JASS Blog

So that you know - more from Malawi

noreply@blogger.com (Annie H) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:42:00 +0000

At the 11th AWID International Forum on Women’s Rights and Development (November 14, 2008, in Cape Town), Geeta Misra painted the landscape for ‘The Power of Movements’ by suggesting five common elements amongst movements: a feeling of injustice; an understanding of oppression as a political condition; the desire to change political conditions or to shift power; the belief in the power of many; and the presence of the powerless.

In all the regions visited, the five elements are present and the rage they have ignited is being used to create small spaces and cracks for building a grassroots women’s movement. There are signs that anger is being combined with a growing willingness to fight back. There are many things women are demanding. These demands are beginning to mobilise them in the struggle; to unite them into a potentially powerful force for social change.

The women we met belong to either the Women’s Forum or the Coalition of Women Living with HIV and AIDS. The Women’s Forum is a loose network of women’s organisations and individuals spread across the northern region. Other than dancing, singing, and showing off their work, the women pointed out the following:

They are still denied land and yet they are the ones who labour, develop and preserve the knowledge of agriculture, of plants, domestic livestock, fishing etc. Although these skills are vital to the survival and comfort of the middle class, there is no recognition of this fact - indeed, their vital skills and knowledge are denigrated as inferior.

Women are developing abnormal bodily structures due to the kind of ARV that they are taking (Sindi knows more about this condition and will be sharing her knowledge later).

The young people who are organising are doing so with hardly any resources (financial, visual aids etc). They don’t engage in creative activities such as
-       writing
-       singing
-       music
-       photography
-       painting/drawing
-       organising gigs or parties
-       story-telling
-       dancing
-       woodwork or metalwork
They are sharing whatever knowledge they have but will soon run out of steam. Young people get tired quickly if there is no creativity.

In one district, Karonga, home to two JASS-trained political activists, Margaret and Caroline, there have been frequent earthquakes, as many as 60 since the year began. There is no word about it in the media. The people living in the area don’t know what is happening; all that they have been told is that they should stop sleeping in their houses and sleep in tents instead. The tents are not adequate and the few available are allocated in the most ‘opaque’ manner. The area is facing a dangerous, unequal, and increased environmental catastrophe. Mining of uranium has started in the area and could be the cause of these earthquakes. Women are organising a protest march in two weeks time.

Girls are being trafficked to South Africa for the World Cup.

None of the women we visited, nor their organisations, has a computer. To have access to email is expensive and far from where the women stay.

They don’t know how to raise money and from whom.

The Dangers of One Story

noreply@blogger.com (Annie H) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:26:00 +0000

[The latest dispatch from Hope Chigudu, this time from the North of Malawi, with Sindi Blose]

It’s difficult to know people till you meet them in their environment. The workshop situation can present what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Nigerian writer, calls, “The Danger of a Single Story”:

“You can’t tell a single story of any place, person or people. There are many stories that create us. The single story creates stereotypes. There are other stories that are just as important to tell. The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. The consequence of the single story is that it robs people of dignity – it emphasizes how we are different, rather than how we are the same. … When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we discover a kind of paradise.” (Google Chimanda Nogizi Adichie’s speech at Ted Talks)

In their communities, the ‘JASS girls’ have created what constitutesa kind of ‘bank account’ of relationships nurtured by trust and collaboration that they can draw upon to mobilize individual and collective assets to achieve a common purpose.

We visited Judy and Lilian (and some of the women) of Women’s Forum in Northern Province of Malawi. The Forum deals with various and complex issues related to women’s empowerment, in a disempowering environment. It was clear that Judy and Lillian have been able to speak above the loud noise that usually muffles ideas and political instincts of women living with HIV and AIDS. Judy and Lilian have not allowed their energies and agency to be stifled by lack of resources. Their plan was based on mobilising women to demand ARVs to be brought nearer to the people. They did. They invited key stakeholders in the health Ministry, HIV and AIDS organisations and the chiefs. The two of them organised numbers of women to demand mobile clinics to take ARVs to the people. The work they have done is powerful, inspiring, and transformative. They have not covered all the communities but they will, eventually.

Then there is the story of young women whose plan was to work more with young people in schools to raise awareness on HIV and AIDS and other, related issues. They took us to two schools to show off their mobilisation power. Violet, one of the young women that JASS has trained, is always shy and hardly says a thing during the workshops. We saw her transforming there, right before our eyes. She talked to young people in the most interesting manner. She engaged all her senses! She was participatory as she talked about trafficking and HIV and AIDS in the context of the world cup in Joburg. She created her own language that young people understood. One could see that the language she was using was empowering, thrilling, and told more than one story. There was an air of poetry, a sense of hope and a deep commitment to what she was doing. Mouths open in amazement, we felt connected to her (and other young women who were with her) at the deepest level.

