Posts Tagged ‘Human Rights’
Katherine Zavala – IDEX’s Program Manager, Grassroots Alliances – reports from South Africa where she is on a site visit to our partners.
Herschelle Milford, Director, IDEX partner Surplus People's Project
Today I’m driving up north through the Western Cape with IDEX Catalyst Grantee Surplus People’s Project (SPP) to visit several farm workers and farm dwellers.
As soon as we leave the urban areas of Cape Town, I find myself in a semi-arid deserted landscape.
We are on our way to the Cederberg area where there are large white commercial farmers monocropping citrus fruits, particularly oranges. Known as the first place in the Western Cape to be colonized, the region was the starting point of the genocide of the indigenous Khoisan communities, known more popularly in the West as the Bushman.
The people I’m meeting today are descendants of these indigenous communities who, during apartheid, were classified as “coloured.”
Today, white farmers own most of the land. Even the land reform that came into place after 1994 did not produce any significant changes; only 5% of the land has been transferred over to the farm workers.
Nov
30A Visit with Positive Women’s Network in South Africa: “I wish to learn more so that I can then teach others.”
2011
Posted by IDEX
Katherine Zavala – IDEX’s Program Manager, Grassroots Alliances – is in South Africa on a site visit to our partners. She reports from Johannesburg.
Today I visited IDEX’s longest partner in South Africa, Positive Women’s Network (PWN), in their new office in Johannesburg.
I was pleasantly surprised to arrive at a room full of women, as Prudence Mabele, PWN’s Director, introduced me to her office team and women participating in support groups from different townships around Johannesburg.
- Katherine with Positive Women’s Network in Johannesburg.
The Power of Support Groups
PWN’s core ongoing program has been the support group model, where women living with or impacted HIV/AIDS come and engage in a safe space with other women to share their experiences and feelings on issues prevalent in their lives.
Today there are 5 outreach coordinators and 10 support group members.
They have come to start planning their activities for 16 Days of Activism. Activities will include HIV/AIDS treatment literacy, awareness around the link between HIV/AIDS and cervical cancer, and awareness on violence against women.
Quality Health Care Remain a Challenge
Each outreach coordinator (key community liaison and facilitator of the support group) shared with me the different challenges they’ve seen in their communities.
The common theme? A lack of support from the health clinics towards women.
Elvira Sanchez Toscano helped to found Institute for Overcoming Urban Poverty (ISMU) – an IDEX partner in Guatemala – over a decade ago together with community groups in the urban shantytowns of Guatemala City. Through ISMU, Elvira has helped develop housing improvement projects, youth leadership and women’s empowerment programs, educational scholarships as well as participating in a regional movement on climate change.
In July, Elvira came to the United States to present the work of ISMU at the International Human Rights Funders Conference in New York and meet with ally organizations in New York, Washington D.C. and Seattle. IDEX Program Manager Katherine Zavala conducted this interview with Elvira below.
May
27Indigenous Communities on Frontlines of Climate Change Share Learnings at Conference
2011
Posted by IDEX
IDEX Executive Director Vini Bhansali reports from the 10th Annual Conference of the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) currently wrapping up in Haudenosaunee territory in upstate New York. IFIP creates a bridge where the philanthropic and Indigenous worlds meet to understand and collaborate with each other. Vini is there with Heera Lal Sharma from IDEX Partner Sahyog Sansthan in India.
IDEX is now a proud member of The Zimbabwe Alliance, a funders collaborative whereby we can maximize joint resources to maintain our commitment to promoting a vibrant civil society in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
A group of women who are part of APROSADSE's microcredit program.
March 8th is International Women’s Day and 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of this day to celebrate women across the globe.
IDEX staff and volunteers are taking part in Mother’s March in San Francisco- come join us at 4:30pm near the 16th St. BART station and march to protest war and oppression, support social justice and solidarity with women around the world. See our event posting HERE.
IDEX also stands in solidarity with our partners around the world who are celebrating this historic day. We are getting updates from Guatemala, Mexico, South Africa, and Nepal.
