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Blogs and newsitems of the University Women of Europe its board and its members.

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  • IFUW Update

    • 7 Feb 2013
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    IFUW Update - 23 January 2013
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    IFUW Update - 23 January 2013


    "Better Life, Better Future"
     

    a newly published report from UNESCO
    making the case for Secondary Education as a means of empowerment for girls and women
     
    Within the framework of UNESCO's Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women's Education: "Better Life, Better Future", this newly published report makes the case for education as a means of empowerment for girls and women.
    Through an illustration of case studies and examples from around the world, the report puts into perspective the multiple benefits of investing in girls' and women's education whether through formal or non-formal education. With a focus on secondary education and literacy, it highlights enabling factors that contribute to closing the gender gap.

    unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002184/218450e.pdf


    Worldwide Event: ONE BILLION RISING
     

    In accordance with this year’s CSW 2013 theme, Violence Against Women (VAW), we would like to draw your attention to an event that the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is participating in the  

    worldwide event ONE BILLION RISING (OBR), initiated by V-Day and taking place on 14 February 2013. As you may know, the aim of the event is to rise up and raise awareness on violence against women and its pervasive presence in women’s lives.

    EWL has planned to do a flash mob and participate, together with other Brussels-based organizations and individuals, to a free dance. EWL created an original song, “Rise up, Stand up”, and choreography on it for this flash mob. During the last Board Meeting, we made a picture of you with a paper stating why you would dance and rise.

    We kindly invite you to mobilize too on 14 February: you can use this song and choreography to invite your members to dance and say no to VAW. It would be great if they could join their efforts together with EWL national members and create joyful and powerful events.

    Please consult the OBR website, www.onebillionrising.org, where you can get a lot of information on how people and organizations are mobilizing all around the world, download a toolkit and insert your own event.


    NFA News and Announcements

    'Women's careers in Higher Education and Research. What obstacles exist and how to fix them’ - a Colloquium by AFFDU

     
     
    This important Colloquium is being organised by the French Association of University Women (AFFDU) with the financial support of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research on 'Women's careers in Higher Education and Research. What obstacles exist and how to fix them’ on February 22, 2013 at the Amphitheater Henri Poincaré at the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, 1, rue Descartes, 75005 Paris.

    The following topics will be addressed by high level speakers:

    • The logic of women's careers
    • Informing students about careers
    • The unspoken aspects of women’s careers
    • The progress already made and still to be done
    Participation is free, we would love to see a great turn out. Please register with the AFFDU at: contact@affdu.fr or call 01 43 20 01 32, or visit their website at: www.affdu.fr

    Final program to be announced and will be circulated to participants at a later date.


    Upcoming International Events

    • CEDAW 1st Session 11 February 2013
    • CEDAW 2nd Session 17 February 2013
    • CEDAW – Half-day general discussion on access to justice (Room XVI Palais des Nation, Geneva. 18 February 2013
    • CSW 57, New York 4- 15 March 2013
    • International Women's Day 8 March

    IFUW News

    In view of the forthcoming Council and Conference meetings:

     Deadline reminder to NFAs

     February 15 NOMINATIONS
    February 16 RESOLUTIONS
    February 28 WORKSHOPS

     

    Material received after the deadlines cannot be considered

    Erratum

     
    We erroneously stated in our Update dated 20 December 2012 that our Finance officer, Lotta Grammatikopoulos, would be leaving IFUW at the end of 2012.  We wish to make a corrigendum and state that Lotta will in fact be leaving us at the end of January 2013.

    Reserve 16-21 August 2013 and join us at the 31st Triennium Conference, Istanbul 2013, to “Meet where the continents meet”.   A great opportunity to renew friendships, exchange and learn.
    www.ifuw2013istanbul.org


    International Federation of University Women
    Fédération Internationale des Femmes Diplômées des Universités
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    E-mail: ifuw@ifuw.org    Website:  http://www.ifuw.org
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  • One billion rising and other EWL news

    • 2 Feb 2013
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    See yet again several updates on actions of the EWL in their newsletter. 
    I would also like to inform you that we willhave an "uprising-event"  in our EUPOL compound in Kabul as part of the EWL action One billion rising against violence against women. Please take the opportunity and join or create your own event!
     
