>WIN > WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL NET > Issue 12B, August 1998 > Connecting Women in 85 Countries > >Editors: Judith Colp Rubin, Janice Wasser > >If you would like to write for, or comment about WIN please contact us >at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >If you would prefer not to receive future issues of WIN just >put REMOVE in the body of an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Or visit our Web page subscription management form on our Web site: >http://www.winmagazine.base.org or >http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/3321 > >All views expressed in the contents of articles are those solely of >the individual author. All articles, unless otherwise stated, are >the copyright of WIN magazine. Reprint is by permission only. > > >WIN TURNS ONE IN SEPTEMBER, SEND US BIRTHDAY GREETINGS! > >TABLE OF CONTENTS > (ARTICLES 4 & 5 IN THIS FILE. ARTICLES 1 - 3 IN PREVIOUS FILE) > > >1) FINLAND'S FLAWED UTOPIA > By Mia Spangenberg > >2) FREEDOM UNDER WRAPS: > ISLAMIC GARB ON CAMPUS > By Ustun Reinart, Turkey > >3) INVESTORS AND ROYAL ACTIVISTS: > A NEW WOMAN'S SOUTHERN AFRICA > By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo, Swaziland > By Gumisai Mutume, South Africa > >4) NO BETTER THAN A MAN?: > BENAZIR BHUTTO UNDER FIRE > By Shujauddin Qureshi, Pakistan > >5) IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S CYBERGRRL!: > INTERNET ENTREPRENEUR ALIZA SHERMAN > By Michele Marrinan, United States > >SEE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR > > >4) NO BETTER THAN A MAN?: > BENAZIR BHUTTO UNDER FIRE > By Shujauddin Qureshi, Pakistan > > >She was once a model for feminists: a Harvard University graduate chosen >over two brothers as her father's political successor; an opposition >leader who endured imprisonment and house arrest; the first woman to >rule an Islamic country; and a populist who presided over her nation's >transition from martial rule to democracy. > >But these days former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is being >viewed by many as proof that female leaders are no better than male >ones. > >Having lost elections for a third term almost two years ago after >dismissal for widespread corruption and mismanagement, the 45-year-old >Bhutto is now fighting for her political survival and her life. >Pakistani investigators uncovered foreign bank accounts in her and her >family's name worth a staggering $1.4 to 1.6 billion. Ample evidence >suggests the money came from an extensive pattern of kickbacks from >foreign companies during the Bhutto Administration, most received by the >prime minister's husband, Asif Ali Zardari. Also, Zardari has been >imprisoned on charges that he murdered his wife's brother. > >The Bhuttos' troubles are not just in Pakistan. In mid-July, a court in >Switzerland, where the couple has bank accounts, charged Zardari with >money-laundering, and was preparing to charge his wife also. > >Although she admits to being wealthy and having bank accounts abroad, >Bhutto has denied having looted money. Bhutto believes she and Zardari >are being framed by her successor, Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif. In >the Western limelight, Bhutto has blamed her problems on sexism: "I feel >that the venom directed against me in the corruption charges, or the >so-called murder charges against my husband, are due to the fact that I >had challenged the entrenched culture of tradition and pride which >predominated in the subcontinent for centuries,'' Bhutto said during the >recent first summit of the Council of Women World Leaders at Harvard >University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, as reported in >Reuters. > >But most Pakistani female activists are not among Bhutto's defenders. >Rahila Tiwana, a former student leader in Bhutto's party, said Bhutto >herself benefited from that "centuries-old system of the subcontinent" >she now blames for her problems, having inherited political power from >her father. > >"Bhutto has always tried to earn people's sympathies by portraying >herself as bereaved," said Tiwana. > >Many female activists were bitterly disappointed by the Bhutto regimes. >They had hoped the election of a woman would mean dramatic changes in >this ultra-conservative Islamic nation. Although Pakistan's 1973 >constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of race, sex or >religion, women face legal discrimination in many areas: Rape victims >must produce four witnesses or face imprisonment -- and even death by >stoning -- for adultery; a woman cannot marry without a male guardian's >permission; a wife married to a foreigner cannot pass on citizenship to >her husband or child. Honour killings against women for alleged >adultery, domestic violence and rape are serious problems. > >Under Bhutto, Pakistan became a signatory of the International >Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, but the >situation for women didn't improve, said activists. A newly-formed >Women Rights' Committee, comprised of women's activists and government >officials, presented proposals to the government, but none were ever >implemented, according to the committee's head, Rashida Patel, head of >the Pakistan Women Lawyers Association. > >"On a national level, and particularly on a woman's level, the Bhutto >government disappointed us," said Anis Haroon, founder of the Women's >Action Forum. "Although we felt more space during her regime, she did >nothing in particular for women. We made proposals several times to the >Bhutto government to change [discriminatory] laws, but in