Tag: Gender

Finding Ways to Feed South Africas Vast Hungry Population — Global Issues

Nosintu Mcimeli and Bonelwa Nogemane of the Abanebhongo People with Disability (APD) started with an agroecological project to improve food security in South Africa’s Eastern Cape (left). A soup kitchen feeds the village children (right). Credit: ADP
  • by Fawzia Moodley (johannesburg)
  • Inter Press Service

JOHANNESBURG, May 11 (IPS) – In the deep rural village of Jekezi in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, most young and able-bodied people have fled the area, leaving behind people with disabilities, the elderly, and children.

It’s in villages like this one that the stark statistics of one in five South Africans being so food insecure they beg to feed themselves and their families could be a reality.

The village instead supports its fragile community through an agroecological project, Abanebhongo People with Disability (APD), co-founded in 2020 by Nosintu Mcimeli as an example of food sovereignty in action.

Food security in South Africa, the second wealthiest country by GDP, is low. According to 2019 data, Statistics SA says at least 10 million people didn’t have enough food or money to buy food.

Impacts on Physical Development, Mental Health

The impacts of this are devastating; hunger not only impacts physical development but also people’s mental health. Siphiwe Dlamini, writing in The Conversation, recently reported on a study that found that those who could not afford proper nutrition resorted to eating less, borrowing, using credit, and begging for food on the streets, which was the most harmful coping strategy for mental health.

“We found that over 20% (1 in 5) of the South African households were food insecure. But the prevalence varied widely across the provinces. The Eastern Cape province was the most affected (32% of households there were food insecure). We also confirmed that food access in South Africa largely depends on socioeconomic status. People who are uneducated, the unemployed, and those receiving a low monthly income are the most severely affected by inadequate food access,” wrote Dlamini, a lecturer School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand.

The situation in the region is also dire, with a UN World Food Programme (WFP) report in 2020 revealing that 45 million people were severely food insecure in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South Africa has long been afflicted with widespread hunger, but the onset of Covid, an ailing economy, climate change, fuel and food price increases, interest hikes, and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war has deepened the food crisis.

However, Vishwas Satgar of the SA Food Sovereignty Campaign (SAFSC) says even before Covid, the number of hungry people was close to 14 million – and “women shoulder the burden of the high food prices, sharing limited food, skipping meals, and holding families together.”

The irony, Satgar says, is that the country can feed all its people.

“We produce enough food, but it’s essentially for export. The stark paradox in the commercial food system is that it is just another commodity; most people can’t feed themselves. The poor eat unhealthy (cheaper) food, and we have an obesity problem.”

Satgar says a change of strategies is needed to feed the poor.

“Despite overwhelming research proving that small-scale farmers feed the world, many people have the perception that large-scale industrial farms are the ultimate source of food. South Africa, with an expanded unemployment rate of 46.46 percent (start of 2022), cannot afford to lose more farm workers. Agroecological farming can transform the rural and urban economy with localised farming practices that absorb many unskilled and semi-skilled people,” he says.

The SAFSC, the Climate Justice Charter Movement, and the Cooperative and Policy Alternative Centre (COPAC) are building a new food system to avert a catastrophe.

Food Sovereignty 

“We call this the food sovereignty system, which is democratically organised and controlled by small-scale farmers, gardeners, informal traders, small-scale fishers, communities, and consumers.

That’s where Mcimeli comes in. She tells IPS her activism journey began after she left a company that worked with people with disabilities in Cape Town. She contracted polio as a baby because her domestic worker mother could not take her for immunisation. “I have a disability in my right thigh and leg.”

She was working as an informal trader when she was given the opportunity from SADC, “which was releasing millions of rand to train SA women for activism in any kind of project.”

Mcimeli was one of 80 women trained in 2012 and 2013.

“In 2014, I was transferred to Copac for activist schooling. That’s when I met Vish (Satgar). I then decided to come to the Eastern Cape to plough back my activism skills.”

It was here that she co-founded the APD, and it has become an example of food sovereignty in action in Jekezi in the Eastern Cape.

Mcimeli says the ADP started an agriculture project.

“Because in rural areas there is communal land, it’s free, so we formed groups to start communal gardens. Then I realised that there are people who are bedridden, so I started enviro gardens in nearby villages. At the moment, we have 24 of these, and they are working.”

She works with four young women but wants to include more young people in the projects.

A donation of a water tank and a borehole brought a promise of fresh ‘forever’ water to the village of Jekezi. Credit: ADP
A donation of a water tank and a borehole brought a promise of fresh ‘forever’ water to the village of Jekezi. Credit: ADP

Forever Water—Free and Healthy

During the hard lockdown, the ADP got a big water tank from the local municipality and started a soup kitchen.

“We got donations of masks and sanitisers and food from Shoprite. Then a colleague of mine organised radio interviews for me, and a company that provides boreholes heard me asking for more water tanks. They said they had a lifetime solution and sponsored a community borehole. It was installed free of charge in a local schoolyard. It’s forever water—free and healthy and available for everyone, not just our projects”.

One of ADP’s beneficiaries, Bonelwa Nogemane, says: “I have a family of seven including a disabled four-year-old; we are often hungry because the food is too expensive. I joined the ADP to help my family and community to grow our own food.”

While the ADP is making a small dent, the problem is much bigger, and activists warn that unless a solution is found to the hunger crisis, South Africa is in danger of producing a lost generation of intellectually and physically stunted future leaders.

A study published in BMC Public Health on the link between food insecurity and mental health in the US during Covid found that: “Food insecurity is associated with a 257% higher risk of anxiety and a 253% higher risk of depression. Losing a job during the pandemic is associated with a 32% increase in risk for anxiety and a 27% increase in risk for depression.”

Campaign to Save Children from ‘Slow Violence of Malnutrition’

Marcus Solomon of the Children’s Resource Centre, which has launched a campaign to save SA’s children from the “slow violence of malnutrition”, says: “The consequences of this are dire for the affected children, with an estimated four million children in SA having stunted growth because of malnutrition and another 10 million going hungry every day.”

Activist Shanaaz Viljoen from Cape Town says: “My personal experience on a grassroots level is rather heartbreaking. The children we work with are always hungry due to the situation in their homes.”

In addition to an alternate food system, Trade Union Federation Cosatu, the SASFC, Copac, and others believe introducing a Basic Income Grant will go a long way towards addressing the hunger crisis in the country.

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Young Woman Ignites a 3D Printing Revolution in The Gambia — Global Issues

  • Opinion by Abdoulie Badjie (banjul, the gambia)
  • Inter Press Service

BANJUL, The Gambia, May 11 (IPS) – In the heart of The Gambia, an intrepid young woman called Fatou Juka Darbor is blazing a trail for women fuelled by her fiery passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Her remarkable journey led her to co-found the country’s first and only 3D printing company – Make 3D Company Limited – in 2019, breaking boundaries and inspiring future generations.

Fascinated by machines from a young age, Juka was determined to uncover their inner workings, taking apart radios and calculators with unbridled curiosity.

“I always wanted to know what makes things work,” she says.

Fatou Juka DarborThe young entrepreneur’s drive to build a career in STEM propelled her to overcome the challenges women often face in this male-dominated sector, brushing conventional norms aside. “In The Gambia, women were often discouraged from pursuing careers in STEM, as it was seen as a male-dominated field,” she says with a laugh.

