Posted by sabina on February 10, 2010
Paula Fray interviews ANNE-MARIE GOETZ, UNIFEM chief advisor for Governance, Peace and Security
Anne-Marie Goetz: 'The structural exclusion of women is striking, and does tell us that there are serious double standards.' Credit: Paula Fray/IPS
NEW DELHI, Feb 9, 2010 (IPS) - Women’s movements have played a critical role in creating political space for female participation in politics around the world. In fact, there are more women in government today than ever before.
According to UNIFEM’s Progress of the World’s Women 2008/2009 report “Who Answers to Women? Gender & Accountability”, women now hold an average of 18.4 percent of seats in national assemblies, though the rate of increase is still very slow.
Around the world, a number of countries are undergoing an extended process of democratic consolidation, in which legal systems are being amended to incorporate new constitutional rights and political systems are being tested for their capacity to tolerate opposition, says UNIFEM’s chief advisor for Governance, Peace and Security, Dr Anne-Marie Goetz.
But more needs to be done as women’s effectiveness in translaitng policies into action depends upon gender-responsive governance reforms. And the women’s movement can play a critical role in supporting such social change. More »
Posted by sabina on January 22, 2010
Women Deepening Democracy: Transforming Politics for Gender Equality. New Dehli, 13-15 January
“Women Deepening Democracy: Transforming Politics for Gender Equality” brought together organisations supporting women’s participation in politics to identify innovations, analyse challenges to women’s political participation, assessing threats to democracies and their gendered impact and making a contribution to the UN’s system-wide efforts to promote democracy.
The meeting was hosted by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA).
UNIFEM’s chief advisor for Governance, Peace and Security, Dr Anne-Marie Goetz noted that women only got the vote in democracies in the 20th century and “have struggled to match this formal political equality with substantive political influence”. More »
Posted by sabina on November 30, 2009
Eunice Wanjiru interviews DEMITIRI MUKANDASHIMIYE, nurse, Nyamata Health Centre
BUGESERA DISTRICT, Rwanda, Nov 30 (IPS) - Traffic flowing in and out of her office, each interruption addressed with effortless calm, the nurse in charge of Hospitalisation and Immunisation at Nyamata Health Center in Bugesera District, is a confident woman in her element.
Settling down to talk to us in her small office - an examination bed in one corner, a file cabinet opposite, a long wooden table holding hospital equipment like thermometers, a stethoscope and a few documents - Demitiri Mukandashimiye, gazes across her neatly arranged work desk.
The bulk of her work, she says, consists of admitting pregnant mothers and immunising infants. And following up on the mothers to ensure they don’t skip any immunisation days. More »
Posted by sabina on October 26, 2009
By William Fisher
NEW YORK, Oct 26 (IPS) - The fifteenth anniversary of the U.S. ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Torture passed last week with little fanfare and virtually no press attention from the mainstream media here.
But according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “U.S. policy continues to fall short of ensuring full compliance with the treaty.”
For example, the organisation said that an appendix to the Army Field Manual (AFM) can still facilitate cruel treatment of prisoners and detainees at home and abroad. More »
Posted by sabina on September 29, 2009
By Mutsuko Murakami
TOKYO, Sep 29 (IPS) - “I hope to see a society where women can comfortably work and raise a family … at the same time.”
University student Eri Ochiai’s words may well echo the sentiment of many a Japanese woman, hopeful for a change that has eluded them for many years under the previous administration.
When Ochiai, 20, trooped to the polls for the first time in late August, she was resolute to give her vote to her district’s female candidate, who had pledged “to improve the social environments for women.” More »
Posted by sabina on May 5, 2009
To celebrate its 30th birthday the Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is gathering stories, testimonies and reflections about how its work has helped the respect of women’s rights and the prevention of discrimination against them. More »
Posted by admin on April 14, 2009
By Stephen de Tarczynski
MELBOURNE, Apr 14 (IPS) Despite ongoing community concerns over the highly
secretive Pine Gap spy station in central Australia, the nation’s
parliament has moved to effectively ban protest at the joint
Australia-United States base.
More »
Posted by admin on April 13, 2009
By Najum Mushtaq
NAIROBI, Apr 13 (IPS) Art and fashion, environmental conservation,
poverty alleviation and fair trade come together at UniqEco’s Marula
Studios in an upscale suburb of Nairobi. A visit to its workshop and
display centre is a delight to the eyes as well as an occasion to learn
about the problem of marine pollution and its eco-friendly,
community-based and business-savvy solutions.
More »
Posted by admin on April 7, 2009
By Natalia Ruiz Díaz
ASUNCION, Apr 7 (IPS) The global tendency towards greater participation
by women in politics has reached Paraguay, but the pace continues to be
set by men, and there are still tough barriers to equal access to elected
posts.
More »
Posted by admin on April 2, 2009
By Fabiana Frayssinet
RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 2 (IPS) How many men work in day care centres,
looking after children? How much paternity leave are men entitled to?
How many government programmes to combat domestic violence include
violent men themselves as part of the treatment?
More »
AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT: A CRITICAL MOMENT TO SUPPORT SUDAN 
THE PRIVATISATION OF LIVELIHOOD
WOMEN'S HEALTH - A SMART INVESTMENT IN TROUBLED TIMES
POOR COUNTRIES RAILROADED INTO WEAK COMPROMISE AT UN FINANCIAL SUMMIT
LET THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT DO ITS WORK
WORLD MUST KEEP UP PRESSURE ON AFGHAN LAW AGAINST WOMEN
