Tag: Gender Violence

Ukraine Showing the World How to Fight Back — Global Issues

  • by Sania Farooqui (new delhi, india)
  • Inter Press Service

NEW DELHI, India, Jun 08 (IPS) – It has been over 100 days since Russia first invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, turning the country into a slaughterhouse. The United Nations (UN) in this report says that, as of 1 June, 2022, more than 6.9 million refugees have left Ukraine and 2.1 million have returned, while eight million people are displaced inside Ukraine itself. War in Ukraine has caused the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II.

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the conflict which began in February has since then taken thousands of lives, caused untold destruction, displaced millions of people, resulted in unacceptable violation of human rights and is inflaming a three-dimensional global – food, energy and finance – that is pummeling the most vulnerable people, countries and economies.

Maria Dmytriyeva

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who are choosing to stay and fight back are demonstrating unity and resilience and say they are ready for the resistance. Maria Dmytriyeva, a long-time women’s rights activist and national gender expert with Democracy Development Center, an NGO based out of Ukraine is one amongst them who chose to stay back, has been working on the ground aiding civilians since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

In an interview given to IPS News Dmytriyeva says that areas that were affected directly by the hostilities that have been liberated by the Ukrainian army are now rapidly rebuilding. “Local people and visiting builders are cleaning up the street, debris, mines and restoring infrastructure, where there are no Russians, life goes on.”

“We do have major problems with fuel as Russians deliberately destroyed our petroleum hosting areas, so transportation is a problem. We don’t have food scarcity; the problem is how to deliver it into areas controlled by Russians or heavily bombarded by Russians,” Dmytriyeva said.

Human rights organizations have been watching the impact of the war in Ukraine on women and children. The Rapid Gender Analysis, put together by UN Women and CARE International says that 90% of those fleeing Ukraine and 60% of those displaced are women – both which comes with increased safety risks, gender-based violence, poor hygiene, lack of basic supplies and safety concerns in shelters or across borders.

“I have visited three border checkpoints, in Romania, Moldova and Slovakia, we don’t enough information about what to do once anyone crosses the borders – how to manage your passport, how to find the right people, which shelter to go to and how to stay safe,” says Ella Lamakh, a social policy expert and Head of Democracy Development Center in Ukraine who too stayed back in Ukraine to help women and children impacted by the war.

Ella Lamakh

“There are a lot of women and children crossing these borders, and when I asked them where they are going, their reply is – ‘oh we are just going across the border, we will ask some volunteer, or we will figure it out’. While I am thankful for all the help these women are getting, there are a lot of posters on the walls across the border or at these checkpoints, but nobody has the time or mind to stop and read any of them. What would be useful for these women is if they are given information, handed over to them in the form of posters or booklets,” Lamakh says.

As of 3 June, the Human Rights Monitoring Team of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had received reports of 124 alleged acts of conflict-related sexual violence across Ukraine.

“Allegations of sexual violence by Russian troops in Ukraine are mounting. A national hotline on domestic violence, human trafficking and gender-based discrimination has been set up, and has received multiple shocking reports ranging from gang rape, to coercion, where loved ones are forced to watch an act of sexual violence committed against a partner of a child” stated this report.

The United Nations has warned that the war in Ukraine has also helped stoke a global food crisis, and “what could follow would be malnutrition, mass hunger and famine, in a crisis that could last for years, urging Russia to release Ukrainian grain exports.”

Before the war began in February, Ukraine exported 4.5m tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports – 12% of the planet’s wheat, 15% of its corn and half of its sunflower oil. As Russian warships cut off the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and others, the supply has been gravely impacted.

More than a month into Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian military fared better than expected, where Russia has numerical superiority with 900,000 active personnel in its armed forces, and 2 million in reserve, Ukraine has 196,000 and 900,000 reservists, stated this report. Ukraine managed to bring the asymmetric power of pervasive inexpensive commercial technology, especially citizen-empowering social networks and crowdsourcing. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy through his various appeals managed to tap into its western allies demanding weapons and sanctions to fight back.