Her unwavering dedication made her the only woman in her mechanical engineering class at the Gambia Technical Training Institute.

Reflecting on this journey, she says: “My experiences of the stigma attached to being ‘the woman’ in a male-dominated space made me realize how lucky I was to have parents that supported my decision to pursue sciences.”

Juka’s determination culminated in a prestigious role as a mechanical engineer at the Gambia National Petroleum Company.

Her ambitions, however, continued to soar. In 2019, she partnered with Silvestr Tká?, a tech enthusiast, to create Make 3D Company Limited, introducing the revolutionary world of 3D printing to The Gambia.

“The fact that a young woman like me is co-running this business and growing it so quickly shows how capable Gambian women are if given the chance and the support,” Juka says.

Her company has been a catalyst for change, improving the lives of Gambians. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, her Make 3D Company Limited collaborated with the Gambian Medical Research Council Unit (MRCG) to create protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers.

This innovative approach garnered partnerships with the United Nations through the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), manufacturing over 8,000 face shields for the country’s primary referral hospital.

Additionally, Juka’s company has developed prosthetic limb prototypes, offering affordable solutions and newfound hope to those who have lost their limbs due to accidents, diseases, or conflicts.

Juka’s steadfast commitment and resolve have garnered her numerous accolades, solidifying her status as a pioneer in her field.

Her message to young girls is unequivocal: “I hope I inspire young girls in Dumbutou and Basse to believe that they can be anything they dream of being. No career is specifically meant for men only. You can be whatever you want to be if you believe in yourself, even if no one does.”

The UN in The Gambia is supporting initiatives to bridge the gender disparity gap in STEM. Through events such as the ‘UN Women and Girls in Science Day,’ the UN raises awareness about the obstacles women and girls face in STEM and offers capacity-building support to women-owned businesses.

Juka’s uplifting tale of courage and resilience amidst adversity is a potent reminder that, given the right opportunities and support, women can excel in STEM fields and leave a lasting, positive impact on their communities.

Abdoulie Badjie is the Programmes Communications and Advocacy Officer in the UN RCO in The Gambia, while George Lwanda is the Head of UN RCO in The Gambia.

Source: Africa Renewal, United Nations

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Why Has Progress In Saving Women’s Lives Stalled? — Global Issues

Nearly every maternal death is preventable, and the clinical expertise and technology necessary to avert these losses have existed for decades. Credit: Patrick Burnett/IPS
  • by Marty Logan (kathmandu)
  • Inter Press Service

KATHMANDU, May 10 (IPS) – A new report reveals that from 2000 to 2015, the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) fell by 33%, and by more than 50% in 58 countries that had the highest rates of women dying during pregnancy or up to 42 days after delivery. But from 2016 to 2020, maternal mortality barely changed. In 2020, roughly 287,000 women globally died from a maternal cause, which is almost 800 maternal deaths daily, and about one every two minutes.

The report, Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020: estimates, by United Nations (UN) agencies and the World Bank Group, predicted that if current trends continue more than one million extra maternal deaths will occur by 2030, the end of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What are the SDGs?

The 17 SDGs were adopted by all UN member states In 2015 after the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) ended. Each SDG deals with a specific development issue, such as poverty, education and health. And every goal includes specific targets, all of which are supposed to be met by 2030.

What is the SDGs target for maternal mortality?

The SDG target (3.1) for maternal mortality is a global MMR of less than 70 for every 100,000 live births. A supplementary target is that by 2030, no country should have an MMR greater than 140.

Is the world on track to meet the target?

The global MMR in 2020 was estimated at 223, down from 227 in 2015 and from 339 in 2000 – a drop of one-third (34.3%) from 2000 to 2020 but far from the target of 70. If the pace of progress seen in 2016–2020 continues, the MMR will be 222 by 2030 – over three times the target.

Why is the world so far off-track?

The vast majority of maternal deaths are preventable: the clinical knowledge and technology needed to prevent them have long existed. But, such solutions are often not available, not accessible or not put in place, says the report. This is especially true in locations lacking resources and/or among populations that are at greater risk because of so-called ‘social determinants’ — for instance, their economic and education levels and distance from health services.

Where are the biggest challenges?

In 2020, sub-Saharan Africa was the only region with an MMR that the report labels ‘very high’ (500-999) — 545 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births. A 15-year-old girl in the region had a 1 in 40 lifetime risk of dying from a maternal cause. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for roughly 70% of global maternal deaths in 2020, followed by Central and Southern Asia (17%).

Are any countries or regions doing well?

Between 2000 and 2020, Central and Southern Asia achieved the greatest percentage drop in MMR, with a decline of 67.5%, falling from 397 to 129 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births. In 2020, MMR was lowest in Australia and New Zealand. A 15-year-old girl there had a 1 in 16,000 lifetime risk of dying from a maternal cause.

Are there any outliers?

In the United States the MMR soared between 2018 and 2021, from 17.4 per 100,000 live births to 32.9, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the same period, the MMR for the Black population went from 37.3 to 69.9. For the White population it started at 14.9 in 2018 and rose to 26.6 in 2021.

Many experts point to impacts of COVID-19 as a main cause of the spike, and an article by CNN also notes that the MMR has been steadily rising in the US for three decades.

In 2021 the US Government introduced policies to address the negative trend, including the Black Maternal “Momnibus” Act of 2021. That package of bills aims to provide pre- and post-natal support for Black mothers, including extending eligibility for certain benefits postpartum, adds the CNN article.

Did the COVID-19 pandemic have an impact?

“It is plausible” that the pandemic had an impact on maternal mortality, says the UN/World Bank report, while noting that stagnation in progress started before 2020, when COVID-19 spread globally. Studies in four countries have found excess maternal mortality due to the pandemic but research is scarce.

What needs to change to meet the 2030 target?

The report says multisectoral action is needed to meet various challenges to reducing maternal mortality, including:

  • Strengthen health systems by: increasing numbers of well-trained and supervised staff; tackling shortages of essential supplies and making them accountable to ensuring the rights of women and girls;
  • Focus on improving access to women and girls marginalized by social determinants, including: ethnicity, age, disability and socioeconomic inequalities, which impede women’s access to and use of sexual and reproductive health services;
  • Achieve universal health coverage so that services are affordable;
  • A perspective that embraces women’s equality and human rights must animate action;
  • Health systems must be made more resilient to climate and humanitarian crises.

What are other benefits of cutting maternal mortality

“A woman’s health lays the foundation for her children’s health, her family, her community and for generations to come,” says the World Economic Forum. Gender equality globally would raise the world’s gross domestic product as much as US$28 billion, it adds.

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Parliamentarians Ask G7 Hiroshima Summit to Support Human Security and Vulnerable Communities — Global Issues

Parliamentarians attending the Global Conference of Parliamentarians on Population and Development Toward the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit. Credit: APDA
  • by Cecilia Russell (johannesburg)
  • Inter Press Service

JOHANNESBURG, May 09 (IPS) – Parliamentarians from more than 30 countries agreed to send a strong message to the G7 Hiroshima Summit in Japan later this year, focusing on human security and support of vulnerable communities, including women, girls, youth, aging people, migrants, and indigenous people, among others.