Reclaiming Women Space and Voices: Crossing the Line in Zimbabwe

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:59:00 +0000

The gathering on the 6th March 2010 was a public one at the National Art Gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe – one of the events taking place this month to commemorate International Women’s Day. The panel discussion was part of a full-day series, punctuated by the young women who run YOWLI – Young Women Leadership Institute – with their exciting and Zimbabwean contextualized Vagina Monologues; women poets and women musicians, and films on women by women.

Morals and/or Pleasure: Women Media and the Creation of Discourses on Sexuality – this was the title of a panel discussion I was part of on the 6th of March.

There was Reyhana, a freelance journalist, and with the Humanitarian Information Facility Centre. She aptly brought with her posters she had made with newspaper cuttings of stories that covered women and men. The stark difference on the portrayal was hard-hitting. I suppose many were so much bombarded with negative media messages that they had not taken the time to think through the negative media portrayal of women and the impact that might have on societal attitudes on women. She was in effect challenging media practitioners on the way they portray women, and the thought that needs to go into writing as a practitioner should think about doing no harm. The point that came out was that the media tends to put labels on women, and many times these labels are negative, disempowering, and tend to portray women as lesser beings, only seen when the negative happens. There was also a reminder to the readers of the material produced in the media (and news media has a very powerful effect and influence on our way of thinking and perceiving things) to be analytical and critical of that messaging.

There was Catherine, who insisted to be introduced to the audience as a woman. Catherine’s focus was on her experiences as a girl child growing up, as a woman – deciding on her adult life and her career choice (law); which have had her confronting constant negative stereotypes on what a woman should be, and how she should behave. She also touched on one contentious advert that has PSI (Population Services International) fill our Zimbabwean landscape with billboards insinuating that small houses are the cause of the spread of HIV infection – and, of course, small houses are women. Catherine did a blog on this advert on the Kubatana website
(http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/women/091207cm.asp?sector=OPIN) where she aptly describes the adverts which are truly horrific and, I believe, a sure way of destroying our society through entrenching such negative and damaging stereotypes of women.

Third to speak was Charity Maruta, on her making of the film Sex in the City, a film that used local people, exploring how sex was discussed, understood and practiced in Harare. The issues all came down to power, money, technology and control.

The discussion provoked such strong reactions, and some unbelievable. A couple of men’s response was that these messages would be listened to by society if they let men say it! Obviously for me, that means the struggle continues, and we need more women like Catherine, Charity and Reyhana to continue carrying the torch as we women forge ahead in crossing the line, and no more going back. We truly commemorated it in style, dramatizing, performing, saying and discussing the things that are usually not verbalized in our society.

The Springing Up of Herbs and Passions

noreply@blogger.com (Annie H) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:10:00 +0000

This time we moved from the workshop rooms to the communities. We are humbly learning from the experience of the those who live on the margin, from their perspective, from their perseverance, from their assertiveness, from their desire to make something of their lives, from their love for one another and their determination to survive the ravages of HIV and AIDS. The ‘graduates’ of JASS whose projects we have visited, so far, are implementing their plans.

We visited Lena’s project. It’s built around the mass production of healing herbs. Malawi is poor and not everyone can afford ARVs. So we met women and some men organising around herbal gardens. Young ones, old, and in between - we met them all. As we talked, we realised that it's not just the herbs that are springing up; new passions are also springing up from within communities. They are springing up among the people who have been pushed to the margins of society. For us as JASS, we are privileged to tell the world that the forgotten women, the excluded ones, are right here, where it hurts. JASS’ political project is on creating spaces to make their voices louder, their needs known and their ‘bodies’ visible. It’s not surprising then that yesterday we shared mats, drinks and sisterhood, we stood in solidarity with them, they shared collective pain, their dreams, their sacred stories, their collective yearnings that another kind of world is possible. Together, we imagined a better life and a better society. As we listened to the whispers of hope from these who live on the edge of society, two women chiefs spoke with the kind of courage that defies poverty. We were compelled to believe that grassroots movement in Malawi is not possible but has already began. On our way back to town, drained, tired, sweaty but excited, Sindi whispered, ‘Hope, our liberation is bound up with that of these women, I would like to come and stay with them much longer.’

Today, we head north. It’s a long trip but we are motivated by the knowledge that where hope has been stolen and dignity trampled upon there is a crying need for the space to imagine a better life and a better society. We shall co-create the space.

