The Agonist - Global Women's Issues

For men who pay for sex with trafficked women, ignorance is no longer a defence

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:21:02 -0800

Alan Travis | Nov 19

The Guardian - New prostitution laws to be set out today will mean a plea of ignorance is no defence for men facing prosecution for buying sex from a woman who has been trafficked or is being exploited by a pimp.

Under proposals to be published today by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, a man who "knowingly" pays for sex with a woman who has been trafficked or is under the control of a pimp could face a charge of rape, which carries a potential life sentence.

The new offence of paying for sex with somebody who is "controlled for another person's gain" is to carry a hefty fine and a criminal record.

The home secretary has made clear that under the new offence it will not be enough for a man to say "I didn't know". The new offence will include a "strict liability" test so that police will only have to prove that the man paid for sex, and that the woman had been trafficked. There will be no need to prove he knew it at the time.

The rise of the Valkyries: Norwegian women take their place at the top

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:41:06 -0800

Gwladys Fouché | Oslo | Nov 17

The Guardian - A law introduced in 2003 has given Norway the world's highest ratio of female company directors

In Britain, Eli Sætersmoen could not have the career she has carved out in her native Norway. The 43-year-old engineer is a professional board member, working full-time on the boards of 10 companies, four of which she chairs.

Sætersmoen is one of the most sought after directors in her country. To her it is clear why she has been so successful. "I could not have been a professional board member without the law," she says.

Sætersmoen and hundreds of other women have benefited from a controversial act requiring Norwegian firms to increase the proportion of women on their boards to 44.2% by last January. The aim was to boost the number of women in top business jobs. The penalty for failure was drastic: if a company did not comply, it would be shut down.

Army promotes first woman to four star rank

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:57:10 -0800

Washington | Nov 14

AFP - The female descendant of a long line of US military officers was promoted to four star general Thursday, the first woman ever to reach the top rung of the US military.

Ann Dunwoody accepted the promotion and command of the army's materiel command with humor and humility at a Pentagon ceremony so packed with well wishers that three star generals were standing in the aisles.

"When people ask me, Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, say nothing about a four-star, I say not in my wildest dreams," she said.

"There is no one more surprised than I, except, of course, my husband.

And you know what they say, behind every successful woman there's an astonished man."

Decentralization no boon to women's influence

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:08:23 -0800

Strategy sometimes worked counter to mandate

A strategy widely seen as a magic bullet for development and democracy in developing nations has largely failed to benefit women, according to new cutting-edge research.

In fact, the four-year, $1.9-million research project, funded by the Ottawa-based International Development Research Centre (IDRC), found the strategy, known as decentralization, sometimes harmed women.

.....Because decentralization pushes decision-making to the grass roots level, Ms. Baksh said, "it's closer to those very traditional cultural attitudes that might be disempowering women."

Women have seats on local councils in places such as Nepal and Pakistan, "but very often they're not expected to speak or not given opportunities to speak or are specifically denied the right to speak," Ms. Baksh said.
Just show your face and shut up

Police team that investigated tide of human traffic is closed

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:29:25 -0800

Emily Dugan | Nov 10

The Independent - Investigators who saved victims of prostitution and child labour have funds withdrawn by Home Office

Britains's largest dedicated human trafficking police unit is being shut down just a year after it was set up because of Home Office spending cuts, The Independent has learnt.

The Metropolitan Police's Human Trafficking Team will cease work next year because its budget has been withdrawn following the decision by the Home Office to cut its yearly funding for human trafficking investigations from £4m to £1.7m.

Politicians and trafficking experts expressed anger at the Home Office's decision, saying it will leave a "gaping hole" in the policing of the crime. Privately, the police themselves are said to be furious about the decision.

The Met's Human Trafficking Team was set up in March 2007 and was designed to actively target gangs who bring women to the UK as sex slaves and children as forced labourers. It is estimated that more than 4,000 people are currently in the UK as a result of having been trafficked.

One Indonesian shares women's rights in Islamic schools

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:39:06 -0700

David Montero | Jakarta | Oct 28

CSM - Lily Munir asks the 50 young mothers in her classroom to use their imaginations. What would it be like, she says, if your husband supported your right to work and helped with housework?

The women in their seats look surprised at the question. Some of them laugh.

