Closing the Dignity Gap! – eradicating poverty

Aprendizaje y Integrando el Significado de los Derechos Humanos en nuestra vida para el futuro de la humanidad - Cerrando la Brecha Dignidad! - Erradicación de la pobreza

            Cerrar la brecha de la dignidad incumplida es la iniciativa más importante / desafío para el siglo 21, para todas las mujeres y hombres, jóvenes y niños, para aprender, conocer y poseer los derechos humanos como una forma de vida con el fin de planificar y llevar a cabo sus vidas . guiados por la visión del mundo holística, global, interconectado e interrelacionado de los derechos humanos         En cierto modo, los derechos humanos son una "religión" secular, le da la fuerza y la riqueza de todas las culturas y religiones ... a todas las esperanzas y aspiraciones humanas ... - para romper el círculo vicioso de la humillación.   - Lejos de pobreza, el poder, el miedo y la codicia. - Tenemos que hacer que los derechos humanos sean una contra-poder para lograr la plena igualdad de todos, sin discriminación alguna; para llegar a las transformaciones económicas y sociales significativas; . adoptar decisiones creativas positivos                                                                                                           Con el conocimiento como mentores , las mujeres están para dar poder real a los derechos humanos ;. aprender a identificar la diferencia entre los síntomas y las causas de la desigualdad.-creando nuevas realidades                                                                                                                  Guiados por la extraordinaria visión y hoja de ruta práctica sugerida por el marco de los derechos humanos y su aplicación a nuestras propias formas de vida, las mujeres-como los mentores y organizadores ganarán la igualdad real y significativa!!   Luminoso la luz en el nuevo viaje que primero deberíamos   embarcarnos en  la erradicación de la pobreza, Nosotros, como las mujeres, la promoción de un nuevo futuro por la re-imaginación, refundición y volver a definir el sentido último de nuestras vidas.                          De hecho, el reto más importante para la humanidad en el siglo 21 es el aprendizaje y la integración de la promesa y el sueño de los derechos humanos como una forma de vida ...     - pertenencia a la sociedad, en la dignidad y en comunidad con otros . Debemos reconocer la humanidad de los demás como el nuestro. Debemos reconocer a las mujeres como seres humanos completos con los derechos humanos innegables, y para las mujeres que llevan las discusiones.                                            Debemos redirigir nuestras maneras de moverse con eficacia en horizontal para llegar a nuevos horizontes, el logro de nuevos sueños, nuevas esperanzas, utilizando un lenguaje totalmente nuevo, sabiendo que alimentación, la educación, la vivienda, la sanidad y el trabajo con salarios habitables son nuestros derechos humanos inalienables.   Nadie se lo puede quitar de nosotros!                                                                                                                                                                                                   

           

            La Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos es de hecho la promesa más importante para el siglo 21, tenemos que aprender y mentor a otros a vivir por ella de-facto, celebrando nuestra dignidad y la igualdad real dondequiera y quienquiera que seamos. Nunca más debemos intercambiar nuestra igualdad para sobrevivir y cumplir con las injusticias de justicia que algunos llaman ', que pertenecen a la dignidad, en comunidad con otros, mujeres y hombres por igual. - Cualquiera que sea la vida la forma que elegimos  para cumplir con ... - sean cuales sean los recuerdos históricos guían nuestros deseos ... - lo que la cultura nos da un sentido de seguridad y pertenencia! .                                                                             Los derechos humanos se cierran todos los huecos de la dignidad sin cumplir. Los derechos humanos son acerca de la inclusión;. Que sacar a la exclusión y proporcionan una manera significativa a la superación de la pobreza por y para las personas que aprenden a reclamar de manera irrevocable sus derechos humanos ... - a sabiendas de que la pobreza es una, violación inaceptable de los derechos humanos atroz    .                                        Aprender acerca derechos humanos como relevante para nuestra vida cotidiana es la iniciativa más importante para los pueblos en el siglo 21. Para millones de poseer, acto y un plan guiado por el marco de los derechos humanos es el camino a seguir. Esto exige un proceso intenso y permanente de aprendizaje para pasar de la caridad a la dignidad . Quienquiera que seamos, debemos construir la confianza y el respeto y diseñar un nuevo futuro con plena igualdad que está en su centro.                                       No tenemos otra opción!                                                                                               aprendizaje de los derechos humanos debe convertirse en un proceso continuo que nunca termina. Gente   analizar cómo sus propias vidas afectan las vidas de otros y trabajar para cerrar todos los huecos de la dignidad sin cumplirse.  En este proceso nos reinventamos nuestras vidas como queramos que sea. - Adición de un nuevo vínculo con nuestro pasado y de nuestra memoria histórica. - El aumento de los derechos humanos al nivel de una verdadera forma de vida y auto-empoderamiento. .                                                                                                           Nadie debe quedarse atrás. Nosotras, las mujeres - la mitad de la humanidad - una fuente reconocida de autoridad moral en la necesidad de asumir la tutoría del día a día de los demás hacia la integración de la visión holística y misión práctica de los derechos humanos como una visión del mundo, la verdad absoluta para guiar a vida. Un pacto debe hacerse, que asegura que la santidad de la vida nunca será profanado o pisarlo.                                                         T Al su proceso paso a paso de las mujeres tutoría comunidades es una forma segura de reconocer y alcanzar la igualdad!!   - mujeres y hombres aprender a participar como iguales en las decisiones que determinan nuestro futuro, guiadas por los derechos humanos como una forma de vida .

