Global Feminism
Clinton Global Initiative: Investing in Female Changemakers
Published October 21, 2009 @ 11:26AM PT
The plight of women and girls in the developing world is a book of sobering stories with very few happy endings. Year after year, we are reminded of some of the most jarring injustices of our time, most of which go unrecognized, let alone unpunished. And yet, hope for action is on the horizon. The Clinton Global Initiative, along with some inspirational stories to both humble and inspire us, just might have signal the arrival of this increasingly crucial issue to the forefront of the agenda.
The 5th annual CGI meeting, held this past September, serves as the gathering grounds for hundreds of influential leaders, scholars, business executives, celebrities, and journalists to discuss and engage in multi-sector cooperation towards a common development goal. Tackling poverty alleviation, climate change, and the promotion of economic opportunity - CGI annually highlights the most critical development issues of our time - topics worthy of the utmost global recognition and concern. This year CGI is again addressing these subjects, but to the hope of many there is a new issue on the agenda: the subject of investments in girls and women.
Adding this new component of CGI may very well begin elevating the issues of women's inclusion to a top priority on the global development agenda. CGI has an opportunity to truly assert women's development, making it an argument that can no longer be viewed as 'soft' or only relevant to women, elevating it from a distant second relative to poverty alleviation, AIDS prevention, climate change, etc. to other development issues. In fact, one could even argue that women's development underpins the advancement of each of these agendas.
Investing in women has a domino effect of sorts, with women's empowerment adding to the prosperity of entire societies. Women and girls who earn money reinvest up to 90% of it into their families, as compared to only 30% or 40 % by men. Furthermore, if girls' enrollment in schools increases by only 10%, the country's economy will grow steadily by 3%, showing again how investments in girls and women benefit both genders, community, and country. Top scholars and leaders are arguing more and more that investing in women, unequivocally, simply makes sense for everyone, and it is time we looked at how this agenda could play out, and took note of some of the key changemakers in this movement.
The Feminist Queries: Sheryl Wudunn
Published October 18, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
For today's Feminist Query, we have a special interview with Sheryl Wudunn a reporter for the New York Times and wife of Nicholas D. Kristof, about the book they co-wrote, Half the Sky. As you may remember in September, New York Times Magazine proclaimed that women's rights is the cause of the 21st century, which appeared to be prompted by the reporting done by Wudunn and Kristof in their book. The couple have already won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of China as New York Times correspondents and while at the Times, Ms. WuDunn worked as a business editor and a foreign correspondent in Tokyo and Beijing. Together, Mr. Kristof and Ms. WuDunn have written three books: China Wakes, Thunder from the East, and Half the Sky.
I got a chance to read the book and then ask Wudunn a few questions about it. Take a look at what she had to say and the final question she has for all of you.
Some people believe there are still many problems in the United States when it comes to gender repression and we can't help others until we help ourselves. Why does Half the Sky take a predominantly international focus given that there are many existing domestic problems at hand?
We recognize that there are problems here in the United States and we have to address them. It's not an either or, we can do both. We know that the problems are pretty bad domestically, but we also think that in terms of order of magnitude, and it is about an order of magnitude, things are more brutal overseas. Nevertheless, we still have to fix our problems at home as well.
In the book, you often write about the conflict of Western values with local traditions - in particular when it comes to medical treatment. How can we help women abroad by offering things like advanced medical services without appearing imperialistic in some sense?
That's a good question. It's always a hard issue, but I don't agree with the cultural imperialism argument that we shouldn't interfere and we should just stand by and watch. I am a Chinese American and my grandmother's feet were bound. But there was a strong movement inside China and outside that fought that tradition, and now it is no longer a common practice. I am very glad that happened because my mother and I did not have to have our feet bound. Sometimes, in outrageous situations, we have to interfere.
I really think that one has to think carefully about the ways in which we bring about change. The most successful way is to partner with local change agents and work through them. There are a number of places we talk about this problem of interfering with local customs such as in the case of genital cutting - which is a really tough one to resolve. How we see it, is that there are people locally who want to change this tradition. While they are currently a minority, the key is to work with them because they know how to navigate the local area and cultural nuances. What they need from us are often resources - whether financial resources or medical expertise - and that is how we can help create change, by supporting them locally.
Some reflected on the recent New York Times Magazine issue about women by saying that "women need rights, not rescue." What do you think about this? Is telling stories enough? What else can be done to ensure that women have the legal status they need and deserve around the world?
Our role is to raise awareness - that's what we can do best. There are also many different types of players who can all play a role. The average American citizen can contribute by learning about these issue, they can donate through small amounts such as giving micro loans to international organizations. There are many ways individuals can help, but they need to be made aware of the problems first. We need to create a greater awareness and after that a greater engagement.