    Edith Lommerse
    UWE President


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    In this issue


    Zwarte ruiten (kaartspel)  Appeals & Urgent Actions
    Zwarte ruiten (kaartspel)  EWL News
    Zwarte ruiten (kaartspel)  European & International News
    Zwarte ruiten (kaartspel)  New Resources
    Zwarte ruiten (kaartspel)  Events
    Zwarte ruiten (kaartspel)  Opportunities

    HIGHLIGHTS


    11 days left to express interest to join EWL European Political Mentoring Network![fr]

    [Brussels, 31 January 2013] Interested in running for the European Parliament Elections in May 2014? Not sure yet about running but convinced you (...)
    read more

    "Rise Up, Stand Up!": rehearsals for the biggest event against violence against women in Brussels![fr]

    [Brussels, 25 January 2013] On 14 February, EWL will dance together with its members and partners of the One Billion Rising Brussels Europe (...)
    read more

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    Appeals & Urgent Actions

    Sign the petition to amend all sex discriminatory nationality and citizenship laws!

    Sign the petition to amend all sex discriminatory nationality and citizenship laws! [Brussels, 01 February 2013] The NGO Equality Now is calling the governments of 58 countries to amend the sex discriminatory provisions contained in their nationality and citizenship laws.
    Support Equality Now by signing this petition !
    Equality Now is fighting against the persistence of sex discriminatory provisions in national and citizenship laws of 58 countries: Austria, Denmark, Egypt, (...)
    read more

    "Rise Up, Stand Up!": rehearsals for the biggest event against violence against women in Brussels!

    "Rise Up, Stand Up!": rehearsals for the biggest event against violence against women in Brussels! [Brussels, 25 January 2013] On 14 February, EWL will dance together with its members and partners of the One Billion Rising Brussels Europe Platform in the heart of Brussels on the tune "Rise Up, Stand Up!"
    We are preparing ourselves to this festive event and wish to see many of you in Brussels come and dance with us to support an excellent cause: stop violence against women and girls. In (...)
    read more
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    EWL News

    One Billion Rising: EWL Members mobilise all around Europe!

    One Billion Rising - les membres du LEF se mobilisent partout en Europe!

    One Billion Rising: EWL Members mobilise all around Europe! [Brussels, 01 February 2013] The Members of the European Women’s Lobby are mobilising to participate to One Billion Rising all over Europe and rise to say NO to violence against women!
    All throughout the continent, Europeans are going to dance, sing and enjoy festive events to show their support against this massive violation of women’s human rights.
    In Croatia and in all the Balkan Region, (...)
    read more

    11 days left to express interest to join EWL European Political Mentoring Network!

    Plus que 11 jours pour exprimer votre intérêt à rejoindre le Réseau de mentorat politique européen du LEF!

    11 days left to express interest to join EWL European Political Mentoring Network! [Brussels, 31 January 2013] Interested in running for the European Parliament Elections in May 2014? Not sure yet about running but convinced you would like to play an active role in the campaign? You have till the 11 February 2013 to express interest to join the EWL’s European Political Mentoring Network for women of foreign origin or ethnic minority background!
    Starting February 2013 until (...)
    read more

    France - La CLEF favorable au mariage pour toutes et tous en France

    France - La CLEF favorable au mariage pour toutes et tous en France [Paris, 31 janvier 2013] Olga Trostiansky, présidente de la Coordination française pour le Lobby Européen des Femmes (CLEF), soutient l’avis de la Commission en faveur du projet de loi ouvrant le mariage et l’adoption aux couples de personnes du même sexe.
    La CLEF, représentée dans cette instance qui compte pour la première fois parmi ses membres une organisation dédiée aux droits des femmes et à (...)
    read more
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    European & International News

    The European Parliament danced with Eve Ensler for One Billion Rising!

    Le Parlement européen a dansé avec Eve Ensler pour One Billion Rising!

