Magazine

IN THIS NUMBER

Un general assembly specials sessions opens in New York New York

Women's media networks spread the news during United Nations special session on women: mainstream media coverage minimal at best

Media WorldWide reports on beijing plus five

Gender and information communication technologies (ICTS) for development

Women fight for their place in politics

New York, 6 june 2000 -  UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said today that while there has been progress on the goal for women�s equality since the 4th National Conference on Women held in Beijing five years ago, "much remains to be done." Addressing the opening of the five-day United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Women 2000, Annan noted that women still earn less, have higher unemployment rates,are more often unemployed, generally poorer than men, and that most countries have yet to pass laws in favor of women�s rights to own land and other property. The UN Secretary General also noted that even while these old challenges have yet to be met, new ones have already emerged. He cited the spread of AIDS particularly in southern Africa "where 40 per cent of pregnant women are HIV-positive and more than one child in 10 has lost its mother to AIDS. " Another problem is the trafficking of women and children which he said has now become a "worldwide plague." He cited, however, the following progress for women: -Violence against women is now illegal almost everywhere. - There is a worldwide mobilization against harmful traditional practices such as "honor killings" or "shame killings." -New health strategies have helped saved thousands of women�s lives, and more couples now use family planning than ever before. -A record number of women have become leaders and decision makers in both the government and private sectors. Above all, he said, "more countries have understood that women�s equality is a pre-requisite for development. Annan called for the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, which was passed by 189 member states during the Fourth International Conference on Women in 1995. "I believe that implementing the Beijing Platform will be crucial in achieving all the Millennium goals I have asked the world�s leaders to adopt on behalf of all the world�s peoples," he said. The Beijing Platform for Action contains the agenda for women�s empowerment, spelling out the strategic objectives and actions to be taken by the year 2000 by governments, the international community, NGOs and the private sector for removing existing obstacles to women�s advancement. The Beijing document identified twelve critical areas of concern, considered to represent the main obstacles in achieving the goal of women�s advancement - women and poverty, education and training for women, women and health, violence against women, women and armed conflict, women and the economy, women in power and decision making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and the environment and the girl child. Theo Ben Gurirab, Foreign Minister of Namibia, who was unanimously elected as President of the General Assembly, stressed the importance of the five-day conference. "We are charged with the sense of a new beginning," he said. "This Special Session must try to live up to expectations of millions of women all over the world." Entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace in the 21st Century" or Beijing +5 Review, the special session of the GA will review the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing platform. "The 23rd Special Session gives us the ideal opportunity to assess how far member-states have come to address problems, face new challenges and reaffirm new commitments," said Gurirab in his opening speech. "The General Assembly can then move forward to achieve women�s goal of equality and empowerment in all walks of life." Gurirab praised the participation of the nongovernment organizations in the deliberations leading to the current session, also known as Beijing Plus 5. Last Saturday, folowing the NGO Working Session at the UN, the NGO sector submitted its own report titled Alternative Global Report for consideration by Member States which Gurirab acknowledged in his speech. The Beijing Conference was considered a "watershed event" as it resulted in a new international commitment to achieve gender equality and development and the general advancement of women into the 21st century. This conference had one of the biggest delegations, with some 17,000 representatives from government and civil society and another 30,000 attending the parallel NGO forums.

