FRIDAY FILE: Corinna Lim, Executive Director of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), speaks with AWID about the women’s rights implications of various contentious issues at play in Singapore today: freedom of expression, access to the government and steady economic growth reliant on migrant domestic workers.
AWID's Friday Files
From monitoring to demanding women’s rights in Latin America. The time is now.
18 May 2012
FRIDAY FILE: In December 2011, the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM) launched the campaign For a State that fulfills its duties towards women’s human rights[1]. AWID spoke to Elba Núñez Ibáñez, CLADEMS’s Regional Coordinator, about the goals and scope of this campaign.
[1] The Campaign is conducted by an Alliance including Inter-American Platform for Human Rights, Democracy and Development (PIDHDD), International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Red-DESC) and the Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean and African Diaspora Women’s Network.
High Hopes For Malawi’s First Woman President
11 May 2012
On 7 April 2012 Joyce Banda made history by becoming the first female President of Malawi and the first in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)[1] following the sudden death of former President, Bingu wa Mutharika. The new President has an enormous undertaking to address the serious economic crisis in the country, and with a strong activist track record, civil society is hopeful that she will champion women rights.
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12th AWID International Forum on Women’s Rights in Development
Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women’s Rights and Justice, the 12th AWID International Forum, gathered over 2000 women’s rights leaders and activists from around the world from April 19 to 22, 2012 at the Halic Congress Center in Istanbul, Turkey. To find out more about what happened at the Forum please click here
Women's Rights in the News
Afghan schoolgirls poisoned by Taliban?
25 May 2012
Kabul - More than 80 schoolgirls have fallen ill in three cases of mass sickness over the past week in northern Afghanistan, raising fears that militants who oppose education for girls are using poison to scare them away from school.
Saudi shoura propose law on abuse
25 May 2012
After years of the local media reporting on cases of domestic abuse, which sometimes caused deaths, the Shoura Council has taken a step forward by completing a draft protection law, which will be submitted to King Abdullah.
Zimbabwe rejects gay rights, says gay people will be imprisoned
25 May 2012
After meeting with the UN human rights chief, the justice minister of Zimbabwe vowed not to recognise any gay rights, and also rejected all allegations that the country harbours state-sponsored violence.
Issues & Analysis
Liberia, Ivory Coast must outlaw domestic abuse - report
25 May 2012
The main danger to women in post-conflict countries in West Africa is not men with guns but their husbands, says an international aid agency that is calling on governments to criminalise domestic violence.
NEPAL: Undocumented residents excluded from state services
24 May 2012
Kathmandu, 17 May 2012 (IRIN) - Some 7 percent of Nepal’s almost 27 million people may lack citizenship documents, excluding them from government-funded services.
ISRAEL: Court conviction a victory against sex slavery, but more needed
23 May 2012
Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012 (IRIN) - The arrest and imprisonment earlier this month of the head of Israel's biggest trafficking ring of young women will deter some of those involved in sex slavery, but former victims and activists say much more needs to be done to stop the practice.
Urgent Actions
Urgent Action: Front Line Defenders: Uzbekistan: Fear for Safety of HRD Ms Gulshan Karayeva and her Family, in Wake of Physical Attack followed by Series of Threats and Intimidation
23 May 2012
On 21 May 2012, an unidentified man pursued and chased Ms Gulshan Karayeva in Qarshi, as she went to buy food for her children. She managed to escape to a nearby street where people she knew lived.
Colombia: Joint Appeal for Monica Roa and Women's Link Worldwide
21 May 2012
Around 150 organizations and individuals from 40 countries signed on to the letter to Colombian authorities deploring the attacks against Monica Roa and Women’s Link Worldwide.
Mexico: Worker rights defender kidnapped, beaten and threatened
21 May 2012
On May 15 at approximately 1:00 pm, four masked men in a van kidnapped worker rights defender José Enrique Morales Montaño, a member of the Worker Support Centre (CAT) in Puebla, Mexico.
What's new at AWID?
Not As Simple As ABC
Christian fundamentalisms and HIV and AIDS responses in Africa
By Jessica Horn, Edited by Saira Zuberi and Shareen Gokal. Contributors Cassandra Balchin and Juan Marco Vaggione
“Where is the Money for Women’s Rights?” Preliminary 2011 Research Results
On the eve of the 12th AWID International Forum happening in Istanbul, Turkey, the "Where is the Money for Women’s Rights?" Initiative is pleased to release preliminary results from the 2011 AWID Global Survey of women’s organizations!
Development Cooperation Beyond the Aid Effectiveness Paradigm: A women’s rights perspective
By Anne Schoenstein and Cecilia Alemany
Contributors: Natalie Raaber, Diana Aguiar, Alejandra Scampini, Fernanda Hopenhaym, Verónica Vidal, and Ivahanna Larrosa
IDeA Debate Articles #1
Diverse development models and strategies revisited
A special contribution to the 12th AWID International Forum
Fact and Fiction: Examining Microcredit/Microfinance from a Feminist Perspective
By Soma Kishore Parthasarathy. Edited by Natalie Raaber, AWID
Within development debates — and particularly discussions on women's "empowerment" — microcredit has and continues to be touted as a tool (indeed, at times, a "magic bullet") to reduce poverty and empower women. AWID asked feminist researcher, activist, and practitioner, Soma K. Parthasarathy, to share her experiences, reflections and analysis in a primer examining microcredit from a critical feminist perspective.
Ten Insights to Strengthen Responses for Women Human Rights Defenders at Risk
By Inmaculada Barcia and Analía Penchaszadeh, AWID and Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition
The 10 insights presented in this publication provide the key considerations for strengthening responses for WHRDs at risk by ensuring that they are strategic and properly resourced.