Read about the exciting events they are planning below:
AFEDES: In Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, AFEDES is coordinating with other women’s organizations in holding a press conference to demand the Guatemalan state fund the construction of a women’s center for the survivors of violence and to demand public investment for women’s development, including implementing the Femicide Law. Although the 2008 law, a huge victory for feminists and women’s rights organizations, considers violence against women a punishable act, many women and those in the judicial system are unaware of the law and thus implementation is weak. AFEDES has been creating awareness on the law and empowers women to speak up for their rights and come forward about abuse.
APROSADSE: APROSADSE is organizing a celebration with a group of women and mothers of families of the students who participate in APROSADSE’s radio distance-learning education program. They are planning a morning filled with exchanging experiences as housewives and integrating a lens of gender equity. The official theme for International Women’s Day activities is “Access to education for women and girls: training, science and technology” – sharing the rights that women have to education for economic development and social change.
Nepi Behña: Nepi Behña in Mexico is working together with RedPar – National Network of Rural Promoters and Advisors – in a National Gathering of indigenous, rural and mixed race women this week. The gathering will address the findings of an investigation they carried out last year about the impact of the food crisis and climate change – as well as the changes in migration patterns.
Positive Women’s Network: Positive Women’s Network in South Africa will be holding an event to celebrate the lives and achievements of women living with HIV/AIDS. The event will host 50 women from PWN outreach areas and will provide a platform for the women to recognize and applaud each other for their achievements as women, PLWHA, mothers, caregivers and community members. The event will also provide a discussion session for the women to engage each other on issues that predispose women to gender-based violence and risky behaviors leading to HIV/AIDS as well as methods of increasing the involvement of women in HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health policy design and implementation.
Whole World Women Association: WWWA, also in South Africa, will have an event on Saturday, March 12th to celebrate International Women’s Day. The theme is “Women’s Reproductive Health.” An International Women’s Day Panel Discussion will be held with representatives of the reproductive rights alliance, gender activists, and feminists attending.
Women’s Awareness Center Nepal: Women Awareness Center Nepal’s training and resource center will be inaugurated by rural women on March 8th. Women from the village will share their experiences of empowerment with the audience in the program and after the inauguration, 1000 members of WACN promoted cooperatives will participate in a rally in Kathmandu on the occasion of 100th Women’s Day in support of the IWD theme for this year “Equal access to education, training and science and technology: path way to decent work for women.” Informational placards displayed at the rally will address challenges such as, tax break for cooperatives run by village women, allocate more resources for disadvantaged women, timely drafting of the constitution, and the right to citizenship through motherhood.
Look for photos and an update from the event on our blog!
This is part 8 in a series written by IDEX Executive Director, Rajasvini (Vini) Bhansali, on her recent trip to Northeastern states of India – where IDEX has recently expanded – to meet with potential catalyst grantees.
Geographically isolated from mainland India and socioeconomically neglected by development agencies and the government, the Northeastern states are experiencing tremendous crises rooted in militarization, land distribution, climate change, migration, displacement, political differences and violence. These states are some of the poorest in India, but they also have many communities working on sustainable livelihood development, women’s empowerment and environmental resource management.
Working with police to stop trafficking
Today I’m at the offices of Impulse, where team leader Hasina is very proud to show me simplified police handbook on trafficking that is now being used by most of the state police training academies. Compared to the text-heavy documents filled with legalese that were previously the norm, this handbook simplifies the information that a police officer must know in order to be effective in his/her role in curbing trafficking.
Breaking Free- A video highlighting Impulse Network’s work to end trafficking
Impulse has trained more than 200 police officers on how to respond to trafficking, and the group currently also collaborates formally with the police. Because of the group’s reputation for effectively restoring trafficked children and women to their families, Impulse is allowed access to border security camps and other regions typically off limits to CBOs and NGOs in the Northeast.
While showing me the database that they’ve developed to better track each trafficking case, Hasina shares some of the unaddressed challenges that the team continues to face. Not only is there an inadequate number of shelters to serve trafficking survivors, there is a huge need for programs that support rehabilitation and enhance livelihoods. Read the rest of this entry »
This is part 7 in a series written by IDEX Executive Director, Rajasvini (Vini) Bhansali, on her recent trip to Northeastern states of India – where IDEX has recently expanded – to meet with potential catalyst grantees.
Geographically isolated from mainland India and socioeconomically neglected by development agencies and the government, the Northeastern states are experiencing tremendous crises rooted in militarization, land distribution, climate change, migration, displacement, political differences and violence. These states are some of the poorest in India, but they also have many communities working on sustainable livelihood development, women’s empowerment and environmental resource management.