Hope Chigudu, on the road in Malawi

No longer Invisible

noreply@blogger.com (JASSBlogger) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:30:00 +0000

Therefore i will not keep silent.I will speak out in the anguish of my
spirit, i will complain in the bitterness of my soul. (JOB 7 vs 11). As we
approach International Women's Day, i find this verse quite inspirational.
It conjures into my mind the women who are suffering is silence, the
defenseless woman whose bare chest is ripped by bullets in Dafur, the
starved and hungry woman in Haiti, the lesbian whose life is threatened by
the Bahati Bill in Uganda and the woman who has to toil for survival in
Zimbabwe. All these women from different parts of the world, but with one
thing in common, their excruciating pain. I am not a sadist and i don't mean
to paint a gloomy picture, but yes, they are all victims of circumstances,
victims of men's insatiable appetite for power,victims of corrupt systems,
victims of patriarchy where men make decisions on behalf of these women
under guise of culture.

I feel that on such a day, Women have nothing to celebrate. How can I
celebrate when my fellow sister is bound by chains of misery, battered and
bruised . When women in Zimbabwe are beaten to the pulp by police armed to
teeth when they dare mobilise to raise their concerns as citizens, when the
South African lesbian women are exposed to HIV/AIDS through curative rape
and the Kenyan Albino woman's life is in peril. Women bear the brunt of
social , economic and political woes.Yet, they are often treated with very
little or no respect.Where i come from they say where two elephants mate its
the grass that suffers. This is true of women who are often at the receiving
end where men's hunger for power and love for glory meet, it appears no one
else matters. Today because of such rapacity countries are war torn and
reeling in poverty, it is women who have to take the toll.

At times i am over whelmed with emotion and i feel i cannot do anything for
all these women, then i realize i have a voice. I might be small in stature
and not have the muscle to wrestle, but my voice will not fail me, it will
continue shouting until women are respected,appreciated and emancipated it
will continue shouting.

To all women i say the things that divide us are nothing compared to the
power that binds us. Its' no use hating a fellow sister because of race,
sexual orientation or past mistakes. Together we can make some noise
wherever you are, make use of that voice.

-By Miles Tanhira(Information & Comm Officer at GALZ)
Zimbabwe

Give Them Wings to Fly: Crossing the Line in Zambia

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:08:00 +0000

Give Them Wings to Fly: Crossing the Line in Zambia

A dozen young women have converged on the Protea Hotel Cairo Road in Lusaka, as JASS (Just Associates) Southern Africa continues with the process of movement-building in Zambia. This part of the process is Leadership Training: Young Women Political Facilitators Workshop. The young women have been drawn from various civil society organizations, while also selected for their particular individual skills, potential, and obviously an enthusiasm for doing things differently in line with movement-building. The first two days have been amazing – with the young women, most of who were in the November 2009 Strategy Meeting in Lusaka, displaying a huge potential for becoming political facilitators. As articulated by one of the young women, this morning – their goal is to become bold, stylish, knowledgeable political facilitators.

The introductions at the beginning of the workshop were telling and had us in excited anticipation of the short three days we were to spend together. As the young women identified objects that reflected their characters within the room has had me looking at each object and each event in my day-to-day life in a completely new light. The objects signifying the different characters we a privileged to be with include a pillar (strong supporter that only a bulldozer can destroy), a phone (a vital tool for communication whose characteristics continue to improve each day), pen (writing to impart information), book (that can be written in, and that many can read and source vast amounts of knowledge from), light (brightening people’s lives through revealing knowledge), woman’s handbag (everyone has to have one, and has capacity to carry lots of stuff), scissors (cuts out the crap so as to deal with the core), juice (sweet, quenches thirst, and symbol of prestige), folder (capacity to hold a lot of contents with lots of information), and water (for nourishment, cleaning, strong and always finds its way round obstacles, to continue with its work downstream. A few could not find any object that they could compare their character with in the hotel meeting room, and this revealed how limiting that set up is for meetings of the kind of work we do in movement-building.

The exercises in the power flower and the personal SWOT analyses seemed to help the young women open up as these helped grounding in where they are located, and also a self-introspection that most confessed to never have engaged in. These two particular exercises have apparently got the young women to find their wings, and they have already started flying and crossing the line. The role plays three groups did, targeting traditional leaders, youths, and women aged 30 – 60 in a rural set-up, were a further learning point for the JASS team in understanding Zambian traditions and culture, and the representation of the diversity of contexts that young women work in.

It has been an important lesson for Southern Africa to keep the connections and conversations going, and therefore maintain the momentum, particularly in the early stages of introducing the movement-building concept in any country or community. There definitely is a lot to learn from each other for every woman participating in the workshop, and it will be an exciting prospect to see what plans the young women set for themselves as we conclude the workshop tomorrow. These young women are claiming and owning the wings to fly, and crossing the line in Zambia

GUARDIANS OF HISTORY

noreply@blogger.com (Ana Luisa) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:26:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Annie H) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:16:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Ana Luisa) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:14:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (JASSBlogger) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:22:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:47:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (JASSBlogger) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:53:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:48:00 +0000

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

Reflections on the Asia-Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing+15

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:03:00 +0000

Recently, I attended the Beijing+15 Asia Pacific NGO Forum held at the Miriam College here in the Philippines. It was my first time to participate in such an event, and my first time to meet women from different parts of the globe all united for the goal of achieving gender equality as enshrined in the Beijing protocol.