    The European Parliament danced with Eve Ensler for One Billion Rising! [Brussels, 01 February 2013] One Billion Rising seems likely to be "the biggest feminist tsunami ever", said Eve Ensler on tuesday 29 January 2013 at the European Parliament in Brussels.
    The author of The Vagina Monologues and initiator of V-Day and One Billion Rising joined on tuesday 8 MEPs in a press conference and beautiful dance to present the biggest event ever to raise awareness and (...)
    read more

    Feminist activist Pinar Selek sentenced to life in Turkey

    Feminist activist Pinar Selek sentenced to life in Turkey [Brussels, 01 February 2013] Turkish sociologist Pinar Selek was sentenced to life imprisonment in Turkey after 15-Year trial. She currently lives and works in Strasbourg (France) and runs the risk to be under arrest if she returns to her native country. An arrest warrant has been also issued.
    15 years ago, Pinar Selek was arrested and convicted by the Turkish authorities, on the ground of (...)
    read more

    European Commission refers the Netherlands to the Court for failing to protect parental leave rights

    European Commission refers the Netherlands to the Court for failing to protect parental leave rights [Brussels, 01 February 2013] Last week, the European Commission refered the Netherlands to the Court of Justice of the European Union for an insufficient protection of new parents when they return to work. Dutch legislation is still not in compliance with the Directive 2006/54/EC of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women (...)
    read more

    57th session of the CSW: priority theme will be the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls

    57th session of the CSW: priority theme will be the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls [Brussels, 31 January 2013] The fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 4 to 15 March 2013.
    This 2013 session will deal with the priority theme of the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.
    In November 2012, EWL released a written statementcalling for strong (...)
    read more

    Regulatory pressure gets the ball rolling: Share of women on company boards up to 15.8% in Europe

    Regulatory pressure gets the ball rolling: Share of women on company boards up to 15.8% in Europe [Brussels, 25 January 2013] Today the Commission released mid-term figures on the share of women on boards in publicly listed companies. The new figures show an increase in the number of women on boards to 15.8%, up from 13.7% in January 2012. This breaks down into an average of 17% of non-executive board members (up from 15% in January 2012) and 10% of executive board members (up from 8.9%). (...)
    read more
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    New Resources

    • Human Rights Watch, World Report 2013 (2013)
    • WLP (Women’s Learning Partnership), "Victories over violence: ensuring safety for women and girls - a practitioner’s manual" (2012)
    • Oxfam, "Gender Sensitive Response and Recovery: An Overview" (2012)
    • EIGE, report "Review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States: violence against women - victim support" (2012)
    • Film by Marcela Zamora Chamorro, "Maria in Nobody’s Land" (2010)
    Back to topBack to top

    Events

    • Un dernier hommage du LEF à son ancienne présidente Denise Fuchs : Bruxelles, 02 février 2013
    • One Billion Rising Europe flashmob: Brussels, 14 February 2013
    • END FGM campaign seminar: Brussels, 27 February 2013
    • AkiDwA, Launch of report on GP survey on FGM: Dublin, 06 February 2013
    • PICUM workshop on undocumented children: Brussels, 26 February 2013
    • Conference and Prospective Workshops: "Poverty and Inequality in societies of human rights. The paradox of democracies": Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 21-23 February 2013
    Back to topBack to top

    Opportunities

    • Vacancy: internship position, PICUM (deadline: 06 February 2013)
    • Training: Webinar invitation on Immigration and Gender, 13 February 2013
    • Vacancies: Traineeship opportunities at EIGE, Vilnius (deadlines: 22 and 27 February 2013)
    • Vacancy: Gender Specialist, Counterpart International, Bosnia and Herzegovina (deadline: 13 February 2013)
    • Vacancy: Deputy Director, Regional Center for Europe and Central Asia, UN Women, Istanbul (deadline: 11 February 2013)
    • Vacancy: Director, Regional Center for Europe and Central Asia, UN Women, Istanbul (deadline: 11 February 2013)
    Back to topBack to top
    18 RUE HYDRAULIQUE - 120 BRUSSELS / BRUXELLES - BELGIUM / BELGIQUE - T (+32) 02/217 90 20 F (+32) 02/219 84 51
    EWL@WOMENLOBBY.ORG - WWW.WOMENLOBBY.ORG

