Non-communicable Diseases

October 6th, 2011

IWA was interested in following report from two of our active New York team who are working for Equal Rights and Equal Responsibilities in the field of health:

Two IAW representatives, Lyna Castillo-Javier and Soon-Young Yoon, attended the Non-communicable diseases Summit (NCD Summit) held at the UN in New York 19 – 20 September. NCDs are reported to kill more men and women in developing than in developed countries–contrary to popularly held beliefs. There were a number of parallel events on women’s health and many discussions on the toll that NCDs are taking on women’s lives. On Monday, September 19th, 2011, the United Nations adopted by consensus a Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. This Declaration sets out actions to launch a global attack on NCDs such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke, chronic respiratory disease and cancer which cause the death of more than 36 million people every year. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN Secretary-General, Ban ki Moon, referred to the NCDs Political Declaration as a ground breaking event that needs global support and collaboration; it challenges member states to be responsible for its implementation. They also agreed that higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol products will help reduce consumption, including among women and girls. 
 
Personally, IWA is especially interested in equal rights to treatment, since the responsibility of caring for the sick is not denied to women.

Tags: , ,
Posted in feminism, UN events, women's health | No Comments »

A Blog from the Board Meeting

October 4th, 2011

The excellent activist, Arina Angerman was at the most recent IAW board meeting and has written a blog  about it filled with valuable links and information.

IWA thanks her greatly, as she was not able to attend this year.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in CEDAW, feminism, IAW Meetings | No Comments »

UN High Commissioner speaks on Int. Women’s Day

March 13th, 2011

IAW President Lyda Verstegen and IAW Hon. President Rosy Weiss wish to bring the excellent speech of  Navanethem Pillay, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, to your attention. 

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=10820&LangID=e

It is always encouraging to read statements of highly placed persons in the international community that echo things the IAW has been saying for many years.  This shows that our continued pushing of such issues is making an impression and our  striving to achieve Equal Rights and Equal Responsibilities for women is moving, however glacially towards fulfillment.

The IAW, now in its 112th year, is in accord with all feminists who demonstrated on this 100th aniversary of International Women’s Day for the social, political and cultural rights that are so often denied them on the basis of their gender.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in feminism, UN events, UN Human Rights Council | No Comments »

Statement of the IAW President at CSW 55

March 9th, 2011

The International Alliance of Women, l’Alliance Internationale des Femmes is a federation of women’s organizations for Equal Rights- Equal Responsibilities in 45 countries. It was founded in 1904.

We wish to attract your attention to physical barriers that obstruct a girl’s right to education.

The report of the Secretary-General mentions a few, but we’d like to be more specific. All obstacles were reported by our members.

Early marriage and early pregnancies are an important reason for girls to stay out of school. The pregnancies also lead to a high rate of maternal mortality.

All kinds of violence against them make girls’ school attendance impossible or dangerous.

- sexual harassment and rape by teachers and school mates.

During the 51st session of CSW the delegation of girls to CSW, girls from all continents and all of them unanimously, complained that this was the biggest obstruction to their education.

- child labour – as a source of income or to help at home

- acid throwing on the way to school,

- ’breast ironing’.

- At our recent Congress in South Africa we heard about this traditional practice to make girls less attractive to men and boys: It is done by burning the burgeoning breasts of young girls with hot grinding stones or comparable hot instruments. It is done in Cameroon and other African countries. A quarter of adolescents are victims, and often suffer for life.

I could go on mentioning atrocities, but it may be better to ask for some remedies:

The International Alliance of Women is urgently pleading for:

- including the subject of early marriage, early pregnancy and harmful traditions like breast ironing in all information services for parents;

- Preventing pregnant girls and young mothers from dropping out;

- Appropriate sexual education for boys and girls in the school curriculum;

- Putting teachers who rape, people who throw acid or commit other forms of violence on trial;

- Teaching police and the judiciary about these crimes;

- Providing water, electricity and appropriate toilet facilities to make schools a safer place for girls;

- means to make schools more attractive for the parents of girls, like providing food, free books, even bicycles!

I thank you for your attention,

Lyda Verstegen, president of IAW

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in feminism, UN events, violence against women | No Comments »

Follow the Commission on the Status of Women on-line!

February 23rd, 2011

The 55th CSW is in session and a team from the IAW is present, lobbying to put the Action Programme and ideals of the IAW into the mix.  There can only be a limited number of representatives present, but everyone may follow the action at the mains sessions and high level panels by livestream.  Later these events can be viewed as taped webcasts.

You will find the livestream and documentation here:
http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/index.html

You may also visit the website of the new UN women’s entity and be guided to the webcast there:  http://www.unwomen.org/how-we-work/csw/

IWA wants to thank Marion Böker, Board Member and Commission Convenor of the IAW, for making the effort to distribute these links for our membership.  As we struggle for Equal Rights, we know all women must take Equal Responsibilities to become informed about the state of women’s issues at the United Nations and in the several nations who speak at events such as the CSW.  At the CSW meetings we will see women leaders who can inspire us.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in UN events | No Comments »

A Woman of Distinction recognized

February 2nd, 2011

IWA received notice of the following letter of congratulations from our IAW affiliate, saying “APWA is very joyful that a lady of our sub-continent has been recognized as a Woman of Distinction. There are, happily, many more in all the world and Dr Kaosar Afasana personalizes all these women.”

Dear Dr. Koasar Afsana,
It is with great pride that the All Pakistan Women’s Association congratulates Dr. Kaosar Afsana for her nomination as this year’s “Woman of Distinction” and being requested as the keynote speaker at the NGO /CSW /NY Consultation Day on February 21st, 2011.  18 years of dedicated work in the rural and urban districts of Bangladesh, for maternal and child care, deserves every award and recognition that we women can give our own peers, especially our female peer.