Several countries have reached out to help Ukraine by sending military aid to Kyiv. The United States will be sending Ukraine advanced rocket systems and munitions as part of a new $700 million package of military equipment, “promised only after direct assurance by Ukraine’s leader that they would not use it against targets within Russian territory.”

Britain is to supply long-range rocket artillery to Ukraine, UK will be sending a handful of tracked M270 multiple launch rocket systems. Spain is to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles and Leopard battle tanks in a step up of its military support.

In its latest attempt to punish Russia, the European Union, along with countries such as the UK and the US have introduced a series of measures to weaken key areas of the Russian economy, such as its energy and financial sectors. The EU has imposed a ban on all imports of oil from Russia that are brought in by sea. The US is banning all Russian oil and gas imports, and the UK will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022. Germany has put on hold the final approval of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia. These western sanctions on Russia are like none the world has seen.

Only time will tell what Russia’s overestimation of its own capabilities and underestimation of the capacity of Ukraine to fight back will result in, but history is a proof that ‘wars of aggression’ have not always ended well for aggressor states, and as seen in Ukraine, it’s already united western allies, rallied Ukrainians against common enemy and united them with a sense of purpose and collective sacrifice, keeping them going stronger for the last 100 days. Ukraine is showing the world how to fight back.

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Sania Farooqui is a New Delhi based journalist, filmmaker and host of The Sania Farooqui Show where she regularly speaks to women who have made significant contributions to bring about socio economic changes globally. She writes and reports regularly for IPS news wire.

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Feminist Movements in Sudan, Lebanon & Syria — Global Issues

  • by Sania Farooqui (new delhi, india)
  • Inter Press Service

NEW DELHI, India, May 23 (IPS) – The year 2019 was not just a time before the world saw the global pandemic, but also a time when the world saw mass political uprisings with women at the forefront. The MENA region in a way led this force, in Sudan women played as drivers of the revolution, protesting decades of corruption, socioeconomic grievances and gendered violence. Nubian queen became the symbol of the revolution in Sudan which finally saw the overthrow of the dictatorship in 2019.

In Lebanon, the revolution was called ‘feminist’, due to the participation of women in large numbers, who were “shaping the direction and character of the revolution.” The unwavering courage demonstrated by Lebanese women attracted multiple misinformation, serious sexual objectification, misogynist slurs and mocking on various media platforms. Not that it held the women back, they continued to be at the forefront creating history, as always.

In Syria, the wait has been long, it’s been a decade of the revolution and war, the Syrian feminist movement, despite the roadblocks, ongoing war, crisis and patriarchal norms has continued to become stronger and the women defining figures and symbols of the Syrian revolution. Women such as Razan Zaitouneh, Samira Al-Khalil, Mai Skaf, Fadwa Suleiman, are women who will be remembered for their bravery and courage through the Syrian revolution. A decade later, Syrian women continued to fight not just the remnants of the war, but the continued patriarchy in the country.

Feminist movements have always been challenged, not only because they are reclaiming their spaces and power, but also because ‘proximity to power’ threatens misogynists everywhere. Women, however, as seen through these revolutions, have challenged the very idea of dualism, and demonstrated their desire to stay, fight, and have their voices heard.

Ep 3: Roya Hassan | Podcaster | Sudan

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Sudan ranks 151 out of 180 countries in the RSF’s World Press Freedom index. “A military coup d’état on October 25, 2021, signaled a return to information control and censorship. Journalists are working in a worsening climate of violence; threats have intensified in recent years with the emergence of new militias and armed movements. Reporters are systematically attacked and insulted in demonstrations, by both the army and rapid-response forces. The government exploits the private lives of women journalists to intimidate them,” the report stated.