    Editeur : European Women’s Lobby Européen des femmes
    http://www.womenlobby.org
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  • TAUW takes part in ONE BILLION RISING

    • 30 Jan 2013
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    Dear All,

     Turkish Association of University Women is joinig to the "ONE BILLION RISING" activity in Turkey

     TO SAY "STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN !!"

     with hope to live in a world  where gender equality and womens human rights in all spheres of life is implemeted.
     
    friendly greetings
    Nazan Moroğlu
    President TAUW
     
    http://onebillionrising.org/

     http://www.besiktas.bel.tr/AltSayfa.aspx?ID=6443

     With contribution of Beşiktaş Municipality

    --
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    Daha fazla seçenek için, https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out adresiniz ziyaret edin.  

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  • Information on INGO of Council of Europe

    • 29 Jan 2013
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    Please find attached the newsletter from the Human Rights Committee of the Conference of INGOs.

    Vera John-Mikolajewski
    Vice President

    Click here to download:
    HRComm Newsletter 5.doc (108 KB)
    (download)
    Click here to download:
    HRComm Newsletter 5.doc (108 KB)

    Click here to download:
    CommDH Info 5.doc (111 KB)
    (download)
    Click here to download:
    CommDH Info 5.doc (111 KB)

    Click here to download:
    S.Spil.Limits.CultTradFinal.pdf (352 KB)
    (download)
    Click here to download:
    S.Spil.Limits.CultTradFinal.pdf (352 KB)

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  • Congratulations! Our Vice President is honoured with Tanesse 2012

    • 29 Jan 2013
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    The Tanesse 2012 is given once every three years to someone that has contributed a lot to the status of women. We are honoured to have Marie José Jonczy in the UWE board and congratulate her.

    For the board,

    Edith Lommerse

    Marie-José Jonczy, membre du Conseil d’administration du LEF, lauréate du prix Tanesse 2012

    Marie-José Jonczy, membre du Conseil d'administration du LEF, lauréate du prix Tanesse 2012

    [Bruxelles, 24 janvier 2013] Marie-José Jonczy, membre du Conseil d’administration du LEF pour University Women of Europe, a remporté le prix Tanesse, décerné tous les trois ans par l’Académie des sciences morales et politiques (France).

    Ce prix est décerné "à la personne ayant, dans les trois années précédant le concours, le plus contribué à améliorer la condition de la femme".

    Marie-José Jonczy a travaillé de nombreuses années en tant que conseillère principale au service juridique de la Commission européenne. Elle est aujourd’hui engagée au sein du LEF comme membre du Conseil d’administration et y représente University Women of Europe dont elle est membre du Comité exécutif.

    Toute l’équipe du LEF la félicite pour ce prix et la remercie pour son engagement en faveur des droits des femmes.

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  • NEW BOARD STARTS IN FINLANDS UNIVERSITY WOMEN FEDERATION

    • 19 Jan 2013
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    FFUW BOARD 2013 STARTS

     

    The Finnish Federation of University Women (FFUW) has new board and new president who is professor, dr Helena Ranta. The board had first meeting of this year on 19th January and the rest of the board is consisting of the following persons:

     

    Helena Ranta                      president

    Siv Dahlin Jansson             I  vicepresident

    Ritva Salmi                        II vicepresident

    Gun-Britt Brunström

    Aune Kariluoto

    Liisa Luomanen

    Auli Ojala                           (UWE treasurer)

    Helena Pettinen

    Mirja Saarni

    Marja Liisa Toivanen          CIR 2013-

    Leena Tiitu

    Jaana Tähtinen

     

    As FFUW treasurer is operating Sirkka Oksanen and  ombudsman is Susanna Sulkunen.  

     

    FFUW is one of the largest federations in UWE and IFUW and it has more than 1000 members plus 19 local associations. It is publishing magazine called Minerva (also in internet). The  web address of FFUW is www.akateemisetnaiset.fi.  The federation has board meetings every two months. Besides of that it has skype meetings and the office (in the center of Helsinki) is moving to paperless systems. Finland is one of the leading paper producer but also one of the most developed IT societies.

     

    The first picture is showing president Ranta  and former president Ritva Tammivaara. Second picture is meeting of new board 2013.