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New York, 20 June 2000 - WomenAction 2000, a global network of women's information and media organizations, continues to receive praise from around the world for providing daily coverage of the UN Women 2000 meeting held in New York from June 5-9. "Most of the world's press, including the New York Times, said not a word to herald the launch of the week-long conference," wrote Michele Landsberg, who was kept informed by WomenAction, in the Toronto Star on June 10th. There were a couple of articles concerning Hillary Clinton's visit to the Special Session, and one or two human interest stories, but generally, coverage by the mainstream media was poor or non-existent. On the other hand, WomenAction 2000 provided listeners and readers throughout the world with a daily flow of information. Two daily newspapers, one global (WomenAction) the other specifically on African issues (Flamme), were produced as tabloids and disseminated via email lists and the WomenAction 2000 web site. A daily Internet TV program (predominantly French) and daily Internet-based radio broadcasts (predominantly Spanish) brought the conference to many viewers and listeners. The WomenAction 2000 Internet Cafe, situated at the Church Center opposite the UN General Assembly building, provided access to women to send thousands of messages to their constituencies and to receive information. One WomenAction 2000 partner trained a group of NGOs in journalism skills and the 40 ensuing articles were sent home for publication and/or broadcasting. WomenAction's reports brought to light the difficulties many women's organizations and governments face in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action. "We regret there was not enough political will on the part of some governments and the UN system to agree on a stronger document with more concrete benchmarks, numerical goals, time-bound targets, indicators, and resources aimed at implementing the Beijing Platform For Action," said a prominent NGO representative at the end of the meeting. But many gains were mentioned. One gain was in the area of violence against women, and for the first time, the UN addressed the issue of honour killings and forced marriage. in addition, the official Outcomes Document called for comprehensive mechanisms to stop dowry-related violence and marital rape. In the area of human rights, there is a call to ratify the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and to recognize the specific needs and rights of indigenous women. For more information on the Special Session, please consult the website set up by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) for Beijing follow-up actions, in conjunction with WomenWatch, the collaborative website of DAW, UNIFEM and INSTRAW URL: <http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/followup> In the period leading up to the UN Beijing Plus Five meeting, WomenAction 2000 was instrumental in making it possible for women's organizations to become involved in preparations for the meeting. "Thanks to WomenAction, we women of Eastern Europe have been able to organize ourselves, set up a web site and conduct online discussions," European WomenAction 2000 participant Lenka Simerska of the Czech Republic said during the first UN-Cyberfemmes TV broadcast. WomenAction 2000 will continue to provide information for the advancement of women using interactive TV, radio, web sites and email lists. ====================================================== Background and Information WomenAction 2000 is a global coalition of women's information and media organizations to ensure world access to the decisions made during the UN Special Session of the General Assembly entitled 'Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century', New York, June 5-9, 2000. The Special Session was a follow-up to the 4th UN World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, where a comprehensive Platform for Action established guidelines for governments to advance the status of women. The WomenAction global website contains resources to assist NGOs in their efforts to monitor the implementation of the PFA in their own countries, and is also a gateway to regional WomenAction 2000 sites along with other links to women's action websites. URL: <http://www.womenaction.org>. For more information on WomenAction 2000, contact: WA2000 Global Coordinator Karen Banks of APC-WNSP UK E-mail: <[email protected]> or WA2000 Co-Coordinator Anne S. Walker of IWTC, New York E-mail: <[email protected]> For information on specific projects, contact: Interactive TV: Joelle Palmieri, Les Penelopes, France. E-mail: <[email protected]> Web-based Radio: Maria Saurez, FIRE, Costa Rica. E-mail: <[email protected]> WomenAction Newspaper: Daphne Plou, Editor, APC/Argentina. E-mail: <[email protected]> African Newspaper/Flamme: E-mail: <[email protected]> Global Media Project: Mavic Balleza, Isis-International/Manila. E-mail: <[email protected]> This issue of IWTC Women's GlobalNet has been adapted from a press release written by Lin Pugh of WomenAction 2000, Manager, Knowledge Sharing Program, IIAV International Information Centre and Archives for the Women's Movement, Obiplein 4, 1094 RB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tel: (31-20) 665-1318. Fax: (31-20) 665-5812. Web; <http://www.iiav.nl. IWTC Women's GlobalNet is a production of: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza 3rd Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 Email: <[email protected]> You can subscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to [email protected] You can unsubscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to [email protected] WOMEN, INK. For quality, cutting-edge publications on women and development by, for and about women worldwide, see Women, Ink's catalogue at our web site: <http://www.womenink.org>. Or contact Women, Ink. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: Yasna Uberoi (1-212) 687-8633 ext 212 or Mary Wong (1-212) 687-8633 ext 204. Fax: (1-212) 661-2704.