What begins as jokes about bad husbands grows into a serious discussion about gender roles and women's rights. Islam supports women's empowerment, Ms. Munir tells her students, so men should, too.

It's a simple but important way Munir, who since 2002 has run the Center for Pesantren and Democracy Studies in Jakarta, is challenging traditional views on gender in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country.

In so doing, she is reclaiming what she sees as the Koran's intended but lost message.

Where many in the West see a book of intolerance, Munir sees a text whose basic demand is harmony among all faiths. Where radical Islamists see a call to arms, she sees a blueprint for peace.

And instead of looking at Koranic verses that justify gender disparities, Munir sees a mandate for all men to work for the empowerment of women.

MOZAMBIQUE: Love, or the next best thing, for sale

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:25:28 -0700

MAPUTO, 13 October 2008 (IRIN) - When classes finish at Francisco Manyanga Secondary School in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, most teachers and students head for the bus while others walk home. Júlia*, 16, a 10th-grade student, gets into a luxury car, where a man who looks to be in his 40s waits for her. The man is not her father, but her boyfriend, Lucas*.

It began one rainy day in March when he offered her a ride to school; soon they were dating. At the beginning of their relationship they used condoms, but not anymore. Júlia has never taken an HIV test, but believes she is negative.

Lucas, only three years younger than Júlia's father, buys her clothes, tops up her cell phone account, and gives her a monthly allowance. These benefits, more than the relationship itself, are what keep her by his side. more

Think Pink? No thanks

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:47:09 -0700

Pink is a trivializing colour, and there is nothing trivial about living with breast cancer.

October used to be loved for the red and yellow of fall leaves and the orange of pumpkins. Now the month is all pink all the time. As Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October has become 30 days of bad marketing for a good cause.

..... You can buy pink bling: bracelets, earrings, lockets, pins and key chains. Pink candles light up meals made from pink-friendly frozen foods and yogurt. For the more domestic, there are pink food mixers and vacuum cleaners. Hardware stores provide pink hammers and pink power tools, while over in computers, you can plug in pink with flash drives and MP3 players.

Jewish 'Modesty Patrols' Sow Fear in Israel

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:43:17 -0700

Jerusalem | Oct 5

NYT - In Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, where the rule of law sometimes takes a back seat to the rule of God, zealots are on a campaign to stamp out behavior they consider unchaste. They hurl stones at women for such ''sins'' as wearing a red blouse, and attack stores selling devices that can access the Internet.

In recent weeks, self-styled ''modesty patrols'' have been accused of breaking into the apartment of a Jerusalem woman and beating her for allegedly consorting with men. They have torched a store that sells MP4 players, fearing devout Jews would use them to download pornography.

''These breaches of purity and modesty endanger our community,'' said 38-year-old Elchanan Blau, defending the bearded, black-robed zealots. ''If it takes fire to get them to stop, then so be it.''

This is just sooo..Iranian ;)

Saudi Religious Leader Calls For Women Covering All But One Eye

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 19:23:18 -0700

Amy Beeman | Oct 5

AHN - A Saudi Arabian religious leader has recently said Islamic women should wear a full veil, or niqab, that covers all but one eye.

The reason, according to the ultra-conservative cleric, is because it would discourage them from wearing seductive eye make-up whereby their two eyes become fodder for inappropriate sexual thoughts.

Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan reportedly has wide influence over religious Saudis. He made the statement while being interviewed on Muslim satellite channel al-Majd.

US cuts funding for condoms in Marie Stopes' African clinics

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:29:53 -0700

Sarah Boseley | Oct 4

The Guardian - The US government is cutting its funding for the supply of contraceptives to family planning clinics run by Marie Stopes International in Africa, alleging that it condones forced abortions in China.

MSI has categorically denied that it supports forced abortions or coercive sterilisation in China or anywhere else in the world, and says that the actions of the Bush government will result in more abortions in Africa, as women will be unable to get contraceptives and will end up with unwanted pregnancies.

One of George Bush's first acts after becoming president was to stop all US funds to foreign organisations that helped women in any way to get an abortion, including providing advice. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) lost $34m that Congress had appropriated for it in 2002.

According to MSI, the inevitable consequence will be more abortions. It estimates that it will lose $1.5m worth of supplies in the next year, resulting in 325,000 extra unwanted pregnancies in the six African countries and 65,000 abortions.

