Burma's Women Activists

While Burma was in the eyes of the World when the cyclone hit, the news has now faded. Burmese activists within the country, on the border, and in the diaspora continue to work not only on relief but restoring their human rights. World Pulse magazine has a wonderful piece this month on a number of amazing women activists.

Check it out:

TURKEY: Kurdish child singers face prison

Craziness....


[19 June 2008] - Members of a Kurdish children's choir face up to five years in prison as they go on trial in south eastern Turkey.

The choir - whose members are aged from 12 to 17 - is accused of spreading propaganda for the outlawed Kurdish separatist rebel group, the PKK.

The charges were brought after the group took part in a world music festival in San Francisco, and sang a march in Kurdish.

The prosecutor's indictment claims the song is the anthem of the PKK.

Turkey has been fighting the PKK since the 1980s, in a conflict that has cost almost 40,000 lives.

In a statement on the case, Amnesty International argues that singing a historic anthem cannot be judged a threat to public order - and is therefore a matter of free expression. It warns that the children will be considered prisoners of conscience if they are found guilty.

Old Kurdish

The children's choir performed in America in several languages, but it is a march in Kurdish that has caused the controversy.

The prosecutor claims the song "Ey Raqip", or "Hey, Enemy", is the anthem of the PKK: the separatist militant group Turkish troops have been fighting for two decades.

The indictment also says PKK flags were displayed at the music festival - and accuses the children of making propaganda for terrorists.

One of the singers told the BBC the lyrics to the march were in an old form of Kurdish, and he and his friends did not even understand them. He said the choir wanted to showcase Kurdish culture, not engage in politics - and they only sang the march in response to a request from the audience.

Three teenagers - aged 15 to 17 - will be tried in an adult, serious crimes court in Diyarbakir, in the mainly Kurdish south-east of the country.

They face up to five years in prison if they are convicted.

Six younger choir-members, aged 12-15, will be tried in a children's court on the same charge in July.

Suspicion

Michael Santoro, who is in charge of the San Francisco World Music Festival and, who personally invited the choir from Diyarbakir to take part, said: "These events were not political propaganda, nor were they designed with a separatist agenda in mind."

He said the events were "designed to mentor, empower and showcase musicians, composers and artists that historically have been under-represented due to cultural, political and economic barriers".

As for the prosecutor's claim that the children performed beneath PKK flags, Mr Santoro recalls that one audience member draped the flag of Kurdish northern Iraq on part of the stage, but says there were no PKK flags or insignia at the venue.

There is far more freedom in Turkey today to speak or sing in Kurdish than when the PKK took up arms, in the days when even the existence of the Kurds was officially denied here.

Private courses in the Kurdish language are now permitted and there is some Kurdish language broadcasting on Turkish state TV.

But there are still strict limits. Those who insist on a distinct Kurdish identity are widely viewed with suspicion and state prosecutors regularly file criminal charges for spreading PKK propaganda or for supporting separatism.

The main pro-Kurdish political party, the DTP, has 20 seats in the current parliament but is now on trial and facing closure. It is accused of having links to the PKK and being the "focus of activities against the integrity of the state".

Kurdish human rights groups also say many children who were involved in street protests that became riots in the south-east two years ago are still on trial there.

They have been charged with supporting the PKK - or even belonging to it.

Kassim the Dream

I was able to watch Kassim the Dream tonight at Silverdocs. The documentary is about Kassim is a World Champion Boxer, Kassim "The Dream" Ouma - born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6. When the rebels took over the government, Kassim became an army soldier who was forced to commit many horrific atrocities, making him both a victim and perpetrator. He soon discovered the army’s boxing team and realized the sport was his ticket to freedom. After 12 years of warfare, Kassim defected from Africa and arrived in the United States. Homeless and culture shocked, he quickly rose through the boxing ranks and became Junior Middleweight Champion of the World.



I was hesitant about seeing Kassim the Dream as I feared that it was going to portray Kassim and child soldiers in general as 'ticking time bombs.' Instead, I felt it let Kassim's personality shine, showed his complexities and his resilience. The Washington Post's article on Kassim delves further into Kassim's life.

A Powerful Noise

I had the pleasure of seeing a very powerful documentary, "A Powerful Noise," this weekend at Silverdocs. The film follows three women activists in Mali, Vietnam, and Bosnia who have dedicated their lives to empowering other women in their communities (see their bios below). A core intention of the film is to motivate viewers to contribute to the empowerment of women like those profiled through donations to CARE. While I'm not a critic of CARE's work, I was disappointed that the producers of the film did not provide an avenue for viewers to directly donate to the organizations profiled in the film. After a thorough search on-line, the organizations profiled in 'A Powerful Noise' do not have a web presence, and their is very little information in English. I would have liked to have seen the producers profile more information on these women, their organizations, and a way for people to directly donate to them. One of the core components of the Global Women's Network wiki project I'm working on is to give organizations like those profiled the web presence they need to attract the funding they deserve!


