as if she was trying to reach out to the strangers in this taxi to understand her plight. What hurt me the most is that just as she got off the taxi, the driver and most of the men enganged in the most inhuman, chauvinistic conversation. Blaming this woman for her misery. Others even used discriminatory language to describe the child.

As I sat there saddened by the old lady who is a microcosm of what many women are going through and awed by the ignorance these men exhibited, I realised that when it comes to tackling HIV/AIDS and stigma we still have a long way to go.

Conferences , workshops seminars are held year in and year out in fancy luxurious hotels, between literate and educated people, yet the real people who need this information are out there spreading the virus let alone fuelling stigma inflicting more pain.

There is no doubt if any that women bear the brunt of social, economic, and political woes. This is no wonder women are seen struggling to make ends meet to support their families. The majority of those in the amazon long queues at the clinics for antiretroviral drugs are women. In remote areas especially, some have to travel long kilometres and sleep at the growth point centers just to make it in time.

I guess the realities of the burden of care being on a woman and the ‘feminisation’ of HIV will only be clearer to one once you have also lived and experienced the realities of it. Zimbabwean women in one way or the other, directly or indirectly are facing the brunt of this burden. I hope one day I will be able to be a part of change and experience .

-Patience Mandishona-

Age Matters: A JASS Discussion Paper

How can we truly engage all generations in our movements? We all have something valuable to offer, no matter what our age, and yet the ageism that often blocks us has not been explicitly addressed. This paper is intended to provoke a discussion about age discrimination or ageism as a factor in building sustainable feminist movements. As JASS, we want to facilitate a cross-regional virtual dialogue about age relations – within our movements and in our lives as women – to ensure that our movements benefit fully from our multigenerational talents and wisdoms.

To spark the dialogue, I have written about some issues and questions. Please:
• feel free to disagree, explaining why;
• share your thoughts and add other issues, questions or examples;
• tell us about discrimination you have experienced based on your age (stating your age and context so that we can all understand, across different cultures and regions.)

From an amended version of this paper – together with your additions and discussions – JASS will produce a document on ageism that is both conceptual and practical.

Before reading the paper, pause to think, write, and discuss your own attitudes and experiences. For instance:
• What does your current age mean to you (advantages and challenges)?
• What do you experience as the benefits of working with women older than you? And the challenges?
• And with women younger than you: Benefits? Challenges?

Definitions

Ageism means a prejudice against a person or people because of their age – any idea, attitude, action, or mental or institutional structure that subordinates a person or group because of age.

Like other power relations (such as those based on race or ethnicity,) many forms of ageism are particular to women. Sexist ageism is any attitude, action, or structure that discriminates against female human beings because of their age. It includes any assignment of roles based purely on the age of a woman or a female child without regard to her preferences, abilities, and capacities.

Age discrimination varies depending on our cultural and/or spiritual context, socioeconomic class, sexuality, gender identity, ability, body size and shape, national and migratory status, race or ethnicity – and also depending on our age. These factors determine how age is felt, seen, and treated. In each moment of our lives, we all face different forms of ageism because we are women. A female human being’s age classification, unlike most other factors, changes as she progresses through her life cycle.

Seeing Age and Selling “Youth”

Around the world, the treatment of girls and women by age varies enormously. Some societies revere old women; in others, female babies and older women are abandoned or deprived. Globalized, youth-oriented culture is definitely ageist against female children, and against older and old women, but it harms young and adult women as well.

Ideas of age shaped by Western consumer capitalist patriarchy often clash with traditional and/or local views of female humans and age. In many cultures, women's status and power actually increases following menopause. For example, an elderly widow wields significant power in the family in certain Asian cultures. Post-menopausal women in some societies experience greater sexual freedom, the right to participate in ritual and in politics, and a decrease in the housework they are expected to do.

Adult and older activists generally have more power than their younger counterparts in our diverse women’s movements. But the youth-centered perception of older women is generally stereotyped and often negative. Such perceptions are readily apparent in language, media, and humor. Phrases such as “over the hill” and “don't be an old fuddy-duddy” denote old age as a period of incompetence. In jokes – a reflection of real societal attitudes – older women are usually shown as lonely, frustrated, and shriveled up. Even though women live longer than men on average, older men are perceived as being healthier than older women.

Youthfulness is a major incentive to sell products. We are surrounded by media messages about the need – especially for women – to stay young. At some point, hiding old age becomes impossible. Wrinkled skin and sagging bodies mark old age, and many people, young and old, view these signs with repugnance. Gerontologist Robert Butler found that most people, including old people, do not want to be around old people because it reminds them that we are all aging.