If you don't get people engaged then change is not going to happen. And the ultimate change is not going to be made by top down decisions, but rather the real change comes from bottom up. If the average citizen doesn't care about women's rights, why should politicians care?
Finally, if you could ask women around the world one question, what would it be?
What do you want to be, what do you want to do with your life? Most in the developing world don't think about that or think about what they want to do. So really, it comes down to: what do you want accomplish in life?
Can We Achieve Climate Justice Without Gender Justice?
Published October 15, 2009 @ 07:38PM PT
Today is Blog Action Day and the topic this year is Climate Change. I am a strong believer that we need to take drastic efforts to reduce the human impact on Mother Nature - save energy, reduce our addiction to oil (and red meat), recycle and compost - those are just the first steps. But I will say, it is hard to ask human beings to treat the Earth better when we can't even treat each other with enough respect to achieve global gender justice at the same time as we seek climate justice.
And when it comes to climate change - women are in a seemingly symbiotic relationship with Mother Nature as they are often disproportionally effected by the declining state of the environment as seen in this article by Care.org:
Women often lack the assets they need to build their resilience to a changing climate, said Christina Chan, a CARE senior policy analyst who participated in the march. The missing resources include land, credit, access to support services, new technologies and a place in decision-making bodies. The results can be tragic in disasters such as the back-to-back typhoons ravaging Southeast Asia this week.
''More women are injured or killed during hurricanes, floods and cyclones,'' Chan said. ''They are less likely to hear official warnings and to be able to swim or to escape quickly, especially if carrying young children. They are also less mobile than men, confined to their homes.''
In seeing how this relationship is intertwined it becomes clear that it's not about climate justice versus gender justice, but rather they must be mutually achieved.
Can we do both?
Swedish Children Push Back On Gender Stereotyping
Published October 12, 2009 @ 07:58PM PT
Well, this is hopeful for the future of gender equality. Swedish children are filing a complaint against Toys R Us for gender stereotyping in their Christmas catalogue.
I have to applaud this effort since these children are the market for the toys being sold. By pushing back on corporations who try to improve their bottom line by selling toys to tots without a progressive understanding of the world children want to inhabit deserve to get some coal in their stocking this holiday season. The world is a changing place and just as people need evolve, so do toys it would seem.
Here are more details from The Local:
According to the youngsters, the Toys"R"Us Christmas catalogue featured "outdated gender roles because boys and girls were shown playing with different types of toys, whereby the boys were portrayed as active and the girls as passive", according to a statement from Ro.
The group's teacher explained to the local Smålandsposten newspaper that filing the complaint was the culmination of more than two years of "long-term work" by the students on gender roles.
Thumbing through the catalogue, 13-year-old Hannes Psajd explained that he and his twin sister had always shared the same toys and that he was concerned about the message sent by the Toys"R"Us publication.
"Small girls in princess stuff...and here are boys dressed as super heroes. It's obvious that you get affected by this," he told the newspaper.
Perhaps it is possible that we will out-age discrimination one day if these efforts are any indication. For now, however, the immediate lesson learned: beware of offending the innocent 6th grader - they might just sue you.
And now, just imagine how they will act when they hit the workplace and things aren't all fun and games...
Will the Obama Administration Support An International Arms Trade Treaty?
Published October 06, 2009 @ 03:16PM PT
Today I got to sit through the United Nations General Assembly conference on disarmament thanks to Oxfam International's Conflict Voice initiative.
While many of the delegates discussed nuclear non-proliferation, one of the big questions at the Assembly was whether or not the United States would change its position on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) now that President Obama is at the helm of U.S. foreign policy decisions.
In October 2008, 145 states voted to start the UN process toward an Arms Trade Treaty showing increasing global consensus in favor of its adoption. At that time, the United States was the only country besides Zimbabwe to explicitly vote "No" on the treaty proceedings.
And then in the speech today from Ellen Tauscher, the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, the topic of arms trade was noticeably absent making it clear that the Obama administration is not ready to create change on this issue, yet.
Tauscher, who is a higher-level official compared to those sent to the UN by the Bush administration, used her ten minutes on the Assembly floor mostly to highlight U.S. efforts toward nuclear non-proliferation. Tauscher barely mentioned the arms trade except for one short statement about restricting illegal arms trafficking into the U.S. The lack of discussion about the Arms Trade Treaty could mean that Obama hasn't chosen to address this topic yet or that the U.S. will again vote "No" on this measure.
For those unfamiliar with small arms trade, there are estimated to be nearly 650 million small arms in the world today. Oxfam International has reported that 2.1 million people have died as a result of armed violence. And women, in particular, are disproportionally affected by the arms trade as victims of it's violence. While available data supports the widespread assumption that most direct casualties of gun violence are men, particularly young men, women also suffer from firearms violence indirectly.