Jacqueline Dembele
Known as “Madame Urbain” to locals, Jacqueline fights forced labor practices and illiteracy in the slums of Bamako, Mali. Having escaped the dangers of urban migration by attending school herself, Madame Urbain stands up for the rights of powerless girls who are often abused in the workplace or on the streets of the big city. At education centers throughout the city, Madame
Urbain’s organization, APAF, provides girls a basic education, teaches them vocational skills, and places them in good jobs to earn money. The group mentors graduates of the centers and provides grants so they can start small businesses as tailors, clothes designers and soap makers. Madame Urbain’s ability to protect and educate rural girls has begun to change perceptions about the importance of education and the role of women in Malian society.


Bui My Hanh
Hanh learned that she had contracted HIV after her husband and 5-year-old daughter died from the ravaging effects of AIDS. Bouncing back from despair, Hanh started a self-help group in Northern Vietnam, called Immortal Flower, to give people living with HIV/AIDS a place for support, counseling and health care. The group of six quickly grew to over 130 members in just one year. In a country where HIV/AIDS is regarded as a social evil due to its connection to drug use and prostitution, blameless individuals suffer discrimination from their families and society. As a community advocate and mentor, Hanh provides prevention awareness to the public, as well as medical assistance to affected families. Her goal is to stop the burgeoning AIDS
crisis and to prevent stigma and discrimination against survivors.


Nada Markovic
Nada is a working mother of three children. As a refugee, she survived the mass genocide of the Bosnian War. Her women’s association, Maya Kravica, is helping ease hostilities between Serbs and Bosniaks (Muslims) in a region marred by war crimes and massive destruction. Under Nada’s leadership, the group is reconstructing communities, integrating schools, supporting
poor families and preventing domestic violence so that the country’s children can have a brighter future. Nada is building an agricultural cooperative to offer employment opportunities for war widows, and fair trade markets for families to sell their crops and livestock. Every year, the women’s association showcases their members’ knitting work and agricultural produce
at the Raspberry Days Festival, a new tradition that celebrates the progress being made between Serbs and Bosniaks.

Ever wondered how many shoes equal a yard?

I saw this post on lifehacker and needed to share. I don't know when I've actually had a measuring instrument with me when I needed to measure/weigh something. "Web site SensibleUnits converts virtually any unit of measure to real-world objects to help you get a better understanding of the practical size of something."

Sensible Units Converts Measurements to Real-World Objectseasurement, top, webapps, conversion

Web site SensibleUnits converts virtually any unit of measure to real-world objects to help you get a better understanding of the practical size of something. We've shown you before that you can use Google to calculate most conversions, but what Google doesn't provide you are real-world applications for what a unit of measure means in a physical space. SensibleUnits can tell you, for example, how many CDs you'll need to burn 16GBs, how many grains of sand are in 30 cubic millimeters, or how many sheets of paper would make up 30 square feet. The site also does straight unit-to-unit conversion if you're looking for lightning fast conversions from one unit of measure into a multitude of others. UPDATE: Our apologies for the déjà vu.

SensibleUnits [via CyberNet]

Whistles Against Violence and Exploitation: WAVE

Recently, the media has paid long overdue attention to the issue of Violence Against Women, specifically in the context of conflict as noted in my earlier posts. Today's CNN article on rape in Darfur reminded me of an idea I came up with two years when walking home at dusk from work. I had received some lingering glances and calls from a car passing by, in defense I immediately grabbed my key ring which included a very loud whistle that I had been given to protect myself. I had the very simple thought that if using a whistle to create a loud noise could protect me, could it protect women in other very different situations? Has it even been tried? I wrote up this very quick (I emphasize quick) concept note in 2006 exploring the idea which includes my research.

Whistles Against Violence and Exploitation

WAVE

angelapeltzer@gmail.com

Problem: How to empower women and children so that they can prevent and protect themselves from violence? How to give them a voice?