The wide-ranging declaration also called on governments to support active political and economic participation for women and girls, enhancing and implementing legislation that addresses gender-based violence (GBV) and eradicating harmful practices like child, early, and forced marriages. During discussions and in the declaration, a clear message emerged that budgetary requirements for Universal Health Care (UHC) should be prioritized and the exceptional work done by health workers during the pandemic be recognized.

In his keynote address, Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio reminded delegates that Covid-19 had exposed the “fragility of the global health architecture and underscored the need for UHC.”

Kishida said that the central vision of the G7 Hiroshima Summit was to emphasize the importance of addressing human security – through building global health architecture, including the “governance for prevention, preparedness, and response to public health crises, including finance. We believe it is important for the G7 to actively and constructively contribute to efforts to improve international governance, secure sustainable financing and strengthen international norms.”

Apart from contributing to resilient, equitable, and sustainable UHC, health innovation was needed to promote a “more effective global ecosystem to enable rapid research and development and equitable access to infectious disease crisis medicines … and to support aging society,” Kishida said.

Former Prime Minister of Japan Fukuda Yasuo, Chair of APDA, and Honorary Chair of JPFP said this conference and its declaration would follow in a tradition of delivering strong messages to the G7 that improving reproductive health was crucial to the development and the future of a planet which now had 8 million people living on it.

“International Community is becoming increasingly confrontational and divided, and there is the emergence of a national leader who is threatening the use of nuclear weapons. No nuclear weapons have been used in the nearly 80 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We must work together to prevent the use of nuclear weapons, which can take many precious lives and people’s daily lives. In this instance, I would like you to search for the path toward appeasement and not division. We must keep all channels of dialogue open so as to ease tension,” Fukuda asked of the conference.

While calling on parliamentarians to work together to address challenges, Fukuda also expressed concern about the widening inequities caused by Covid-19 and climate change and noted: “This network of parliamentarians on population and development has been a vital resource for parliamentarians who share the same concern for not only their own countries but for the entire planet and future generations.”

Kamikawa Yoko, MP Japan, Chair of JPFP, said that with a world population of 8 billion, it was essential to “realize a society where no one is left behind … and Japan would share its experiences of being on the frontlines of an aging society with declining birth rates. “We are living in an aging society … and given these challenges in Japan, we will try to share with you our experience and lessons through our diplomacy while trying to deepen our discussions and exchanges to seek solutions.”

Japan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said it was essential for all to cooperate during the “Anthropocene era, when human activities have promised to have a major impact on the global environment, global issues that transcend national borders, such as climate change, and the spread of infectious diseases, including Covid-19 are becoming more and more prevalent.”

He reminded the delegates that at the center of Japan’s economic growth post World War II was mainly through health promotion and employment policies.

Delegates of the Global Conference of Parliamentarians on Population and Development Toward the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit agreed to send a strong message on human security to the Summit. Credit: APDA

Director of the Division for Communications and Strategic Partnerships of UNFPA, Ian McFarlane, said it was not about the “numbers of people but the rights of the people that matter. It’s not about whether we are too many or too few, but whether women and girls can decide if, when, and how many children to have.”

A recent UNFPA report indicated that nearly half of the women across the globe could not exercise their rights and choices, their bodily autonomy, and expressed hope that policies in the future continue to focus on humanity and universal human rights.

Despite being close to the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the conference heard that much still needed to be done regarding women’s rights.

New Zealand MP and co-chair of AFPPD Standing Committee on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, Angela Warren-Clark, reminded the audience that women still only held 26 percent of parliamentarian seats globally. While women make up 70 percent of the workforce in the health sector, only 25 percent have senior leadership positions.

“It is women in this pandemic who bore the increased burden of unpaid work at home as schools were closed, and it is girls and the poorest families who were taken out of school and forced into early marriages … We believe that if women had an equal say in decision-making during the pandemic, some of these mistakes would have been avoided.”

Baroness Elizabeth Barker, MP from the United Kingdom, told parliamentarians their role was to ensure that “no person on earth, from the head of G7 country to a poor person in a village, can say that they do not know what gender equality is. And they do not know what gender violence is.”

Barker suggested they use international standards, like the Istanbul Convention on Violence Against Women, to compare countries. “And you know that if your country doesn’t come out very well, they really don’t like it.”

She pointed to two successes in the UK, including stopping virginity testing and tackling the practice of forced marriages. She also warned the delegates that there was a right-wing campaign aimed at destroying human rights gained, and they chose different battlegrounds. The overturning of abortion rights in the United States in the Roe vs. Wade case was an example, as was the anti-LGBTQ legislation in Uganda.

Hassan Omar, MP from Djibouti, gave a host of achievements in his country, including ensuring that women occupy 25 percent roles in politics and the state administration and the growing literacy of women numbers in his country.

Risa Hontiveros, MP Philippines, painted a bleak picture of the impact of Covid in her country.

Hontiveros said GBV increased during Covid and extended to the digital space.

“The Internet has become a breeding ground for predators and cyber criminals to prey on children, especially young women, and girls. The online sexual abuse and exploitation of children … has become so prevalent in the Philippines that we have been tagged as the global hotspot.”

In a desperate attempt to provide for their families, even parents produced “exploitative material of their own children and sold them online to pedophiles abroad.”

To address these, she filed a gender-responsive and inclusive Emergency Management Act bill, which seeks to address the gender-differentiated needs of women and girls, because they were “disproportionately affected in times of emergencies.”

Former MP from Afghanistan Khadija Elham’s testimony united many in the conference and even resulted in proposals from the floor to include a condemnation of the Taliban’s women’s policies.

Elham said GBV had increased since the Taliban took over – women were forced to wear a burqa in public, they were not allowed to work, and those who wish to “learn science or (get an) education are forced to continue their studies and hidden places like basements.”

If their secret schools are exposed, they face torture and imprisonment. During the last two months, 260 people, including 50 women, were publicly whipped – a clear violation of their human rights. Women’s representation in political life has been banned, and women are no longer allowed to work in NGOs – and it has been “550 days since women could attend high schools and universities.”

She called on the international community, the United Nations, to pressure the Taliban to restore women’s work and education rights.

Nakayama Maho, Director of the Peacebuilding Program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, announced new research on factors contributing to men’s propensity to GBV. The research found that the higher a man’s educational attainment, the lower the level of violence. There were also lower levels of violence with “positive” masculinity – such as a man being employed, married, and capable of protecting his family. Men who experienced violence during times of conflict tended to support violence to instill discipline, or protect women and communities.

Dr Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director of Women in Global Health, summed up this critical session by saying, “Equal leadership for women in all fields is a game changer, particularly in politics and health.”

Japan’s Health, Labour and Welfare Minister, Kato Katsunobu, noted during his closing address that the G7 countries “share the recognition that investment in people is not an expense, but an investment… and as you invest in people you can create a virtuous cycle between workers well-being and social and economic activities.”

He said Japan had a lot to offer concerning aging populations.

“Japan has been promoting the establishment of a comprehensive community-based care system so that people can continue to live in their own way in their own neighborhood until the end of their lives and is in the position to provide knowledge to the G7 countries and other countries who will be facing (an aging population) in the future.”