vain." > >Activists charge that Bhutto did not try hard enough to push through >legislation that would reestablish a quota of women's seats in >parliament. Only one percent of Pakistan's parliament is female. > >But others argue that the failure to pass pro-women's legislation lay >with the legislature, and that Bhutto's fragile coalition government >included several conservative religious parties protective of any >changes in Islamic laws. Moreover, these supporters add, under Bhutto >the lives of women did improve: They were appointed for the first-time >as judges on higher courts; a five percent women's quota was set in >government jobs; separate police stations for women were established; a >campaign against domestic violence began on electronic media; and a >women's bank was established with branches nationwide. > >"Benazir's [actions on behalf of] women were impressive in a very >conservative male-dominated society," said Sheen Farrukh, former editor >of a family magazine. > >Bhutto's biography is of a woman who managed to reach the top within >this male-dominated society. She was born into an important and wealthy >political family from the backward rural area of Sindh province. >Although he had two sons, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, raised his eldest >daughter to continue his legacy. In 1971, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, head of >the Pakistan People's Party which his daughter would later head, became >prime minister on an anti-feudal and anti-capitalist platform. But six >years later, he was overthrown by General Ziaul Haq after a military >coup. In 1979, the new regime hanged the elder Bhutto on charges, >trumped-up many believe, of harboring the murder suspect of a political >opponent. > >His daughter spent three years in house arrest by the martial regime. >Upon her release in 1984, she fled to England where she studied at >Oxford University and planned her return. Two years later, Bhutto came >back to Pakistan where she was welcomed by hundreds of thousands of >supporters. She was popular, not only because of her name, but because >of her intellect, charismatic personality and populist image. Arrested >again, Bhutto led the fight for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan >from her prison cell. The tall, slim woman with the fair complexion, >finely chiseled face and "duppata" (head covering) became an >international human rights symbol. > >The turning point in the country's political history came in August 1988 >with General Zia-ul-Haq's death in a plane crash. General elections were >held a few months later, and Bhutto won with a simple majority. Several >legislatures from religious parties refused to participate in the vote >to ratify Bhutto's nomination as prime minister because of her gender. >Others believed that Pakistan was poised for a major transformation. > >But many Pakistanis were disappointed with Bhutto's administration. She >made few improvements in the staggering problems of widespread >illiteracy, lack of proper medical care, and international debts -- not >to mention women's problems. And there were charges of corruption, >particularly involving her husband. > >Less than a year before her election, Bhutto wed Asif Zardari, scion of >a small political family in Sindh province, through a match arranged by >her mother. Observers were surprised that Bhutto married into a family >so beneath her own's wealth and prominence. But marriage was necessary >in a nation where unmarried women past a certain age -- let alone those >who are public figures -- are considered suspect. > >"Seven days after I met Asif, we were engaged," Benazir wrote in her >1989 autobiography, "Daughter of the East," written in English and still >selling in Pakistan. "An arranged marriage was the price in personal >choice I had to pay for the political path my life had taken." > >As it would happen, the marriage would prove integral to Bhutto's >political downfall. > >Twenty months after serving in office, Bhutto was dismissed by the >president for corruption. In 1993, the newly elected government fell and >elections were held again bringing Bhutto back to office. But her new >administration once again fell short of its promises, and the corruption >charges resurfaced. > >Zardari, who was made Federal Minister for Investment and Environment >accountable only to his wife, was rumored to be receiving millions of >dollars in bribes from a range of foreign corporations doing business >with Pakistan, and had earned the street sobriquet of "Mr. Ten Percent." >His largest deal allegedly involved a Middle East gold dealer who >deposited $10 million into one of Zardari's bank accounts after the >government gave him a monopoly on gold imports. Particularly troubling >for many Pakistanis, who have a per capita income of about $2,000, was a >$4 million opulent mansion he bought in Britain's Surrey countryside >under an assumed name and about which Benazir Bhutto claims to know >nothing. She has herself even suggested that perhaps he bought it for >another woman. Some Bhutto supporters contend that the former prime >minister is a woman wronged by her husband, who is now being unfairly >blamed for his crimes. > >In November 1996, Bhutto was again ousted from power for corruption, >mismanagement and incompetence. Soon after, Zardari, a member of >Pakistan's Senate, was jailed and faces the death penalty for allegedly >approving the death of his brother-in-law. Murtaza Bhutto was killed by >a police hit squad in 1996 after a family power struggle. > >In February 1997 elections, Sharif was elected with a thumping