I participated as part of JASS SEA or Just Associates Southeast Asia, a cross-regional organization of feminists and human rights workers from different fields. Currently, it works in the Mesoamerica, Southern Africa and Southeast Asia regions.

Culture of oppression
The Beijing+15 forum was held October 22 to 24. When I arrived on the first day, Indian feminist Kamla was speaking on a video recording during a plenary entitled “Feminisms through Generations.”

“Patriarchy and capitalism is a dangerous combination,” said Kamla, who for a long time has been working on the concerns of women in India. She explained that patriarchy, along with the class structure and the existing caste system, bring about the marginalized state of women in India. Summarizing the situation in her country, she identified the two root causes of oppression – culture and religion.

A similar story is shared by sisters from the Pacific region. The panelist from Fiji, Claire Slatter, also identified culture as one of the biggest barriers to women in her country. She stated that Fiji women are subjected to oppressive systems that are reinforced by the law itself.

Tongan women shared the same concerns, as Ofa Guttenbeil-Likiliki described how women’s rights activists are accused of breaking up families just because they are pushing for the ratification of CEDAW (the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women). According to their government, CEDAW cut across the “Tongan” way of life. Ofa cited six homicide cases recorded in their country (population 100,000), with four of the six being domestic violence cases where the husbands killed their wives. Fifteen years after the Beijing protocol and more than a hundred years after the historic March 8 protest, Tongan women can only lease and not own land. Widows are expected by the society to remain loyal to their dead husbands. Failure to do so can enable the court to order the widow off her land.

CEDAW, as Ofa explained, is viewed as evil and against Christianity. Despite all the persecution faced by women rights activists in her country she said bravely, “I don’t feel comfortable, but I know I’m doing the right thing... [Women] have every right to stand up and speak out.”

Drawing from history, Kamla explained how in the 1970s they were seeking words and means to express how the family is the location of the worst form of patriarchy, discrimination and violence. She said, “Subjugation comes from the most intimate relationships.”

In communication theories, feminists have identified how the language is gendered. Feminist theory, as stated in the book Theories of Human Communication, “begins with the assumption that gender is a pervasive category of experience” (Littlejohn & Foss, p. 222). As a social construction, gender has been male dominated and oppressive to women. And so:

[feminist] theory aims to challenge the prevailing gender assumptions of society and to achieve more liberating ways for women and men to exist in the world (ibid., p. 222).

As the experiences of feminists have shown, the current system doesn’t have words to challenge patriarchy. Even the word “husband,’ as sampled during the forum, means “to domesticate.”

Facing this situation, women advocates have come up with creative ways to propagate their cause. As they found out, music and songs are particularly effective forms of teaching.

Fifteen years after
Reflecting on all the experiences shared by different women during the forum, I compare their concerns and experiences with those of women in the Philippines. Seeing the parallels, I can’t help but agree with Kamla Bhasin’s analysis: “Unless we fight neoliberal policies, I don’t see a future for gender equality.”

Recent statistics show that women compose 49% of the country’s population. Despite all claims that the gender gap in the country is lessening, the realities experienced by grassroots women tell otherwise. We see this in our work, those of us involved in organizations of women from the urban poor, youth and students: how women farmers are not considered as farmers but housewives still. How urban poor women have to work in contractual jobs with meager pay and are still expected to tend to housework. How neoliberal policies in education have increased the number of out-of-school young women. Yes, in this modern age, the notion that a woman’s place is in the kitchen and the bedroom still lingers.

I have learned to recognize that there is indeed double oppression of women not only due to gender but also class.

Women must realize that they need to stand up and struggle for their own liberation. I have learned that the road to women’s emancipation is rough but through collective struggle along with the other sectors of society it can be achieved.

I am a young advocate for women’s rights. Yes, I may be a novice to some, though I know in my self that I am no less capable in fighting for gender equality.

I know that I am not alone, that there are others like me, young women, who replenish and continue this struggle. I remember how one speaker from Fiji said, as a challenge, that young women should not take their rights for granted and that they should be vigilant.

Another speaker said, if one of us is not free, none of us is free. I agree. “There has never been nor will there ever be real freedom as long as there is no freedom for women.”

~ Mikas Matsuzawa

Mikas Matsuzawa is a journalism student, activist and blogger. You can read more of her thoughts here: http://diwatangluna.multiply.com/journal

Give me back my movement!