Dr Alvaro Bermejo, Director-General of IPPF, commended the conference and said he was “thankful” that the conference declaration would tell G7 governments to set an example. “Marginalized and excluded populations are at the heart of human security and can only be achieved in solidarity, and that message from this conference is clear.”

Professor Takemi Keizo, MP Japan, Chair of AFPPD, summed up the proceeding by saying that parliamentarians as representatives of the electorate were vital to creating a “positive momentum in this global community and overcoming so many difficult issues.”

Takemi elaborated on some issues facing the world now, including climate change and military conflicts, but as parliamentarians, there was the opportunity to “build up the new basis of the global governance, which can be very beneficial.”

NOTE: Global Conference of Parliamentarians on Population and Development Toward the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit was organized by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA), the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), and the Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP).

It was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Japan Trust Fund (JTF), and Keidanren-Japan Business Federation in cooperation with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).

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A New Saudi Arabia? Changes on the Screen and in Reality — Global Issues

  • Opinion by Jan Lundius (stockholm, sweden)
  • Inter Press Service

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 08 (IPS) – The World changes, though prejudices and misconceptions remain. In 1996, political scientist Samuel Huntington published The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, in which he predicted that people’s cultural and religious identities would become the primary source of conflict in a Post–Cold War World. Huntington’s allegations have been contradicted by a number of critics, among them American Palestinian professor Edward Said, who lamented their extreme cultural determinism, which omitted the dynamic interdependency and interaction of cultures. Said’s own Orientalism depicted a generalised “Western view” of Arab cultures as “static and undeveloped”, while European culture was considered to be “developed, rational, flexible, and superior.” Literature and movies have depicted Arabs as exotic men riding camels and horses through the desert, and their women as dangerously seductive objects of male desire. Eventually, the exotic men turned in to being terrorists, and/or depraved oil-rich magnates, while Muslim women were presented as veiled, enigmatic, and oppressed.

Are there no counter-images to such a one-sided view, for example an Arab film industry? Since the inception of a film industry in Europe and the US it has generally been assumed that local movie production arrived in the Middle East much later than in “the West”. As a matter of fact, already by the beginning of the 20th century both screening and production had been brought into most Arab countries. Eventually, Egyptian film production came to dominate Middle Eastern movie industry, while it established affiliated companies in Lebanon. Iraq, Jordan, Iran, Israel, and more recently the United Arab Emirates and Palestine, followed suit.

Films serve as visual entertainment for huge audiences and in a vivid manner reflect social attitudes. They thus constitute a great medium for inspiring societal change. Of course, films might serve as a means for propaganda and indoctrination, but this does not hinder them from proving helpful in making people inclined to change a status quo. There are now signs that a pervasive socio/economic change is taking place in Saudi Arabia, where a growing film industry has become part of what appears to be an overhaul of hitherto domineering ideologies

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the only nation in the world named after a dynasty. It was founded in 1932 by King Abdul-Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, though the strength of The House of Saud can be traced back to 1745, when a local leader established a politico-religious alliance with the Wahhabis, a religious affinity honouring a Salafiyya interpretation of Islam, i.e. what is believed to be the faith of the “pious predecessors of the first three generations.” The House of Saud offered obedience to the Wahhabis, while promising to propagate their faith during a fierce struggle against Turkish and foreign influences.

Initially, Saudi Arabia did not refute the idea of movie theatres and allowed improvised cinemas, but all films were heavily censored and supposed to be screened privately. In 1982, Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud became the fifth king of Saudi Arabia. Actively trying to base his authority on Wahhabism, he increased Government support to the conservative religious establishment; spending millions of dollars on religious education, strengthening separation of the sexes and the power of Muatawwa’?n, a religious branch of the police.

Between 1983 and 2018 the only movie theatre to be found in the country was at a Science and Technology Centre, which only screened “educational” films. If Saudis wished to watch films it had to be via satellite, or DVD. In the meantime, Saudi Arabia grew into the largest economy in the Middle East. Its citizens benefit from free education and health care, along with subsidized food, electricity and housing. However, the economy relies overwhelmingly on oil. The country exports almost nothing else and imports almost everything. A welfare state has been built on the expectation that oil revenues would remain at historic levels, though prices are falling and oil will eventually run out. Furthermore, seventy per cent of the population is under thirty years of age and many demand increased personal freedom.

When King Fahd died in 2005 he was succeeded by King Abdullah Al Saud. Contrary to his predecessor, the new king realised that Saudi youth had to be better educated. As soon as he came to power, Abdullah implemented a scholarship program sending young Saudi men and women abroad for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. More than 70,000 Saudis began studying abroad in more than 25 countries, with the US, Great Britain, and Australia as main destinations. Educated and emancipated women also became considered as an asset for development. The King established a governmental department to promote women’s higher education and in 2011 women were allowed to vote in municipal council elections. The year after, women athletes competed in the Olympics and in 2013 domestic violence became a criminal offence.

However, still no movie production and screening were allowed in the country. The trend towards increased openness, innovation, efforts to limit religious bigotry and enlarged women’s rights continue under the current king, Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud. Its most visible propagator is Mohammed bin Salman, colloquially called MbS. He is Crown Prince, i.e. Salman bin Abdul-Aziz’s heir, though MbS is already the country’s Prime Minister and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.

Already during King Abdullah’s reign, semi-clandestine initiatives were made by a budding movie industry. Wadja became the first feature-length film made by a female Saudi director. In 2012 it was entirely shot within the Kingdom. Written and directed by US-educated Saudi citizen Haifaa al-Mansour it told the story of a spirited 10-year old living in Riyadh. On her way to school she passed a shop window with a green bike. However, its price was high and girls riding bikes were frowned upon.

Wadja deals with feelings of school girls, though it mirrors a society where grown women are regimented as if they were still in school. Behind closed doors the beauty and wit of Wadjda’s mother were unmasked, though she seemed to be barely aware of it. Her main concern was that her husband intended to take a much younger woman as second wife. Wadjda set about to earn cash to buy the bicycle. Her target was a school prize, awarded to the student expressing most devotion in learning and reciting passages from the Quran. Wadjda feigned orthodox goodness and her efforts at memorization impressed her teacher. She won the competition, though staff and students became shocked when Wadjda announced her intention to use the prize to buy a bicycle. The headmistress was furious and against Wadjda’s will donated the prize money to charity.

Despite an apparent sentimental depiction of a little schoolgirl’s desires, Wadjda emphasized her longing for freedom and self-realization, as well as fear of emotional abandonment when her father took a second wife. It is not only a film about a young person’s awkward relationship with an authoritative society and distressed parents – her longing for a bicycle of her own actually became emblematic of an entire people’s striving for freedom.

Wadjda was shot in a country where zealous clergy forbade cinemas and with a totalitarian regime with zero-tolerance of female film directors. al-Mansour had most of the time to work from the back of a van, as she could not publicly mix with men of her crew. She generally had to communicate via walkie-talkie and watch the actors on a monitor.

Haifaa al-Mansour spent seven years on finding adequate funding. It was the Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud who finally agreed to contribute. Al Waleed is a grandson of Abdul-Aziz, the first king of Saudi Arabia, and among other altruistic initiatives he financed the training of the first Saudi female commercial airline pilot, declaring that he was disposed to give “full support of Saudi ladies working in all fields.”

