Rosemary King, Graduate Student at NYU Wagner
Intern at Case Commons, Inc.
New York, NY USA
Connect with Rosemary King on GlobalSister.org
Since starting my internship at Case Commons, Inc. a lot of my fellow Wagner students have asked about how different the gender disparity is from the split at Wagner. For those of you not familiar, NYU Wagner has a 70/30 ratio of women to men in attendance, which is not uncommon for schools of public service. I’m happy to report that at Case Commons women, including CEO Kathleen Feely and NYU Wagner Alumna COO Heather Weston, hold many of the leadership positions. The split between gender in management and administration positions is pretty much 50/50. The disparity between genders does skew towards males when you look at the split of program developers. Case Commons contracts with an incredible consulting firm called Pivotal Labs that completes all of the code for our product. We currently have anywhere between 12-15 “Pivots,” (the nickname for coders in the office,) working on our project. Of those roughly 15 Pivots, only two are ladies. Of the rest of the Pivots that work with other clients, I have only noticed one other woman.
Now this split is not unusual in the tech world. Anyone who has ever been to a New York Tech MeetUp knows that this space draws a mostly male crowd. (One friend of mine remarked that her friend went religiously to the MeetUps until she found what she was looking for, a boyfriend.) I have often asked the women coders and entrepreneurs I encounter in the tech world about discrimination or if they have ever felt marginalized. I’ve always gotten the same response back, “Nope, I love my job, I love the people I work with, I love being in tech.”
So if tech is such a great space for women, why don’t more women get into it? Well, the simple answer is that women go into sciences and technology in fewer numbers than men, hence we have fewer women working in the field. But I think this is a great spot to point out that there are many women in tech right now, building great companies, building great code and generally kicking ass, (see here for some awesome examples.)
There are also groups and organizations that are working really hard to bring more women into the fold by making coding and programming more accessible. I recently decided to stop putting it off and learn some code. I’m now on my second class with a group called GirlDevelopIt. Guys and girls are allowed to participate but it’s great to see in each class 30-50 women who have decided to get up off the sidelines and jump into the fray. My first project to test my skills is to build Professor Rogan Kersh a website for his Intro to Public Policy class. I’m about halfway done and will share it with you when it’s finished!
Blog post originally posted at http://wagner.nyu.edu/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/637
Gender and Tech: Ladies, Jump in! The Water’s Warm!
Actions Across the Globe for the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day
One hundred years ago International Women’s day was first commemorated on March 19, 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, following its establishment during the Socialist International meeting. More than one million women and men attended rallies on that first commemoration.
Since then, this day is now celebrated by many countries around the world. This day has become a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to division, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. In this 100th year anniversary of International Women’s Day, GlobalSister.org would like to give tribute to this day by highlighting some of the global events happening today.
Million of Women March! Location: Cairo, Egypt
The Guardian paper from the UK reports million of women march in Cairo, Egypt calling for gender equality. THe march began in Tahrir Square, the very same place where the massive demonstrations took place during Egypt’s revolution. The Guardian quotes Aalam Wassef, one of the march’s organizers, that the march would build on the “amazing unity” between men and women in the 18 days of the revolution. The idea of the march began to gain momentum shortly after Shafiq was appointed prime minister, and an all-male constitutional committee charged with drawing up amendments was formed. Female input on the drafting of Egypt’s constitution is a key demand of the march today. Women are calling for legislative changes that will guarantee complete gender equality. The march was also a tribute to the role played by Egyptian women during the revolution, including the 12 women known to have died in clashes of security. Further, Wassef stated that “Women in a democracy are a good indication of how genuine a democracy it is. If you take women as a indicator it gives an idea of everything that needs to be done. Everyone will benefit.”
Source: The Guardian
WomenforWomen.org Join Women on the Bridge Location: Global
Today, women and men around the world will unite on bridges calling for peace in solidarity with women in Afghanistan and elsewhere who are marginalized in their country’s peace processes. The Women on the Bridge campaign was started last year, with women uniting on a bridge bordering the war ravaged countries of the Congo and Rwanda, calling for peace. This year, women once again are standing on bridges for the women in Afghanistan, who are being excluded from taking part in peace negotiations that will determine a power-sharing agreement between the government and the Taliban. GlobalSisters can join these women through a virtual bridge. Register today @ http://www.womenforwomen.org/bridge/attend-bridge-event.php
Huairou Commission, GLobal Summit on Grassroots Women’s Leadership and Governance Begins Location: New York, US
The Global Summit is an opportunity for grassroots women working to increase their leadership and participation in decision-making processes are joining with other women leaders to share strategies, challenges, and establish principles and proposals for collective actions. During this three days of workshops, the Grassroots Summit aims to promote cross-regional peer learning, and encourages participants to identify the effects of international geopolitical and institutional arrangements they face locally. For more information on the summit, please contact Sarah SIlliman at Sarah.Silliman@huairou.org
Join GlobalSister.org today and blog about your activities on International Women’s Day and beyond. Connect and Partner on GlobalSister.org!
