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.

Crossing the Line in Malawi

Tonight we decided to chill – candles, blankets, drinks, chips; creating the kind of accommodating and comfortable atmosphere that would allow the us to engage effectively with issues that are regarded as very personal, reflective, spiritual – a challenging process indeed.

To address issues of discrimination, especially those related to the politics of sex and sexuality, and sexual rights, we chose to cross the line, by working in the margins, and taking some significant risks. We adopted a diverse range of strategies to bring subjects which are often considered controversial and insignificant from the periphery to the centre of our discussion. LBGTI issues came into the conversation (lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, intersex). The women looked disgusted, and some swore that they had never heard of such wickedness. However, one young woman shared that women had sex with each other in schools. So much so that they did not want to see boys during the holiday.

We continued to provoke this particular discussion until another participant shared that when her husband died, her grandmother advised her to get sexual pleasure from another woman. Slowly the truth emerged. The women spoke about how women pleasured each other sexually in the past and how they (some of the ‘participants’) also did it as they were growing up.

I believe that next time these kinds of discussions will be easier to initiate. It was an interesting conversation and we truly saw people crossing the line.

~ Hope Chigudu

Part three of a four part series. Next - The Flame that Will Build a Movement

Malawian women’s stories may surprise you!

Some of us wore expressions of a most unprofessional glee as Victoria, one of the women at the workshop, a teacher by profession, made us smile by sharing a story of how she has been using also the training acquired in the last JASS workshop to ‘disorganize’ her church. She demanded to talk about HIV and AIDS, thus ending the culture of silence and stigma regarding the subject. We used her story to invite the other participants to share their own experiences.

We heard how petite Doreen used the leadership skills she acquired in the Blantyre workshop to lobby the company, for which she now works, to provide seeds to women living with HIV and AIDS.

Asnat went to the District Commissioner’s office, bypassing ‘hidden powers’ and using the power within to demand to see the DC; she did. She demanded that seed coupons be given to HIV+ women.

Lillian ‘crossed the line’ (her words) by fighting for mobile clinics to provide ARVs for adults and children on the same day so that women don’t have to travel long distances, many times a week to access ARVs for themselves and their children.

Many women shared how they had used the power to and within to mobilize and make demands.

On advocacy – many of the women boasted that their leadership skills have been transforming their lives and those of fellow women and girls by challenging systemic inequalities (including service delivery, especially of agricultural inputs; resource allocation such as land; laws and policies).

We have asked the women to write their stories; we really hope that they will do so.

During yesterday’s discussion there was some concern that there has been a growth of people and organizations providing ‘cheap’ counseling services. These often draw on people from the local community (often women) who do tireless work in providing home-based care and community-level counseling and support. Most of these people tend to have minimal training and minimal support. Actually, the majority is affiliated with religious institutions.

There is little oversight concerning the content of counseling advice, which is problematic given that counseling can reinforce rather than challenge prevailing gender norms (for example, in the case of faith-based counseling, women spoke of counseling against condom use in marriage as well as dissuading ‘clients’ from using ARVs so that they depend on prayer).

In addition there is almost no discussion around creating more empowering counseling and psycho- social frameworks for women and girls. Considering how culture, tradition and religion are still being used to control women’s sexuality, perpetuate violence against women, and ensure that women remain subordinate to men, proper counseling is needed.

A case in point: some women confided that they had not had sex because they don’t have partners and also don’t trust men (so have backaches from lack of sex). The question that we discussed was a delicate one: if one has not had sex for ten years and just wants sex to recover from a backache, is love necessary and important? The aim was not to come to any conclusion but rather to leave it to each one of us to reflect.

The women understood the need to continue to interrogate the linkages between patriarchy, violence against women, denial of resources and service delivery and the feminization of HIV and AIDS, and to find ways of dealing with any of these critical issues in their plans (which they are working on as I am writing).

Inevitably, the discussion touched on sex workers. We concluded that irrespective of the moral and/or other judgments one might have about sex workers and the industry, in so far as human rights are indivisible, the abuse and denial of basic human rights of sex workers must be addressed.

~ Hope Chigudu

Part two of a four part series. Next - Crossing the Line in Malawi

I Am My Sister’s Keeper!

Jass in Malawi - 1st day

Our lives are written on our bodies.

Sisters!