Solution/Thought: I pondered this question constantly as I believe that it is a core issue needing to be addressed. Many times agencies (UNICEF/UN/African Peacekeeping Forces) are given the mandate in to protect women and children but in effect there is actually very little they can do without the ability to arm and shoot possible offenders. In many cases, the agencies there to protect vulnerable women and children are also in fact the ones exploiting them (see Sarah’s report, also report on Liberia children, recently article on the Congo). Given that no person can rely on someone to protect them, what steps/things can people do themselves to either protect themselves, or to feel like they are protecting themselves.

During a late night walk home, I was slightly on edge due to lingering glances and calls from a car passing by. It was in this instant that I took out my keys in order to protect myself. I feel protected with my keys as I have a whistle on them which I was given at a security training so that I could protect myself. The whistle is a ‘bobbi whistle’ which gives out a very loud noise so others would know that I would be in trouble. The reasoning behind the whistle is in line with the advice that women are given when traveling, when someone does something that makes you feel uncomfortable, shout, make noise, draw attention to the situation.

My question was…..”Why aren’t women/children being given whistles in order to protect themselves…in order to give them voice….has anyone been doing this?”

Is this being done in the field? Have people been giving whistles to women?

From the initial research I have done, the answer is, 'no'. There is one paper written by the Brookings Institution:

Prioritizing Protection and Assistance for Africa's Internally Displaced Women and Children Ethiopian Community Development Council, May 26, 2004 Erin Mooney, Deputy Director, Brookings-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement

In Africa, and around the world, the overwhelming majority of internally displaced persons are women and children. Yet, responses to internal displacement regularly overlook or de-prioritize their protection, assistance and reintegration needs; sometimes, they even exacerbate them. If IDP women and children are not being protected and assisted, however, this means that most IDPs' needs are not being met. Ensuring protection and assistance for internally displaced women and children therefore is not a marginal issue but is central to the effectiveness of any response. The challenges of doing so can be significant. But allow me today to outline just seven key areas where greater attention could yield important results. A first and critical step is to gather disaggregated data. Statistics and needs assessments must factor in gender and age and in addition must recognize the particular situation and needs of different groups of IDP women and children, for instance women heads-of-household and unaccompanied minors. Particular attention must be paid to the situation of adolescent girls, who are one of the most vulnerable and neglected groups.

Second, priority must be given to ensuring the protection of IDP women and children. Concrete measures would include: Family tracing and reunification to restore the most basic unit of protection, the family. Interceding with authorities to stop the recruitment of children into fighting forces. In Liberia, where it is estimated that half of the fighting forces were children, IDP children were particularly vulnerable to abduction and forced recruitment. In Uganda, tens of thousands of children are compelled to flee nightly into urban areas and sleep on the streets in an effort to escape abduction.

Particular effort must be made to protecting girls and women from sexual violence and abuse, which is rampant. Practical steps would include: Ensuring secure and well-lit latrine areas in IDP camps Providing fuel to women so they don't have to walk to unsafe areas to gather firewood. Currently in Darfur, Sudan, IDP women report that if they leave the vicinity of the camps to collect firewood, they will almost certainly be kidnapped and raped. Even something as simple as giving IDP women and girls lanterns and whistles can significantly reduce their vulnerability to sexual assault. These and other practical measures are set out in UNHCR's Guidelines on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Displaced Populations, which now apply to IDP women as well. International personnel have a personal responsibility to not engage in sexual exploitation and abuse of those they are supposed to protect and assist. In 2002, a UNHCR-Save the Children report exposed widespread sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel in West Africa. Codes of conduct now exist, but the problem of sexual exploitation by peacekeepers and other international personnel persists; it currently is widespread in Liberia and, as recently exposed, also is rampant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where UN peacekeepers are sexually exploiting adolescent IDP girls as young as 13. Better training of staff and closer monitoring and enforcement of codes of behaviour are essential.

Third, schooling for IDP children must be made a priority in emergencies. Too often, education is treated as a secondary need, to be addressed once conflicts have subsided. Often, however, conflicts can go on for years or even decades, meaning that many displaced children grow up largely uneducated. In camps or settlements, educational facilities often simply don't exist. Where they do exist, schools typically are makeshift, under-resourced and limited to primary education. In camps I visited in Liberia, half of IDP children had no access to school whatsoever and many of the schools that did exist lacked the most basic supplies, ex. blackboards, chalk or even roofs. Teachers also may be scarce as they too have been uprooted. The Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that primary school is supposed to be free; in practice, there are often school fees or material requirements (ex. uniforms) that IDP families can ill-afford. Indeed, IDP children often have to work in order to help ensure their families' survival. However, attending school is, in addition to providing education, one of the most important sources of protection and psycho-social support for children. Much greater efforts are needed to facilitate IDP children's right to education.