    Kuva2
    Kuva3

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  • One Billion Rising: 14 February 2013

    • 14 Jan 2013
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    Please let us know if you plan any actions. The UWE board will have possible actions on the agenda next weekend in our January board meeting. Let us inspire each other and work towards actions to get the EVAW convention signed in all  countries in Europe! We have an obligation to support women all over the world that suffer from violence!

     Edith Lommerse
    UWE President

     

    Dear University Women of Europe,

     

    I write to you in order to inform you that EWL is participating to the worldwide event ONE BILLION RISING (OBR), initiated by V-Day and taking place on 14 February 2013. As you may know, the aim of the event is to rise up and raise awareness on violence against women and its pervasive presence in women’s lives.

     

    EWL has planned to do a flash mob and participate, together with other Brussels-based organizations and individuals, to a free dance. EWL created an original song, “Rise up, Stand up”, and choreography on it for this flash mob. During the last Board Meeting, we made a picture of you with a paper stating why you would dance and rise. With these photos we prepared a diapo presenting the song:

    ·         Diapo of the song “Rise up, Stand-up”

    ·         Lyrics : see attached file

    ·         Choreography for the flash mob: -    In English

    -          In French

    -          Full Choreography:

     

     

    We kindly invite you to mobilize too on 14 February: you can use this song and choreography to invite your members to dance and say no to VAW. It would be great if they could join their efforts together with EWL national members and create joyful and powerful events.

     

    As you know, among EWL political priorities regarding violence against women are:

    -          EU Ratification of the CoE Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence

    -          EU deciding for a European Year on violence against women

    -          EU providing for a common European strategy to tackle violence against women.

    One Billion Rising events could have a big impact in terms of our visibility and awareness raising among the population and European and National institutions on the issue.

     

    Please feel free to use EWL logo.  The more we are, the more pervasive our message can be. We want women in Europe to let their voice be heard on this massive violation.

     

    I suggest you consult OBR website, www.onebillionrising.org , where you can get a lot of information on how people and organizations are mobilizing all around the world, download a toolkit and insert your own event.

     

    You can follow our news:

    ·         of course on www.womenlobby.org and on EWL Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/European-Womens-Lobby/169340673246

    ·         but also on the Facebook page of ONE BILLION RISING BRUSSELS EUROPE  http://www.facebook.com/groups/419416888122067/

     

    Please, keep informing us about your event, as we would like to give visibility of all events of our members in Europe through our website and FB page!

     

    For any other information, please do not hesitate to contact me or Colette (detroy@womenlobby.org).

     

     

    Best regards,

     

     

    Valentina Brogna (Ms.)

    Communication Coordinator of EWL’s actions for One Billion Rising

     

    Description: EWL LOGO small

     

     

    European Women's Lobby / Lobby européen des femmes

    T: (+32) 02/217 90 20 · F: (+32) 02/219 84 51 · E: brogna@womenlobby.org·

    A: 18, rue Hydraulique, B-1210 Brussels/Bruxelles, Belgium/Belgique ·  

    www.womenlobby.org

     

    Description: Description: Description: FaceBook_32x32.png  Description: Description: Description: flickrfinal2.png  Description: Description: Description: Twitter_32x32.png

     

    The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is the largest umbrella organisation of women’s associations in the European Union (EU), working to promote women’s rights and equality between women and men. EWL membership extends to organisations in all 27 EU member states and three of the five candidate countries, as well as to 20 European-wide bodies, representing a total of more than 2500 organisations.

     

    Description: Description: Description: preserve  Think before you print / Réfléchissez avant d'imprimer

     

    Image001

    Click here to download:
    Lyrics Rise Up stand Up.pdf (192 KB)
    (download)
    Click here to download:
    Lyrics Rise Up stand Up.pdf (192 KB)

    (download)
    Click here to download:
    One_Billion_Rising_14_February.zip (16 KB)

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  • Council of Europe: Fifty-first session of the Commission for Social Development, 6-15 February 21013

    • 12 Jan 2013
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    Commission for Social Development: Informal briefing 

     

    The Chair of the fifty-first session of the Commission for Social Development, Mrs. Sewa Lamsal Adhikari (Nepal), will hold an informal briefing for all interested delegations on the programme of work of the fifty-first session of the Commission, on Thursday, 17 January 2013, from 10:00 to 13:00, in the Economic and Social Council Chamber (NLB).  