S. Ayesha Javeri
Vice President
International Affairs
APWA National

IWA is always gratified to see when women are recognized in their tireless struggle for Equal Rights and Equal Responsiblities.  The IAW will be hosting a luncheon in New York in her honor to afford the attendees of the CSW the opportunity to speak with her.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in feminism, IAW Meetings, UN events | No Comments »

NGO recommendations to UN Women

January 26th, 2011

News from the Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign has reached IWA’s inbox. IWA knows that the activities and success of the new UN organisation ”UN Women” are essential in achieving Equal Rights for women all over the world and making it possible for them to assume Equal Responsibilities.

Over the last months, the GEAR Campaign has collected input from civil society organizations about priorities for the first 100 days of UN Women, calls for NGO involvement in UN Women, and beyond 100 days. GEAR received twenty-three contributions from a wide range of organizations worldwide.

Campaign representatives have shared the recommendations with UN Women senior staff and leadership and are hopeful that they will consider this input as they move forward with strategic planning for UN Women.

The recommendations are on-line and available for everyone to read: Civil Society Recommendations for UN Women.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in feminism, UN events | 1 Comment »

Earth Summit 2012 Intersessional Meeting

January 21st, 2011

In its quest for Equal Rights – Equal Responsibilities the IAW has delegates at all the UN offices.  IWA is pleased to have received the following report from Nathalia Kostus from the New York team:

The first intersessional meeting of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, January 10-11 2011 in New York was part of the preparatory process leading to Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012. Its objectives were to secure renewed political commitment, focus on international framework for sustainable development, and the green economy. The background document was the Synthesis Report on Best Practices and Lessons Learned on the Objective and Themes of the Conference, based on the submissions of parties and civil society. The meeting identified gaps in implementation of sustainable development noting slow progress on gender equality and empowerment of women in relations to the MDGs. The Co-Chair Ashe stressed that participation of stakeholders, especially women is important in the new institutional arrangements for sustainable development framework. Guatemala noted the importance of gender equality in the green economy. The Women’s Major Group emphasized the need for financial investments in building the capacity of women to participate in the green economy and enable women’s green business entrepreneurship.

Women’s organizations can participate in the Women’s Major Group preparations for Rio+20, May 14-16 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The second preparatory committee meeting will take place March 7-8 2011 in New York at the UN. More information is available at: http://www.uncsd2012.org.

IWA hopes that many of our member organisations will take advantage of the opportunity and report back on their efforts.  We are sure that Anki Elken, Convenor of the Commission on Environment and Sustainable Development will be glad to hear about these activities. She can be contacted at  iaw.environment AT womenalliance.org.  We all know that women’s participation in green development is a key to food sovereignty and health for both producers and consumers.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in feminism, UN events | No Comments »

Rape and WikiLeaks

December 7th, 2010

As someone who used to be involved in a rape crisis group, I am disturbed by the use of rape charges to harass the head of the WikiLeaks group every time the organisation releases another load of embarrassing documents.

If Julian Assange is actually guilty of the crimes he is accused of, why was he not kept in custody last August (during the time the documents relating to the wars in Iraq and Afgahnistan were in the news) when the police had him in their power?  He was arrested, questioned and then released, because the evidence was, although fresh, insufficient. Now, in November, when all the diplomatic alarm bells are ringing again on account of WikiLeaks, Interpol seeks his arrest again on the same charges.

Wouldn’t it be great if Sweden prosecuted all rape suspects with the same ferrocity?   But no, Swedish (and other) rape suspects are not chased through Europe with Interpol warrants, the issue is quietly disposed of and the rape victim mostly goes without her day in court.  This is an insult to all women victims of sexual violence, that a rape charge (real or imagined) is being used to pursue political ends – the silencing of a world-wide-whistle-blower.

Women victims are often accused of crying rape to get revenge on a man who has done them wrong in some other way. And, indeed, sometimes it turns out to be that way, but mostly the few rape victims who come forth to suffer in the spotlight and be mentally re-raped during a trial are telling the truth.  Now I accuse the authorities of the same perverse practice.  They are instrumentalizing women’s bodies and experience to extract their own revenge.

This blog is not part of the IAW’s campaign for Equal Rights – Equal Responsibilities – it is just something that has been bugging me for some days now and I wonder if anyone else feels the same.  If it turns out that Assange is guilty of crimes of sexual violence, then I hope they throw the book at him (something that should have been done when the charges were first brought), but at the moment it looks to me more like the plot his lawyers describe.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in feminism, violence against women | No Comments »

Aung San Suu Kyi – Free again

November 14th, 2010

After the “satisfactory outcome” of the election held in Myanmar (name used by the military government - many in the world continue to think of it as Burma), during which she was kept under wraps on trumped up charges, the authorities apparently found it safe and politic to release the Nobel Prize winner.

But for how long? Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been repeatedly arrested and sequestered – for 15 out of the past 21 years! She even won an election to be head of state from her prison.  She will not be one to keep silent about the human rights abuses in her homeland. Some of her first words upon her release on Nov. 13th were, “Freedom of Speech is the cornerstone of Democracy” and “If my people are not free, how can you say I am free?  We are none of us free.”  She called on the military to release the remaining 2100 prisoners of conscience.

She will not be silent, which is good for her country, but a danger for her personally, as past actions of the rulers of her homeland have repeatedly shown. She will “speak directly and honestly”, but will the leaders listen as the the people of Burma have?

In her own quest for Equal Rights – Equal Responsibilities for all women, IWA has always viewed Aung San Suu Kyi as a shining role model of determination and peaceful resistance to unjust rules.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in feminism, violence against women, women and peace | No Comments »

« Older Entries