Despite of Threats, Women in Iran will March for Equality
Location: Tehran, Iran
Source: Human Rights Watch
Connect with your GlobalSisters from Iran at GlobalSister.org!
Human Rights Watch has reported that Iran is expecting protesters’ to peacefully assemble to express their demands for change. Leading up to the 100th anniversary of International Women’s day, thousands of men and women are expected to participate in demonstrations in Tehran and other major Iranian cities to demand much needed democratic reforms, including full legal equality for women. Nadya Khalife, a women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch was quoted saying, “Despite threats against them, Iranian feminists and activists are still fighting for equality and democratic reforms. The government should heed these calls and refrain from using violence against those calling for change.” Iran has a long history of arresting activists and journalists who speak out against the government. These political prisoners also includes women. In November 2010 Human Rights Watch reported on the imprisonment of Sussan Tahmasebi, a human rights lawyer. Learn more about the One Million Signatures Campaign, a grass-roots campaign aimed at overturning discriminatory laws which Sussan Tahmasebi strongly supports.
“Iranian women in prison today include human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and students,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director of Human Rights Watch. “What they hav in common is their relentless pursuit of justice, at great risk to themselves, their families, and their reputations.”
Find out more at HumanRights.org
Say NO-UNiTE to End Violence Against Women GlobalSister.org Featured Campaign
GlobalSister.org Featured Campaign
Location: Global
Connect with Say NO-UNiTE at http://www.saynotoviolence.org
Created by the United Nations Development Fund for Women now part of UN Women, Say NO – UNiTE is a global platform that aims to trigger and highlight actions on ending violence against women. It provides tools to initiate or join advocacy and awareness raising activities around the world, and counts and communicates them in real time. By creating a profile on saynotoviolence.org you can let us know about your actions and inspire others to join you.”
Communication Strategies
Visitors to the Say NO – UNiTE website can view a count of actions taking place in communities around the world to raise awareness about violence against women (VAW) and to end it. Actions are varied, and include: petition drives for legislation, reaching out to students at schools, volunteering at local shelters or women’s organisations, spreading the message through blogs and tweets, donating funds towards programmes that protect women and girls from violence, and so on. Details are available on the project website about all the actions, such as one taking place on November 25 2009, when Soroptimist International of Newport Harbor Area will “paper the town purple” – the colour associated with domestic violence – as they join with Soroptimists all over the world to distribute purple cards with domestic abuse prevention information to local businesses, in women’s restrooms, and, if possible, in employee paychecks. They will also distribute information leaflets in workplaces to assist employers and co-workers to provide resources for helping abused women. As an organisation of working women whose mission is to improve the lives of women and girls, Soroptimist specifically targets the workplace in its action, which coincides with the United Nations-designated International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women.
The Say NO toolkit and other online resources offered by the campaign are designed to help guide advocacy efforts. One may find out what is happening nearby by searching for actions in a particular city or country, and also add one’s own. The idea is to inspire people to take action as they view the number of actions posted and counted on the website continue to grow through people contributing ideas for initiatives people can start. New social media tools are also being used to connect those passionate about ending VAW; Say NO has a presence on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Some Facts on Violence Against Women
Based on country data available, up to 70% of women experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime. A World Health Organization (WHO) study of 24,000 women in 10 countries found that the prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence by a partner varied from 15% in urban Japan to 71% in rural Ethiopia, with most areas being in the 30–60% range.
Rape and domestic violence are reportedly a higher risk for women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, traffic accidents, or malaria.
In Rwanda, up to half a million women were raped during the 1994 genocide.
Worldwide, 140 million women and girls alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM).
It is estimated that 5,000 women are victims of so-called “honour killings” every year.
