Women Empowering Women
by prize winning feminist researcher Wendy Harcourt
Why has ‘gender’ emerged as a key area of development funding in these days of reduced funds for development? How has the MDG3 Fund helped catalyze progress towards achievement of the 2015 MDG3 on gender equality and women’s empowerment? How are women overcoming violence against women, gaining economic independence, fighting for land rights and becoming more involved in decision making?
10 inside stories on ten projects reveal how the MDG3 Fund has helped women to help end social discrimination and rights injustices and to catalyze transformative changes in women’s and communities lives worldwide.
07
Nov
2011
Women protesting in Syria. Credit Karama
The world continues to watch the Arab Spring as we head for 2011/12 winter, with some trepidation. Although one woman Tawakkul Karman of Yemen from the Region has been honoured with a Noble Peace Prize, all those women who took to the streets, blogged, tweeted, risked lives and made the revolution happen may well find themselves struggling against a backlash. During the revolution activists such as Esraa Abdel Fatah (known as “Facebook Girl” after organizing a nation-wide strike through her page in 2008) commented on how women were not violated during the protests. But now there are stories of women harassed and attacked once more post revolution the fight to end violence against women has to be an ever-vigilant demand. More »
02
Nov
2011
Advancing gender equality means a shift in thinking — from seeing boys and men as part of the problem, to including boys and men as part of the solution. (Credit: Sujoy Dhar/IPS)
Dear Editors,
Thanks for the story on working with males and females on gender equality.
You may also be interested in work that ICRW has done in this area. We developed and evaluated a program called “Gender Equity Movement in Schools” that is now being scaled up to 250 schools in Mumbai. Additionally, the project team has traveled to Vietnam for discussion on adapting the program to the Vietnamese setting.
…
Ellen Weiss
Senior Technical Advisor
Research Utilization and Development
International Center for Research on Women
Out of 157 countries, India ranks in the bottom three for girls’ and women’s education, economic participation and empowerment in the latest Gender Equity Index compiled by international NGO Social Watch, followed only by Côte d’Ivoire and Yemen.
ICRW’s two-year programme uses games and role-play to engage 12- to 14-year old boys and girls in fostering equitable relations and scrutinising the social norms that construct gender roles. The students also learn how to spot and combat gender-based violence.
How are you advancing the third millennium development goal? We want to hear from you! Send us your ideas, examples and comments for making the world more gender equitable: mdg3 [at] ips [dot] org.
18
Oct
2011
Mali’s Dieneba Deme interviews an agriculture expert. Credit IWMF
Four brave women journalists who have risked their lives covering the news will be honored by the International Women’s Media Foundation with Courage in Journalism Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award in Los Angeles on Oct. 24 and New York on Oct. 27.
IWMF’S Courage in Journalism Award winners face daunting challenges reporting the news in their countries. Mexican drug cartels have threatened to kill Zeta editor Adela Navarro Bello and have already murdered two Zeta editors, Iranian officials have targeted and harassed Reuters bureau chief Parisa Hafezi and Thai authorities have charged Prachatai editor Chiranuch Premchaiporn with breaking the law for allowing 10 strangers to post anti-royal comments on her website. Premchaiporn is standing trial now, facing up to 20 years in prison in a test of Internet freedom. More »
18
Oct
2011
Libya Women’s Platform meeting in Cairo. Credit Karama
Over 40 Libyan women gathered in Cairo from October 7-9, 2011 to inaugurate the Libya Women’s Platform for Peace, a new national movement that will work together to increase all forms of female political participation in post-Gaddafi Libya.
“I thought I was alone, but now I know I’m not,” said Amal Bugaighis, a lawyer and deputy president of the 17 February Coalition in Support of Women’s Decision-Making.
Facilitated by the regional Arab women’s NGO Karama, this meeting was the first of its kind in recent history, bringing together women from all regions of Libya, expatriates, diverse professional and social backgrounds, and members of older and younger generations. More »
08
Oct
2011
Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemini opposition leader Tawakkul Karman.
Ottawa — The women Peace Laureates of the Nobel Women’s Initiative—Jody Williams (USA), Shirin Ebadi (Iran), Mairead Maguire (Ireland) and Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Guatemala)—sent letters of congratulations to the three women who today were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemini opposition leader Tawakkul Karman.
“Your victory today is a victory for all women around the world struggling for peace, justice and equality,” said Jody Williams, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1997 for her work to ban landmines. “We are inspired by your example of nonviolent action in the face of brutal violence, discrimination and injustice. You remind us that with women’s bold action, there is hope for a better world.” More »
05
Oct
2011
Hibaaq Osman. Credit: El Karama
“I never thought in my lifetime I would see a revolution unfolding under my eyes. It was a moment of uncertainty and excitement,” Hibaaq Osman told DLD (Digital Life Design) Women in a recent video interview.
Hibaaq Osman is founder and CEO of the IPS MDG3 partner El Karama, an Egypt based organisation for women’s rights in the Middle East and North Africa.
In her reflection, Ms. Osman shares her personal experiences and observations from the days of revolution in Egypt, including descriptions of the Egyptian people and their protective nature toward each other, for instance, the way they came down to protect one another and their property in the days when the police could no longer be found in the streets. More »
26
Sep
2011
Wangari Maathai (1940-2011). Credit: The Green Belt Movement.
IPS joins the international community in mourning the loss of Wangari Maathai, a tireless fighter for peace and the environment.
We were honoured to have her as a contributor to our IPS Columnist Service. In recent years the Nobel Women’s Initiative, our valued partner, helped to connect us to more of her writings and those of her sister Laureates.
As well as giving her a channel through the Columnist Service to reach the mainstream media with her opinions, Professor Maathai was regularly featured in IPS coverage of issues including Kenya, human rights, the environment and civil society. More »
19
Sep
2011
The Nordic-Arab Network of Research on Women’s Empowerment, Gender, and Politics (WEP) is working on a state of the art report. This report aims at mapping all the scholars and students who undertake research on gender and women’s position in the public space in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen.
You can support the research by sending information about research centers, institutes, university departments and/or specialists in gender issues who focus their research on gender and women in public space in the above mentioned MENA countries. More »
13
Sep
2011
Comms Consult Independent Evaluation Released
Earlier this year IPS commissioned an independent evaluation of its ‘Communicating for Change: Getting Voice, Visibility and Impact for Gender Equality’ programme. The objective was of course to assess project’s outcomes, but also to gather and share the lessons learned about communicating gender in these two years work.
A Comms Consult team undertook this evaluation with a specific brief to focus on lessons learned and potential paths forward. As part of the preparation and implementation different audiences and partners of the project were surveyed on electronic platforms, by questionnaire and by telephone. These consultations provided very valuable direct input from stakeholders on the programme’s future directions. More »