Women living with HIV who are leaders in the AIDS movement in their communities in Malawi came together for the start of a four-day workshop organized by JASS. They started by creating startling and beautiful body maps. They did it without any artists to help. In groups of five, the women started by outlining their bodies on large sheets of paper. Each woman was drawn by the other women in the group. People stayed in their small groups to do this, sharing magic markers and other art materials. Through a series of imaginative exercises they added parts to the outline of their bodies. Then they added words, symbols, and pictures relating to their health, their history, their points of personal power, and their life goals. In this way, each woman recorded and shared her unique story of living with HIV or just of being. This was both a serious and playful process. (The Maps were taped up on the wall and enabled us to claim the workshop space as our own.)

“This picture and this project tell the story of my life: the hurts, pains, burns and the various opportunistic diseases are all written on my body. But it also tells the story of victory,” said Doreen.

Body mapping helped the women to make visible that which ordinarily is invisible to others and, sometimes, invisible to themselves. The process created a safe space where each woman spoke openly about her journey with HIV and other struggles. Women were also offered support from those who best understand their situation: other women living with HIV. We wove movement building into this artistic process by offering opportunities for the women to discuss their health in the context of the stories told in their body maps, and the need to organize and mobilize to form a bigger movement to demand, fight back and claim their citizenship. It’s difficult to fight back without hope. Through the mapping process and the discussions, one could see nuggets of hope surface. Although it brought up some bad memories and fears, the process was therapeutic and beautiful.

This morning, the collective organizing, mutual responsibility, and principle of sisterhood were reinforced by each participant taking on the responsibility of being another participant’s ‘guardian angel’ throughout the workshop. Standing in a circle, with no front or back, with no leader or follower, with no distinction between the participant and workshop facilitator but as women, we realized that however different our journeys, experiences, or possibilities in life, we are united in our common experiences as women who have vaginas.

We reminded each other today that this is a meeting where every woman has the right to life, protection, safety, dignity, and respect, irrespective of class, educational background, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or preference, and any other distinction. It was therefore hoped that each participant would leave with an awareness of their basic human rights and how to assert these rights, having shared an opportunity to learn about, claim and contribute to the women’s movement.

Since trust and confidentiality are critical at this meeting, participants were asked to reflect on and answer this question, “If you had a secret that you wanted to share, what kind of person would you share it with?” Some said that they would never share a secret but we agreed that life involves risk taking and we have to learn to take risks and to trust if we are to build a movement. At the end of the discussion, it was agreed that in order to share a secret, a person should be trustworthy, honest, non-judgmental, patient, caring, respectful, and understanding. We were all asked to embrace these qualities, and be the kind of person we would confide in.

During our discussion, sex workers were accused of being ‘bad women’ because they do not behave the way society expects ‘good women’ to. We paused and engaged in a conversation on what it really means to be a ‘good’ woman? (This happened in the last meeting too.) How easy is it for any woman to live up to society’s expectations? Who has the power to set these expectations? Should women strive to meet these expectations, even when they are oppressive and limit them from realizing their full potential? How do sex workers perceive themselves? These are some of the questions that the participants sought to answer. We discussed the dangers of labeling, self perception, and self empowerment. As participants explored the societal and internalized perceptions of what ‘good’ and ‘bad’ women are, they were able to identify the impact these have on them, as well as the ways they use these perceptions to discriminate against others. We made it clear that if we continue to divide women into good and bad, we shall not move together as women fighting for the same thing. A movement can’t be built on stereotypes.

As I am writing the participants are sharing their experiences regarding how they used the knowledge they acquired during in the last workshop and how they are building movements from where they are. The experiences are amazing, and powerful...a moment for JASS to be proud.

~ Hope Chigudu

Part one of a four part series. Next - Malawian women’s stories may surprise you!

Pens and Presentations Down

A session that was supposed to be about experiences of hate crimes, and remembering people we have lost at the hand of homophobia ended up into something else. The session started so well, we had panelists who did presentations and expressions from different organisations, but same people that we always see in these meetings and panels. I loved what Chan from Zambia, if not mistaken said, who he identifies as a transmen. He feels that there is no unity within the feminist movement. A lot of people identified with her.