In the United States, the costs of medical care and productivity loss due to intimate partner violence exceed US$5.8 billion per year.
For More Information Contact
Contact
Urjasi Rudra
Coordinator, Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women
UN Women
Email: urjasi.rudra@unifem.org
Ciudad Juarez Organizes! Re-post from Frontera NorteSur by Kent Paterson
Human Rights News
Ciudad Juarez Mourns, Organizes
Stunned by the murders of three people whose lives they tried to save,
human rights activists in Ciudad Juarez vow nevertheless to press forward
with their movement for justice.
On Saturday, February 26, Elias Reyes Salazar, his sister Magdalena Reyes
and Luisa Ornelas, the wife of Elias Reyes, were laid to rest in the rural
Juarez Valley south of the city. Their bodies were discovered the previous
day not far from the place where the trio was kidnapped by an armed
commando almost three weeks earlier. Early reports suggest the victims’
bodies were dug up and then dumped in a visible location where they could
easily be spotted.
“The protest is going to continue until there is a clarification of this
crime,” said Jose Hernandez, a participant in a protest encampment outside
the Ciudad Juarez offices of the Chihuahua state prosecutor. “We’re going
to stay here as long as there are not favorable results in the leads…”
Almost immediately after the February 7 kidnapping, members of the Reyes
family, supporters from the Citizens Plural Front and other activists
erected tents and demanded the safe return of their loved ones. They began
a hunger strike at the encampment and then a initiated a second one in
Mexico City, both of which were called off after the bodies of the three
missing persons were found.
Nonetheless, the Ciudad Juarez protest encampment continues until further
notice, according to Hernandez and other participants. Outside the
entrance to the government office complex where signs direct citizens to
the different departments of the State of Chihuahua’s “new legal system,”
four pink crosses in memory of murdered and disappeared women stand.
Protest signs and banners cover the building’s front windows, accompanied
by drawings of President Felipe Calderon springing horns, Uncle Sam with a
smoking gun and pigs’ heads; the sketches of children implore peace and
justice. Surprisingly, authorities have allowed the strong messages to
plaster the building’s exterior unmolested. A sign near the main tent
sheltering campers reads:
“We are not rebels.
We are a pained people.
Don’t be indifferent.
This affects all of us.”
Evangelina Barragan said a love for Juarez and Jesus Christ motivated her
to join the encampment. “As Mexicans, we suffer here and are humiliated
everywhere,” Barragan said. “And this is not right.”
After filing their legal complaints with state law enforcement personnel,
many people have approached the protesters to relate incidents of
kidnapping, murder and threats that have not come to “public light,” added
Irvine, another camp participant.
Perhaps the most striking item at the camp is the family portrait of a
proud Sara Reyes and her nine children. Of the nine brothers and sisters
from the Juarez Valley, five are now dead. Human rights activist Josefina
was gunned down in January 2010, while her brother Ruben suffered a
similar fate seven months later. Then Elias and Magdalena were murdered.
An older brother, Eleazar, died of health-related causes a few years ago,
according to Hernandez.
On February 25, the official National Human Rights Commission demanded
government protection for the Reyes family, as well as a “speedy and
efficient probe to find those responsible for the deaths of Elias and
Magdalena Salazar and Luisa Ornelas Soto…”
Weekend editions of some Ciudad Juarez news outlets ran pictures of
narco-style messages found alongside the bodies of the three Reyes family
members recovered on February 25. The crudely written invectives accused
the Reyes of complicity with organized crime, and directly threatened
surviving sister Marisela, who had been part of the hunger strike. On
February 15, Sara Reyes’ home was burned down by attackers. The violence
against the Reyes clan has occurred in close proximity to the numerous
Mexican army units stationed in the Juarez Valley.
Hernandez questioned: “How is it possible for the gunmen to get through?”
Relatives and friends publicly reject the anonymous allegations of narco
associations as a smear. Hernandez recalled how Josefina, for example, was
a longtime, committed community activist, who struggled against the
murders of women in the Juarez Valley and participated in the 1998-1999
cross-border movement that halted a planned nuclear dump in Sierra Blanca,
Texas. Eleazar, he said, was passionate about preserving the Juarez
Valley’s rich agricultural heritage, and promoted organic farming projects
before his untimely death.
Nowadays, the Reyes family is physically and emotionally devastated, the
Juarez Valley increasingly abandoned by terrified residents and the rule
of law in the region tattered into a thousand shreds.
