Empowerment

Arab World: Interview with Karama founder

Questions for Hibaaq Osman, founder and director of Karama: 1. How have efforts to implement the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) in the Arab region evolved since Beijing? Has this been satisfactory? Since the adoption of the BPFA, there has been considerable progress throughout the region in meeting international standards that reinforce gender equality. In particular, the civil society sector has expanded, proliferating local organizations whose mission it is to address key issues that have prevented governments and other authorities from enacting, implementing and enforcing laws that protect women from discrimination and violence. This NGO component had been largely missing and now acts to directly respond to the needs of the local community and communicate these to national and international authorities. In particular, a renewed focus on empowering women and increasing their role in decision-making has been demonstrated.

Algérie: Femme journaliste: Comment sortir des rubriques féminines

Les femmes représentent aujourd’hui plus de 43% des journalistes, une proportion qui devrait croître puisque 60% des élèves à l’Institut national des sciences de l’information et de la communication sont des filles. Femme et journaliste. Il y a quelques années de cela, ces deux caractéristiques étaient beaucoup plus un obstacle pour la femme dans une société fermée qui ne lui facilitait pas la tâche. Aujourd’hui, que cela soit dans la presse, quotidienne nationale, régionale, à la télévision, ou à la radio, les femmes sont là et sont largement majoritaires.

WLUML Newsletter 9

The WLUML Newsletter has a new look! Introducing a more contemporary design and reader-friendly format, the Spring 2010 issue has all the same sections as Newsletter 8: Editorial and Solidarity; Campaigns; Women’s Empowerment and Activism; News from Networkers; Reviews; Events and Announcements. On this issue's cover are the objectives and strategies of the 4th WLUML Feminist Leadership Institute that took place in Dakar, Senegal, from 09-20 November, 2009 and on page 5 we hear from one of its participants, May El Sallab.

Algérie: 8 mars : Sans laïcité pas d’égalité !

PARTI pour la LAICÏTE et la DEMOCRATIE (P-L-D) « Pour une Algérie Républicaine Moderne et Sociale » : Cette année, le 8 mars revêt une importance symbolique toute particulière. Nous en commémorons le centenaire depuis que Clara Zetkin, leader emblématique du combat des femmes a décidé d’en faire un évènement de portée universelle. Depuis, les luttes féminines se sont élargies à toute la planète et ont investi tous les domaines de la vie.

Symposium Report: The Role of Sport in Resisting, Accommodating and in Remaking Muslim Women

In March of 2008, Women Living under Muslim Laws and Concordia University organized a symposium to discuss the impact of Muslim women's invovlement in sports, especially in the context of Iran. Some Muslim women athletes have used sport to inscribe resistant meanings that challenge social norms, while others have used it to express and reinforce these norms. The full report is attached.

Afghanistan/UN: Statement on inclusion of Afghan Women in Peace building, Security and Reconstruction

1. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), mandated to monitor the implementation of the Convention of the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women by 186 States Parties, including Afghanistan, welcomes the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan and its international allies on the new commitment to help secure a peaceful, prosperous and democratic future for Afghanistan initiated in January 28, 2010, London Conference, hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

Iraq: Women Are Seeking Greater Political Influence

For women in Iraq, the coming national elections offer both a promise and a reminder of the difficulty of change in this male-dominated culture. The Constitution calls for at least 25 percent of Parliament’s seats to go to women. But the first women elected in 2005 have had little effect, analysts and women who are members of Parliament say. Now, as the campaign begins for the country’s second post-invasion parliamentary vote, on March 7, some women say a new female political class is starting to emerge. In one sign of this development, 12 women from outside the political system have formed their own party, with a platform built on women’s rights and a jobs program for Iraq’s more than 700,000 widows.

Iran/UN: Shadi Sadr's testimony of her arrest and detention in July 2009

Violation of rights in Iran, a window from my experience to a broader picture, By Shadi Sadr: When I was sitting in an interrogation room, with my face to the wall, my eyes covered with a blindfold and my body with a chador, I never imagined that one day I would be at the United Nation Headquarters giving my testimony about this very day. So, I am very glad that I have the chance to be here, especially when many other political prisoners are still locked up inside the prisons or, even among those who were released, have to remain silent and neutralized out of fear. Let me start with my own experience, which is just one example of the many human rights violations that have occurred in Iran since the July 2009 Presidential Election.

Algérie: La Web Radio « Voix de Femmes »

La web radio « Voix de Femmes » est le support média pivot de l’association Nationale Femmes en Communication. Il sera conçu comme un outil de communication performant offrant un large espace d’interactivité (forum de discussion). Une web radio fonctionnant dans les deux langues français et arabe pour être accessible au plus grand nombre.

International: Women Reclaiming and Re-defining Cultures

The aim of the Women Reclaiming and Re-defining Cultures (WRRC) Program, a joint initiative of the international solidarity network Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) and the Institute for Women’s Empowerment (IWE), is to enable women to repossess and reconstruct cultural resources (including within ‘religion’ and ‘tradition’); to claim rights, empowering women vis-à-vis those who use cultural/religious discourse to deny women’s rights.