Dalit rights activists break new grounds in South Asia

UN Women

2018

Brief account of the initiative of Moni Rani Das, a Dalit woman living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, who started advocating for nearly 3 million Dalit women living in the country and became the first Dalit woman sitting on the National Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh. Her activism is a source of empowerment for 120 million women altogether that live in South Asia and contributed to the transnational activism of FEDO, Feminist Dalit Organisation based in Nepal, which formed connection with the UN’s Women Fund for Gender Equality; more local organisations such as Nagorik Uddyog in Bangladesh, Swadhikar and Asia Dalit Rights Forum in India; and the Human Development Organization (HDO) in Sri Lanka. By predominantly promoting women’s economic rights, FEDO’s activity constitutes a protection against gender-based violence against Dalit women.

Across Latin America, women fight back against violence in politics

UN Women2018

Reports on how women in Bolivia, Brazil, Honduras and Mexico who are willing to hold public offices experience violence and do react against intimidation.

Relevant document on political violence against women for each of these countries can be found below.

International: INCLUDE PDF; http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm

Bolivia: http://observatorioparidaddemocratica.oep.org.bo/ (Spanish). For further readings, please see http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2018/11/take-five-katia-uriona

Brazil: http://www.brasil5050.org.br/ (Portuguese)

Mexico: https://www.gob.mx/conavim/documentos/protocolo-para-la-atencion-de-la-violencia-contra-las-mujeres-en-razon-de-genero-2017; http://mexico.unwomen.org/es/digiteca/publicaciones/2017/10/protocolo-oaxaca

Available online at:

http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2018/11/feature-across-latin-america-women-fight-back-against-violence-in-politics

India’s #MeToo movement’ documentary

Now This World

2018

The short documentary explores the rise of the #MeToo movement in India. It also shows how the accusations on sexual harassment extended from the media industry to academia and the political sector, alongside campaigning for women to speak up when harassment happens in the private sphere as well. Men and women in India have been speaking up against violence against women since 2012-2013, following the death of a 23 year-old young woman. This episode initiated a more grounded conversation on sexual assault against women and especially against women of lower castes. In fact, according to Indian’s Crime National Bureau, more than four Dalit women – the ‘untouchable’ - are raped every day. In 2018, India was rated the most dangerous country in the world for women by the Thompson Reuter Foundation because of high rates of sexual violence. Reports attested that in 2016, India had 338,954 reported crimes against women (38,947 were rapes).

For first hand interviews with survivors, please see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13w-CJRoi30&vl=en.

See also: India was highlighted as one of the worst country for sexual violence, human trafficking, and for cultural and religious discrimination by Thomson Reuters Foundation’s 2018 survey (http://poll2018.trust.org/country/?id=india).

Available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuBDhN3NP7A

Glasgow's Festival of Climate Resistance

In: Peace News, No 2657, 2022, pp. 7-7

Provides brief examples of protests and related activities in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021 during the COP 26 Conference. Almost all the events were organized by the COP 26 Coalition, a UK-based coalition of groups committed to climate justice, which also assisted activists from abroad.

Women worldwide must be heard and respected

In: The Guardian, 2019

Letter published by The Guardian on International Women’s Day 2019, signed by women activists and actresses, as a public statement advocating the protection of women’s rights worldwide.

Another letter addressed to an international audience was published by The Guardian and was signed by prominent African women from all spheres titled ‘Equality for African women’. It can be accessed on here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/equality-for-african-women.

Available online at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/international-womens-day-women-worldwide-must-be-heard-and-respected

Top 8 Climate Change Campaigns of 2018

In: Greenhouse PR, 2018

Greenhouse was established in 2006 to 'use the power of communications to drive positive social and environmental change.’ This report covers eight diverse 2018 campaigns which Greenhouse participated in. These include international media campaigns to pressure world major insurance companies to stop insurers covering coal mines and power plants, and promoting ethical banking. It also includes campaigns on environmentally aware farming methods. 

Available online at:

https://www.greenhousepr.co.uk/top-8-climate-change-campaigns-of-2018/

Morocco: new violence against women law

2018

Notes a new Moroccan law - Law 103.13 on the elimination of violence against women - that criminalises violence against women. The law was approved by Parliament on 14th February 2018 and entered into force in September 2018 and punishes various types of violence committed both in the private and public spheres, including rape, sexual harassment and domestic abuse. However, it was criticized for not outlawing marital rape or spousal violence, and failing to provide a precise definition of domestic violence.