majority >and set up a committee to investigate his predecessor. Bhutto faces the >possibility of a jail sentence, although it is unlikely, given her >continued support by many. > >Bhutto remains a popular figure internationally, who lectures worldwide >and is often called upon by the media to represent her nation, such as >during Pakistan's recent decision to detonate a nuclear bomb. Back >home, Bhutto sits in the National Assembly's lower house and is an >outspoken opposition leader who has decried the state of the national >budget and imposition of emergency law following the nuclear bomb >detonation. Her Pakistani People's Party recently joined an alliance of >opposition parties to become the Pakistan "Awami Itihad" (Pakistan >People's Alliance) that is mobilizing supporters through rallies, and >hopes to bring down the government. > >Although the fledgling alliance has little support due to its unclear >agenda, it could become increasingly popular as Pakistanis become fed up >with their nation's problems including inflation and increased >lawlessness. While she has said that she is not interested in becoming >prime minister again and would just like to become a "moral figure" >within her party, Bhutto is still young, and her name is still revered >in parts of Pakistan. Under the right conditions, she could return to >power. > > >Shujauddin Qureshi [http://members.spree.com/shuja] is a Pakistani >journalist, covering women's issues, human rights and the environment, >among other topics. > > > >5) IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S CYBERGRRL!: > INTERNET ENTREPRENEUR ALIZA SHERMAN > By Michele Marrinan, United States > > >There is a defining moment in the life of most entrepreneurs when the >fire of self-determination is lit. For Aliza Sherman, that moment came >in New York City as she stared down the endless barrel of a mugger's >pistol on a summer night in 1994. Though she and a friend managed to >escape unharmed, the incident had a profound impact on her life. > >"That moment changed my course because I realized life's priorities, and >I knew that if I was going to do anything meaningful at all, it couldn't >be within a corporate setting," recalled Sherman, then working as >director of a domestic violence group. > >Today a company founder and president, Sherman is in a corporate >setting, but one that she tries to keep free from bureaucracy, and >focused on serving women. Her Cybergrrl Internet Media, Inc., an >entertainment and marketing company, created one of the Internet's most >important women's sites. The nine Cybergrrl [http://www.cybergrrl.com] >stations offer information about business, technology, books, travel and >entertainment. Visitors can also post information, visit chat rooms, >read profiles of historical women and search for other female-friendly >sites. Some 300,000 individuals -- 89 percent of whom are women aged 18 >to 45 -- visit the site each month. > >Convinced that the Internet should become the ultimate old-girl's club, >Sherman also founded Webgrrls International [http://www.webgrrls.com] >three years ago as a networking organization for women interested in >the Internet. With more than 10,000 members and 100 chapters worldwide >-- including 35 outside the United States -- Webgrrls sponsors classes >on Internet programming and design, holds monthly networking meetings, >and churns out email information on job openings and travel tips. > >Sherman's goal is to empower women and girls to use the new technology >for their personal and professional gain. An estimated 42 percent of all >Internet users worldwide, or 46 million individuals, are women. Although >the numbers are rapidly increasing, Sherman believes that several >misconceptions keep women from venturing onto the Net: it is too hard, >too expensive, too dangerous, too time-consuming and offers them nothing >professionally or personally. > >In her book, "A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web" published this year >by Ballantine Press, [http://www.cybergrrl.com/planet/cgbook/], Sherman >dispels each myth with her simple discussions about hardware and >software, safety tips on avoiding online stalkers, and stories of how >the Internet has changed women's lives. > >The Internet certainly changed Sherman's life. She is a born non-techi >and college drop-out who "Newsweek" would later dub one of the 50 most >important people on the Internet. Aside from her commitment to helping >women, Sherman is also an ambitious entrepreneur who expects to develop >television shows, books and merchandise around her product. > >With her petite build, light skin and very dark hair, Sherman looks even >younger than her 30 years. She dresses casually in t-shirts, jeans and >slacks. Her voice is quiet, but clear. She seems a bit shy, almost as if >she forces herself to be more outgoing. A workaholic, she relaxes by >reading science fiction and surfing on the Web. A few months ago, she >bought a little Chihuahua named Chewie who she keeps in her office and >takes to meetings. Naturally, Chewie has his own Web site. >[http://www.cyberchewie.com] > >It's perhaps no surprise, given her eclectic background, that the >Internet appeals to Sherman. She grew up as a navy brat who lived in >several cities throughout the United States -- California, Florida, >Virginia -- and in Spain. She continued moving around after high school, >attending three colleges in Philadelphia and Virginia. She studied >fashion merchandising, Russian history and business law -- whatever >interested her at the time -- and eventually left college without a >degree. > >"I wasn't sure really