New York, July 5^th _  The following are excerpts from some of the worldwide media coverage of Beijing Plus Five, collected by the Communications Consortium Media Center (CCMC). For more information, and for a full analysis of media coverage, contact: Kathy Bonk ,Communications Consortium Media Center, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005, USA. Tel: (1-202) 326-8700. E-mail: <[email protected]>

 Europe Information Service European Report, June 24, 2000 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT BEIJING + 5 WOMEN'S CONFERENCE DELEGATION GIVES MIXED VERDICT A group of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who attended the United Nations Special Session on Women reported their mixed feelings about the results to their colleagues in the women's rights and equal opportunities committee on 20 June. A European Parliament Resolution adopted on 15 June expresses disappointment that promises of further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration were not fully met. The Women's Committee members complained that Islamic countries and the Vatican were against the provisions of Article 13 of the EU Treaty on anti-discrimination, especially those on sexual orientation. The MEPs were pleased that the document did not undermine the commitments achieved at Beijing, and hope that the European Union (EU) will implement the extra actions and initiatives which were agreed in New York quickly. MEPs want a fifth UN World Conference on Women to be organized in five years' time.

Inter Press Service, June 23, 2000 ARGENTINA: WOMEN TO ENJOY FREE ACCESS TO BIRTH CONTROL Earlier this month, a delegation of Argentine women flew to New York to take part in "Beijing Plus Five". Argentina has traditionally voted alongside the Vatican and the bloc of countries most staunchly opposed to family planning. But the alliance government of Fernando de la Ra, which took office in December, has taken a less militant stance against women's reproductive health rights. Through the new law, women, and especially low-income teenagers, will now enjoy access to information, exams related to reproductive health, and birth control in public hospitals in Buenos Aires. Demanded by women's and health advocacy groups for years, the new law was applauded by local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as gynecologists and obstetricians who have long defended the need to prevent abortions and teen pregnancy. The Hindu.

 June 21, 2000 MALAYSIA GOING ALL OUT TO PROMOTE IT TO WOMEN. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Malaysia is committed to going all out in implementing information technology (IT) programmes to improve the status of women in the country. National Council of Women's Organizations deputy president Datin Prof Dr Sharifah Hapsah Shahabudin said UNDP would provide women, especially in rural areas, with IT knowledge and access. Sharifah Hapsah represented UNDP at the UN General Assembly Special Session in New York, also known as "Beijing plus Five". She said she was glad that the issue of IT and women was highlighted at the event. "IT and how it can be used to help uplift the status of women worldwide is an emerging issue discussed during the five-day assembly," she told a Press conference here today.

JUSTICE STILL ELUDES WOMEN The growing role of the NGOs as watchdogs of the UN process and of their own governments lends credibility to events such as Beijing+5. Attended by thousands of government delegates and non-governmental observers, this was truly a mega event. For the NGOs, --the behind-the-scenes actors in the UN drama - only five of them were allowed to address the Assembly very briefly -- the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA) is not just an international document to pay lip service to, as it is to most of the political delegates, but is the "culmination of women's struggles for justice in their diverse contexts around the world and an embodiment of their vision and hopes for a society that recognizes women's rights as human rights," as an NGO at Beijing+5 put it.