In neighboring El Paso, Texas, the newly-formed activist organization
Peace and Justice without Borders is backing the Juarez movement with
material and communications support, said Ana Morales, a spokeswoman for
the group. “It’s heart-breaking. It’s very disappointing. It’s a cruel
reality,” was how Morales characterized the current situation in Ciudad
Juarez. “A lot of innocent people are dying.”
According to Morales, local activists are up against a wall of public
desensitization and powerlessness when it comes to Ciudad Juarez. “It’s
just such a big monster. It’s pretty unbeatable. That’s what (people)
say,” Morales said.
The young activist urged people to seek alternative sources of information
about what is really happening in Ciudad Juarez and reach out to the
Mexican people.
Critical of the Merida Initiative and US support for the so-called drug
war, Peace and Justice without Borders co-sponsored a January 29
demonstration of hundreds at the border fence dividing Sunland Park, New
Mexico, from the northwestern edge of Ciudad Juarez.
Currently, Peace and Justice without Borders is in the process of
launching an Indymedia website that will focus on news and information not
covered by the mainstream media in the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez-Las Cruces
border corridor, Morales added.
In Ciudad Juarez, meanwhile, people have two stark choices, contended
protester Irvine: they can either sit back passively and wait to be killed
or extorted or do something in spite of the dangers. “Organization is the
response,” he affirmed. “There is no other way.”
-Kent Paterson
Frontera NorteSur: on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico
For a free electronic subscription email: fnsnews@nmsu.edu
Egyptian Feminist Nawal El Saadawi Embraces the Next Generation
El Saadawi, a Egyptian writer, activist and one of the leading feminists of our generation gives her testimony of her experience of the Egyptian Revolution upraising. Testimony translated by Robin Morgan.
Now, almost age 80, I have lived to witness and participate in the Egyptian Revolution. I am writing this Sunday morning 6 February 2011. For 12 days and nights now, millions of Egyptian women and men, Muslims and Christians, people of all ideologies and beliefs – The Egyptian people have continued to unite under the banner of spontaneous popular revolution. They unite against the existing corrupt, tyrannical system, rotten from the head to the feet of the modern Pharaoh. His throne is sticky with the blood of the people, as his ruling party releases thugs to kill the young, and parliament’s deputies forge fake laws, while trading in land and women, drugs and bribes. his so-called educated elite long ago sold its pens and conscience, misleading public opinion, all for the interests of positions in government, large or small.
But this revolution has launched young women, men, and even children from their homes, driving them forward, protecting each other. So the old order is falling, and with it falls what the police call “Security,” and with it falls the elite controlling information and culture, and with it falls the self-appointed “Committee of the Wise Men” who are linked to wealth and power. And party leaders, even those in so-called opposition who nevertheless opportunistically supported the regime covertly and overtly for more than half a century, all are falling.
These were the forces that wreaked chaos under the name of security, dictatorship under the name of democracy, poverty and unemployment under the name of development and prosperity, prostitution and harassment and misogyny under the name of freedom of choice or tradition, and subordination and servile colonialism under the name of partnership and friendship or the peace process. They imprisoned women like myself, owners of voices and pens, trying to silence us inside their cells, or isolate us and distort our reputation, or expel us to exile outside and inside the homeland.
But this time is different. This time there poured forth millions of men and women, to the streets of all the provinces, all the villages and cities, from Aswan to Alexandria, Suez, Port Said, every inch of the homeland. In the capital, Cairo, shines the field of liberation, Tahrir (which means Liberation) Square—our land, our camp. It is a tent city over asphalt, and inside the tents one bloc solid of human beings.
We do not leave our place even when attacked last Wednesday 2 February by police disguised in civilian clothes, who broke into our field—gangs hired by the regime, taking bribes. Gunmen with all kinds of weapons riding horses and camels came thundering at us. I was sitting in the square talking with young people, and I saw with my own eyes the barbarism, riders in the field, fire everywhere, dust and smoke covering the ground. I saw fireballs flying in the air, and young women and men drop down and bleed.
Yet the Egyptian people’s dovish calls for freedom, dignity, and justice persisted, and the Defense Committee of Revolutionary Youth was able to triumph over the thugs, and even arrest some of the bribe-takers with all their identity cards—including state security officers, trustees of police. Some of them have no work, some of them admitted taking 200 pounds and being promised 5000 pounds if they dispersed the people in the field and showered Molotov cocktails down on us.