     

    Fifty-first session  

     

    The fifty-first session of the Commission for Social Development will be held from Wednesday, 6, to Friday, 15 February 2013. The opening meeting will take place on Wednesday, 6 February, at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 4 (NLB). The provisional annotated agenda and the proposed organization of work are contained in document E/CN.5/2013/1. For further information on the fifty-first and previous sessions of the Commission, please visit: http://social.un.org/index/CommissionforSocialDevelopment/Sessions/2013.aspx

     

    Seating arrangements   

     

    NGOs with ECOSOC Status will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.

     

    Participation of non-governmental organizations

     

    To consult comprehensive information on the participation of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council in the work of the Commission, please visit: http://social.un.org/index/CivilSociety/NGOParticipation/CSocD51Session.aspx

     

    List of side events

     

    The list of side events on the occasion of the fifty-first session of the Commission will be accessible by visiting this link: http://social.un.org/index/CivilSociety/NGOParticipation/CSocD51Session/SideEvents.aspx

     


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  • Sigjn up against Indias war on women

    • 8 Jan 2013
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    She was a 23-year-old physical therapy student who boarded a bus in Delhi last month. Six men locked the door, and savagely raped her for hours, including with a metal rod. They dumped her naked in the street, and after bravely fighting for her life, she died last weekend.
    Across India, people are responding in massive protests to say enough is enough. In India a woman is raped every 22 minutes, and few see justice. Globally, a staggering 7 in 10 women will be physically or sexually abused in their lifetime. This horror in Delhi is the last straw -- it's 2013, and the brutal, venal, global war on women must stop. We can start by drawing the line in India.
    The government is accepting public comments for the next 48 hours. We urgently need both stronger law enforcement and a massive public education program to change the grotesque but common male attitudes that permit violence against women. If 1 million of us join the call for action, we can help make this young woman's horror the last straw, and the beginning of a new hope:

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_indias_war_on_women/?tFAxaab

    The ringleader of the woman's rapists coldly says she deserved it because she dared to stand up to him. Blaming the victim and other outrageous attitudes are found across society, including in the police who continually fail to investigate rape. Such views repress women and corrupt men everywhere. Massively funded public education campaigns have radically shifted social behaviour on drunk driving and smoking, and can impact the treatment of women. Tackling the root causes of India’s rape epidemic is vital, alongside better laws and faster legal processes.

    Advertising in India is relatively cheap, so a significant funding commitment could blanket airwaves in multiple media markets for a sustained period of time. The ads should target male subcultures where conservative misogyny thrives, directly challenging and shaming those attitudes, ideally using messengers like popular sports figures that carry authority with the audience.

    We have just 2 days to influence the official Commission set up to find ways to crack down on India's wave of sexual violence. If we can show real success in shifting attitudes in India, the model can be applied to other countries. The money spent will more than pay for itself by reducing poverty and promoting development, since treatment and empowerment of women has been identified as one of the greatest single drivers of social and economic progress. Click to send a message directly to the Indian government.
    From opposing the stoning of women in Iran, to supporting the reproductive rights of women in Morocco, Uzbekistan and Guatemala, to lobbying for real action to counter the growing 'rape trade' in trafficked women and girls, our community has been on the front lines of the fight to end the war on women. This new year begins with new resolve in India.
    With hope and determination, the Avaaz team

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  • “Domestic violence destroys love, passion and respect”

    • 8 Jan 2013
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    This article I wrote as part of my work as a deputy head of the Press and Public Information Office of the EU mission for police and rule of law in Afghanistan. I thought it would also be of interest to you.