"At a time when governments have pledged to increase their commitment to improving the health of women, only the Bush administration could find logic in the idea that they can reduce abortion and promote choice for women in China by causing more abortion," said Hovig.

A Challenge

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:28:41 -0700

In this post I was upbraided for not covering the sex-trade issue and was generally treated as if I am dismissive about women's issues in general: not so. Just check this section out.. It may not be something I write about all the time, but I do write about it. We cover the issue a lot. Perhaps not as much as we should, but we do cover it and we don't sweep it under the rug. (And, as a matter of fact, the second most important person, when it comes to keeping this blog running, is Tina--she may not 'blog' per se, but she runs the Newswire in the best way possible, so ponder that for a moment. She is my equal in all respects.)

So, here's the deal, Adrena, I'll be happy to investigate the issue as best I can around here within the time alloted. My classes start next week and I won't have much of it. But here's what you can do first: instead of upbraiding me for sweeping something under the rug (in a comment thread no less) why don't you write up a diary about it? Why don't you take some action? That's why we have diaries.

If any of you have issues you care about then write about them. That's why we have the diaries! Instead of complaining to the Editors for not covering issues you care about, do it yourself! Believe me, as I have already shown, I am and so are the Editors, happy to elevate important diary posts that are not just copy and past news items--those will rarely get elevated. Write something!

Tell us something we don't know. Educate us! That's what The Agonist is all about. That's the challenge. You write something up, give me some pointers, ideas, things to think about and I'll spend what time I have trying to get some on the ground reporting. But it is simply not fair to expect me to cover, or write about, every issue that every reader cares about.

We have a deal?

Why are mothers still dying in childbirth?

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 03:28:26 -0700

Rebecca Seal & Katrina Manson. | Sept 28

The Observer - More than 500,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth every year in the developing world due to lack of proper care

It is one of the world's greatest hidden epidemics, but the search for a solution is hopelessly underfunded. On average, every minute of every day a woman somewhere dies in childbirth or pregnancy, the overwhelming majority in developing countries.

It is estimated that they number more than half a million every year, in what Norway's Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, told the United Nations last week was 'the biggest expression of brutality to women I can imagine'.

One of the UN's eight Millennium Development Goals in 2000 was to reduce the ratio of maternal mortality - the number of mothers who die per 100,000 - recorded over the period 1990-2015 by three quarters. But as the 2015 target date gets ever closer, it has become clear that attempts to lower the death toll have failed.

Five women beaten and buried alive in Pakistan 'honour killing'

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:13:44 -0700

Omar Waraich | Islamabad | Sept 2

The Independent - Pakistan ordered an inquiry yesterday into how five women were buried alive in an "honour killing". Three suspects were arrested as condemnation of the outrage spread across the country.

The atrocity took place six weeks ago in a remote region of the vast and restive province of Baluchistan. Three teenage girls named as Hameeda, Raheema and Fauzia, attempted to marry men of their own choosing, and were then reportedly kidnapped by armed local tribesmen along with two older women.

According to human rights groups and local reports, the five women were driven away to a desert area by men belonging to the Umrani tribe. The three teenage girls were hauled out, beaten and shot. Injured, but still alive, they were thrown into a ditch. When the two older women, aged 45 and 38, protested at what was happening, they were subjected to the same treatment. "All five women were connected," said Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch.

The killings have been defended by politicians from Baluchistan. Reacting to a female colleague's attempt to raise the issue in parliament, Israrullah Zehri said such acts were part of a "centuries-old tradition" and he would "continue to defend them".

Conservatives Lose Key Battle Against Abortion

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:55:35 -0700

Diego Cevallos | Mexico City | Aug 28

IPS - The Mexican government, Catholic Church and conservative groups lost a crucial battle Wednesday in their fight against abortion, which was legalised in the capital in April 2007.

In Supreme Court deliberations on a legal challenge brought by the conservative federal government last year with the aim of overturning the 2007 Mexico City law, it became clear Wednesday that at least seven of the 11 justices would vote that the law does not violate the constitution.

Although the Supreme Court sessions will continue, there is no longer any chance that the Mexico City law will be revoked, because at least eight of the 11 magistrates would have to declare it unconstitutional.

"Reason, the law, and women’s right to decide have prevailed," Lorena Martínez, a member of a women’s rights group at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told IPS.