Roya Hassan

Roya Hassan, a podcaster and feminist writer from Sudan in an interview given to IPS News says, “Sudan is a very hard country for women Journalist, there is patriarchy, there is authoritarianism, even the community is very backward, so for us women journalists, as changemakers and feminists – producing knowledge, sharing knowledge, creating knowledge is a very important and valuable tool.”

Earlier this year, according to this report, three press bodies in Khartoum signed a press code of honour along with other documents for the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate demonstrating their efforts and commitment to restore the organization since the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burham, dissolved all the syndicates and professional unions. In 2019, the head of the Sudan’s journalist union was detained by the military, and Media watchdog RSF had recorded at least 100 cases of press freedom violations during the protests that finally led to al-Bashir’s overthrow in April that year.

“The government does not welcome people discussing human rights, feminist issues, political issues, I didn’t get hurt physically, but I know photographers who have been beaten up, jailed, tortured just for doing their jobs. I have been lucky, but it doesn’t make it any easier for any of us in this environment,” says Hassan.

Ep 4: Alia Awada | Feminist Activist | Lebanon

The first revolution in Lebanon started on 17 October 2019, an incredibly important moment that was the culmination of years of activism. What followed these protests was an economic breakdown that dragged the country to the brink of becoming a failed state, COVID-19 pandemic, Beirut port explosion, and the current ongoing elections. Lebanon’s protest movement, which later became known as the October Revolution or the October 17th Uprising, saw women participating at an unprecedented level.

Alia Awada

In an interview given to IPS, Alia Awada, feminist, activist and co-founder of No2ta – The Feminist Lab, said, “I think women and girls in our region deserve to be heard, but we also need to provide them with legal knowledge and understanding of how to deal with certain political issues, family laws, social-economic issues, and make decisions based on them.”

“I have been working on campaigns focusing on women’s rights, child rights and refugees, and other campaigns to fight domestic violence and sexual violence, to call for the rights of kids and everyone else”.

Lebanon ranks one of the lowest countries in the world on the Gender Gap Index, 140 out of 149, and its ranking in terms of women’s participation in the labour force is one of the lowest globally. Women protesters, activists and public figures have often faced serious sexual objectification, followed by massive online trolling against them.

Campaigning, Awada says has been very challenging in the country, “We need to do these campaigns to put pressure on the government, who are overlooking certain issues, like we did in Lebanon through the 522 campaign which was against Lebanese rape-marriage law.”

Through her work, Awada continues to “cook potions and experiments with formulas to shake the patriarchal status quo that has been weighing on the lives of women and girls for too long. “I want No2ta to be a safe space, a strong feminist lab, where we spread the knowledge and produce high quality feminist work that would influence social change and behavior towards of the public towards women,” Awada said.

Ep 5: Rawan Kahwaji | Feminist Activist | Syria

After 10 years of humanitarian crisis, war and displacement, Syrians are still struggling to put food on the table, nearly one-third of all children are chronologically malnourished, and more than 6.5 million children need urgent assistance. The war brought one of the largest education crises in recent history, with a whole generation of Syrian children paying the price of conflict.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has reported 13.4 million people need humanitarian and protection assistance in Syria, with 6.7 million internally displaced persons. “Millions of Syrians have been forced to flee their homes since 2011, seeking safety as refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and beyond, or displaced inside Syria. With the devastating impact of the pandemic and increasing poverty, every day is an emergency for Syrians forced to flee. As the crisis continues, hope is fading,” the report said.

Rawan Kahwaji

“Lots of efforts have been going on, from the political side, from the social side, from the emergency humanitarian community side, there are a lot of efforts being put in to find a solution that would give justice back to the Syrian people and refugees who have been suffering for the past 11 years,” says Rawan Kahwaji, co-executive manager and advocacy coordinator of DARB in an interview given to IPS.

“However, it is important to remember the role women play, not just in the Syrian society or political level, but also on a social level. Focusing on peace processes, we as NGOs must ensure there are spaces that will be inclusive of women, gender sensitive, we have ensured that when we talk about transitional justice, women and their perspective are included in those discussions, what justice means for a woman and how we can build a more gender sensitive Syria for the future,” says Kahwaji.