In November 2017, Al Waleed and other prominent Saudis were arrested during an “anti-corruption drive”. Some 200 detainees were brought to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh and subjected to coercion and abuse. Some, among them Al Waleed, were released after paying heavy fines. MbS not only attacked the old, extremely wealthy oligarchy, but also religious leaders who uphold Wahhabi doctrines. He openly declared that there are no static schools of thought, nor any infallible persons. In another statement MbS acknowledged that the Saudi state had not been “normal” for the past 30 years and that it was his intention to introduce social, religious, economic, political changes and a new educational policy, asserting a “Saudi national identity” within what he called a post-Wahhabi era.

Without interrupting or limiting his totalitarian powers MbS prohibited the Muatawwa’?n to “stop, follow, arrest, punish, and ask people for their ID.” Muatawwa’?n had until recently 4,000 officers, assisted by thousands of volunteers, and an additional 10,000 administrative personnel. It imposed strict segregation between the sexes, controlled that women wore the hijab, and forbade the sale of dogs and cats, as well as toys like Barbie dolls and Pokémon items.

Most of these restrictions are now abandoned. Women are allowed to drive cars and can chose not to wear the hijab. Women above 21 years can obtain passports and travel abroad without permission from their male guardians. It has become legally possible for women to independently open their own businesses and bank accounts, while mothers are authorised to retain immediate custody of their children after divorce. Women have now access to operas, concerts, cinemas and sports events.

This is part of the Government’s Saudi Vision 2030, aiming at diversifying the nation’s economy through heavy investments in non-oil sectors, including “green” technology, tourism, local expenditure and entertainment. In Riyadh, construction has begun of The Mukaab, a gigantic structure, which will include an armada of hotels, shopping malls, several cinemas and an “immersive” theatre. In the Northwest, Neom I is under construction – a high-technology megalopolis, with robotic services and even an artificial moon. The Line, a zero-carbon city stretching 170 kilometres across the desert. Qiddiya, a gigantic amusement park just outside of Riyadh. Trojena, a luxury ski resort in the Tabouk Mountains. The Red Sea Project, which is intended to be a string of luxurious hotels along the Red Sea shores.

Saudi Arabia has now 60 high-tech cinemas with approximately 500 screens in operation, as well as an increasing local production of TV entertainment. In accordance with Vision 2030 a General Entertainment Authority has been established. Its current chairman is bin Salman’s old friend Turki Al-Sheikh, known for his lyrics, sung by several Arab artists.

The film The Cello is expected to premiere in Riyadh this year. It is based on a novel by Turki Al-Sheikh that takes place in several locations, foremost in the 18th Century Italian town of Cremona, but also in present time. After being filmed in Prague, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Vienna, the movie stars world famous actor Jeremy Irons, as well as a great number of movie celebrities from Europe, Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In The Cello a young man purchases a cursed cello, built by a Cremonese master luthier, builder of string instruments, who butchered and cut up his entire family, using parts of their blood and bones to make a cello.

The cutting up of people in Turki Al-Sheikh’s The Cello might remind viewers of the murder and dismemberment of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly carried out by Saudi officials in Turkey. However The Cello may have an intended, or unintentional, so called Boris Bus effect. i.e. changing the subject of the gruesome murder of a journalist into the making of a wondrous instrument. Boris Johnson managed to redirect Google searches from past embarrassing and deceitful bus ads about Brexit into a description of his hobby of making toy buses with painted, happy passengers on board.

Bin Salman’s occasionally brutal and draconic measures might be interpreted as residues from hundreds of years of despotism. They will hopefully mellow, or even disappear, if Arabian society is allowed to continue on its already beaten path towards an open and democratic society, allowing for women’s emancipation, free speech and general wellbeing. A trend already evident within the Saudi Arabian film industry, which does not shy away from controversial subjects and where almost forty per cent of crew and directors currently are women.

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How the Rise of Timor-Lestes Aquaculture Sector Is a Blueprint for Other Small Island Nations — Global Issues

Senor Robiay, cluster coordinator of Laubonu. Credit: Silvino Gomes
  • Opinion by Jharendu Pant (penang, malaysia)
  • Inter Press Service

PENANG, Malaysia, May 03 (IPS) – Dr. Jharendu Pant is Senior Scientist – Sustainable Aquaculture Program, WorldFishFor Timor-Leste, as with most other islands in the Pacific, fortunes are to be found in fish – an equity food available to all regardless of status.

Nevertheless, the island is highly exposed to the impacts of climate change, hampering domestic food production and contributing to Timor-Leste’s ranking of 110th out of 121 countries for malnutrition. Meanwhile, the country is highly dependent on imported foods – including aquatic foods.

But a national strategy to prioritise the sustainable growth of fish production, particularly through farming of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT), is helping not only to reverse these trends, but also to provide new economic and livelihood opportunities throughout the entire aquaculture value chain.

And its successes offer economies of scale for development agencies and donors looking to maximise impact by replicating the strategy across other Pacific states with similar environments and challenges.

Jharendu PantTimor-Leste’s National Aquaculture Development Strategy (NADS) began in 2012 and has taken some years to start yielding results because a lack of infrastructure, resources and know-how meant the model had to be developed from scratch. Now, though, the country is steadily progressing towards building a more sustainable and resilient aquatic food production system.

Timor-Leste is on track to double fish consumption between 2010 and 2030, with all the benefits for improving nutrition this holds, having already generated returns by tripling productivity while reducing culture period by half. Timor-Leste’s farmers are now able to produce more nutritious aquatic food in less time.

The ripple effects of these successes are already spreading in the region: representatives from the Solomon Islands travelled to Timor-Leste for training in 2018 and 2019 to learn from the model, which offers a blueprint for addressing similar challenges faced by other island nations.

Small island developing states (SIDS) are collectively among the countries most affected by malnutrition, with 75 per cent of adult deaths in the Pacific caused by non-communicable disease – many of them diet-related. At the same time, small island states are among the most exposed to climate risk, which impacts the production of nutritious, indigenous foods.

But based on Timor-Leste’s learnings, other small island nations can also boost nutrition security and livelihoods through a similar dedicated strategy for aquaculture.

The approach starts with prioritising and deploying locally adapted solutions and technologies. WorldFish, working together with the Government of Timor-Leste, helped to introduce a public-private partnership (PPP) model for Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) hatcheries across the country, ensuring that farmers have access to high quality fish fingerlings in their local area.

Senor Robiay, cluster coordinator of Laubonu. Credit: Silvino Gomes

This improved breed of tilapia is ideal for addressing nutrition gaps for protein, essential fatty acids and micronutrients, while also minimising the burden on the environment, due to its relatively lower carbon footprint. The hatcheries were also established following rigorous environmental standards, which limits the release of effluence and observes biosecurity measures.

However, one of the challenges remaining for Timor-Leste and other resource-poor countries is the development of effective regulations and compliance monitoring. Alongside greater capacity for upholding environmental standards, subsequent phases of the strategy would also look to ensuring the benefits of increased production are shared equitably. This includes addressing issues of gender equality as well as youth employment opportunities.

