International
Feminists on the Frontline: Case Studies of Resisting and Challenging Fundamentalisms
This collection of case studies is a testament to the women and men around the world who have stood up to reject the imposition of norms and values in the name of religion as well as to expose and challenge the privileged position given to religion in public policies. In 2008 AWID launched a call for proposals to document the strategies of women's rights activists confronting religious fundamentalisms. The final 18 case studies presented here are drawn from a wide range of religious and geographical contexts, and cover various fields of activism. We hope that this collection will inspire, inform and encourage discussion and debate. Please visit this page again for updates, as finalized case studies and a brief summary of each case study will be posted on a rolling basis. We will also soon be posting a paper that introduces the trends and themes that are threaded through the various case studies.
Petition against Vatican`s miscategorization of Women’s Rights Advocates with Child Abusers
On July 15, 2010, the Vatican issued a clarification of its canonical procedures for how dioceses should handle priests who sexually abuse children. As part of the statement, they have added that the “attempted ordination of a woman” has now been added to the list of “delicta graviora,” or most serious crimes in church law, alongside the sexual abuse of minors.
Catholics denounce Vatican putting female ordination on par with sex abuse
Women's groups describe Vatican's decision on female ordination as 'appalling'.
It was meant to be the document that put a lid on the clerical sex abuse scandals that have swept the Roman Catholic world. But instead of quelling fury from within and without the church, the Vatican stoked the anger of liberal Catholics and women's groups by including a provision in its revised decree that made the "attempted ordination" of women one of the gravest crimes in ecclesiastical law.
The change put the "offence" on a par with the sex abuse of minors.
Advancing Gender Justice: A Call to Action
At a press conference held on 31 May 2010 during the Review Conference of the Rome Statute, the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice released an advocacy paper titled Advancing Gender Justice - A Call to Action. Joining Women's Initiatives' Executive Director Brigid Inder to speak at the launch of the paper were three women's rights activists from ICC conflict situations who comprised part of the Women's Initiatives delegation: Gladys Oyat, Greater North Women's Voices for Peace Network, from Kitgum, Northern Uganda; Jeanine Bandu, Director of the Collective of Indigenous and Vulnerable Households, from Goma, Eastern DRC; and Albertine Tonnet, Coordinator of the Women's Section of the United Trade Union, from Bangui, Central African Republic. Susanah Sirkin, Deputy Director of the US-based NGO Physicians for Human Rights, also offered her reflections on the Call to Action.
At the press conference, women from the conflict situations spoke of the urgent need for justice through both international and national accountability mechanisms. Gladys Oyat from Northern Uganda asked, 'Shall the (Ugandan) victims get justice within the given time frame? We have evidence in Uganda that sometimes issues of importance may not be taken with the seriousness they deserve. They start with high flames but soon die out like a candle in the wind. Who can give assurance to the hurting people that justice will be done as fast as possible? Remember, Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.' Read Gladys' full press statement.
Girls Speak: A New Voice In Global Development
Girls have a fundamental right to be heard, valued and respected. Moreover, by listening to girls’ voices, policymakers and program managers can help bridge the gaps between girls’ aspirations and their actual experiences. In this report, the authors outline six themes that arise from girls’ aspirations, including the desire to be healthy and educated with viable livelihoods and career opportunities, financial security and independence; and to marry and have children at the appropriate time. Underlying all the themes is one universal: a shared inability to make decisions about their own lives even though they know what they need.
Revised Vatican norms to cover sex abuse and attempted women's ordination
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican is preparing to update the 2001 norms that deal with priestly sex abuse of minors, in effect codifying practices that have been in place for several years.
At the same time, it will include the "attempted ordination of women" among the list of most serious crimes against church law, or "delicta graviora," sources said.
The Quest for an "Islamic State" as a Response to the Secular State
This article examines a particular variety of Islamic responses to the advent of the secular state in Asia. The secular state arose historically in Europe through the separation of church and state from the seventeenth century onwards. The notion of political secularism was brought to Asia (and elsewhere) through the experience of European colonialism. The post-colonial secular states of Asia are thus derived from experiences of European colonialism, even when such experiences did not result in total colonisation (for example, in China, Korea, Japan and Thailand). Although the secular politics of the new nation-states in the Asian region has been anti-colonial and nationalist in content, the secularism of politics nevertheless comes not from indigenous sources, but from historical origins in Europe, regardless of whether such secularism is democratic, fascist or communist.
UN Women Born: Civil Society Celebrates Creation of Gender Equality Entity After Four Years of Advocacy
UN Women Born: Civil Society Celebrates Creation of Gender Equality Entity After Four Years of Campaigning
The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign celebrates the United Nations General Assembly resolution, agreed to on 30 June and to be formally adopted by the General Assembly on Friday, 2 July, to establish “UN Women”—the new gender equality entity at the UN. This move has been sought by women’s organizations and other civil society organizations around the world since the UN established a System-Wide Coherence Panel for UN Reform in 2006. Charlotte Bunch of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University, a founding member of the GEAR Campaign, stated, “We have high expectations for this new agency to be a solid foundation for advancing the human rights of women as central to global policy efforts to reduce poverty and move toward greater realization of peace and democracy in the world. The coalition of women’s groups and other social justice, human rights and development organizations that played a pivotal role in this effort will now turn its efforts toward ensuring that the new body has the human and financial resources necessary to succeed.”
Video: Concluding remarks - Independent Expert on Cultural rights' first report to the UN Human Rights Council
Freedom Leads to Empowerment: Promoting Women's Leadership and Financial Independence
Women's empowerment is a process. It involves raising consciousness, building skills and reforming unjust laws that limit women's education, participation in decision making and economic independence. I.M.O.W. Global Council member Mahnaz Afkhami is president of Women's Learning Partnership, which strives to empower women by practicing and promoting their leadership and self-sufficiency.