Fourth, women must have access to meaningful skills-training and income-generating opportunities. Too often, women have been relegated to activities such as soap-making and tie-dye, which brings in little income. Instead, women, who in displacement situations often become the heads-of-household, need access to economic activity that would enable them to become self-supporting or at least able to meet the daily subsistence needs of their families. Displaced women in a number of countries have shown themselves adept at working in non-traditional activities such as carpentry, masonry, road-building, and appliance repair. Women and adolescent girls must be able, encouraged and supported, for instance with child-care facilities, to participate in such skills-training and employment activities. Women also must have equal access to credit, to enable them to start their own small businesses. Ensuring that women have means of self-sufficiency, it must be underscored, also is critical to reducing their vulnerability to sexual exploitation.

Fifth, millions of IDP women and children have experienced trauma and need psychosocial help. Increasingly, there are programs for child soldiers, but counseling also is needed for other groups, including girls who were abducted as sexual slaves and face tremendous difficulties in being accepted back into their communities. Programs are needed to help these girls make informed choices and to work with their families and communities in order to facilitate their reintegration.

Sixth, restrictions on women's ability to own, acquire and manage property must be overcome. Widowed women are particularly vulnerable because in a number of countries they are unable to inherit land or property from either their husbands or their parents. This was a significant problem in Rwanda for the many displaced widows seeking to return home after the genocide. Recently in Liberia, and at the urging of local women's groups, national law has been amended to allow women married under customary law to inherit their husband's property. However, efforts are needed to ensure that IDP women are aware of these rights. Due to low literacy, in particular among women, creative dissemination techniques are needed.

Seventh and finally, women and youth must be given the opportunity to become actively involved in the decisions that affect their lives. Too often, it is the men who come forward to speak on behalf of IDP communities despite the fact that men are a small minority of the displaced. This trend was evident, for instance, in efforts earlier this month by human rights monitors to consult with IDPs in Darfur, Sudan. In Liberia, I met with IDP women representatives who did actually have a seat on the camp management committees, but who experienced great difficulty in having their concerns listened to by the men and even in being informed as to when the committee meetings would occur.

Agencies have found involving women in program design and delivery to be particularly efficient and effective, as women are best placed to say what their families need. Moreover, doing so can be critical for women's protection: distribution of aid by women directly to women has been proven to minimize problems of sexual abuse and exploitation as well as to ensure more equitable distribution of food within the families, where otherwise girls tend to "eat less and eat last". Women and youth can also play an instrumental role in peace processes, as recent experiences in Burundi and Liberia have shown. Their active participation in rebuilding the country is critical.

In conclusion, these are just some key areas in which greater attention to addressing the protection, assistance and reintegration needs of IDP women and children is critical to an effective response to situations of displacement overall. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement give specific attention to these needs and can be a useful tool in such efforts. Most important, is to prioritize the needs of IDP women and children from the earliest stages of humanitarian and development programming; at present, the prevailing tendency is to consider women and children's needs only once general programs are in place, but programs which in fact are often resistant to such concerns. In the words gender specialist Julie Mertus, it is like adding eggs on top of a cake after it has already started to bake. Here, I would underscore, the results are of course are much more serious as the physical security, well-being and basic human rights of millions of IDP women and children are at stake.

http://www.brook.edu/fp/projects/idp/20042605mooney.htm

This is the only recommendation I have found to-date asking agencies to give whistles to women. Have they followed this advice? Not exactly, they have given whistles…but to monitors and police, not the women.