GRIM OBSERVATIONS MADE IN NGO ALTERNATIVE GLOBAL REPORT The NGO field level experience of the impact of globalization and structural adjustment policies on women the world over was reflected in the grim observations made in the NGO Alternative Global Report presented to the UNGASS. The report identifies the policies that aggravate the so-called "feminization of poverty", the privatization of public services, trade liberalization, deregulation of economies, withdrawal of subsidies, downsizing of government, substitution of food production by cash crops and failure to monitor and regulate the inflow of foreign capital and enterprise. The NGO Alternative Report of the U.S. sub-region is unsparing in its criticism of the U.S. Government: "A high priority of the PFA is the creation of an enabling environment for women to build and maintain sustainable livelihoods, but despite the current unprecedented period of economic growth in the U.S., too many women and children continue to live in poverty, particularly minority and rural women. More women are working than ever before, but they are working for low pay in insecure jobs where they don't earn enough to adequately support their families. Government policies of the last five years have not only failed to address this issue, but some policy decisions have actually exacerbated the situation." The NGO Alternative Global Report shows a keen sensitivity to the far- reaching fallout of political events in the regions for women. The new challenges confronting women in the former socialist countries of Europe are captured in this comment in the Central and Eastern Europe report: "The economy in transition, the process of privatization in the sub-region, has often had negative impacts on women - both in terms of gaining access to assets and in terms of practices of the new private sector. Following the collapse of communism and lack of a new identity, a sudden upsurge of nationalism is threatening diversity, tolerance and peace in the... region. These forces have already proved to be destabilizing." The Asia-Pacific report was equally strident in its critique of the "lack of political will to empower women beyond statements of policy and legislation, and the all-too frequent reliance on micro-schemes and initiatives to address macro, systemic or structural problems" of the member-states of the region. The African report claims Africa now is worse off than it was five years ago in terms of armed conflicts, rendering women more vulnerable to violence, HIV and AIDS. The Political Declaration of the Women's and Feminist Movements of Latin America and the Caribbean is proof that the NGOs that authored the various Alternative Reports have come of age in terms of their depth of understanding of the dynamics of gender justice: "XXI Century will be the century of women only if it is also the century of democracy, politically, economically and socially but also culturally, privately and intimately... With democratic Governments... and strong civil societies... we shall be able to assume the challenges of the new millennium."

The Nation, June 26, 2000 WOMEN: TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK? UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETS TO EVALUATE IMPLEMENTATION INTERNATIONALLY OF RIGHTS OF WOMEN As in Beijing, thousands of women representing hundreds of non-governmental organizations came to New York from all around the world to lobby, compare notes and share information on everything from grassroots radio to globalization. A panel attacking religious fundamentalism was crowded with women in veils, chadors, African dress and office wear. If at Beijing the dominant mood was one of excitement at the prospects for mainstreaming global feminism, in New York it was mostly wariness. The latest UN statistics show some bright patches--most regions have seen declines in early marriage and childbearing; the number of female legislators has increased dramatically in India, Argentina and other countries with gender set-asides and quotas; the gender gap in primary and secondary education is slowly closing. But the overall picture, in that and other studies, is not a happy one: staggering rates of poverty, domestic violence, suicide. Some of the major forces threatening women's progress--the widening gap between rich and poor, the shredding of social safety nets to service debts, the explosion in forced trafficking and sexual slavery, the burgeoning AIDS crisis, war--are complex, intractable, hugely costly to solve. That makes it all the more reprehensible that governments have dragged their feet on legal reforms that cost no money, only political will: changing marriage laws that mandate wifely obedience and divorce laws that permit men, but not women, to dissolve the union at will or whim; removing restrictions on basic freedoms, like the right to travel, study or work without permission of a male "guardian." Nigeria permits husbands to "correct" their wives through physical punishment; Costa Rica and at least five other countries allow rapists to avoid prosecution if they marry their victim. In Saudi Arabia women still can't drive. In Kuwait they still can't vote. Our own government's record (i.e. the US) is nothing to crow about. The feminist group US Women Connect issued a Platform for Action report card giving this country mostly Bs, Cs and Ds with a big fat F for welfare reform. Underscoring the spotty performance of governments was the threat to the conference itself, which came from the same fundamentalists and zealots who impede women's progress in their home countries. Once again the Vatican teamed up with a handful of states--Algeria, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Libya--to weaken the language of the Beijing documents. This time around, the US religious right, which has historically opposed the UN's very existence, joined in the fray. That supposedly Christian organizations seem to have more in common with Muslim countries where women are stoned for "adultery" and beaten by police for showing a strand of hair, than with the liberal members of their own denominations speaks volumes about their priorities. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, must women still fight the battles of the seventeenth? IWTC Women's GlobalNet is a production of: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza 3rd Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 Email: <[email protected]> You can subscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to [email protected] You can unsubscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to [email protected] WOMEN, INK. For quality, cutting-edge publications on women and development by, for and about women worldwide, see Women, Ink's catalogue at our web site: <http://www.womenink.org>. Or contact Women, Ink. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: Yasna Uberoi (1-212) 687-8633 ext 212 or Mary Wong (1-212) 687-8633 ext 204. Fax: (1-212) 661-2704. E-mail: <[email protected]>