Still, it goes on. Young people set up the tents for rest a few hours at night, so the mothers of infants and their children would no longer be on the ground in the cold and the rain. Hundreds of young girls walk free, chanting—and not one has been sexually harassed or molested. The chants are for freedom, dignity, and equality—and many are led by women, with men following. Coptic Christians are side by side with Muslims. Even some of the youth of the Muslim Brotherhood told me, “We disagree with some your writings but love you because you did not change opportunistically, you have been consistent.” Another young man came to embrace me and say, “Oh Nawal, we are the new generations who read your books. I did and was guided by creativity and rebellion and the revolution of your thoughts.”
Swallowing tears, I said to them, “This Eid [festival] is to us all the festival of freedom, dignity, creativity, rebellion, and the revolution.”
A young woman called Rania said, “We call for a new constitution that does not distinguish between people on the basis of religion, sex, or creed, race, or other.” A young Christian named Boutros added, “We want a uniform civil code of personal status for all people without distinction as to religion, sex, or sect.” A young man called Tariq told me, “We who made the revolution have to choose our transitional government and a national commission to change the constitution.” Another, named Mohammad Amin, cried, “We want a solution to the People’s Assembly and Shura Council and the work of fair elections to choose a new president and boards of a new popularity.” Yet another named Jalal, said, “We are a popular revolution for a new social contract, we want to select the transitional government, and to choose the National Committee, which can change the constitution. We do not want the new-formed Committee of the Elders of the Revolution, imposing their ideas on us. They are opportunists who did not participate here with us, suffer here with us. They arrive now from Europe or America, Egyptians who have lived their lives outside the homeland, come now to assume the leadership of the revolution. To them we say: ‘We lead the revolution, having among us our own “Elders” of young people aged thirty or forty or fifty years; we have specialists in all scientific, political, economic and other fields.’” And a young man named Mohammed said “I feel proud for the first time in my life because I am an Egyptian. Some of us were killed, but we turned the defeat into victory, paying the price of freedom with the blood of our martyrs. There is no force that can bring us back to back. Never.”
So they continue, building the city of the field to complete its facilities; building the makeshift hospital, wherein lies the injured tended by volunteer doctors and nurses from the crowds of young people; building the city in the field for which people volunteered blankets and medicines, cotton and linen, food and water.
This is like a dream.
I live with these young men and women day and night, watching as they form committees to take on the work of daily cleaning the field to the transfer of the injured to hospital, to the provision of food and medicines, to defending the field and responding to the regime’s lies in the media, to the nomination of names for the Transitional Government.
We are one people. Everyone calls for the departure of Mubarak and his men in the Party and the government, calls for an end to the bloodshed like that last Wednesday, and an end to corruption, tyranny, and over 30 years of entrenched governance, and calls for a chance to speak the rest of our reality out loud to the world.
This English language version is a Women’s Media Center Exclusive that will also be posted on the Ms. Magazine Blog.This English language version is a Women’s Media Center Exclusive that will also be posted on the Ms. Magazine Blog. The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author alone and do not represent WMC. WMC is a 501(c)(3) organization and does not endorse candidates.
Ask an Expert, Girls Stand Up for Girls’ Rights
The Working Group on Girls of the NGO Committee on UNICEF (WGG) has just released their new issue of Action for Girls today. Action for Girls is the newsletter of the Working Group on Girls and its International Network for Girls. One of the main highlights of this issue is the announcement of Girls Stand Up! which is an exciting orientation for girls who will be attending this years Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) this February 2011.
The orientation will be taking place on February 20, at Pace University in Manhattan, and is designed to introduce the girls to the workings of the CSW themes and to develop advocacy skills in becoming advocates within the UN system.
The keynote speaker for the orientation will be Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the head of UN Women. After a full day of workshops, participants will get fired up for change when Leymah Roberta Gbowee, the Executive Director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa and subject of the award-winning documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, will speak at the end of the day. In 2002, Leymah Gbowee was a social worker who organized the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace. The peace movement started with local women praying and singing in a fish market. She organized the Christian and muslim women of Monrovia, Liberia to pray for peace and to hold nonviolence protests. Having Ms. Michelle Bachelet and Leymah Gbowee will be make this orientation an event to remember. GlobalSister.org will be attending Girls Stand Up! Orientation for Girls and Young Women attending CSW 55 and will be keeping our GlobalSisters updated.