Feature: Refugees rally together at Ghana camp

ACCRA, Ghana (UNHCR) – From a "hotbed" of crime to a model community, Ghana's Buduburam refugee camp has come a long way as its residents work with local authorities to take charge of their own safety and welfare. The community's efforts were highlighted recently when the Ghanaian government inaugurated a refugee community mobilisation project at Buduburam to improve the physical safety of camp residents. The mid-February ceremony was attended by the Ghanaian Deputy Minister of the Interior, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Refugee Board, as well as UNHCR Representative, Thomas Albrecht. "Together, UNHCR, our Ghanaian hosts and our partners continue to set a positive example for many refugee situations not only in Africa, but also around the globe," said Albrecht. "With both courage and care, we should now seek to extend this example and prove to all that refugees and host communities can not only live peacefully side by side, but also work together to create and maintain a safe and secure environment for all." Buduburam camp is located some 35 km west of the capital city, Accra. The camp hosts Ghana's largest concentration of Liberians, with some 28,000 refugees who had fled during the 13 years of unrest in Liberia. More could arrive after fleeing the ongoing crisis in Côte d'Ivoire. The limited capacity of the local police in Buduburam, coupled with a relative congestion of the camp, had resulted in increased incidents of crime, including several cases of armed robberies and assaults. Throughout Greater Accra, Buduburam was becoming known as a "hotbed" of criminal activity. In response, camp residents initiated the Neighbourhood Watch Team to patrol the camp at night and enhance police capacity. UNHCR saw this as an invaluable opportunity to assist the camp with security issues and support refugee action. Today, the Neighbourhood Watch Team has 200 volunteer members, both male and female. The team is guided by a statute, developed with assistance from a UNHCR protection officer, defining the roles and responsibilities of each member and of the organisation as a whole. This statute was accepted by the Ghana Police Service, which screened and trained Team members. To further support the initiative, UNHCR contributed overalls, raincoats, torch lights, whistles, wooden batons, and boots to all members. It also provided training in the prevention of and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Camp manager John Thompson said that the camp's security has greatly improved since the Watch Team patrols started. Camp resident and chairwoman of the Liberian Refugee Women's Organisation, Irene Jayee, said that before the Watch Team, she had no peace of mind in the camp after dusk. Now, she said, "I can even sleep with my window open." At the inauguration ceremony, the Neighbourhood Watch Team – dressed in orange overalls and black boots, and equipped with whistles and batons – stood proudly as UNHCR's Albrecht formally introduced their team and their functions to the community. In addition, the Ghanaian Deputy Minister, the Honourable Kwadwo Afram Asiedu, received UNHCR's donation of communication equipment to the police stationed at Buduburam camp. The donation is part of a partnership between the refugee agency and the Ghanaian police to support and improve security in the camp. UNHCR was also instrumental in the appointment of two female police officers to the camp. "It is my belief that the radio equipment will help improve the security of the residents of Buduburam camp as well as make the Police more responsive in the performance of their duties," said the Deputy Minister, thanking UNHCR for the donation. Asiedu also brought a message from the President: "I wish to assure you that the Government of His Excellency, President J. A. Kufuor, will leave no stone unturned in protecting and seeking the welfare of the residents of Buduburam." The February event was the second time Asiedu had made an official visit to Buduburam in three weeks. He said, "The frequency of our visits to the Buduburam refugee camp shows a rekindling of our relationship with the residents of Buduburam." In 2000, UNHCR formally ended all individual assistance to Liberian refugees when repatriation efforts intensified. Two years later, the agency returned to Buduburam camp when the situation deteriorated in Liberia. It found that the refugees had done well despite the withdrawal of assistance. Buduburam is a prime example of refugees' entrepreneurial potential. The camp bustles with commercial activity. Grocery stands, hairdressers, communication centres and small restaurants line the streets. "I've never seen a refugee camp with an Internet café," said Albrecht. "There are a lot of positive features here." Buduburam also stands as an example of self-help, and the Neighbourhood Watch Team joins a list of community service-oriented groups working to alleviate the plight of residents. For instance, the Liberian Welfare Council is an exercise in self-governance, consisting of deputies representing each residential zone. The Council monitors activities, settles disputes, appeals externally for funding and acts as the liaison point with the Ghanaian government. This exceptional community spirit is also embodied in the 4,700 women residents who have come together to form the Liberian Refugee Women's Organisation. The organisation's raison d'être is to improve camp life for the sake of the children. Members have designed and implemented a waste disposal management system in order to tackle sanitation problems. They also run a training centre for women to acquire marketable skills, and manage a day care centre for children. The UN refugee agency in Accra has now substantially increased its community-based support to Buduburam camp to complement the many admirable initiatives by the refugee population. "The exceptional feature about Buduburam camp is the level of self-reliance and community spirit we see amongst the refugees," noted Albrecht. "UNHCR believes that ongoing initiatives such as the Neighbourhood Watch programme and enhanced support for government authorities will continue to ensure the safety and tranquillity of the camp." By Krista Zongolowicz UNHCR Ghana

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=3e706b332&page=news

Article by interaction asking for women and children to be given whistles and establish a community based response mechanism

http://www.interaction.org/files.cgi/4784_Protection_in_Practice.pdf

How to give whistles?

Working through NGOs, women’s organizations, schools etc, along with picture instructions on how to use the whistles. It might also be possible to put pressure on UNHCR to buy whistles. These whistles could either be provided by WAVE or by WAVE’s vocational training/microeconomic opportunity of women producing whistles (see paragraph below).

How to produce the whistles?