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:20:00 +0000

“We must involve the bosses. We can not move without them. The bosses are our partners. Many of them are just victims of the system too. Most of the employers mean well. All we need to do is raise their awareness and they will be ok. We did a workshop with some of the most senior bosses last year, just one workshop. And I remember two of them standing up and saying, ‘This workshop has been a real eye opener to the suffering endured by the workers. We did not know that running sweatshops, under paying workers, and sexual harassment of female workers is wrong. We really did not know. We will change from this minute on. You can count on us.’ Since that discussion, we now have so many employers on our shop floor committees. One is even the chairperson of my equal wages sub-committee. Another provides counseling to women who are sexually harassed.”

Can you imagine this testimony coming from the head of any trade union movement? Anywhere in the world? Substitute workers and trade unions for landless people’s associations, or the Dalit movement, or an anti-racism movement: can you imagine them saying this? Why not? Tell me your eyes don’t water at the prospect of workers and exploitative bosses holding hands nicely and singing, “We shall over-come?” Like Martin Luther King, isn’t your “dream” that of landless, half-naked peoples and the few landed, be-suited, corporate bosses sharing leadership roles in one another’s organizations? The landless speaking on behalf of the corporate landowner, the landowner chairing the landless people’s movement?

Sound unlikely? Why not? We have done it in the women’s movement. To paraphrase Idi Amin, “if they did it, we can DID it too.” I know I am not doing the deep analysis and giving the nuanced complexities of so-called “involving men and boys” that has become the overwhelming refrain in “gender work.” I am not an academic. I don’t sit in spaces where I have the luxury – yes, luxury – of going into deep theoretical analysis. I just tells it as I sees it. I live and work in the real world of simplicity and sound bites. This is the world where one word from a donor or the media, and everyone around you turns phrases into a program, and soon enough, into expected practice. Where we hear things said in workshops, and suddenly they become the norm, nay, a requirement. In this world we learn from one another. It is not that we are stupid, it’s just that we don’t have time or space to go into political analysis. More importantly, in this world, labels and naming matter. Inclusion of men and boys equals a good thing done by gender activists; protecting women’s spaces and talking about power equals bad thing done by those awful feminists! Who isn’t afraid of being seen as a bad, strident woman?

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. To paraphrase them racists, let me say it one more time – I love men. Some of the best people I’ve had sex with are men. So there. I believe progressive, non-patriarchal, non-sexist men have a positive role to play in the struggle for women’s human rights. There are a few of them out there. But they are not yet in a majority, and a few good men do not a system make. Patriarchy in all its forms is still alive and doing quite well by my last diagnosis. The majority of men and boys continue to have access to all kinds of power, resources, and privileges, which they don’t hesitate to use to exert their control over women’s and girls’ lives and bodies.

When any marginalized and excluded group creates a safe space for themselves, it is their space. Let me repeat, it is their SAFE space. The notion of safe space is deeply political. To badly translate a wonderful song by Thomas Mapfumo, “There are some stories you don’t tell in the midst of certain listeners, otherwise they take oil and start preparing their hands…” I will not go into all those caveats about how not all men are bad etc. Women’s space is women’s space. It is the one place where I can have a conversation with other women about vaginas. It is the place where women seek unadulterated advice when they have problems in their heterosexual relationships. When we experience violence of any kind, and we turn up for counseling at a women’s center, the last person we expect to find sitting behind that desk is someone who looks exactly like the one I just ran away from. He might be nice, or the sweetest gay man, but do I trust that he will hear my story? Even if it’s a magazine to which I am writing a letter, or a phone-in radio program, I want another woman at the end of the line. I need to feel SAFE.

I work in a mainstream development INGO. I have seen, despite our best intentions, that it is very hard to recruit, retain and support women in the organization. The default is to think of men first. When women’s rights are mentioned in a meeting, everyone still turns to look at me or whoever’s job title is 'women’s rights.' We don’t turn to look at the heads of other themes when those are mentioned. Consistently keeping women’s rights on the agenda remains a struggle. And trust me, my organization is one of the best in the INGO stable, if I say so myself. Our language is firmly about women’s rights, and our political rhetoric is up there with the best. But I know this is not a women’s organization and its natural default is not to think of women first. I know the limits of what can be achieved in this space. When I want to have certain conversations and when I expect a particular, firm political direction, I look to the women’s movement.

The women’s movement is still the only place I expect to give women a shot at employment. A women’s organization is the last place I expect to compete with a man for an office messenger post, let alone a directorship. Call it sheltered employment if you must. We still need it because patriarchy and sexism have not been eradicated. Who else is going to give women opportunities if not their own organizations? Yet everywhere I look, women’s organizations are giving jobs to the men, and in large numbers. In some cases, male staff out-numbers female. The range of jobs being given to men is equally frightening. A colleague with a donor agency recently went to Zambia and she reported that a large number of women’s organizations are now directed by men! She also noted that in some organizations men outnumber women in providing psycho-social counseling and support to female survivors of violence. It was the same story in several organizations in Mozambique. In several countries too, government gender machineries are led by men. All in the name of “gender is about men and women….” We shall return to this half sentence later.