     

    Edith Lommerse, Uwe president

    Kabul, December 2012. Early in the morning in the province of Kunduz a gunshot is heard. It kills the 18-year-old Nasrin, leaving her family to cry for the loss of her young life. All they can do is grieve for her and with them thousands of women in Afghanistan, as almost 90 percent of them are potential victims of discrimination and violence ranging from child marriage, forced marriage, rape or polygamy. Only a month later, 15-year-old Tamara is brutally murdered by a relative in a so-called “honour killing”. In October, a 25-year-old-woman is beheaded in Herat province, another 30-year-old is mutilated and murdered.
    Nasrin, Tamara – the violent deaths of women in Afghanistan are hardly rare events. Women are frequently victims because of a perceived violation of family’s honour. Cases of "extreme or brutal violence against women" have increased in recent months, Women's Affairs Minister Husn Banu Ghazanfar said last month at an event to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. She cited more than 3,500 reported cases in the first six months of the Afghan year. While the official statistics are alarming, reports such as the “Survey of the Afghan people 2012” from the US based Asia Foundation say that there are many cases of violence which go unreported. Many families in Afghanistan do not want to reveal such incidents because they feel it will tarnish their honour and dignity in society.
    President Hamid Karzai has realised the gravity of the matter. He expressed serious concern over the increase in violence against women in his recent radio message to the nation. He said domestic violence in any way or any form stands in complete negation of all Islamic instructions and human rights values that women are entitled. “Both our religion and our culture give tremendous respect to women. Women are mothers and enjoy a valuable respect in Islam”, said the President. He also stated that domestic violence can rip apart the very fabric of a family life and badly affect the way its members including the children behave. “It destroys love, passion and respect.”
    To raise more awareness against (domestic) abuse, the Afghan government, the country’s rights organisations and the international community were celebrating the international ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence’ campaign from 25 November until 10 December. The days started with commenting on the current status of women: “Afghanistan still is – despite improvements in the last 11 years - one of the most insecure places on earth for a woman to live”, comments EU Special Representative, Vygaudas Usackas, and EUPOL Afghanistan’s Head of Mission, Karl Ake Roghe, in a joint open letter published in Afghan media. “Women and girls are still disproportionately affected by violence that is rooted in distorted and harmful traditional customs and practices supplemented by weak governance and rule of law.”
    Whilst the Afghan Independent Rights Commission (AIRC) calls upon the government and all responsible organs to seriously follow up and make sure that those responsible for such violations like Nasrin and Tamara, are held accountable, it will remain a long fight against traditional values. To find justice in these cases is not easy in Afghanistan. In many cases of domestic violence, neither the perpetrator nor the victim realises that a crime is even being committed. Moreover, there are cases where women victims themselves are being accused of moral crimes (See fact box Moral Crimes). “Therefore” – the open letter states- “awareness raising on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) law and other legal instruments remains an important and necessary weapon in the battle to end gender based violence”.
    In theory, the Elimination of Violence Against Women Law (EVAW), passed in 2009, should offer the women protection and redress. It covers various things, outlawing a range of abuses from assault and rape to marriages that are coercive, involve minors or amount to a transaction between the families concerned (see fact box EVAW). The challenge is to put the legislation into practice which needs coordination between all government agencies.
    In practice, currently this coordination is hardly existent. This became very clear after is a workshop organised by EUPOL’s Human Right and Gender unit (HRG) to mark the International Day to combat violence against women. Challenges and possibilities were discussed by several representatives of the Afghan governments and units of the Afghan National Police. And there are many to overcome.
    For the victims it starts with the challenge reporting a crime, especially if the mahram (male guardian) of the victim is also the perpetrator. When a woman arrives at a police station, she often faces police officers who lack the knowledge, the capacity and even the will to deal with domestic violence professionally. Only a third of the cases make it to court to be investigated.
    Surprisingly, the majority of the cases are settled outside of court through mediation by the Family Response Unit (FRU) which is part of the Ministry of Interior. Its Head, Lieutenant Fazila, is rather unhappy about the position of her unit. She lacks recognition from other departments, and most of all, personnel. “My unit consists only of 347 police officers in a police force of 150.000.”