For example, WomenDeliver writes about how displaced women and girls are vulnerable to rape and other forms of sexual violence as they flee violent areas, when they search for firewood and even when they go to the bathroom at night. After a conflict, women become the main breadwinners and primary carers when male relatives are killed, injured or disabled by gun violence. And women, like men, are caught in the crossfire, both in times of war and of peace.
In general, the passage of the ATT would help prevent the sale of American weapons that are then used to commit human rights abuses or kill U.S. soldiers and peacekeepers when trafficked arms get into the wrong hands. The ATT would not effect national ownership of weapons in the United States, but rather help control movement of arms globally which is currently unregulated on an international level.
During the General Assembly, I got to hear one of the strongest pleas for passage of the ATT by Kenya's UN delegate who said that "longtime economic development is tied to longtime security." He reported that the lack of an Arms Trade Treaty has made it especially challenging for the Kenyan government to invest in human capital and create sustained peace or security while being forced to spend money on armed protection.
It is my hope that after hearing the different perspectives on this issue that the U.S. will decide to step up and assist in the passage of the Arms Trade Treaty in order to reduce violent conflict, human rights abuses and the misappropriation of U.S. weapons into the wrong hands around the world.
Afghanistan Works to Pass Elimination of Violence Against Women Act
Published October 03, 2009 @ 06:35AM PT
Imagine a part of the world where you aren't really allowed to go to school, just because you are a girl.
Imagine a part of the world where you were once thought of as sub-human by the government, just because you are a woman.
Imagine that because you are a woman, you are banished from the workforce, you are prohibited from leaving your house without a close male relative, you are prohibited from being examined by male physicians while at the same time female doctors and nurses are prohibited from working.
Imagine a part of the world where you must paint any publicly visible windows of your home black and wear a burqa which leaves only a small mesh covering through which to see.
The Feminist Queries: Tamara Abdul Hadi
Published September 22, 2009 @ 03:50PM PT
This week's Feminist Query interview is with Tamara Abdul Hadi, who is an Iraqi Canadian photojournalist. She's been based in the Middle East since 2004, where she worked for Reuters and completed assignments for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more. After living in Dubai for 3 years, Tamara moved to Lebanon, where she is currently working on personal projects and giving photography workshops to disadvantaged groups of people.
You can view more of Tamara's photos below the interview.
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Sometimes. Being a woman, it is in my nature to stand up for our gender. It's a given. When I'm in Saudi Arabia, where I've been on numerous occasions on assignment, I find myself feeling the need to 'stand up' for my rights as a woman. I believe that being in a place like Saudi Arabia where women's rights are little to none brings that out in me. Any form of injustice, be it towards women or not, is something that needs to be seen or heard. As a photographer, I have the power to expose such injustices, so I use that when I can.
What has your experience been working as a female photographer in the Middle East? How differently are you treated from male photographers? And do you think women view you differently?
My experience as a female photographer in the Middle East has been pretty smooth. Of course there are challenges, but I think the advantages outweigh the challenges. Being a woman allows me to be in situations that men would not be able to be in. I sometimes feel I am treated differently from male photographers, but I think the work stands for itself, and when you prove you are able, people respect you for that. I know many female photographers that work in the Arab World and they never cease to inspire me with their drive and ability.
Do you find it different photographing women in the Arab world, in comparison to those in the US/Europe?
It is a known fact that photographing women in the Arab world is a tricky thing, especially in the Gulf countries. A lot of societal pressures tend to weigh onto the decisions of young women but not as much as before. You do see reform opening up positions of power for ladies, but not on the level of males. On the other hand, I respect personal choice so I won't force-shoot you. You always have to be careful where you point the camera, as there are many women that don’t want to be photographed. On the other hand, there are many women who are quite comfortable in front of the camera. It's really about who you're shooting and where. Anything is possible. So it really depends on the person.
What are your favorite subjects to take photos of, and why?
I choose to focus on Social Change photography, to shed light and show people what is happening in the world; be it right or wrong. I feel like living in the Middle East, it is upon us to use our tools to break the stereotypes placed on us and show the public our truth. I also think its very important to give empowerment through photography and art to people that wouldn't necessarily have the means to in the form of workshops.
And If you could ask feminists everywhere one thing, what would it be?
I would ask of feminists in the West not to push the notion of "liberation" upon the Eastern woman because liberation is a subjective concept. What is empowering for one woman is not easily culturally translatable. Eastern women are on their own path of emancipation, and in due time are carving out their own system of rights. Arab women are strong women and have been through a lot in terms of wars and injustices, both homemade and imported.