One of the big impacts of the war that were thrusted upon women was the role of the provider, which in turn became their source of empowerment, but not easily. According to this report, only 4 percent of Syrian families were headed by women before 2011. That figure has now become 22 percent. Severe economic crisis and not enough food for people to eat has been propelling women into looking for work, but the challenges of human rights faced by women in Syria, whether discriminatory laws, patriarchal culture, exclusionary politics of the regime, continue to a big barrier.

“As someone who has been through this refugee journey, being a refugee is challenging, being a woman refugee even more challenging. We have multiple issues and challenges that we have to face on a regular basis, whether it is legal, economic, social, work or simply places that are unsafe. If you are a widow or lost your partners, or you are the breadwinner of the family, there are difficulties in finding work, in a new country or community. Having no legal rights, or clear legal rights makes it more difficult,” says Kahwaji.

Syrian law abounds with many clauses that are discriminatory on a gender basis, be it law denying Syrian women right to grant citizenship to their children, personal status laws, property laws, the penal code and others. This legal discrimination is thus one of the most “prominent factors that has undermined, and continues to undermine, the status of women as active citizens in society, due to the forms of vulnerability that the law enshrines.”

Within Syria, women are underrepresented both in national government and local councils, because of security concerns, and conservative societal beliefs regarding women’s participation in public life. While efforts to increase women’s participation in peacebuilding and governance have made strides, but only at a local governance level, it still remains stunted overall. This report stated, nationally, women held only 13 percent of seats in parliament in 2016 in Syria, a proportion lower than both the global and regional averages.

Sania Farooqui is a New Delhi based journalist, filmmaker and host of The Sania Farooqui Show where she regularly speaks to women who have made significant contributions to bring about socio economic changes globally. She writes and reports regularly for IPS news wire.

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Voices of Women in the MENA Region — Global Issues

Mozn Hassan, Founder, Doria Feminist Fund for Women
  • by Sania Farooqui (new delhi, india)
  • Inter Press Service

NEW DELHI, India, May 11 (IPS) – When it comes to gender equality and development, the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) and the Arab States region continues to be in a paradoxical situation. While within the region, several laws, policies and programming focused on gender equality are growing, women’s representation in government jobs, corporate roles, and national programming seem to be dismissed. Healthcare, education have seen improvement, most countries have become tech inclusive as well, but access to hospitals and educational institutions –at times due to social programming or gender-related policies continues to prevent women from accessing them and using them.

Gender-based human rights assault and violence dominates and devastates the lives of women across the region. Whether it is arbitrary arrests by governments, abductions, assassinations, so called “honour” killings, online trolling, abuse, being denied right to safe abortion, lack of engagement and inclusivity of women in politics, peace and security in the country, women continue to face entrenched discrimination.

Staunch patriarchal character of governments continues to impact the movement towards gender equality, slowing the already slow progress of women’s rights across multiple indicators and indices. The region is yet to see progress towards its commitments made to the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development goals.

Mozn Hassan, Founder, Doria Feminist Fund for WomenMozn Hassan, one of Egypt’s most outspoken voices on human rights, founder and Executive Director of Nazra for Feminist Studies has been working on building an Egyptian feminist movement for years, by supporting women human rights defenders.
In this interview given to IPS News, Hassan said, feminist movements continue to battle culture of impunity in Egypt. “We are losing everyday, but the feminist movement in Egypt is not a failed movement.” At that time, Mozn and her non-government organizations assets were frozen, a travel ban was imposed in 2016, followed by regular incidents of judicial harassment.