Even more frightening is the latest fad, men on the boards of women’s organizations. I will be the first to admit that I am given to hyperbole, but it’s become an epidemic! A seat on the board is about power and leadership. Where are women ever going to get a chance to learn leadership skills and how to exercise power? Are there no other ways to ‘include men’ besides handing over our hard-created organizations to them? At the same time we complain about women being excluded from decision-making positions in the public arena. When we are asked to give names of experienced women to fill leadership positions in the same public arena, we can’t even name five! It would be interesting to take stock of the values, beliefs and behaviors of some of these men on women’s organizations’ boards. Let me just leave it there. Point made.

Over the last few years, I keep wanting to sing my own version of Jacob Zuma’s dreadful song, “mshini wam’, mshini wam’, awu’leth’ u’mshini wam!” (My machine gun, my machine gun; give me my machine gun.) My song would go; “movement yam’, movement yam,’ awu leth’ i – movement yam!” (My movement, my movement; give me (back) my movement.) Where has the notion of safe spaces for women gone? What has happened to the politics that should be the foundation of our movements? Is it that it was never political? Not deep enough? We were fighting this struggle because it sounded like a nice idea, and therefore the strategy was to be nice?

When did we become this depoliticized? Let me go back to where I started. Why is the women’s movement the only space where you expect to hear the kind of depoliticized testimony that I quoted in the first paragraph? Why do we celebrate this kind of stuff in so many ways? As for their eyes being opened after only one workshop, I for one, would love to hear how sustainably open those eyes have remained and what transformation has occurred as a result. I stand to be convinced about the power of the one-workshop-one-pamphlet wonder. To think we have wasted all this energy understanding power when all it takes is a half-day discussion. Ah.

It is time to reclaim women’s spaces and re-politicize our movements with feminist politics. We can only do this if we put back onto the table, the fact that this is about POWER. Repeat after me….Gender is about men and women, and the UNEQUAL power relations between them. It’s back to feminism 001. Sadly.

Everjoice J. Win is a feminist from Zimbabwe, and is currently the Head of Women’s Rights in an International NGO. She writes this in her personal capacity.
everjoicew@yahoo.com

The Flame that Will Build a Movement

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:24:00 +0000

This morning, the women left. We had a great time but also experienced some Oh! moments. A young woman, six months pregnant, fell really sick. The truth is she came to the workshop sick. Most of the women we were with earlier this year look extremely wasted now. Part of the reason is that they are malnourished. Malawi is expensive. To remain connected on the internet for a week is almost US $ 100.

This morning I had breakfast with a young woman in her 20s. She told me how she was married off by her grandparents, at the age of 17, following the death of her parents, who both died of AIDS. She is HIV positive herself. Her husband, who infected her, abandoned her with her now five-year-old baby. She is taking care of her child, her siblings, and her sister’s HIV positive baby. She narrated her story and both of us nearly choked on our breakfast.

As women continue to waste, they also continue to cross boundaries. JASS workshops, such as this one, embody the budding connections, and sisterhood among women living with HIV and AIDS, who come from all over Malawi. They symbolize the beginnings of a whisper, a rustle, a flame that will build into a stronger movement of women living with HIV/AIDS, and a strengthened sisterhood.

As the women received their JASS t-shirts yesterday, and as they danced, they were aware that the struggle had begun. But this time, instead of standing alone, they were moving towards change as a collective.

~ Hope Chigudu

Part four of a four part series. First part - I Am My Sister’s Keeper!

Crossing the Line in Malawi

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:39:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:08:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:39:00 +0000

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!

Women’s Human Rights Situation in Honduras following the Coup

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:09:00 +0000

We, the Honduran Feminists in Resistance, are convinced that the restitution of democracy to Honduras does not mean only the return to government of President Zelaya – it must also signify respect for the Honduran people’s right to install a Constitutional National Assembly. Only in this way will it be possible to build a new social agreement that grounds the State once more in human rights and in the demands of the population. Only in this way will Honduran women see our rights fully recognized, sexist violence eradicated, and our participation in building a new society secured. The call for elections is merely a strategy to “return to normal” from political conflict, to end human rights violations, and to give us a choice between two conservative candidates who thus far did not even acknowledge that a coup had been staged. But we don’t want the old status quo; we don’t want to be “represented” by candidates loyal to the interests of the oligarchy and of the military that enacted this coup and that permit and promote extensive human rights violations. No! We go further: we demand justice, we demand punishment for those responsible for violating both the constitutional order and the dignity of the people of this country.