A growing group of industries profit from this fear of aging. Anti-aging skincare, a market that grew 63% between 2002 and 2007, is worth $1.6 billion in the U.S. alone. The anti-aging industry includes drugs and pharmaceuticals; vitamins, supplements, and minerals; plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures; diets and exercise machines. Despite its claims, this anti-aging industry is definitely more about financial profiteering than about improving health. Aging “successfully” requires privilege, money, and leisure. Most marginalized women will not look young past a certain age, furthering their oppression. If you are a woman, you are already less valuable in our patriarchal societies. If, on top of being female, you are old, you have a much higher chance of being poor, homeless, and unemployed, not properly cared for, and abused.

Ageism on the Agenda

If most women do not want to be around old women, how can we talk about ageism in all its many forms? How do we build movements and processes that value girls and women of different ages?

One step is to understand ourselves as perpetual migrants from one age group to the next. Those of us who are now old were once young; none of us is exempt from aging. Unless we die at an early age, we will all experience ageism against older women, just as we probably all held those prejudices when we were younger, even if we were not conscious of them.

Then, we need to ensure that our movements are multigenerational. This is not simply about women of various ages being in the same movement. Partly, it is about building respectful relationships of trust, and of learning, and teaching based on a long-haul approach to movement building. But, as with other power relations, it is also about raising our awareness of age power relations.

Typical and mistaken responses:
• Older and old feminists tell young women to stop complaining and fit in, or to start their own women’s NGOs, and stop seeking validation from older feminists. Most young women are looking for solidarity, not validation. What young women need is to see that older activists maintain their political commitments in both word and deed. (Because of the NGOization of the feminist movement, it is also true that some young women view their involvement in feminism as just another paying job.)
• Both old and young activists think that young activists have nothing to learn from older or old activists because the world has changed so much. Patriarchal structures have been around for thousand of years. Misogynist attitudes and ideas have not gone away; they have just become more subtle or changed their forms. Rather than make the same mistakes, young women should build on what older feminists have already done. This requires that all feminists know and honor the history of our movements.
• Older and old feminists demand adherence to the politics and vision of their generation as the basis for any working relationship. Alternatively, younger feminists discard the politics and visions of older generations simply because they are not “cool” or “new” or postmodern enough. These attitudes block our personal and political development because they do not allow us to “see” what women outside of our own age group “see.”

Multigenerational Movement-Building

Because age is such an important factor in how we experience sexism, we cannot afford to have feminist or women’s movements that do not address age relations or, worse still, that reproduce ageism. No generation should be left out of our movement – we need to pay attention to how we exclude girls, and young, middle-aged, and old women. We all bear the responsibility for this, but so far it has been mostly young women who have launched intergenerational discussions, for various reasons:

• Many young feminists of this millennium began their activism in “youth movements,” so they tend to be aware of the impact of age discrimination on their lives. For older and old feminists, neither ageism nor age relations were much discussed within or outside of feminism.
• Young feminists and young movement builders have been targeted by international agencies and religious or development organizations keen to create and promote young leaders – sometimes because of a real concern that young women were not being heard; other times, distorting the understanding of gender power relations by focusing solely on age as a factor of discrimination.
• In the past few years, there has been a rush to create funds, programs, projects, and contests only for young women, and to publish manuals and books on young women’s rights. This valuable work is the result of young women’s activism, but risks encouraging the belief that ageism only affects young feminists.
• Older and old feminists have not been passionate promoters of intergenerational dialogues, in part because older feminists do not want to deal with the fact that they are old, and also because ageism has been reduced to only one of its forms: discrimination against young people.

The Challenge for JASS

What can we say about a movement that cares so little about women who gave so much? How can we have sustainable movements if everyone knows that at a certain age you are no longer welcome?

As a 61-year-old, Latin-American whitish woman, I am worried that our movements neglect older feminists, address ageism only when it is directed towards young women, and talk about the need for multigenerational movements only from the perspective of young women. For example, at the last AWID conference, I heard young and older speakers refer to older and old women as “not young,” showing that feminists seldom question the stigma attached to old age.

The stereotype of older women as inactive, unhealthy, asexual, and ineffective can also be a self-fulfilling prophecy. And yet, gerontological studies have found that women's self-image shows greater improvement with age than men’s does. Post-menopausal women become more assertive, less fearful, and less dependent. Our feminist movements seem unaware of these findings.

The challenge we face in this JASS initiative is to deconstruct our ageism and to develop an understanding of age relations similar to our understanding of gender and other relations. I hope we can do this with love and trust in our hearts, understanding that patriarchal structures prevent us from valuing each other as sisters.


~ Alda Facio, May 2009