Dear Working Group Members,
You have sent many suggestions for resources to the Working Group. We have
compiled them here for the period 13-19 May. We hope these resources will
be useful in your efforts to end violence against women.
Thanks again for all your messages!
Warm regards,
the Moderators
******************
RESOURCES SUBMITTED TO
THE END-VIOLENCE WORKING GROUP
13 - 19 MAY 2002
Contents
A. ARTICLES/NEWS
1. Indian women demand justice for Gujarat rape victims
2. Gender violence, gun control, and responses to research publication
(Harvard Public Health NOW)
3. Nigeria recommends jail terms to eradicate female genital mutilation
4. Muslim women in India win right to divorce in court
B. UPCOMING EVENTS
5. Conference en ligne : Acces a l'Information pour les Femmes en zones
rurales (3-21 Juin 2002)
C. CAMPAIGNS
6. ALERT: Jordanian women's rights activist jailed
************************************************************
A. ARTICLES/NEWS
1. Indian Women Demand Justice for Gujarat Rape Victims
Tue May 14,10:26 AM ET
Kalyani, OneWorld South Asia
Thousands of women from across the Indian subcontinent took to the
streets of major cities Monday to demand justice for women hit by
religious rioting in the western state of Gujarat.
Protest marches drew hundreds of women's groups to state capitals
where activists held sit-ins and public meetings to show solidarity
with women caught up in Gujarat's sectarian violence which continues
to smolder 10 weeks after it first broke out.
"We want it to be recognized that the violence against women in
Gujarat was unprecedented," said Brinda Karat, general-secretary of
one of India's largest women's groups, the All India Democratic
Women's Association. "We aim to build a national platform for the
women of Gujarat by protesting on May 13."
Protestors demanded that Gujarat police step up efforts to register
complaints from women alleging sexual abuse, following reports from
several fact-finding missions to the region in recent weeks that have
found a failure by local officers to record complaints of rape due to
lack of medical evidence.
"The law usually requires a medical report to determine rape. But in
a situation like Gujarat, medical reports are not there because women
who have been sexually abused have had no access to doctors," said
Karat, supporting a set of demands addressed to the federal
government for a special court to try the crimes being committed in
the state.
The rallies--which saw 300 women in New Delhi break through a police
cordon near Parliament House, and a mass sit-in in Chennai (formerly
Madras), the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu--were
planned earlier this month in consultation with local authorities.
Officials in Gujarat have not disclosed how many women were among the
800 declared dead as a result of the riots that broke out in late
February a day after a Muslim mob set fire to a train carrying Hindu
activists who advocate the construction of a temple on the site of
the historic Ayodhya mosque which was demolished by a Hindu mob in
December, 1992.
"The protests focused on the gender angle of the Gujarat violence
which is not being talked about," said Sehba Farooqi, the head of
National Federation of Indian Women. "We've highlighted the fact that
in the carnage, hundreds of women were killed or raped."
"Rape was used as an instrument for the subjugation and humiliation
of a community," said the anti-sectarian campaigns group Communalism
Combat in a 150-page report released last month which estimated that
3,000 Muslims were killed, among them between 250-300 female victims
of rape.
"A chilling and hitherto absent technique was the deliberate
destruction of evidence - barring a few cases, women who were gang
raped were thereafter hacked and buried," according to the report
from the group which is based in the city of Mumbai (formerly
Bombay).
In addition to women's groups such as the Joint Women's Programme,
Saheli, and The Muslim Women's Forum, the protest day was supported
by a range of other rights groups, including the People's Union for
Civil Liberties, which condemned the "unprecedented violence" and
expressed solidarity with those calling for justice.
-----
2. Gender violence, gun control, and responses to research publication
In the crosshairs: dealing with vitriolic emails after a study's publication
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The acerbic e-mails began a few days after HSPH's David Hemenway published
"Firearm Availability and Female Homicide Victimization Rates among 25
Populous High Income Countries" in the Journal of the American Medical
Women's Association (JAMWA) last month. The paper caught the attention of a
small group of people, many of whom peppered Hemenway with sometimes
unsigned and often scathing, insulting e-mails.