~ Jessica Sánchez, Honduran Feminists in Resistance

Jessica Sanchez will be appearing at Busboys & Poets (14th and V Streets, NW) in Washington, DC on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 8pm with Bertha Oliva of Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH). These prominent human rights advocates will speak about restoring democracy and human rights in Honduras.

Mobilizing against Homophobic Legislation in Uganda

noreply@blogger.com (Annie H) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:38:00 +0000

Uganda

’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill is generating outrage among African human rights advocates. A strong argument comes from Solome Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe, Executive Director of Akina Mama wa Afrika and author of a chapter in JASS’ collection Women Navigate Power. Calling the Bill “an alarmingly retrogressive piece of legislation, aimed at legalising hatred against a section of the Ugandan citizenry,” Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe points out the dangers to all civil liberties, highlights the “value” of this debate as a pre-election distraction from urgent national priorities, and names some of the rightwing American Christian organizations funding this homophobic agenda.

Generational dynamics and debates at Beijing +15 Asia Pacific

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:12:00 +0000

October 22, 2009 at 11:47pm Philippines

The opening addresses of the Asia Pacific NGO Forum Beijing +15 emphasized the background of the conference and set the tone for the rest of the forum. The speakers recalled the previous AP NGO forum and the Nairobi forum, which contributed to the Beijing Declaration. Noeleen Heyzer, the keynote speaker and founder of AP NGO, highlighted a wide range topics including women’s achievements and contributions and challenges to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA).

In the midst of (religious and economic) fundamentalism, armed-conflict, politic turmoil, climate change, and lack of food security, NGOs in Southeast Asia are struggling to empower more women and advocating for the removal of obstacles to their empowerment . Through testimonies of their own struggles, the women, who were involved in the BFPA formulation, convinced the UN and other mainstream international organizations to establish the conference on women’s rights. After the Beijing, they worked to strengthen and mobilize women’s networking in the region as a means to pressure national governments to implement the BFPA and ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Feminisms Through the Generations
The first two plenary sessions were entitled “Feminisms Through Generations.” The first panel was comprised of older generations of feminist leaders that are more established, followed by a second panel of younger generations of feminist leaders. Both panels stressed that the younger generations should not take women’s rights, nor their present condition for granted. They encouraged the younger generations, who are greatly influenced by the media industry, which is based on the liberal economy, to criticize their political situation.

The older generations of feminists emphasized that the main issue in their eras was equal opportunity to get education. Right now, it is not an issue anymore in countries like Japan. However, younger generations from Japan pointed out that although many girls and women fare much better academically, women’s careers are often interrupted by childbirth and subsequent childcare. This may be a contributing factor in there being less women in managerial positions, especially in the private sector. Women are considered as “walking in the clerical track,” – lacking in the commitment and leadership experience needed to be managers.

The older generations suggested that the forum give more attention to influencing the private sector because they play an important role in the financial crisis which affects women’s lives and their family.

The younger generations emphasized that some of the challenges and issues they are facing have not changed from the previous generations. In fact, some issues are more challenging than before because organizations working to counter feminist achievements have improved their strategies.

Kamla Bhasin, a poet on the first panel delivered a wonderful speech via video. She said that even in [patriarchal] language, women are not equal. For example, many of the participants were surprised to learn that swami/suami, which are the two words in many languages for husband; means owner, lord and master, but it also means husband, the one who controls and domesticates. Bhasin pointed out, “We don’t even have words for an equal relationship for the man you [a woman] marries.”

Ofa Guttentbeil-Likiliki of Tonga spoke about how Tonga is one of the Asia Pacific countries that refused to ratify CEDAW. The church is one of the main opponents to the values of the CEDAW. Likiliki is often intimidated by those who oppose the work she does to eliminate violence against women and children. Her story is similar to those who fight for gender equality across the world.

~ Niken Lestari, JASS Southeast Asia Program Coordinator

To hear recordings from the plenary sessions visit the Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing +15 website.

AN ODE TO AN ACTIVIST-Keith Goddard

noreply@blogger.com (JASSBlogger) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:43:00 +0000

A small stature, a giant voice, a powerful spirit
How best can I describe you, words fail me.
Your wit, intelligence and determination
Amidst all the struggle and condemnation
With the stubbornness of a horse, you still rose
Stood higher than your own height could reach
Fought with your every breath till the end.
A true hero, you are.
Saka ndichiti Zororai murugare

Your were crucified and vilified,
Yet could not be terrified for you still sacrificed
Where others where running away, you stood your ground
Gave voice to the voiceless, fought tirelessly for all
For what you believed you stood bravely
Your never-die spirit will be cherished
A cadre, a colleague, genuine CDE for our struggle
Lala Kahle

By Millcent Tanhira(GALZ)

Repression in Honduras

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:06:00 +0000

We have been receiving message from Daysi, a young woman who is a feminist in Honduras, writing from the frontlines in Honduras.