Outside of bulk purchasing of plastic good whistles, it would be IDEAL to use the production of whistles as a micro-economic opportunity for women. The question that needs to be researched is whether or not it is possible to produce a quality whistle at home. Otherwise an artistic whistle could be produced for fundraising purposes. If a whistle can’t be made at home, what kind of investment is needed to have a meeting place with the proper machinery (small) that could produce steel/metal whistles. Whistles could possibly differ by region depending on the indigenous materials available and what the whistles could be made of. Fancier whistles used more for fundraising purpose could also be painted, etc, and would thus be more decorative and symbolic rather than simply just functional.

Irrespective of the cost issues, it is possible to make the production of lanyards a small micro-economic opportunity with something written in a local language, etc…or even the production from shoe laces, putting together, assembling etc. Economic opportunity and self sufficiency is another mechanism to cut down on violence and make women less vulnerable.

These whistles are envisioned to protect on two levels which constitute different levels of support. Violence out of the home, IDP camps, etc, would constitute more training for watch groups, police, etc, on how to respond. As far as domestic violence, more should be done as far as community based response so that women will come and support other women.

Whistles would also be issued to children with a very clear message for them to be used in situations where they feel threatened. In communities where it might be hard to reach the women, multiple whistles may be given children in the hopes that they will teach their mothers and older sisters on how to use the whistles.

Platform Schools: Inderjit Khurana

If the child cannot come to the school, then the school must come to the child.
- Inderjit Khurana, Ruchika Social Service Organisation

I first learned about Inderjit Khurana and her platform schools a few years ago when watching PBS's New Heroes program. Now that I work on international child labor issues, I've come to appreciate her work even more.

As a schoolteacher, Inderjit Khurana used to take the train to work. And each day, in the stations, she would come into contact with dozens of children who spent their days begging from train passengers rather than attending school. She learned that it was not a rare or isolated problem and that millions of children in India live on the streets.

Convinced that these children would never be able to escape their conditions of poverty and homelessness without education, and realizing that it would be impossible to enroll these children in school, Inderjit decided to create a model program for "taking the school to the most out-of-school children."

Khurana founded the Ruchika Social Service Organization in 1985 to bring schools to the children. Her "train platform schools" aim to provide a creative school atmosphere and equip children with the basic levels of education necessary to allow them to work productively, enjoy many of life's pleasures, and become positive contributors to their communities.

Khurana's ultimate goals reach far beyond the 20 platform schools she and her colleagues have created in India's Bhubaneswar region. She is determined that her program become a model for effectively changing the lives of the poorest children throughout India and the world.

What three lessons has Inderjit learned while working with child laborers?

1. Schools for working children should have absolutely ZERO barriers, whether physical ( e.g. walls) or of day to day organization ( e.g. Of rules and regulations); and should require MINIMAL disruption of the children's existing routines. i.e. schooling in their space, their time, according to methods and with curriculum closely related to their life-experience.

2. The schooling programme should incorporate transition from the Platform School with its informal, activity oriented format , to Mainstream Schools' traditional structured methods of teaching. For this to be successful, the transition in teaching methods of the informal school to the formal school should be gradual. AND there should be a sponsorship programme thereafter which incorporates provision of books, uniforms and continuing monitoring cum counselling relating to the child's progress in the mainstream school.

3. For older children who are unable or unwilling to enter into mainstream schools, the best school would be a programme of vocational training equipping them for entry into the workforce. Their entry into the earning fraternity becomes a visible symbol for others to emulate and and will encourage other working children to at least try going to school.

The Sari Soldiers

If only I was in New York this weekend, I'd be checking out the Sari Soldiers at the Human Rights Watch Festival.

Women Make Movies (www.wmm.com) new acquisition THE SARI SOLDIERS by filmmaker Julie Bridgham, is recipient of the 2008 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival (HRWIFF) Nestor Almendros Award for Courage and Commitment in Filmmaking and will make its North American debut as the festival centerpiece, with a discussion with the filmmaker to follow.
(see more screening times below).

Filmed over three years, during Nepal's transition from dictatorial monarchy to fledgling democracy, THE SARI SOLDIERS is the extraordinary story of six women and their conflicting efforts to shape the political future of their country. From intimate interviews to uprisings in seemingly peaceful rural villages and rallies in bustling Kathmandu, Bridgham's camera sensitively captures women on multiple sides of the escalating civil war. Read more about the film here: http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c727.shtml.