    Given the amount of cases they have to handle, this is only a drop in the ocean. Deputy Minister of Women Affairs, Mojgan Mostavafi, also asks for more support and wonders why the Ministry of the Interior is absent in most meetings concerning the implementation of the law EVAW. He also wants to invest much more in education of the public and the justice system.
    “Through public awareness campaigns, women and men should know that violence against women is a crime and it has to be reported”, he emphasizes. Part of the problem, emphasizes Lieutenant Fazila, “is that people don’t know that violence against women is a crime.’’ Colonel Hekmat Shahi Rasuli of Human Rights and Gender fully agrees: “Law is not only knowledge you can learn in a book, its implementation matters. We need more training and education for those who implement the law such as police and prosecutors.”
    That there is a dire need for more training in human rights, demonstrates a snapshot of the EUPOL courses for police officers at the Central Training Centre in Kabul. Eleven students started there their two week course on the Elimination of Violence against women. EUPOL Trainer Alan Skurbaty starts of with basic questions to enhance a discussion: “Is it legal when women are leaving their homes? Is it against the law?” An inspector from Herat tries an answer: “Traditional rules in Afghanistan say that it isn’t allowed. In itself it is not a crime, but when a woman leaves her family, she will very likely commit a crime.” He says that he filed a case against a woman who ran away from home because she was beaten, but the prosecutor wouldn’t accept his claim”. Trainer Alan holds up the Afghan constitution, reads the paragraph on the EVAW law and asks again: “Is it lawful to go wherever you want?” Most of the students realize by now that the answer should be yes, every person has freedom of movement and residence. Trainer Allen won’t accept the ongoing discussion of traditional rules and moral crimes: “As police officers you are here to uphold and protect the law of Afghanistan. The questions of all your action is always is it lawful or not”. Despite the controversial discussions, EUPOL trainers such as Alan remain positive. “ I am aware that I challenge my students but I try to make all exercises personal, let them talk about their daughters and children to make them experience how it would feel if moral crimes would be applied for their own family members. Then, I often see a shift of opinion.”
    Despite the obvious needs to educate policemen, it is hard to find enough students to fill the classrooms although the EVAW course was put on as a special request from the Afghan Ministry of Interior. That same ministry has set an ambitious goal to employ 5000 female police officers by the end of 2014. Currently, there are only around 1.500 in the Afghan Police – a mere one percent of the overall police force. They are desperately needed, though, for investigating crimes where women are the suspects or victims of domestic violence, to search or pat down women at checkpoints, at airports or at crime scenes. According to the latest UNDP Police Perception Survey, seven in ten Afghans say “they are more likely to report a crime if the police officer is female” and two thirds say “female police fulfill a need in society.” The majority tend to trust females more to investigate a crime fairer than their male counterparts. Yet, you must be brave as a woman to be a policewoman in Afghanistan: they are facing threats and discrimination.
    Most of the complaints, though, are about misconduct, sexual harassment, unequal treatment and even violence by their male colleagues at the workplace. This is unacceptable behavior, says Hekmat Shahi Rasuli, the Deputy General of Human Rights and Gender at the Minister of Interior: “There should be respect for Afghan policewomen, especially at their working place. They should be protected”. The question remains how.
    Not an easy task: Yet, EUPOL is addressing this issue and is currently developing a programmatic approach to support the Minister of Interior to recruit more policewomen.
    The problem to tackle is not the low recruitment but problems to retain female police. Women are eager to join but need to be given better work conditions to entice them to stay in the police force.
    More gender equality policies must be developed, with a fair and equal deployment within all units of the ANP, with the equal opportunities for training and career development and a higher public awareness and understanding of women’s rights. But even if the aim of recruiting 5.000 female police officers was fulfilled, the police force would remain dominated by men.
    Still, it is not only about gender but rather about the professional commitment of both male and female policemen and prosecutors to abide by the law. This is also what the EU Special Representative and EUPOL’s Head of Mission conclude: “Gender does not prevent a female police officer from treating a rape as a case of adultery, or the act of running away from an abusive husband as a moral crime.”
    They say that only “awareness combined with capacity and will by all members of the Afghan National Police and justice institutions to address gender based violence, is the ultimate guarantee of the implementation of EVAW- law.”

    Karzai’s speech expressing his concern on the increasing violence against women got a sinister follow up on 21 November when eight prisoners were hanged. The eight had been convicted of crimes including murder, kidnapping and rape.

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