Secondly, other countries with similar contexts can learn from Timor-Leste’s example of prioritising growth in production to drive increased consumption. Timor-Leste’s new fish hatcheries have helped increase production threefold between its first and second phase, paving the way for the successful scaling of aquaculture across the country.

And by prioritizing the production of monosex (all male) tilapia – which grow faster than female tilapia – Timor-Leste’s approach allowed the country’s farmers to maximize growth and the rate at which domestic production could meet the nutrition needs of the population. This resulted in increased availability and accessibility of nutritious fish to support higher levels of consumption.

Finally, Timor-Leste’s commitment to an ongoing aquaculture strategy over a decade and counting has also allowed the initiative to evolve over time. Such a long-term approach has also enabled the testing and validation of technologies and practices, making the scaling and replication elsewhere comparatively straightforward.

But ongoing funding is critical, both to develop the long-term capacity needed to maintain economic and nutritional gains in Timor-Leste, and to jumpstart similar initiatives elsewhere. The Partnership for Aquaculture Development in Timor-Leste (PADTL2) has been funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) New Zealand since 2014, with complementary financing from USAID in recent years, offering more solid and lasting gains than ad hoc interventions that last just a couple of years.

The sustainable growth of aquaculture production offers many benefits for small island nations. Over the last decade, Timor-Leste’s aquaculture strategy has become a model for developing more inclusive and secure food systems for all, helping to combat the challenges of malnutrition and exposure to climate change that impact Pacific Islands.

Partners including WorldFish are standing by to replicate this success and support other island governments to sustainably increase fish production and consumption to unlock blue fortunes for all.

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To Confront Our Current Crises, Its Time to Put Our Money Where Our Mouth Is — Global Issues

Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti. Often, women and girls face greater health and safety risks as water and sanitation systems become compromised; and take on increased domestic and care work as resources disappear. Credit: UN MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi
  • Opinion by Ayesha Khan – Eliane Ubalijoro – Yuriko Backes (karachi, pakistan / nairobi, kenya / luxembourg city, luxembourg)
  • Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Pakistan / NAIROBI, Kenya / LUXEMBOURG CITY, Luxembourg, May 03 (IPS) – The finance sector’s role in the current global crises – notably climate, biodiversity, and food security – is significant.

Polluting activities and environmentally-destructive practices for short-term economic gains have catapulted us to our current untenable situation. We’re ‘sawing off the branch we’re sitting on’ by sacrificing life-giving ecosystem services for profit, and that branch is sagging and splitting under our weight.

As we lurch from one climate crisis to another, leaving millions of the most vulnerable – particularly women and other marginalised identities – scrambling to survive large-scale flooding, extreme temperatures, and scorching heatwaves that decimate lives and livelihoods, we must radically reframe how we define success.

Finance can powerfully drive the change we seek. Significant commitments have been made, such as the pledges to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 made by tens of thousands of businesses and institutions through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s Race to Zero campaign; the food industry’s zero deforestation pledge at this year’s UNFCCC Climate Change Conference (COP27); new finance-related targets in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)’s new Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) to increase financing for nature and biodiversity; advances in the EU sustainable finance taxonomy; and emerging initiatives like Business for Nature.

The sustainable financing gap remains formidable: finance flows to Nature-based solutions (NbS) are currently less than half of what is needed by 2025 – and only a third of what is needed by 2030 – to limit climate change to below 1.5 degrees centigrade, halt biodiversity loss and achieve land degradation neutrality.

There is a particularly critical need to build up financing – and action – for biodiversity, as one of our most valuable natural capital assets which is crucial in addressing the challenges we face.

Meanwhile, nature-negative flows are estimated to exceed nature-based solutions by three to seven times. In the past six years, investments in the fossil fuel industry have continued at a steady pace, as has funding of projects leading to deforestation – such as livestock farming in the Brazilian Amazon in a largely unrestricted way.

Moreover, despite wealthy nations pledging USD 100 billion annually for climate mitigation and adaptation, less than 3% of adaptation funding has reached the countries in the Global South that need it the most.

This leaves the world out of balance. As 600 million smallholder farmers, who feed much of the developing world, struggle to respond to the most recent drought, flooding, or extreme weather event, huge numbers of the already-vulnerable become increasingly food-insecure, and can fall into irreversible poverty traps. We need to do better.

To turn this around, governments and multilateral institutions play an important role. But while governments currently provide about 83% of Nature-based solutions financing, a significant boost from this sector is unlikely given the confluence of crises taking its attention.

So, the pressure is also on the private sector to step up efforts –requiring increased investment in sustainable supply chains, paying properly for ecosystem services, and reducing or dropping nature-negative activities. Over 400 private sector companies asked to be regulated at COP15, and this goodwill must be harnessed.

We must also consider how to deploy the hoped-for influx of financing. We know Indigenous Peoples and local communities play key roles as ‘stewards’ of many of Earth’s landscapes. But between 2010 and 2020, they received less than 5% of development aid for environmental protection, and under 1% for climate mitigation and adaptation.

Channelling sustainable finance to these communities – especially women – can simultaneously spur community development, empower women, and nourish ecosystems. We must design instruments that are better-positioned to attract private capital towards efficient financing, including by using blended finance models to layer risk-taking development capital and grant instruments with more commercially-oriented funds.

There are so many sustainable, scalable solutions that already exist across Africa, Latin America and Asia and there comes a time to harness them. Let’s bridge the gaps between investors and community-led projects and build the resources of our landscapes’ stewards – in all their guises – to tend to our planet’s precious remaining species, ecosystems, and carbon sinks.

The time is now. Let’s meet the moment together.

Ayesha Khan is Regional Managing Director at Acumen, Pakistan. Éliane Ubalijoro is incoming CEO of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF). Yuriko Backes is Luxembourg’s Minister of Finance. They are three of the 16 Women Restoring the Earth 2023 and spoke at the Global Landscapes Forum’s 6th Investment Case Symposium to drive sustainable land-use investments in the Global South.

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Defending Human Rights Is a Crime in Some Countries and a Deadly Activity in Others — Global Issues

  • Opinion by Bibbi Abruzzini, Clarisse Sih – Forus (brussels)
  • Inter Press Service

BRUSSELS, Apr 27 (IPS) – In today’s world, human rights defenders face immense challenges, with threats, attacks, and repression being rampant in many countries. According to the latest report by Front Line Defenders, killings of rights defenders increased in 2022, with a total of 401 deaths across 26 different countries. Despite the adoption of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders 25 years ago, the threats faced by defenders persist globally.

One striking example of the dire situation is in Bolivia, where violations of freedoms of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and the right to defend rights have been recorded by the Observatory of Rights Defenders of UNITAS, with the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights of Bolivia (APDHB) being a longstanding victim of attacks and delegitimization. A total of 725 violations of the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, democratic institutions and the right to defend rights have been recorded by the Observatory of Rights Defenders.

Gladys Sandova, a human rights and environmental defender in the Tariquía Flora and Fauna National Reserve in Bolivia, reveals how the state often aligns with oil businesses instead of protecting communities. “Tariquía is the lung of Tarija,” Gladys explains, yet this vital source of water for southern Bolivia and home to over 3,000 people, is at risk due to the state-owned Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) seeking to revive oil exploration in the reserve.