22 September, 2009 - Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Early this morning, military forces attacked those of us outside the Brazilian Embassy. There are no words to describe the brutality of the attack—they chased us, threw bombs, beat us and now are hunting down everyone who took refuge in the surrounding area. There are 65 of us, mostly women and children here; we are under siege, our telephones are tapped, there is a squad three houses away and they are making rounds searching for signs of life to burst in. We have very little water and no food, the tear gas has permeated the atmosphere and our eyes and noses are irritated. Some of the women have been taken prisoners and according to the last communication they have been taken to a stadium called Chochi Sosa. The electricity went back on recently and so we are able to send this e-mail. We can hear the military movements outside, the cars, helicopters, bombs, shots, clashing of metal, stomping of boots, sirens and in a cruel joke on all Honduran citizens they are playing the national anthem at full volume over and over.

We call for support for all the people who are being protected by Feminists in Resistance and for the compañeras who are doing everything possible to get us humanitarian aid despite the fact that the armed forces won't let anyone through, not with medicines or food or anything. We're completely isolated; we want everyone to contribute by denouncing the violation of basic human rights being perpetrated by the military forces of the de facto regime.

This message was received later the same day.

Friends:

We are living in an environment of war. Upon leaving the CEMH offices we can see that the atmosphere in the streets is tense and the demonstrations elevate the tone: in my mother’s neighborhood there are burning tires and although the streets are closed for the people that are not active in the resistance, they are announcing national electrical energy cuts for today at 7 pm and we don’t know how long it will last but there are rumors that it could go on for 48 hours. I mention this in case you can´t reach me via e-mail. We have cell phones but don’t know if they will be working. Some are saying that there will be a raid on the embassy when they cut off the electricity, but we don't know anything for certain. In any event, international pressure must continue in any way possible. There is already speculation of food prices.

We are preparing to confront these horrible attacks. It is truly sad and enraging to walk through streets where war, injustice, and madness reign through the power of weapons.

A resilient hug,
Daysi, Honduran Feminists in Resistance

For further information visit: http://www.justassociates.org/actions/honduras/honduras_action_090922.html

From Sea Change to Rivers of Change: El Salvador

noreply@blogger.com (JASS) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:50:00 +0000

Building personal and collective empowerment for women’s rights and action

Building on the JASS' Mar de Cambios (Sea Change) region-wide gathering in July and the accompanying Wings of the Butterfly-sponsored play, Salvadoran Petateras by September had launched Rios de Cambios (Rivers of Change), a country level process to strengthen women’s movements and engage government in supporting and advancing women’s human rights. To pull off this amazing feat that brought together women from across society, they worked in collaboration with the Salvadoran Women’s Association (AMS), the Women’s Collective of El Salvador, the Salvadoran Institute for the Development of Women (ISDEMU), and other regional colleagues and supporters. Mar de Cambios evolved and spilled over into Rios de Cambios rippling out from the region to San Salvador, the nation’s capital, and on to provincial towns across the country. Theatre performances that highlighted women’s stories of courage followed by dialogues that involved key government officials took center stage in a political context that is changing, in some ways rather dramatically.

Women in El Salvador are coming together in a new political moment – one that offers the promise of more effective governance and collaboration between civil society and government. The June inauguration of a reform administration made up of a mix of revolutionary, activist and business leaders has begun to put in place more participatory structures and responsive government programs aimed at reducing poverty and violence and promoting human rights for all. Yet from experience, we know that to keep women’s issues and concerns on the agenda, strong movements and voices for change are crucial for holding government accountable and keeping it honest.

The Rivers of Change process is designed to do just that. By surfacing the concerns of women at national and local levels, acquainting them with unsung heroines from daily life, and engaging them in dialogues with strategic government representatives, JASS and allies have launched an education and advocacy effort that supports women’s empowerment and sustained political engagement and action. Calling their initial effort, On the Threshold of Democracy, it brings together major women’s groups, feminists, and others in collaboration with the Wings of the Butterfly initiative. Inspired by the butterfly effect potential and the power of art and activism, it combines theatre performances that showcase the experience of women from El Salvador and around the world -- women who have challenged violence and discrimination and provided alternative visions of society based on human rights, solidarity, equality and harmony with humanity and nature. UNIFEM has supported the effort as part of an upcoming interagency campaign to eliminate violence against women sponsored by the UN Secretary General.

~ Post by Valerie Miller, whose reflections on Rios de Cambios and Mar de Cambios can be read on Facebook.