"Way to go genius," wrote one person, who did not identify him or herself
beyond the initials 'RR.' "Learn to read what you read, instead of reading
what you want to read, and you'll realize you're an idiot."
The JAMWA experience reveals a side of scientific publishing not often spoken
about�one where a researcher is personally targeted because of a study's
results. In Hemenway's case, he received e-mails from advocates of gun
ownership.
Hemenway was lead author of the JAMWA study, which found that 70 percent of
all women murdered in industrialized nations are American. Furthermore, the
study said that US women are 11 times more likely to die from a firearm injury
than women in other wealthy countries. In a press release that accompanied the
study's publication, Hemenway pointed out that a cross-sectional study such as
his cannot prove causation. Nevertheless, the study results are consistent
with others that indicate a gun is an important risk factor for female
homicide.
"It's hard to believe that no one had looked at this before," said Hemenway.
"Seventy percent is an astounding figure."
News of the JAMWA study triggered two dozen e-mails to Hemenway, many
similar to the tone of "RR."
He has distanced himself objectively from the personal attacks.
"People get very emotional about gun-related issues," he said. "They end up
getting angry at the messenger."
He added, "What's strange is that none of the people seemed concerned with
what the study is saying�that American women are at an exceptionally high risk
of death. Nobody said, 'Gee, this is terrible' or 'What should be done?'"
Hemenway said the e-mails would concern him more if they were from scientists
or professionals offering legitimate criticisms. He did respond to two of the
24 e-mails because they raised what Hemenway considered thoughtful questions.
Most of the e-mails were from people whom Hemenway believes didn't bother to
actually read his study before writing to him. The writers, instead of citing
his paper, generally referred to a column about the study by Wendy McElroy of
FOXNews.com that opened, "It is rare for a prestigious institution to nakedly
compromise its research integrity to promote a political agenda."
Gun issues have long been controversial in the US. Last week, the Justice
Department, headed by Attorney General John Ashcroft, stirred debate when
reversing a well-established position that the Second Amendment protects
gun-ownership rights only with respect to the ability of states to form
militias. Now, the Justice Department is interpreting the amendment more
broadly to protect the rights of individuals to own guns, regardless of state
militia needs.
Hemenway said he is not "anti-gun."
"I don't have a big interest in guns one way or the other," he said. "Nor do I
believe that either banning guns or promoting increased gun ownership are good
policies. I am interested in injury prevention, and as far as fatal and very
serious injuries in this country are concerned, guns play an important role in
the overall picture."
Hemenway began researching injury control in the 1970s, beginning with fire
safety issues. He has investigated motor vehicle safety, falls and fractures,
child abuse and suicide. He is director of the Harvard Injury Control Research
Center (HICRC) and co-director of the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention
Center.
Gun-related studies have interested him over the past few years because of a
dearth of knowledge in the field.
"There hasn't been enough good research about guns because there is not
enough funding or good data out there," said Hemenway.
Hemenway and his colleagues have strived to fill in the data gaps. Since 1998,
they have worked on more than two dozen articles about gun-related issues,
including papers about guns on college campuses and public opinions about
firearms. Hemenway has finished a draft of a book tentatively entitled Private
Guns, Public Health.
Last year, HICRC established the National Violent Injury Statistics System, a
pilot program to build a national reporting system to guide violence
prevention efforts. The center is coordinating efforts of many sites around
the country. Data is currently being collected on a prototype for a National
Violent Death Reporting System that, when fully implemented, will provide
consistent, comparable and detailed information on all suicides and homicides
in this country.
The expectation is that the federal government will use the pilot as a model
to create a full national system involving every state.
Hemenway finds gun-related research exciting because each finding can break
new ground in an under-researched field. Even the controversies provide
research material.
"The subject matter is so contentious, and you have people on both sides
saying things with no evidence to support them," said Hemenway. "Listening to
all the claims provides many research ideas."
And plenty of e-mails.