Other topics covered in this latest issue of Action for Girls, is Ensuring the Safe Migration for Girls. The Working Group on Girls (WGG) is highly invested in researching, discussing, and proposing strategies to help migration women in vulnerable situations. The WGG discusses the urgency of adopting a gender perspective when creating migration policies to protect women and girls. Some interesting points made in this article is the fact that girls under the age of eighteen generally fall into four categories when discussing reasons for girls to migrate; 1) education and employment opportunities, 2) escaping family abuse, persecution, war, abject poverty, 3) labor exploitation, and 4) trafficking.
Make sure read the latest issue of Action for Girls in English, French, and in Spanish at Working Group on Girls NGO Committee on UNICEF.
Learn more about the WGG at CSW 55 at http://www.girlsrights.org/CSW_55.html
Secret Survivors, a life changing theater project. . .
Amita Swadhin, a member on GlobalSister.org, has written a letter asking for your support of Secret Survivors, an interview-based theater performance that features Amita and four other survivors.
If you live in the New York City area do not miss this live performance, on March 12, 2011 at Manhattan’s El Museo del Barrio, at 7:30pm.
Connect with Amita Swadhin on GlobalSister.org!
Dear Friends,
I’m writing to ask for your support of Secret Survivors, a life-changing theater project that I helped to create last year. Secret Survivors is an interview-based theater performance that features me and four other survivors of child sexual abuse telling our stories on stage. I’m proud to be a cast member and the Project Coordinator of this ground-breaking and deeply personal endeavor.
As you may know, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by the time they are 18 years old, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. Child sexual abuse is an epidemic. Yet due to social taboos, the majority of survivors do not report their abuse to state authorities, and many never tell anyone at all. In 2009, I conceived of Secret Survivors for award-winning nonprofit theater company Ping Chong & Co. as a way to represent the diverse ways that child sexual abuse occurs and grapple with the many reasons most survivors remain silent.
Today, Secret Survivors, written and directed by Sara Zatz, is part of Ping Chong & Co.’s Undesirable Elements series. Each production is made in a host community, and each script is based on participants testifying to their lived experiences. The interviewees perform their stories in the final production: real people, telling real stories. Since 1992, over 40 productions exploring themes as far-ranging as disability, Native American and Asian American identities, and the experiences of refuges in the United States have been performed nationwide and abroad. Visit undesirableelements.org for more information.
Since assembling our cast one year ago, we’ve had an amazing journey. Highlights include:
• Launching www.secretsurvivors.org, where people can view excerpts of the show, learn more about child sexual abuse, read other survivors’ stories and share their own
• Performing a work-in-progress reading for 150 people at the Brecht Forum in NYC
• Sharing our work at the Allied Media Conference and US Social Forum in Detroit
• Presenting a TEDxYouth talk for 100 high school girls in Manhattan, which you can view at http://www.globalsister.org/video/tedx-talk-by-amita-swadhin
• Leading workshops about child sexual abuse and healing from trauma for youth and community organizations in New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles
• Giving radio interviews on the Bay Area’s KPFA and Los Angeles’ KPFK stations
The feedback from audience members and workshop participants has been enthusiastic and encouraging. One remarked, “I think this was my favorite piece of theater I’ve ever seen. It was certainly the one with the most power to heal and transform.” Another shared, “This project has opened my eyes to the many ways our culture and society help perpetuate child abuse and how we can help fight it by organizing and communicating with our community.” Many have encouraged us to share this work nationwide, and have suggested we present this project to youth, parents of young children, college students, graduate students, social workers, teachers, therapists, community organizers and survivors’ healing groups.
With that in mind, we are planning one final live performance, free and open to the public, in the 600-seat theater of Manhattan’s El Museo del Barrio, at 7:30pm on March 12, 2011. You can RSVP for a ticket here: http://www.elmuseo.org/en/event/ping-chong-company-secret-survivors
That said, we know this project has the potential to reach many others if we can find a way to share it beyond live performance. Based on the positive feedback we’ve received about our educational workshops, we hope to create a Secret Survivors DVD, workshop curriculum and action-inspiring toolkit to be distributed nationwide.