Following my immense day and a half with the Action Northeast Trust in the state of Assam, I then move on to the grand state of Meghalaya. Known as a center for arts, culture and progressive politics in the Northeast, the capital city of Shillong is also one of the most visited northeastern states on account of its scenic beauty and relative calm.
I am excited to meet Hasina Kharbih and her crew at the Impulse Network in Shillong, but I underestimate the time it takes to get there. What I thought would be a four-hour drive ends up taking close to 10 hours due to punctures in the car tire, as well as monsoon and construction-related traffic jams.
Lush Surroundings Belie a Lack of Opportunities
Inching towards Shillong, I find myself speechless at the stunning landscape. The Bada Lake emerges at the end of a sharp turn on the hilly road. Lush greenery surrounds the lake and clouds hang low, making it a most picturesque sight. However, I am also humbled by the knowledge that more than 50 percent of Meghalaya’s population lives below the poverty level. In the last decade, poverty levels have worsened in rural areas due to stagnating agricultural production, soil erosion, increasing temperatures, and a lack of educational and economic opportunities.
This is part 6 in a series written by IDEX Executive Director, Rajasvini (Vini) Bhansali, on her recent trip to Northeastern states of India – where IDEX has recently expanded – to meet with potential catalyst grantees.
Geographically isolated from mainland India and socioeconomically neglected by development agencies and the government, the Northeastern states are experiencing tremendous crises rooted in militarization, land distribution, climate change, migration, displacement, political differences and violence. These states are some of the poorest in India, but they also have many communities working on sustainable livelihood development, women’s empowerment and environmental resource management.
The Action Northeast Trust (ANT) has engaged in women’s empowerment through Jagruti dals, literally translated as “consciousness raising collectives,” and technically operated as self-help groups. Through these women’s groups, the ANT’s members have taken collective action against domestic violence, run an innovative bicycle bank for women to increase women’s mobility, and promoted micro enterprises among women entrepreneurs.
“Watch the ANT founding member Jennifer Liang discuss women’s empowerment.”
I had never heard of a bicycle bank before so I pressed Jennifer to tell me more. With a glint in her eyes she invited me to a quarterly “bicycle camp” after lunch. I was intrigued.
Shortly after, we found ourselves in the middle the one of the most extraordinary and moving experiences in my adult feminist life. At the bicycle camp and race, Muslim women from a nearby village had gathered for their favorite event. To belong to the bicycle club, a woman must both learn to ride and become a member of a women’s self-help or joint liability group. Each woman that learns to ride and contributes a 500 Rupee down payment gets to “own” her bike for a monthly fee.
The scene that ensued is best described as incredible, moving and jubilant. First-time bicycle riders were taught by “old hands” to a lot of encouraging cheers. The neighborhood girls’ hostel let out young women early to the large field where women in sarees were learning to ride their very first bike. One woman, Aisha, got on the bike. After a few minutes of encouragement and some handholding, she was off pedaling fast.
The pioneers of the bicycle camp comprise a group of brave, older women who were motivated by the job-hunting advantages and increased mobility a bicycle could afford. Instead of depending on their husbands for transportation, women could enjoy greater freedom of movement. All of the women were stopped, many even physically abused by the men in their families, who also took the bikes away. To avoid detection, some women even sneaked off at night to practice.
It took three years of sustained effort on the ANT’s part for change to begin to occur. By educating their communities, leading bike rallies through the villages, and talking to men and women about human rights, the ANT’s efforts resulted in a shifting of attitudes. Now, some husbands even come to help women learn to ride for the first time. Jennifer spoke of an especially proud moment during which one husband accompanied his wife to obtain her bike loan.
Men have also begun to fear the wrath of the self-help group, which may show up at their home and hold them accountable should they hurt their wife or daughter for her cycling efforts. I watched teary, as woman after woman boarded her bike and completed her first lap with a smile and newfound confidence.
While the status of women in the Northeast is better than in other parts of India—especially relating to inheritance, property rights and access to education—Jennifer warned that the inequalities are less obvious. She said that even when women begin to gain increased control over their daily lives—including greater mobility and financial independence—more work will be required to promote women’s leadership in public life.
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