Harvard Public Health NOW is published biweekly by the
Office of Communications
Harvard School of Public Health
665 Huntington Ave., SPH 1-1204
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
617-432-6052
Editor and Layout: Christina Roache
Contributing Writer: Pamela Quattrocchi
Photos Credits: Christina Roache, Lilian Kemp, Laurie Glimcher, K.A. Kelly
McQueen
------
3. Nigeria recommends jail terms to eradicate female genital mutilation
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7345/1056/c
BMJ 2002;324:1056 ( 4 May )
News roundup
Nigeria recommends jail terms to eradicate female genital mutilation
Abiodun Raufu Lagos
The Nigerian legislature is set to pass a law banning female genital
mutilation and imposing a two year jail term for offenders.
The bill, which is currently being considered by the Senate, was
unanimously passed by Nigeria's lower house, the House of Representatives
last year. The senate is expected to conclude its deliberations on the bill
in May, after which it will be sent to President Olusegun Obasanjo for his
assent.
The first clause of the Circumcision of Girls and Women (Prohibition) Bill
says: "No person shall circumcise a girl or woman and no person shall abet
or aid the circumcision of any girl or woman."
Already, some activists have complained that the two year imprisonment
prescribed by the new law is not strict enough, especially because it
allows for an option of a fine of $100 (�69; �111) or the imposition of
both a fine and incarceration. Some observers say, however, that the new
law is a long sought victory in the crusade to abolish female genital
mutilation in Nigeria.
According to the bill, "circumcision of a girl or woman means cutting off
all or part of the external sex organs of a girl or woman other than on
medical grounds."
The law against female genital mutilation has been operational in five
southern states out of the 36 states in Nigeria, and this will be the first
nationwide law on female genital mutilation.
Female genital mutilation is a traditional practice in many parts of
Nigeria and it is
regarded as an initiation rite that every girl must undergo before
marriage. Elderly traditional practitioners who have neither medical
training nor formal knowledge about anatomy often carry it out, and severe
complications have occurred to women who undergo circumcision.
One reason that the practice has endured for so long among Nigerians
despite its obvious danger is the notion that uncircumcised girls tend to
be promiscuous. In many parts of Nigeria, girls who are uncircumcised are
regarded as likely to have an unbridled appetite for sex, and some men will
refuse to marry such women, particularly in Nigeria's rural communities.
But Mrs Atinuke Ige, a retired judge and critic of the practice, rejects
this belief. "It is not true," she says. "I don't know what they mean by
promiscuity. Every individual, male or female, is a product of what the
home looks like. I think it is high time we stopped these abuses in the
overall interest of the survival of Nigerian women."
Dr Bene Madunagu, national coordinator of Girls' Power Initiative, said:
"Some of the negative effects of female genital mutilation include life
threatening blood loss from circumcision, infection from unsterilised
equipment, infertility, and injury to other organs and glands arising from
a struggle by the victim during circumcision.
"Other effects are painful intercourse due to scar tissue blocking the
vagina and labour complications from excessive scar tissue."
Lately, the fear of the spread of HIV infection from unsterilised knives
and other instruments has also helped to fuel the crusade against female
genital mutilation.
--------
4. Muslim women in India win right to divorce in court
RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
E-Newsletter
Vol.4 No.20; May13, 2002
Uttering talaq, talaq, talaq (I divorce you. I divorce you. I divorce you.)
in the presence of three witnesses in the past was enough for a Muslim man
in India to divorce his wife, even if his wife was not present. The basis
for these divorces could be such trivial matters as the ability of the wife
to cook, her appearance or answering back to her husband. This divorce
practice, based on Islamic sharia law, affected Muslim women from all
social classes and educational levels in the country, leaving many women
destitute without any means of financial support.
Now the Mumbai High Court has ruled that Muslim men will have to divorce
their wives in court, giving Muslim women the right of due process of law.
This ruling will apply not only to Muslim men and women in Mumbai but to
Muslims throughout India. In its ruling, the court states that a Muslim man
must hire a lawyer, file a divorce petition and bring his case before a
judge, who will decide, among other things, if the divorce is justified and
whether the husband must provide financial support for his wife after their
marriage is annulled. The court will also assess whether the man has made
an effort to reconcile with his wife as prescribed by Islam. Moreover, the
man's wife must be present in the courtroom.