See also https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/morocco-violence-women-law-effect-180912061837132.html and https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/violence-against-women-morocco-girls/

Available online at:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/26/morocco-new-violence-against-women-law

Dominican Republic. Policies fuel teens pregnancy

Human Rights Watch2019

Describes the Human Right Watch campaign against the denial of sexual and reproductive rights to young women in the Dominican Republic, which has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America. The country has failed to provide scientifically accurate, right-based sexual education programmes in schools, as the authorities announced they would do in 2015. This article also provides the link to a 50-page report, I Felt Like The World Was Falling Down On Me: Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights In The Dominican Republic’, which is based on interviews with 30 girls who became pregnant before turning 18 and provides an overview on the stigmatization and clandestine-abortion related risks these young women face.

Available online at:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/06/18/dominican-republic-policies-fuel-teen-pregnancy

How was the March 8 International Women’s Strike woven together

In: Viewpoint Magazine, 2017

Highlights the organisation and impact of the October 19, 2016 Strike in Argentina - the first women’s strike in the history of the country (and Latin America), which alone mobilised 250,000 people in Buenos Aires. The strike inspired by the same initiative taken by Polish women, which extended to many countries in the world thanks to the coordination of groups activities, petitions sent to the UN and manifestos.

Available online at:

https://www.viewpointmag.com/2017/02/16/how-was-the-march-8-international-womens-strike-woven-together/

The Big Story: Syria

In: New Internationalist, No 485, 2015, pp. 12-29

This supplement on Syria provides a time line and other helpful contextual information about the complex developments in Syria from 2011-15, as well as an analysis of the role of civic activism in rebel held territory.  The issue includes a discussion of artistic creativity since 2011, stories of individual journalists opposing Assad or ISIS, of a doctor treating victims of chemical attack, a teacher under ISIS, and an article on the White Helmets.

See also: Abbas, Omar, 'Dr Jalal Nofal: Connecting Relief Work and Civil Activism in Syria', War Resisters’ International, 11 Nov, 2016

https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2016/dr-jalal-nofal-connecting-relief-work-and-civil-activism-syria

An account of the leftist political background of Dr Nofal, his nonviolent resistance (including arrests and imprisonment), and his medical initiatives as a psychiatrist in Damascus from 2011-14. He was smuggled out of Syria early in 2015, but continued from a border town in Turkey to broadcast, to offer training for social workers and support for refugees, and also to help social workers inside Syria.

XIVth Dalai Lama: Peace is more than the absence of war

In: Waging Peace Series, Booklet 28

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA, 1991, pp. 1-9

When receiving of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s 1991 Distinguished Peace Leadership Award, the Dalai Lama advocated total nuclear disarmament as a pre-requisite for the goals of demilitarization and the ending of all national forms of military establishment.

Special Issue

Summer 2019

In: Red Pepper, 2019, pp. 35-45

A series of articles exploring the implications of a Green New Deal. These include the importance of the international implications; climate change as a form of systemic racism; and an 'Open letter to Extinction Rebellion' from the grass roots collective Wretched of the Earth.

¡Viva Nos Queremos! (Art)

Author(s): ' Mujeres Grabando Resistencia

In: NACLA Reports on the Americas, Vol 50, No 4, 2018, pp. 418-422

The initative of 14 women of capturing the feminist struggles through artistic production within the #VivaNosQueremos campaign. Many cities throughout the world joined the campaign and printmaking appeared in cities like Ciudad Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico State, Puebla, New York, Chicago, Montreal and Barcelona as well as other countries like Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Italy.

Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority and Mystery

Author(s): ' Starhawk'

Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1988, pp. 384

Often cited exploration of issues from an eco-feminist perspective by activist drawing on experiences in 1980s peace movement affinity groups. Explores power along three axes – power-over, power-within and power-with, and provides materials on individual and group empowerment.

Webs of Power: Notes from the Global Uprising

Author(s): ' Starhawk'

New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island BC, 2003, pp. 288

Part 1: the author, an activist and ecofeminist, chronicles the global justice movement from Seattle to Genoa. Part 2 explores the future of the movement and debates between advocates of violent and nonviolent tactics.

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