“Oil companies are here, we are going to lose our natural richness, they are going to affect the lives of families, and contaminate our water and our air,” says Gladys, reflecting the urgent need to defend human rights and the environment.

Her story is similar to that of several other human rights defenders across the globe : they are victims of hostilities, interference, threats, and harassment. The campaign, ReImagina La Defensa de Derechos, by UNITAS collects the testimonies of human rights defenders and indigenous leaders across Bolivia raising awareness about the challenges they face.

Stories from human rights defenders from across the globe are also featured in the #AlternativeNarratives campaign, which seeks to amplify the voices of civil society organizations and grassroots movements that work towards social justice, human rights, and sustainable development. The campaign encourages the use of storytelling, multimedia tools, and creative expression to highlight alternative perspectives, challenge stereotypes, and advocate for positive chang while fostering a more inclusive and equitable narrative space that reflects the diversity of human experiences and promotes solidarity, empathy, and mutual understanding.

Human rights defenders, including women defenders, continue to mobilize against repressive regimes and occupying forces in countries like Afghanistan, the DRC, El Salvador, Iran, Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, highlights the underreporting of human rights violations against defenders, particularly women, and outlines “disturbing trends” in relation to civic space worldwide.

Repongac, representing over 1,200 NGOs in Central Africa, states that “human rights in Central Africa are no longer guaranteed,” with civil society actors, journalists, and defenders facing repression, prosecution, and arrests. Recent campaigns organized by Repongac in Central Africa and Repaoc in West Africa, supported by Forus and the French Development Agency, brought together diverse stakeholders, including human rights defenders, political parties, parliamentarians, journalists, and security personnel, to initiate a dialogue and protect civic space amnd fundametnal freedoms in the region.

To support activists and defenders globally, the Danish Institute for Human Rights has launched a monitoring tool that assesses whether an enabling environment for human rights defenders exists across five critical areas. Developed in collaboration with 24 institutions and organizations, including the United Nations and civil society networks, the tool not only tracks the number of killings of human rights defenders but also analyzes the presence of appropriate legislation and practices to protect defenders.

As Carol Rask, a representative of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, explains, defending human rights is a crime in some countries and a deadly activity in others. It is a call to action for change, urging individuals, organizations, and governments to prioritize and protect the crucial work of human rights defenders worldwide.

Griselda Sillerico, human rights defender in Bolivia for over 30 years, quotes Ana María Romero and says “human rights are seeds that we continue to plant and that over the years we harvest.” Griselda Sillerico’s quote echoes the enduring spirit of human rights advocacy, where the work of human rights defenders like her is a constant effort to sow the seeds of justice, equality, and dignity for all. Despite the challenges and setbacks, human rights defenders across the world continue to plant these seeds, often at great personal risk, with the hope of reaping a future where human rights are universally respected and protected.

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Star Wars Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Symbolises A Litany of Firsts For Women — Global Issues

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (L) on the set of Ms Marvel, directing actor Mehwish Hayat (R). Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm
  • by Zofeen Ebrahim (karachi)
  • Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Apr 25 (IPS) – The announcement by Lucas film’s president, Kathleen Kennedy, about the upcoming three new live-action Star Wars films was enough for lawyer Maliha Zia to get euphoric.

But there is another reason for the excitement for many Pakistani Star Wars movie buffs like her. Among the three top-notch directors that Kennedy said her company would be helming the three films is Pakistan’s Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

“This is beyond phenomenal,” said an excited Zia, associate director at the Karachi-based Legal Aid Society, who, by her own unabashed admission, is a life-long Star Wars fan, watching the films since she was four.

Now a mother of three, she religiously watches the original three every year, coercing her 8-year-old to watch with her. “I never imagined that someone from Pakistan would ever get the chance to direct a film from this iconic series,” she added.

What is even more exciting for the lawyer is that she had not even in her wildest of dreams imagined she would actually know someone who would be directing them. “Something so iconic seemed so far away, untouchable and amazing; it’s unbelievable that it seems so much closer now!” She and Chinoy have collaborated for a long time on an animated series on women’s right to property.

The Disney-owned studio may have selected “the best and most passionate filmmakers” in the three directors, including Dave Filoni and James Mangold, but with Chinoy overseeing the final new movie, there will be many firsts.

“She is the only Pakistani, the only South Asian, the only woman, and also the only woman of colour to be helming a Star Wars movie,” said Omair Alavi, a showbiz critic, and a huge Star Wars fan, excited by the news of the three films. Although for him, “the fabulous episodes of The Mandalorian” on the TV screen kept him well appeased during this interim period.

This year’s USC Annenberg (it examines specific demographics  — gender, race/ethnicity of directors across the 100 top domestic fictional films in North America) study, titled Inclusion in the Director’s Chair, looked at the gender, race and ethnicity of directors across 1600 top films from 2007 to 2022, found a mere 5.6 percent were women, and the ratio of men to women directors across 16 years 11 to 1. In 2022, it was 9 percent — down from 12.7 percent in 2021.

“Hollywood’s image of a woman director is white,” said the study and pointed out that the “think director, think male” phenomenon disregarding the “competence and experience of women and people of color” should be done away with. In addition, instituting checks in the evaluation process of potential directors was also critical.

In a way hiring Chinoy may open the doors for the unrepresented.

She is also the only among the trio to have won two Oscars (for her documentaries denouncing violence against women). In addition, Chinoy has seven Emmys under her belt, aside from being honoured Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s second-highest civilian award.

“So so proud of you, my friend. May the force be with you!” global actor Priyanka Chopra congratulated Chinoy on her Instagram Stories.

Although she is a seasoned documentary filmmaker, having directed and produced the first ever Pakistani 3D computer-animated adventure film Teen Bahadur in 2015 and directing two episodes of the 2022 TV series Ms Marvel, this will be Chinoy’s first stint in Hollywood. Will she be able to handle the big project?

“Sharmeen has a knack of doing things that other people only dream of,” said her former employee, Hussain Qaizar Yunus, a film editor, who, although awestruck, was “unsurprised” to learn of Chinoy’s being selected to direct the Hollywood movie.

And with the last few films not very well received, he said, “A fresh perspective from someone like Sharmeen is exactly what the franchise needs right now.”

Nevertheless, she was an “unusual choice” to be directing a Star Wars film. But her documentary background could work to her advantage, he said. “Her experience of telling real stories of real people would perhaps ground the story with a sense of realism to what is otherwise an epic space opera,” he added and hoped Chinoy would bring South Asian representation to Star Wars, both in front of and behind the camera, “the same way that she did with Ms Marvel”.

Chatting with IPS over WhatsApp, Chinoy said: “As a filmmaker who has championed heroes throughout her career, I think that Star Wars fits in with that mission of a hero’s journey of overcoming against all odds.”

“The story I will be bringing into the world is about the rebuilding of the new Jedi Order, the new Jedi academy,” said the newly appointed director, who seems to be a Star Wars fan, having named her dog Chewbacca (after the fictional character in the Star Wars). Chinoy will also be co-writing the film with Damon Lindelof. Set 15 years after the end of the last movie (2019), British actor Daisy Ridley will return to her role of Rey, the heroine of the last trilogy, as she fights to revive the Jedi order.

“She’ll be able to pull it off; she knows her job!” said Alvi confidently.