This ruling overcomes the silence of the government and of society in
Muslim divorce cases after the case of Shah Bano 17 years ago. In this
case, Shah Bano, who had been married to her husband for 43 years, was
thrown out of her house after her husband decided to take a second wife.
Although Indian civil law entitled Shah Bano to a small amount of money
from her husband, he refused to give her any financial support. She took
the case to court, but her husband claimed that he was bound only by
Islamic law. The case was eventually decided by the Supreme Court, which
set a major precedent by stating that a husband must financially assist his
wife after they are divorced if she cannot support herself.
For the complete text, you may contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-------------
B. UPCOMING EVENTS
5. Conference en ligne : Acces a l'Information pour les Femmes en zones
rurales (3-21 Juin 2002)
Le Reseau des Femmes d'Ouganda (Women of Uganda Network, WOUGNET) vous
invite a participer a une Conference en-ligne sur l'acces a l'Information
pour les Femmes en zones rurales.
L'information, la communication et les loisirs jouent un role tout aussi
important a la campagne qu'a la ville; en effet, une demande croissante
pour des documents et des services d'information et de communication se
manifeste dans les endroits ruraux. Mais il existe encore des obstacles
majeurs en ce qui concerne la disponibilite de moyens d'acces et de
diffusion d'informations et la disponibilite de systemes audio-visuels dans
le monde rural.
* Objectif de la Conference: La Conference vise a faciliter les
echanges d'idees et d'experiences sur l'acces a l'information pour les
Femmes en zones rurales.
* Participation a la Conference:La participation a la Conference
en-ligne est ouverte a tout le monde. La Conference se fera par courrier
electronique.
* La langue de la conference: La langue principale de la conference sera
l'Anglais; neanmoins, il sera propose une traduction en Francais des
messages de la facilitatrice, des Resumes hebdomadaires, ainsi du Rapport
final de la conference. Une assistance particuliere est prevue pour les
participants francophones.
* Grandes lignes de la Conference
Semaine du 3 au 7 Juin
Les centres ruraux d'information : Description/Contenus des centres. Quels
sont les reseaux de diffusion de l'information. But/Objectifs de
l'installation des centres d'information. Taille de l'audience cible des
centres d'information.
Experience d'installation des centres d'information. Moyens utilises pour
alimenter les equipements : electricite, energie solaire, etc.
Semaine du 10 au 14 Juin
Defis et Difficultes d'installation et d'entretien des centres ruraux
d'information : Acces a/Diffusion d'information appropriee. Utilisation des
centres par l'audience cible. Comment le centre est equipe en personnel -
salarie, volontaire, etc. Comment la diffusion de l'information a aide les
organisations locales et les groupes communautaires a atteindre leurs buts.
Semaine du 17 au 21 Juin
Le=E7ons apprises / Realisations exemplaires et recommandations.
* Resultats de la Conference
1.Resumes hebdomadaires du deroulement de la conference.
2.Rapport sur le deroulement de la conference a presenter a la Conference
de Know How de Kampala. Pour information sur la Conference de Know How,
visitez le site web de la conference a : http://knowhow.isis.or.ug
* Nous demandons a nos participants et participantes de suivre ces regles
generales:
1. Chaque fois qu'un message est envoye a la conference, vous le recevrez
automatiquement.
Si vous preferez recevoir toutes les contributions du jour en un seul
message : envoyez un message a [EMAIL PROTECTED] en demandant que
votre abonnement soit modifie dans ce sens. Cette formule sera utilisee
avec precaution en cas de reponse a l'un des messages, pour eviter de
reposter plusieurs fois le message originel.
2. Quand vous envoyez des messages, remplissez l'en-tete 'Objet' qui
explique le sujet de votre message. Si vous repondez a un courrier, vous
pouvez laisser le contenu de 'Objet' tel qu'il est. Par contre, supprimez
toutes les sections du message originel hors du sujet de votre reponse.