None of the harrassment and cases against her stopped Mozn from pursuing “a bigger dream of creating a feminist fund for the region” called Doria Feminist Fund. “Being a local feminist activist in Egypt within a changeable time, running Doria Feminist Fund allowed me to set local feminist agendas and narratives. I figured out that this work needs not only funding, but also resources and accessibility, which is rare in the MENA region and for feminists in MENA. Doria was a dream for me on multiple levels, I named it after Doria Shafik to recognize her resilience,” Hassan said.

In a series of conversations on The Sania Farooqui Show which recently partnered with Doria Feminist Fund and IPS News to bring out powerful voices of women in the MENA region, the CO-CEO of the organization, Zeina Abdul Khalek said, “Doria Feminist Fund seeks to create a feminist ecosystem where the new generation of feminist movement in the MENA region has access to more and better funding and resources which enables the development and sustainability of its activism to advance the rights, wellbeing and security of all women & LGBTQ+ individuals and groups.”

Right to Abortion in MENA
Cultural sensitivity and taboos surrounding sexuality are particularly pronounced in the MENA region, it has taken women activists and even medical professionals years to break the culture of silence that surrounds sexual and reproductive health, as silence often prevents people from seeking information and care and prevents governments from putting the health issues on their development agenda.

Nearly 80% of women in the Middle East and North Africa live in countries where abortion laws are restricted. Among those, 55% live in countries where abortion is prohibited except to save the mother’s life and 24% live in countries where abortion is permitted only to preserve the woman’s physical or mental health.

Turkey and Tunisia allow elective abortions, and like many catholic/christian countries, abortion appears to be a highly controversial topic for the Muslim-majority countries as well as for the Islamic jurisprudence.

Dr. Selma Hajri, Rights & Access of Women to Safe Abortion, MENA RegionDr. Selma Hajri, medical professional, MD specializing in endocrinology and reproductive health at Right and Access of Women to Safe Abortion (RAWSA) in the MENA region, in an interview given to IPS News said, “ It is always a shame to talk about sex in the MENA region. Women cannot have a loud voice, talk about their body, their sexual rights, their right to premarital sex and contraception. It’s challenging as a medical health care professional to help women, as so many are just afraid to come forward and seek basic healthcare, which is their right.

According to RAWSA Network that has been working on changing mentalities, behaviours and legislations related to sexual and reproductive rights, as well as advocating for legal abortion in most MENA countries. This report states, “Women resort to clandestine abortions that have a rate higher than in the rest of the world and are responsible for around 9700 deaths each year. Only 47% of women in the MENA region have access to a contraceptive method, while this percentage is 57% worldwide.”

“MENA region is a very conservative region where religion and culture are very restrictive concerning women’s access to reproductive health. They are very conservative and restrict sexual relationships of women who are not married, even for married women it is not easy to talk about it openly.

“We realized the situation of women in this region is very difficult, not because of access to healthcare, but the problem is access to reproductive healthcare and her right to control her body,” says Hajri.

More than 40 million women between the ages of 13 and 44 live in states with restrictive abortion rights, costing those economies $105 billion, according to Women’s Policy Research. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic only made the situation worse. According to RAWSA, unsafe abortions have increased by about 10%, as access to contraception and safe abortion – which most often takes place abroad, have been restricted since the beginning of the pandemic.

United Nations Office of Human Rights High COmmissionar (OHCHR) states that “women’s sexual and reproductive health is related to multiple human rights, including the right to life, the right to be free from torture, the right to health, the right to privacy, the right to education, and the prohibition of discrimination. The committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimnation against Women (CEDAW) have both clearly indicated that women’s right to health includes their sexual and reporductive health. This means that states have obligations to respect, protect and fulfil rights related to women’s sexual and reproductive health”.

While one watches states, governments, societies across the MENA region fail women by not supporting them, it is a few women like Mozn Hassan and Dr Hajri who dare to do so.

Sania Farooqui is a New Delhi based journalist, filmmaker and host of The Sania Farooqui Show where she regularly speaks to women who have made significant contributions to bring about socio economic changes globally. She writes and reports regularly for IPS news wire.

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