Two Palistinine women expressed their views on what they think about homosexuality in which a lot of people felt uncomfortable hearing such expressions and called them homophobic, especially in AWID. Isn't that interesting? But what we need to realise is that, they have their own different background, and to quickly judge and crush is really not a strategic move, especially when we are in one struggle for change.

Like I said, what was suppose to be a session about hate crimes and experiences ended up into an emotional session where people expressed their anger and hurt by organisations. These are some of the quote:
We attend matches, risk our lives on TV and papers for change, we write about our sad stories on books during the 16 days of activism, we attend the same meetings that are facilitated by the same people, the terminologies are beyond our understanding, and there is never a follow up. Follow up, is it important?

After our brave efforts on TV and papers, we are never called the next day just to check how we travelled home and if we are safe or not. The same people in the townships that victims us sexually maybe, pose treads, we speak about these issues to the same orgs that we make efforts for in solidarity but there has never been a change to protect us. No empowerment for those who need it, those who risk their lives to advocate for change, but we are in solidarity.

Some felt the need to go corporate because the movement is not inclusive of other marginalised people, doesn't recognise the need to empower when necessary. In South Africa, black lesbians have taken a brave stand to speak out as an effort to change and be part of but it is not in reality, it is an ambition I say. We have never seen a young, black lesbian in any of these panels, representing other young voices in our language unlike the number you see in the street, outside the courts.

A lot of people, particularly black lesbian feels that they are important during the 16 days of activism and matches but never in these spaces.

Others felt that they are not feminst and in fact the movement on its own is divided. There is no unity.

As a young, black feminist with a lesbian identity, I share the same sentiment with those who expressed how they felt. It is painful, it is tiring. Some even gate crashed the meeting just to be in the space and express these issues.

Are we really in solidarity? Is empowerment important and for who? We are represented, wow, great effort but is it how we would want our voices to be painted?

-Keba, South Africa

From the Global Village and Opening Ceremony, AIDS 2008

I'm sharing this space with my friend and sister activist, Sindi Blose, from Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. She won't mention the fact that she did an extraordinary job of rocking the Global Village this afternoon with the rest of our women crossing the line. The songs and dancing drew dozens of men and women to our cramped site with huge enthusiasm and nothing but joy and appreciation for the power of their very personal stories of struggle.


Hi everybody, I'm Sindi in Mexico having the time of my life so far. Today I attended the session on women and girls with a speech by Stephen Lewis. I was happy to finally be in the same room with him. We need many male leadership in Africa to view women as he does the world would be such a safer space for women to realize their full potential because there would be no discrimination against women on so many issues and platforms.

I'm part of a group of eight women from Southern Africa who planned a session on us being African women telling our own stories at the Women's Networking Zone in the Global Village today. When we got to the women's networking zone I was disappointed by the fact that we were 80% of our audience and there was a loud musical band distracting us so I thought that we won't be able to share our digital stories with anyone what a waste of time. we decided to sing African songs really loud, that speak about power and unity to fight against injustice on women. Then people started coming in numbers to hear what we have to say.

There are about 13 digital stories but we decided to only present three. First by Patience from Zimbabwe how she views her self as a women who is lesbian and how society discriminates and marginalizes her, second by Esther from Namibia her story about how she was robbed of her motherhood by her government health department when they decided to sterilize her without consent because she is HIV positive. Third story by Wala and post-natal depression how the public health system in her country fail women like her who suffer from post-natal depression

At least 70 people listened to our stories and felt the world is failing African women every single day, but most people were happy there we were there to tell our own stories in our own way.

The experience was empowering for me. It was my first time facilitating at an international AIDS conference. I am more than ready now to attend the rest of the conference and engage critically on issues relating to women especially in Africa.




Lisa again: the most powerful responses to Sindi and the other women came from a Mexican transgender who told me "i can feel the power with these women. I only want to sit here and listen to them all day."   Two African men committed their solidarity -- saying that they would do whatever they could to fight "this oppression of their African sisters."

In closing, the official inauguration at the National Auditorium in downtown Mexico City. An all star cast included the President of Mexico, the UN Secretary General, the VP of Spain and 4 other important and powerful AIDS leaders, yet it was an HIV+ 13 year old girl from Honduras who's shaking voice and personal plea stole the show and had the place cheering with a standing ovation. Honorable mention goes to the amazing mariachi band and the gorgeous and talented Folkloric Ballet.