3. Si vous desirez changer les modalites de votre abonnement, ecrivez a
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Si, par exemple, vous avez besoin d'aide pour changer votre adresse, pour
vous desabonner,etc., nous vous prions de bien vouloir ne pas envoyer votre
demande a la liste de diffusion. Ecrivez a
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
4. Soyez courtois envers les autres, meme si vous n'etes pas de leur avis.
5. N'envoyez pas de messages trop longs. Si possible, envoyez un nouveau
message pour chaque nouvelle question que vous abordez, pour eviter que les
courriers deviennent trop longs.
6. La liste de diffusion a ete organisee de fa=E7on a ce que les reponses
soient envoyees automatiquement a tous les participants et participantes.
Si vous desirez repondre a quelqu'un en prive, verifiez que dans l'en-tete
'A' ne se trouve que l'adresse de votre destinataire.
7. La liste n'accepte pas les documents attaches, donc n'en envoyez pas. Si
vous voulez vous referer a un document particulier, proposez aux
participants de vous contacter directement, ou donnez l'adresse du lien
Internet ou il se trouve.
Vous pouvez aussi envoyer le document a [EMAIL PROTECTED] pour qu'il
soit inclus sur la page Web de la conference:
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/iarw.html
8. Signez vos messages.
9. La liste sera moderee, c'est-a-dire que les messages seront approuves
avant d'etre distribues, afin d'eviter les messages hors sujet ou
indesirables et de propager des virus.
10. Tous les systemes informatiques ne supportant les accents dans les
messages, nous vous conseillons d'enlever les accents dans vos messages
avant de les poster.
* Soutien du projet
Nous remercions tous les benevoles qui participent a l'organisation de
cette conference pour leur soutien. Certains des benevoles nous ont joint
par l'intermediaire de Idealist.org (http://www.idealist.org) et de Netaid
(http://www.netaid.org).
La participation francophone est facilitee benevolement par ENDA-SYNFEV
(Dakar) (http://www.enda.sn)
La liste de distribution de la conference est geree par Kabissa - Space
forChange in Africa (http://www.kabissa.org).
******************************************************************
*********************************************************************
Marie Sagna NADJI
Charge de l'information
et des reseaux ENDA-SYNFEV
B.P. 3370 Dakar - SENEGAL
Tel. (221) 823 45 42
Fax : (221) 822 26 95
Email. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.enda.sn/synfev/synfev.htm
----------
C. CAMPAIGNS
6. ALERT: Jordanian Women's Rights Activist Jailed
UPDATE: May 16, 2002
TOUJAN AL-FAISAL SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS IN JAIL
http://www.learningpartnership.org/events/newsalerts/jordan0302.html
Toujan al-Faisal, an outspoken advocate of free speech, domestic reforms,
and women's rights, was convicted today of publishing "lies that hurt the
state's integrity and honour," and sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Al-Faisal was first arrested on March 16th after she accused Jordan's prime
minister of corruption and the judiciary of being unjust. (For details, see
WLP's March 28th alert at
http://www.learningpartnership.org/events/newsalerts/jordan0302.html.)
Court officials say the verdict cannot be appealed.
The case went to trial on May 14th where al-Faisal defended herself before
a three-man state security tribunal. Her team of lawyers had withdrawn from
the case when they felt the judges' rulings were impeding their work. The
chief judge in the case, Colonel Tayel al-Raqad, accused al-Faisal of
having "exceeded the boundaries of acceptable criticism" before passing
sentence.
Toujan al-Faisal served in the Jordanian parliament from 1993-97 during
which time she was an outspoken critic of the government and Muslim
militants. She recently announced her intention to run for a parliamentary
seat in the upcoming national elections to be held later this year.
Please express your concern about the court proceedings and sentencing of
Toujan al-Faisal to the following officials:
His Majesty King Abdallah bin Hussein
Office of H.M. the King
Royal Palace
Amman, Jordan
FAX: 962-6-463-4755
Prime Minister Ali Abu Al-Ragheb
P.O. Box 80 352
Amman, Jordan
FAX: 962-6-464-2520
Mr. Faris Nabulsi
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice
P.O. Box 6040
Amman, Jordan
FAX: 962-6-568-0238
Mary Robinson
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
CH 1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: 41-22-917-9000
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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