***THE SARI SOLDIERS, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, NYC
Screening Schedule:
-Friday, June 20, 9pm Discussion with filmmaker to follow - FESTIVAL CENTERPIECE
-Sunday, June 22, **3:30 pm Discussion with filmmaker to follow
-Tuesday, June 24, 1pm
**Sign language interpretation will be provided for the introduction and post-film discussion

All screenings are at the Walter Reade Theater 165 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023.

The Sari Soldiers

A film by Julie Bridgham

US/Nepal, 2008, 90 minutes, Color, VHS/DVD, Nepali/English, Subtitled
Order No. W08950

Filmed over three years during the most historic and pivotal time in Nepal's modern history, The Sari Soldiers is an extraordinary story of six women's courageous efforts to shape Nepal's future in the midst of an escalating civil war against Maoist insurgents, and the King's crackdown on civil liberties. When Devi, mother of a 15-year-old girl, witnesses her niece being tortured and murdered by the Royal Nepal Army, she speaks publicly about the atrocity. The army abducts her daughter in retaliation, and Devi embarks on a three-year struggle to uncover her daughter's fate and see justice done. The Sari Soldiers follows her and five other brave women, including Maoist Commander Kranti; Royal Nepal Army Officer Rajani; Krishna, a monarchist from a rural community who leads a rebellion against the Maoists; Mandira, a human rights lawyer; and Ram Kumari, a young student activist shaping the protests to reclaim democracy. The Sari Soldiers intimately delves into the extraordinary journey of these women on opposing sides of the conflict, through the democratic revolution that reshapes the country's future.

Women Forging New Bonds to Break Old Chains

The stories we listened to made us bleed inside, the genital wounds we later had to help nurse evoked us, the long distances we traveled every day and night to educate girls on their rights made us strong, the songs of joy and sorrow the girls sang made us more passionate, everything to do with girlhood and the fact that we were there for the girls pushed us to do even more and more from the heart, soul, mind and all. The fact that we finally claimed the girls' spaces where the girls now live and develop free of violence makes it imperative that we share these great tidings” - GCN Director and Founder Betty Makoni

The Washington Post had an excellent article today on women activists outside the United States who have been lobbying Congress on the International Violence Against Women Act.

The legislation, introduced in the House this spring, seeks to link foreign assistance and diplomacy in about 20 countries, said Paula J. Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs. The bill's other goals include reducing the rate of HIV/AIDS, boosting prosperity in impoverished countries and alleviating conditions that invite terrorism.

The four women highlighted in the article are doing their part, more American women need to do their part and lobby their representatives. The article highlights one of my own heroes, Betty Makoni, and the work she has done empowering girls in Zimbabwe through the Girl Child Network. OneWorld describes Betty's passion, courage, and commitment in the article below:

Betty Makoni

© World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child

Text messages. Strangers approaching in rural gas stations. Betty Makoni is bombarded by requests for help 24 hours a day.

Today Betty Makoni is a well-known -- and tireless -- children's rights advocate in one of the worst places in the world to be a child: Zimbabwe. But 30 years ago she was a vulnerable child herself. At the age of six Makoni was raped -- one of ten young girls violated by a local shop owner. With little family or community support, she committed herself to working -- to earning money for school fees -- and to studying.

"Unless we start challenging the systems that are currently in existence and come up with an activist, development organization that supports and helps young girls to develop, there is going to be continuous gender imbalance in our society."

By the age of 24 she became a teacher and saw that things were still no better for the girls she worked with. So she started a club -- a place where girls could talk about their problems, support each other, and begin to take back their rights. It was popular -- immensely popular, and it quickly spread to many schools and towns. The Girl Child Network was soon formed, and today the non-profit organization supports 500 girls’ clubs with 30,000 members all over Zimbabwe.

Makoni's Girl Child Network has even helped create "safe villages," where girl victims of abuse, child labor, forced marriage, and rape live together in security.

Over the past year, Makoni was elected to the Ashoka fellowship, highlighted in the book Women Who Light the Dark, and featured in the documentary "Tapestries of Hope."

In March, over 5 million children at 20,000 schools worldwide voted to award Makoni this year's prestigious World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child.

Betty Makoni and her girls' network march for girls' rights. © World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child

But in August, she found herself in political trouble in her politically troubled country. Working with a U.S. filmmaker to tell the stories of young girls abused in Zimbabwe, she was arrested and intimidated by authorities and held in a Harare jail. Even after her release, she was required to return to the police station for interrogations day after day after day -- forcing her to miss trips and interrupting her vital work on behalf of the country's vulnerable girls.

Four years ago Makoni was attacked in her home by masked men who broke her door down with an axe. One of them said: "You’re the woman that causes nothing but trouble for us," before they were scared off by Makoni's husband.