We need your help to make our dream a reality. We estimate that it will cost $15,000 to create a DVD of the show, including studio rental, rehearsal time, filming and editing costs. We have recently secured a pledge of $10,000 if we can raise the additional $5,000. Today, I am asking you to support this project with a contribution of $25 or more. You can make your donation by sending a check to Ping Chong & Co., designated for Secret Survivors, at 47 Great Jones Street, New York, NY 10012, or on-line at: https://www.justgive.org/basket?acton=donate&ein=13-2874863. If you donate online, remember to designate your donation for Secret Survivors. Ping Chong & Co. is a 501(c)3 organization, and all donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
I’ll end by saying that this project has changed my life in ways I didn’t think possible. Telling my story of surviving nearly a decade of sexual abuse by my father has of course been personally healing. What I didn’t anticipate is how healing it has been for the countless survivors who have shared their stories with me through emails, Facebook messages and in-person encounters after viewing the show or attending one of the educational workshops I’ve conducted over the past year. I carry their stories with me every time I tell my own story, and hope that I can share my work with you on March 12th. Thank you in advance for your support.
Warmly,
Amita
Civil Society Participation and UN Women
GlobalSister.org would like to share this paper on civil society participation proposed by GEAR, which is mostly based on Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) proposal.
This post also provides an excellent summary of other models for civil society engagement used by other UN agencies.
The following recommendations will be presented today, November 2, 2010 by GEAR to Michelle Bachelet, the Head of UN Women. The Global Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign urges the UN an the Member States to create an agency that can operate with an impact, and make this agency operational without delay.
CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION AND UN WOMEN November 2010
Civil society has played an important role in shaping the work of the United Nations, especially since the world conferences of the 1990s (Rio, Vienna, Cairo, and Beijing). It has brought expertise, critical information, personal stories, and diverse voices to assist the UN and governments in addressing global challenges. This systematic participation has enhanced the credibility of the UN vis a vis other international institutions and helped it gain the trust of the peoples of the world. The synergy between the UN and civil society in addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment has been particularly productive.
One of the principles of the GEAR campaign has been to ensure that UN Women is both accountable to and informed by civil society, especially women’s organizations, through the establishment of mechanisms that include meaningful participation at headquarters and at the regional and country level. Women’s NGOs are best placed to provide programming and policy expertise on how the UN and governments can advance women’s human rights and achieve gender equality. Bringing in diverse women’s voices and building on this experience is critical to UN Women’s success and sustainability.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Throughout the creation of UN Women, there has been recognition of the important role of civil society and the expertise that women’s groups and others bring to programs to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, including the calls for the USG to “establish a mechanism for periodic consultations” with civil society (para 39 of the DSG’s Modalities paper).
The GEAR campaign calls for systematic and meaningful participation of civil society- particularly women’s groups- in UN Women through:
(1) Full participation on the Executive Board governing UN Women: UN Women’s first board meeting
should include representatives of civil society as non-voting members
(2) The creation of civil society advisory councils at the country, regional and global levels – these bodies could be made up of thematic experts as well as other stakeholders.
(3) Appoint Independent Thematic Experts (ITEs) from civil society to act as advisors in examining specific issues and situations pertaining to women’s rights. The ITE reports would be made available at country, regional, and global levels and submitted to the Executive Board. ITEs should communicate directly with relevant State and civil society actors and identify critical concerns, gaps and policy recommendations related to the issue/situation s/he is investigating. ITE’s need to be administratively supported by UN Women and could serve as a link between CSO Thematic Working Groups and the Executive Board.
(4) The establishment of Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) at the global and regional levels as accountability mechanisms to ensure that CSO expertise/voices shape UN Women’s program development,
allocation, and implementation.
(5) Hold dynamic Public forums or Hearings for UN Women to listen to and exchange with NGOS from around the world during the CSW and at key regional UN events.
Background Review of UN Processes
There are only a few examples in the UN system where civil society has actually been included as a full participant in the governance structure. One notable exception is the International Labor Organization (ILO) which is a real pioneer with its tripartite governance by governments, employers and workers. A more recent innovative example, and one which we use as our model, is the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS). The GEAR Campaign has also reviewed the NGO consultation processes used by other UN agencies, funds and programmes, as well as the experience of the Commission on the Status of Women.
While unfortunately the Resolution establishing UN Women and its Executive Board does not formally give “seats” to civil society, the GEAR Campaign is hopeful that the Under Secretary General of UN Women will establish formal mechanisms whereby women’s rights organizations meaningfully engage in the development of policy and program priorities for the organization. At its first Board Meeting, the USG can include (a) representative(s) from civil society as non-voting members.