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New York, July 14^th 2000 _ This issue of IWTC Women�s GlobalNet focuses on policies, plans, programmes and research in the area of Gender and ICTs for Development. It comes on the heels of several important initiatives taken by international organizations on the question of the importance of ICTs for development. Here in New York at the UN, from July 5th to 7th, 2000, ECOSOC (the UN Economic and Social Council) held a High Level Segment of the 2000 Substantive Session on ICTs for Development. From 7th to 10th March, 2000, the Global Knowledge II Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia also focused on strategies to bring knowledge and information to the Global South. High Level initiatives and activities such as these support the activities of women�s media networks in every world region, the focus of the last two issues of IWTC Women�s GlobalNet. The following are brief descriptions of some of the initiatives that are specific to Gender and ICTs for Development.

1)     ECOSOC HIGH LEVEL SEGMENT ON ICTs FOR DEVELOPMENT TAKES PLACE AT UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, 5-7 July 2000. After 3 days of deliberations, a Ministerial Declaration on Information Technology was passed which stated, among other things, "deep concern that the potential of information and communication technology for advancing development, particularly in developing countries, had not been fully captured" The declaration goes on to call on all members of the international community "to work cooperatively to bridge the "digital divide" and to foster "digital opportunity". In addition, the international community was called upon to: a) urgently promote programmes that intensify cooperation; b) actively explore new financing for ICT initiatives; c) devise measures to reduce costs of internet access devices in developing countries and: d) explore measures to facilitate access to ICT training. (For a webcast of the entire High Level Segment, go to <http://www.un.org/webcast/ecosoc2000. You will also find documentation for the meeting at <http:www.un.org/ecosoc2000). In a brief intervention on behalf of NGO gender issues, IWTC, speaking for the Conference of NGOs at the UN, called for the UN to: a) proclaim the right of democratic and equitable access to information and communication services, with a focus on access for women and other marginalized groups: b) set up an ICT Gender Task Force that would bring together departments and specialized agencies of the UN system, multilateral development institutions, private industry, foundations, mass media and NGOs, including women�s information and communication networks, to develop an ICT Gender Action Plan; and c) set up a facility (i.e. fund) to carry out the ICT Gender Action Plan with monies solicited from private organizations, foundations and Member States. The facility could leverage additional resources through matching programmes within countries, and could be integrated into the Global Knowledge II (Malaysia 2000) recommendation for a Gender and ICT Replication and Learning Fund. For the full text of IWTC�s intervention, write to: E-mail: [email protected] or Fax: (1-212) 661-2704. (Full address at end of bulletin).