what I wanted to do, and I'd already been in >college four years," she says. "I figured whatever I was wanting to do >was out there and I didn't want to waste my parents' money anymore." > >Using the typing skills she learned in the ninth grade, Sherman became a >secretary for a temp agency. She convinced an acquaintance to teach her >computer skills in the hopes that that would help her earn more >money. A writer herself -- she has published articles on domestic >violence and adoption practices, among other topics -- Sherman was >initially afraid that computers would sap her creativity. Once she got >started, however, there was no turning back. When she moved to New York >City in 1989, Sherman bought her first computer -- an Amstrad 1640 -- >and, with the help of a friend, started going online long before it >became popular. > >Sherman later worked in the music business, coordinating marketing and >public relations for such bands as Bruce Hornsby, Metallica and the >Rolling Stones, and expected to make it her life. But then she realized >that women were not encouraged to move up in the music business. Looking >to do something a little more meaningful, she became director of the >Domestic Abuse Awareness Project in New York City, another stop that she >thought would be long term. The holdup in 1994 and the realization that >"non-profit does not necessarily mean good," made her consider a major >career change. > >Having finished a $10 Web design course and dismayed by the absence of >female-friendly sites, she decided to build her own. Since she was >uncomfortable putting her photo on the Web, Sherman created an online >personality -- an alter ego, so to speak. With long, brown hair and a >humble, yet confident smile, the cartoon character that appears on her >web sites looks remarkably like Sherman -- except that Cybergrrl wears a >hot pink cape and a blue leotard with CG emblazoned across her chest. >Sherman admits that the unusual spelling, while powerful, has no >significance. She simply wanted a fun, hip name -- one that would dispel >the nerdy image associated with computer operators at that time. >Cybergrrl evoked images of a powerful, yet funky superhero. > >She already owned a computer so Sherman didn't need an initial infusion >of cash to get started. It's a good thing, since she had no savings at >the time. Instead, a friend covered her bills from time to time. Today, >Cybergrrl, which was launched in January 1995, has an office in downtown >Manhattan with eight full-time workers and six part-timers. Sherman pays >herself a salary, although she declines to discuss numbers. > >Cybergrrl's income comes from designing Web sites for corporate >customers ranging from magazines to clothing manufacturers and >non-profit organizations. It also attracts online advertising and >investors -- CMP Media Inc., a Manhasset, N.Y.-based technology >publisher, recently took a minority interest in the company. > >It was her determination not to be the only "girl nerd" and meet other >female Internet users that inspired Sherman to start Webgrrls. Sherman >started by e-mailing the developers of interesting female-oriented Web >sites. Six of them met in person at a cyber cafe in New York City. That >first meeting went so well that they decided to make it a monthly date. >Sherman put it on her Web site, and six more women showed up at the >next get-together. Soon Sherman was receiving email from women who >wanted to start chapters in their parts of the world. > >Today, Webgrrls' meetings are a real networking event, both on and off >line. Members exchange information on everything from finding good >Italian recipes to vacation information on Ireland. > >"Webgrrls is like, you're not alone," says Eileen Shulock, the full-time >executive director Sherman hired last fall. "We're here to help you and >you also are going to be asked for help. That kind of community is >encouraging." > >The biggest chapters are in Canada, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Australia, New >Zealand, Ireland, England, South Africa, Italy and Netherlands. All >chapters work on the same principles, regardless of where they are. >Although the groups use their country's language, the leaders exchange >information in English. > >There is an instant connection that transcends language and cultural >barriers, as Shulock discovered recently on the daily online discussion >that she and other chapter leaders conduct. The movie "Grease" had just >been re-released, and the leaders started reminiscing about the '70s and >'80s. > >"Here we were, from all different parts of the world, recalling 8-track >tapes or the words of certain Abba songs," recalls Shulock. "We were all >throwing in our two cents on things that we remember, like when record >albums were vinyl, and people didn't know about email." > >The success of Cybergrrls and Webgrrls notwithstanding, Sherman would >still like to further engage women on the Internet, a topic she will >address in her next book, scheduled for release next year. > >"I think there are finally some quality sites from which women can >choose when they go online," said Sherman. "But there is still a long >way to go in terms of figuring out how to best use the interactive >medium to truly engage the female audience and give them value that >makes them want to log in each day." > > >Michele Marrinan is a freelance writer specializing in the Internet, >small business, franchising and personal finance. She lives on Long >Island, New York, with her husband and one-year-old daughter. > > >LETTERS TO THE EDITOR > >I am responding to the article about the