Approaches to Civil Society Participation
Most UN funds/programmes are overseen by a Governing Board or Council comprised only of member states. Many have developed other mechanisms for gaining input and advice from civil society but these are advisory only. For example, UNDP is governed by an Executive Board that reviews its program and operations, and which is comprised solely of member states without any civil society participation. The UNDP Administrator has set up a civil society (CSO) Advisory Committee to get the advice and input of civil society. Established in 2000, the CSO Advisory Committee, comprised of leading development NGOs from around the world, meets once a year and reports directly to the Administrator. Its mission is to advise senior management on program and policy directions, putting forth priority issues for discussion and debate. While the Committee provides a useful opportunity for discussion and dialogue, it is not involved in ongoing consultations or decision making. UNDP has begun to set up similar CSO advisory committees in some countries.
The UN Environment Program (UNEP) maintains a civil society unit, which is organized around nine major groups, a structure established at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The major groups include women, as well as NGOs, youth, labor unions, farmers, local governments, and the private sector among others. UNEP organizes regional and then a Global Civil Society Forum prior to its biennial Governing Council (comprised only of member states) meetings. Accredited civil society organizations have access to reports and documents on the agenda of the Governing Council, which tend to be normative policy documents, and are intended to set standards for UNEP’s work. NGOs have an opportunity to give UNEP comments and also to give feedback and make suggestions to member states, but this is in an advisory capacity only.
UN Habitat has also established a practice of involving local authorities and other partners in a dialogue at its meetings of the Governing Council, comprised of member states. Representatives of partner groups, including non-governmental organizations, parliamentarians, the private sector, and labor unions, among others, are given an opportunity to make substantive presentations followed by a discussion with member states. Opportunities for consultation by the various groups prior to the Governing Council meeting are also provided. This process has enabled partners to contribute ideas and experiences to UN Habitat’s program of work.
The UNFPA Global NGO Advisory Panel is relatively new and therefore cannot be measured in its effectiveness, but this panel has been established by the Executive Director of UNFPA, and is served by a secretariat within the External Relations Branch. The purpose is to strengthen partnership between UNFPA and NGOs to advance UNFPA’s mandate and to advance the Cairo agenda. The Advisory Panel provides its views on UNFPA’s advocacy strategies and recommends programmatic areas for action.
In terms of intergovernmental processes, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has a long track record of CSO participation in its annual meetings, which often attract over 1000 civil society participants – the largest participation of any functional commission. Participants include ECOSOC-accredited NGOs and those accredited at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and its subsequent reviews. However, as this is an intergovernmental meeting which focuses on negotiating “Agreed Conclusions” and resolutions, NGOs have no decision making role. NGOs have the right to speak in the meetings at scheduled times and submit written statements; have access to documents and open discussions (but often are excluded from “informals”, or negotiating sessions); and can only provide comments and suggestions directly to member states outside meeting rooms.
As the CSW will continue its current role and mandate even as UN Women takes root, it is important that at least this accepted practice for NGO engagement with the intergovernmental negotiations continue. However, it is also important that UN Women create a more dynamic forum in which to listen to and exchange with NGOS during the CSW, as there has not been a fairly negative sense of marginalization and frustration among NGOS in recent years and this dynamic needs to be turned around.
Civil Society Participation and UN Women
The GEAR campaign believes that a formal mechanism that involves organizations committed to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment must be established in the first 90 days of UN Women. This mechanism should include full access to meetings and participation in policy formulation, agenda setting, strategic planning, resource mobilization, budgetary allocation, monitoring and evaluation, setting programmatic priorities and accountability mechanisms to ensure that women’s empowerment and gender equality are actively incorporated in the UN’s work at all levels.
Brazil Elects First Female President Dilma Rousseff!
Dilma Rousseff, the former chief of staff for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil has now been elected the first female president in Brazil. She is becoming part of a growing wave of democratically elected female leaders in the Latin America region which includes Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Argentina and Angela Merkel in Germany.
Ms. Rousseff promised to build millions of low-income homes, expand a community-policing program pioneered in Rio de Janeiro, and substantially improve the quality of education and public health care. In the final debate between the two candidates on Friday, she called education — an area in which Brazil has lagged many other nations — “the most important issue facing Brazil.” Read the whole article in the