 1. OUTCOMES OF THE GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE II (GKII) CONFERENCE, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 7-10 March 2000: A GENDER PRESPECTIVE. More than a thousand people from 120 countries attended the GKII Conference Action Summit with the common purpose of hammering out strategies which will bring information and knowledge to the Global South and women. The GKII Women�s Forum produced an Action Plan that outlined public-private partnership initiatives and agenda of the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) working groups for the next several years. GKP working groups intend to concentrate on the challenges facing women to: Access, Empowerment, and Governance. The GKII Gender Action Plan is a living document and will serve as a basis of further discussion and initiatives by governments, women and women�s groups worldwide. To find out more, visit GKP�s website at: http://www.globalknowledge.org/index_main.htm or contact Rosemary Kalapurakal at UNIFEM: E-mail: [email protected]. 2. ITU (INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS UNION) TASK FORCE ON GENDER ISSUES (TFGI). The ITU Task Force on Gender Issues was established in 1998 to a) ensure that telecommunications services and programmes are widely available equally to men and women and b) ensure gender equality within the ITU. The task force includes several NGO representatives. For more information on the ITU TFGI, contact: Pat Faccin, Secretary, Task Force on Gender Issues, ITU, Geneva, Switzerland. E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (41-22) 730-5489. Fax: (41-22) 730-5778. 3. RESEARCH, POLICY, ACTION! A. How Women�s International NGOs use web sites in their work: Dr. Gillian Youngs from the University of Leicester surveyed 30 NGOs on how they use web sites in order to understand the communications role that the Internet plays in NGOs� current and future work. These findings should help policy makers to be more aware of the contextual and practical issues of the web for women�s organizations. The results of this research will be published in summary form on Leicester University�s "Gender, Communications Technology and Globalization" website: <http://www.le.ac.uk/cmcr/gtg>. For more information, contact: Dr. Gillian Youngs, Centre for Mass Communication Research, University of Leicester, LE1 7LT. UK. Tel/Fax: (44-116) 252-3863/3874. E-mail [email protected] (Gillian Youngs) or [email protected] (Margarita Kondopoulou). B. APC (Association for Progressive Communications) �Africa/FEMNET research to identify women�s electronic networking needs and opportunities: After five years of intensive post Beijing online use, this research assesses what actual impact ICTs have had on women and gender equality in Africa. The research also helps in understanding how and to what extent ICTs have helped women�s organizations to network with each other and with governments, including how to lobby, access resources, disseminate information, and foster organizational growth. The research report, entitled "Global Networking for Change: Experiences from the APC Women�s Programme" can be accessed at http://community.web.net/apcwomen.htm. This research builds on an earlier global outreach project entitled "African Women Speak Out on the Internet" which gave results from an electronic survey about the information and communication needs of women and women�s NGOs. This report can be accessed at <http://flamme.org/documents/apcresearch.htm>. C. APC research project entitled: "Lessons Learned: Building Strong Internet-Based Women�s Networks". This is an 18 month project (October 1999 to March 2001) to create resources and tools that will assist women�s organizations to network more successfully. This two-pronged research will produce: a) a Women�s Networking Resource Kit and b) an ICT Gender Audit Methodology. The Women�s Networking Resource Kit (due November 2000) will include lessons learned and case studies of how women�s organizations with limited resources have successfully used ICTs for networking and capacity building. The ICT Gender Audit Methodology (due March 2001) will be an ICT project planner with diagnostic tools to enable newcomers to successfully implement ICTs in their initiatives. For further information, visit APC�s website at: <http://www.apc.women.org> or contact Chat Garcia Ramilo (The Philippines) at e-mail: <[email protected]>. IWTC Women's GlobalNet is a production of: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza 3rd Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 Email: <[email protected]> You can subscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to [email protected] You can unsubscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to [email protected] WOMEN, INK.