women's model parliament in the >Palestinian Authority [Democrats or Devils? WIN 11]. Although the >struggle for women's rights and dignity is a noble and much needed >one, I submit that a mock parliament is not an appropriate forum in >which to address this important issue of polygamy. Without the legality >of polygamy, the human rights of children of women whose father has >children from another woman to whom he is also married are seriously >threatened. Second wives would be helpless, as they are in countries >such as America, to pursue any of the legal rights accorded to first >wives. The Islamic law of polygamy is given by God for the protection of >women and is by no means any kind of injustice. It is a law forcing men >to take responsibility for the women and children in their lives, >guaranteeing them the right of financial support within marriage and >child-support in the case of divorce, the right of inheritance, the name >of their father, and most of all preserving the dignity and good >standing of virtuous women. > >The solution to the crisis of poor implementation of Islamic laws within >any society is not to annul them, but to study these laws deeply in the >spirit of Islam, which accords spiritual equality to women within the >framework of specific rights and obligations on the part of each member >of the family. > >Maria Hussain, United States > > >Numbers of people have told me about WIN. I'm glad to have finally >gotten a chance to look it over and read some of your articles. It's >wonderful both in scope and depth! > >Tova Stabin, United States > > >I think that it is very important to implement and to support >publications such as WIN in order to overcome the discrimination imposed >upon the women in the world. > >Professor Carlos A. Figueiredo DaSilva, Brazil > > >Your mag looks wonderful! What a refreshing change from the usual >women's rags that cover nothing but sex and dieting. > >Staci Layne Wilson > > >I've just checked out your site -- it's intelligent. I'm in the area of >human resource development and travel a lot in the Asia Pacific where I >reside. > >Winifred Loh > > >Thank you for your magnificent magazine. > >Zohl de Ishtar, Women for a Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific, >Australia > > >I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy the magazine. All the articles are >well-written and on topics I am interested in. > >Miriam Sushman, Israel > > >I'm a young woman, age 14. I read the articles posted in your web site >all the time. I especially like the one about women's soccer in Latin >America [Score One Against Machismo -- WIN 11] since I'm a woman, >play soccer, and am half-Peruvian. I think your magazine has a lot of >insightful, meaningful things in it. > >I just think it's time you maybe got a younger person's point of view on >stuff. Teenagers are really are a lot smarter than people think. We >watch the news. Just recently, I heard that two teenagers were being >sentenced for their baby's death. Two girls I grew up with have babies. >Last year in school, when one of the girls came back, her close friends >bought her presents and said she was so lucky. Everyone else looked at >her with sympathy. Two months later, one of her close friends got >pregnant herself and was kicked out of her house. > >We see many teen pregnancies and teens killing their babies. If it's too >late to prevent these things, you can at least help to prevent >pregnancies and the spread of diseases like HIV. If you suspect that a >niece, daughter, or even -- if you're my age -- a friend, is having sex, >give her birth control. Talk to her about sex. Believe it or not, we >already know. No more birds and the bees. I'm a woman, but I think it's >a little too early for me to grow up. In today's society, I'm growing up >as fast as I can. > >Tiphanie Rose Falcon, United States > > >A picture of women in India quietly protesting the testing of nuclear >bombs, and another of costumed protesters, both published in United >States newspapers, gave reason for hope. Women's Action for New >Directions (WAND) of the U.S. salutes these demonstrations for peace. >Civilians are 95% of the casualties in a modern war; women and children >suffer, not just soldiers. > >Women of WAND join with you in urging your leaders not to follow the >foolish example set by the United States and the Soviet Union. In fear >of each other, both nations have pursued an escalation of weapons for >fifty years. Although both countries have begun to destroy those nuclear >warheads, the pace is slow and the task is technically very difficult. >The United States has signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and >WAND members and others are calling Congress to urge members to ratify >the treaty. > >WAND [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] asks you to contact us and let us know you can >help. > >Jean Prokopow, Women's Action for New Directions, United States > > >FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SECOND SEX: Global conference celebrating >the 50th anniversary of The Second Sex, by Simone de Beauvoir Paris, >France January 20-23, 1999, organized jointly by Nouvelles Questions >Feministes and Festival International de Films de Femmes de Creteil. >Seventy-two partners have committed from throughout the world, and we're >seeking more. Visit the web site for more information >[http://www.users.imaginet.fr/~macpaddy]. > >For information about pre-registration (reduced rates until September >1998), write to: Cinquantenaire du deuxieme sexe, c/o NQF, IRESCO-CNRS, >59-61 rue Pouchet, 75849 Paris cedex 17, France. >