But despite the threats to her life and despite her country's political upheaval and its disastrous economic circumstances, Betty Makoni does not relent in her struggle for girls' empowerment. "Unless we start challenging the systems that are currently in existence and come up with an activist, development organization that supports and helps young girls to develop, there is going to be continuous gender imbalance in our society," she told a San Francisco audience in 2003.

Her work continues.

Merry-Go-Rounds and Clean Water = PlayPumps!

What happens when you connect a merry-go-round and a water pump..........clean water amidst children's laughs. Playpumps was started in 1989 in South Africa by Trevor Field. Playpumps' mission is to "help improve the lives of children and their families by providing easy access to clean drinking water, enhancing public health, and offering play equipment to millions across Africa."

The science behind the Playpumps is not rocket science...putting the two together is:

• While children have fun spinning on the PlayPump merry-go-round (1), clean water is pumped (2) from underground (3) into a 2,500-liter tank (4), standing seven meters above the ground.
• A simple tap (5) makes it easy for adults and children to draw water. Excess water is diverted from the storage tank back down into the borehole (6).
• The water storage tank (7) provides a rare opportunity to advertise in outlaying communities. All four sides of the tank are leased as billboards, with two sides for consumer advertising and the other two sides for health and educational messages. The revenue generated by this unique model pays for pump maintenance.
• The design of the PlayPump water system makes it highly effective, easy to operate and very economical, keeping costs and maintenance to an absolute minimum.
• Capable of producing up to 1,400 liters of water per hour at 16 rpm from a depth of 40 meters, it is effective up to a depth of 100 meters.

Check out the Playpumps in action:



If your a lover of handbags like myself, you can support Playpumps in away that benefits yourself through the purchase of a flashbag.

Flashbags were created by two entrepreneurial women in Burlington, Vermont with the intention of 'carrying a conversation'. You can purchase bags to benefit organizations like and PlayPumps or Women for Women International or you can have can use your own pictures to create a own-of-a-kind bag all for yourself.

Rape as a Weapon of War

I began a fan of Nicholas Kristof back when he was writing on Darfur and I give him kudos for today's article on Rape as a Weapon of War. The Kristof article is due in part to this Thursday's United Nations Security Council special session on sexual violence this Thursday, with Condoleezza Rice coming to New York to lead the debate. Recently, there has been more attention paid to sexual violence during conflict, both by rebels forces as in the documentary the Greatest Silence, as well as violence perpetuated by those who are the ones that are supposed to protect. Despite this trauma, a recent research report, "Survey on War Affected Youth II" highlights the resilience of women and girls.

Read more here:

What are the impacts of war on women? Where should the Government and international NGOs focus their aid and development funds after the fighting stops?

Today we released a new policy report on women, girls, and the war in northern Uganda. In it, we describe Phase II of the Survey of War Affected Youth, or SWAY II: a survey of more than 600 women and girls affected by the war in northern Uganda.

The findings challenge the conventional wisdom on women after war. Almost all aid has been targeted at women formerly abducted by the rebel group, especially those forced to become 'wives' to rebel commanders, and who returned from the bush with children. These women are much more accepted and supported by their communities and families than we think, and in many cases are doing just as well (or, rather, just as poorly) as other women. Yet aid seldom reaches those women without sensational stories.

The report also takes a close look at educational and employment gaps with males, domestic violence, physical injuries, and mental health. We describe the role of women in the rebel group, and the nature of violence and abduction.

Download this report, with high resolution photos (PDF, 3.2 mb)
Download this report, with lower resolution photos (PDF, 1.0 mb)

A Father's Day Post: Working with Men and Boys to End Violence Against Women

On this Father's Day, I want to highlight an organization doing great work combating Violence Against Women: Men Can Stop Rape. Men Can Stop Rape has been doing amazing work mobilizing male youth to prevent men's violence against women.



I've lost count of the number of seminars, workshops, fundraisers, and lobbying days on violence against women with an audience made up of entirely women. The onus on this absence is not entirely on the men, but often it is also in part due to an organizations lack of engagement with men. If issues of Violence Against Women are to be treated as a basic human right and a not merely a women's issue, more organizations like Men Can Stop Rape need to exist. Thankfully, men and boys are becoming engaged on this issue globally.

• The INFO Project's Resources on Working with Men on VAW issues.
• The White Ribbon Campaign
• Youth Forums Against Gender Based Violence
• Men in the Movement to End Violence Against Women: Training and Education
• Building a Movement of Men Working to End Violence Against Women