New York, July 25th, 2000 This issue of IWTC Women�s GlobalNet focuses on the activities and initiatives of women in several world regions as they increasingly make their mark on national political scenes. The examples given show the frustrations and difficulties faced as well as the successes achieved. Women and Politics in the Middle East 1. New Monthly Newsletter from GLIP (Lebanon) The Machreq/Maghreb Gender Linking and Information Project (GLIP) Beirut, Lebanon, has launched a monthly newsletter in hard copy and online. The pilot issue focuses on women, gender, and development. This is one of the three channels of communication that GLIP will use in distributing information relating to women in the Middle East. Other channels will include a regional newsletter and a special highlights issue. For further information, contact: Lina About-Habib, Coordinator, MACMAG GLIP, P.O. Box 165302, Beirut, Lebanon. Tel: (961-3) 615-046. Fax: (961-1) 611-079. E-mail: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www.women-machreq-maghreb.com> 2. One Step Forward (Qatar) Qatar is the first Arab Gulf State in which women are permitted to take part as candidates or voters. In the most recent elections of the central municipal council in Doha, six women were nominated and 200 men. Although none of the women were elected, this remains an important step for women�s political movement in the Gulf region. 3. One Step Back (Kuwait) Kuwaiti women were deeply disappointed last December when the parliament refused to pass a bill granting them the right to vote and to present their candidacy in the parliamentary elections. The leader of Kuwait, Sheikh al Sabbah, led the rejection of the bill along with conservative members of the parliament who argued that such a bill would contradict the Islamic, Shari�a laws. Women and Politics in Africa 1. Enhancing Women�s Participation in Politics (Kenya) Friends of Esther and Deborah (FREDA) is a Kenyan-based NGO that works specifically on designing programmes to support women�s political participation. FREDA�s first phase of work includes research using a participatory baseline survey on women�s performance in elective politics and decision making in 11 constituencies in Kenya. FREDA has also been active in preparing a manual for civic education and lobbying for constitutional reform. As part of the regional and national Beijing Plus Five process, FREDA focused on lobbying for the implementation and adoption of affirmative action as a strategy for enhancing women�s participation in leadership and decision making positions. For further information, contact Rose Waruhiu, e-mail: <[email protected]> 2. Woman Minister of Parliament Publicly Abused (Uganda) Hon. Jane Frances Kuka, Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Uganda, has been harassed and physically abused on several occasions by a fellow Member of Parliament, Hon. David Chebrot, member for Tingey County-Kapchorwa District in Uganda. Recently, at the opening of a workshop on Female Genital Mutilation organized by UNFPA at the Green-Field Hotel in Kapchorwa town on June 27th, 2000, Chebrot used abusive language in an attempt to again belittle Minister Kuka in public. Isis Women�s International Cross-Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE), based in Kampala, Uganda, has sent an alert worldwide in an effort to get support and solidarity for Minister Kuka as she struggles to overcome these continuing attempts to silence her in her important position. They ask that we send letters calling for a) a public apology from Hon. David Chebrot and b) a stand to be taken on the issue by the government of Uganda. Send letters to: H.E. The President of Uganda at fax: (256-41) 235-459. Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda at fax: (256-41) 235-461. Human Rights Commission at fax: (256-41) 155-261. Hon. David Chebrot at fax: (256-41) 235-461. Isis-WICCE suggests that you send copies of your letter to Hon. Jane Frances Kuka, Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees at fax: (256-41) 349-194 and to Isis-WICCE by fax or e-mail. Fax: (256-41) 543-954. E-mail: <[email protected]> Women and Politics in Asia/Pacific 1. The UN Stands Up for Women�s Right to Work in Afghanistan Earlier this month, the Taliban government of Afghanistan issued an edict barring women from working for NGOs and/or any international relief agencies. The Taliban have consistently banned women from working outside the home but in order to keep foreign aid coming, have allowed women to work for NGOs and foreign agencies. The United Nations coordinator for Afghanistan, Eric de Mul, spent months negotiating with the Taliban for what small advances were possible for women, and UN agencies have made the hiring of women mandatory if the Taliban want to continue receiving aid. On Thursday, July 13, 2000, the New York Times reported that the Taliban military rulers had finally agreed to rescind the new edict barring women from working for NGOs and international relief agencies. However on Tuesday July 25th, 2000, it was reported by a National Public Radio (USA) reporter in Kabul that the rescinding of the new edict was now in doubt. When they took over, the Taliban denied public schooling for girls, treatment for women at public health facilities, and work outside the home for women. They later made a few concessions in the areas of education and health, allowing informal schooling for girls in private homes, informal health clinics run privately for women, and work for some women in NGOs and foreign agencies. The Taliban�s ban on women working outside the home has drastically increased the number of women and children begging in the streets. Many are widows. The UN estimates there are about 28,000 widows in the Afghan capital of Kabul alone. (Adapted from New York Times, Thursday, July 13, 2000, and "Morning Edition", National Public Radio, Tuesday July 25th, 2000). 