Kennedy also revealed that these films will take place across vast timelines from the very early days of the Jedi to a future beyond Rise of Skywalker. “Hopefully, this new series will attract both the older and the newer generation; my generation, who watched it as kids, can watch it with their kids or grandparents can take their grandchildren; it will be worth the wait,” anticipated journalist Muna Khan, who watched the first film as a kid back in the late 70s and the memory of which is “seared in my mind”. These films are not just for folks who watched it then; they’re “timeless, and each new instalment adds to the timelessness” she pointed out. The first of the three films are slated for release in 2025.

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Confronting Gender Inequalities & Power Dynamics — Global Issues

  • Opinion by Kipkemoi Saitabau, Arthur Ngetich Kipkemoi Saitabau (kuala lumpur, malaysia)
  • Inter Press Service

Women are at higher risk of malaria due to biological, social, economic, and gender factors. They have limited access to healthcare, less decision-making power and control over household resources, which increases their susceptibility.

Gender-based economic disparities further worsen the situation by limiting women’s access to malaria prevention and treatment.

While significant progress has been made in the past decades in combatting malaria through the development of life-saving treatment regimens and the implementation of cutting-edge technologies to accelerate the discovery and development of new malaria vaccines, deaths due to malaria remain high.

In 2021 alone, an estimated 619,000 deaths were caused by malaria, highlighting the need for continued efforts to combat this disease.

In addition, COVID-related disruptions in the delivery of malaria curative and preventive services during the two peak years of the pandemic (2020-2021), led to approximately 13 million more cases of malaria and an additional 63,000 deaths caused by the disease compared to the pre-COVID-19 year of 2019.

To date, malaria cases and deaths have primarily been reduced through disease-focused approaches that tend to be reactive rather than proactive often initiated in response to malaria outbreaks.

This narrow focus on treating individual cases of malaria overlooks broader social, economic, environmental risk factors including gender-based inequalities.

As Member States work towards ambitious goals set during the 2015 World Health Assembly of reducing the global malaria burden by 90% by 2030, efforts need to prioritise the underlying factors that drive transmission through a multifaceted approach, particularly recognising the social determinants like gender inequalities.

The concept of people-centred health care is based on fundamental principles that prioritize human rights, dignity, participation, equity, and partnerships.

This approach aims to create a health care system where individuals, families, and communities receive humane and holistic care, while also having the opportunity to actively engage with the health care system.

As we work towards leaving no one behind and achieving the last mile, developing and adopting more people-centred approaches, that address gender and intersectionality concerns through an analysis of power dynamics, will be critical to make significant strides towards eradicating malaria for good.

This can involve engaging with communities and stakeholders to identify their needs and develop evidence-based malaria control strategies that promote equity and inclusion.

Additionally, promoting participation of marginalized groups in decision-making and ensuring malaria interventions respect human rights and promote social justice.

Not only will this help advance Sustainable Development Goals towards gender equality but importantly will also contribute to decolonising global health and empowering communities that remain most impacted by the disease.

Unpacking the Gendered Dimensions

A people-centred approach to malaria prevention aims to prioritize the well-being of individuals and communities by establishing reliable health systems. However, power dynamics must be taken into account to prevent the perpetuation of power imbalances, hierarchies, and inequalities.

This means engaging with communities and other stakeholders to identify their needs and priorities and working together to develop evidence-based malaria control strategies.

The Community Directed Intervention (CDI) approach exemplifies the importance of extensive community engagement to identify local needs and priorities for malaria control. This includes community meetings, involving leaders and women groups, and conducting surveys on malaria burden and risk factors.

Developing evidence-based strategies through community engagement results in increased community ownership and participation, leading to higher uptake of interventions and reducing malaria transmission.

Addressing the power dynamics associated with malaria prevention requires acknowledging and tackling gendered dimensions linked with malaria prevention.

Women in some communities may lack access to education, employment, and decision-making power, which can limit their ability to protect themselves from malaria.

Additionally, cultural beliefs and practices may contribute to the unequal distribution of resources for malaria prevention and control, with men accessing more resources than women.

This underscores the importance of addressing gender roles in malaria control initiatives and empowering women to take an active role in protecting themselves and their families.

Intersectionality also has important implications for malaria control as gender intersects with other social categories to create specific vulnerabilities and challenges. For instance, women from lowest income groups are least likely to get access to healthcare.

To address these challenges, it is important for more malaria control programs to conduct systematic social and gender analysis, hearing from those affected, to better understand the subtle nuances of gendered and intersectional dimensions of power both within households and communities.

This approach can then help to identify the specific barriers and opportunities for women’s participation in malaria control initiatives. By unpacking the gendered dimensions in communities, public health officials can design targeted interventions that promote women’s empowerment, address gender inequalities, and increase women’s involvement in malaria control programs.

Confronting not Reinforcing Power Dynamics

A people-centred approach to malaria control can empower individuals by providing education and training on malaria prevention and control. It can emphasize inclusivity and centre the experiences and knowledge of those who have been historically excluded or marginalized due to factors such as racism, sexism, classism, and other systems of power.

To avoid reinforcing power dynamics in malaria control, it is crucial to involve and empower marginalized groups in decision-making. This involves consulting communities to identify their needs and priorities, promoting participation of women and marginalized groups, and designing interventions that promote equity and inclusion.

The foundation for improving community dialogue and community-led actions towards malaria elimination has been established over the years.

A case in point is the successful elimination of malaria in Cambodia’s last mile, which relied on communities in high-risk areas agreeing to increased testing, regular fever screening, and in some cases, taking preventive antimalarial medication.

A people-centred approach recognizes the significance of communities in designing and implementing malaria control programs, considering their unique social, cultural, and environmental contexts that can impact malaria transmission and control.

One illustration is the use of local languages and cultural practices to build trust and improve communication on malaria prevention and control measures through empowerment of community health workers who understand and can tailor interventions to their specific contexts.

On the other hand, a people-centred approach, which does not consider power dynamics, can unintentionally reinforce social hierarchies and exclude vulnerable populations from accessing preventative and curative treatment for malaria.

For instance, a malaria control program that only involves male community leaders and village chiefs in decision-making when distributing bed nets reinforces patriarchal power and favour wealthier households, while excluding marginalized groups such as women and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

In conclusion, achieving malaria elimination through people-centred approaches requires a holistic approach that actively considers issues of gender, intersectionality, and balance of power. It is crucial to ensure that these approaches do not perpetuate existing inequalities, but instead centre the experiences and knowledge of marginalized groups.

By acknowledging and addressing the ways in which different forms of oppression intersect and compound to create experiences of marginalization and exclusion, we can make meaningful strides towards malaria elimination.

To achieve this, sustaining a commitment to inclusivity, equity, and social justice is imperative in all efforts aimed at eradicating malaria and improving the health and well-being of communities affected by this disease.

This includes actively involving marginalized groups in decision-making processes, addressing social determinants of health, tailoring interventions to specific cultural and contextual factors, and promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.

By taking a proactive and inclusive approach, we can ensure that malaria control efforts are effective, equitable, and sustainable, leading to more just and healthier communities.

Arthur Ng’etich Kipkemoi Saitabau is Post-Doctoral Fellow of the United Nations University – International Institute for Global Health.

IPS UN Bureau


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