2. Women Fight for Political Rights Following Armed Takeover of Parliament (Fiji, S. Pacific) With the collapse of the first Fiji Parliament to include 8 women as elected members-the largest number in history- and the first Fiji Government to be multi-racial, headed by an Indo-Fijian and in favour of a nuclear-free Pacific, the women�s movement in Fiji is fighting hard to recover some of the momentum and political strength they had finally gained after years of work. Following the armed takeover of the government by a group of men calling themselves Fijian nationalists on May 19, 2000, and the taking of the Prime Minister and 33 other government officials as hostages, Fiji women mobilized and set up the Women's Action for Democracy and Peace (WAD'aP). In collaboration with the Fiji National Council of Women (FNCW), WAD�aP held daily candlelight vigils demanding the release of the hostages, issued regular media statements, and delivered letters directly to the military personnel ruling in the absence of a legal government. The hostages have now been released and an Interim Government has been elected. But the people of Fiji are economically, psychologically and in all other ways devastated. WAD�aP has protested at the lack of any real participation in the rebuilding process by women fighting for the return of democracy, and at the release of the hostage-takers into the community where they continue to pillage and terrorize at will. For further information, contact: Sharon Bhagwan Rolls, Secretary, FNCW/Coordinating Secretary, WAD�aP. Tel: (679) 315-429/311-880/960-677. Fax: (679)315-429. E-mail: <[email protected]> For information on the ongoing political situation in Fiji, visit: <http://www.fijilive.com> Where There�s a WILL, There�s a Way (International) Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) launched Women in Legislation League (WILL), a new section to their website, during the Beijing Plus Five Special Session in New York in June. WILL functions as an online legislative information resource centre, serving women and helping them gain a better understanding of the social realities of legislation. It also fosters critical thinking about the legislative process and the implications of implementing gender-related law into diverse national legal systems and cultures. The website provides a unique forum for obtaining thoughts and concerns to those individuals and groups whom the legislation impacts. For further information, contact: Shazia Z. Rafi, Convenor, PGA/WILL, 211 East 43rd St. Suite 1604, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: (1-212) 687-7755. Fax: (1-212) 687-8409. E-mail: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www.pgaction.org/will/index.htm> New Book Published on Women�s Participation in Politics (International) The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has recently published "Politics: Women�s Insight." This book provides a survey of 187 women from 65 different countries addressing four key questions: 1) How does women�s participation in political parties, parliaments and the executive branch bring about change in political priorities, processes and outputs? 2) How far does women�s involvement in political structures that are developed and dominated by men, generate a qualitative shift in the traditional political language and approach and in the prevailing, well-established electoral and other practices? 3) How are women affecting the institutional environment? 4) What difference does it all make to the daily life of the ordinary citizen? "Politics: Women�s Insight" also includes surveys and statistics and is available through Women, Ink. (See below) IWTC Women's GlobalNet is a production of: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza 3rd Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 Email: <[email protected]> You can subscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to [email protected] You can unsubscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to [email protected] WOMEN, INK. For quality, cutting-edge publications on women and development by, for and about women worldwide, see Women, Ink's catalogue at our web site: <http://www.womenink.org>. Or contact Women, Ink. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: Yasna Uberoi (1-212) 687-8633 ext 212 or Mary Wong (1-212) 687-8633 ext 204. Fax: (1-212) 661-2704. E-mail: <[email protected]>