            De hecho, es la iniciativa más hacia el futuro del siglo 21.

            Únete a nosotros en este esfuerzo. El futuro está en nuestras manos! .

                                                                                                                                              Shulamith Koenig - Presidente Fundador                                                                                                                                 PDHRE, el Movimiento Popular para Aprendizaje sobre los Derechos Humanos                                                        pdhre@igc.org  ; www.pdhre.org

Call for endorsement of this Feminist Declaration by February 25

La Declaración feminista, de la Reunión de Estrategia Feminista de organizaciones a mediados de febrero, presiona por un modelo de desarrollo que funcione para las mujeres y las niñas de todas las edades e identidades. Este modelo debe estar firmemente arraigado en las obligaciones internacionales de derechos humanos, la no regresión y la realización progresiva. Para ello es necesario revisar el paradigma actual de la seguridad de invertir fuertemente en la paz y la seguridad militarizada, respetando la laicidad del Estado donde se está consagrado en las normas nacionales; invertir el actual modelo de consumo excesivo y de producción a una de consumo sostenible, producción y distribución y asegurar un nuevo plan de sostenibilidad ecológica que aplica un enfoque de la biosfera y el respeto de los límites del planeta y la sostenibilidad ecológica.

Convocatoria para la aprobación de esta Declaración Feminista por los 25 de febrero , enviando un correo electrónico a feministspost2015@gmail.com , indicando el nombre completo de su organización, la sigla y el país.

Género, Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Justicia Ecológica para el Desarrollo Sostenible: Declaración Feminista de mensaje 2015

Enlace directo a la completa Declaración 5 Página 2014 - Ampliar tamaño de letra.

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RISE, RELEASE, DANCE, and demand JUSTICE! On 14 February 2014

Last year, on 14 February 2013, one billion people in 207 countries rose and danced to demand an end to violence against women and girls.

On 14 February 2014, we are escalating our efforts, calling on women and men everywhere to RISE, RELEASE, DANCE, and demand JUSTICE!

ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE is a global call to women survivors of violence and those who love them to gather safely in community outside places where they are entitled to justice – courthouses, police stations, government offices, school administration buildings, work places, sites of environmental injustice, military courts, embassies, places of worship, homes, or simply public gathering places where women deserve to feel safe but too often do not.  It is a call to survivors to break the silence and release their stories – politically, spiritually, outrageously – through art, dance, marches, ritual, song, spoken word, testimonies and whatever way feels right.

JOIN THE RISING, SIGN UP HERE >

Our stories have been buried, denied, erased, altered, and minimized by patriarchal systems that allow impunity to reign. Justice begins when we speak, release, and acknowledge the truth in solidarity and community. ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE is an invitation to break free from confinement, obligation, shame, guilt, grief, pain, humiliation, rage, and bondage.

The campaign is a recognition that we cannot end violence against women without looking at the intersection of poverty, racism, war, the plunder of the environment, capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. Impunity lives at the heart of these interlocking forces.

It is a call to bring on revolutionary justice.

Begin to imagine what Rising for Justice looks like for you, your community, your city, your country.

http://www.onebillionrising.org/about/campaign/

Patriarchy Is an Institution to Be Outlawed

By Kamla Bhasin

In early December 2013 I received a call from Swaraj, a Karnataka wide network of women’s groups, fighting against violence and all forms of discrimination against women, to invite me for a function to felicitate six rural women who have challenged the oppression of widows in their families and villages. They asked me to speak on Patriarchy as a Superstition. I was amused by this formulation and asked them why this topic. They said the government of Karnataka was planning to bring a new law against superstition and they want patriarchy to be declared a superstition and outlawed. I smiled whole heartedly and said, WOW. What a great idea!! Once again I marveled at the wisdom of working class rural women. I wondered why in spite of such wisdom of rural working class women, so many media people think feminism is an urban phenomenon.

As I started thinking on this topic, I was convinced that patriarchy is indeed just a superstition with no basis in reality or in the law s of Nature. Actually, so many other man made systems like caste, racism etc. are nothing but superstition. The word for superstition in Hindi is Andh Vishwas., blind belief. Superstition is something which has no basis. It is illogical. It has no basis in natural law. Yet superstitions can be as powerful as patriarchy or caste system in spite of the destructive nature of these blind beliefs. One can once again see that if we repeat lies all the time they become the truth. Mother Nature gave women the special responsibility and power of carrying new life and caring for it by breastfeeding. Because of this I suppose, Nature made women biologically superior. For millions of years women and men lived together as equals. Because of their special power, women and Nature were worshipped all over the world. Then suddenly, a few thousand years ago when humans developed private property and weapons to control Nature, animals and other human beings, man created systems of class, caste and patriarchy. From equality human beings moved in to all kinds of inequalities and hierarchies mainly because of the development of private property.

Let us look at patriarchy more closely. Post patriarchal religions created all kinds of superstitious beliefs like Eve was created from Adams rib, Brahmins were created from the head of Brahma etc. Natural laws were put on their head. Men, who are unable to create from their bodies, were declared to be the Creators, the heads of households, the inheritors of private property and family names. Hinduism said only sons can do the last rites. Jainism said only men can achieve Nirvana. One lie after another repeated for centuries. Because they were lies, they had to be repeated everyday through rituals like karwa chauth, mundan for boys, kanya daan, father giving away the bride amongst Christians, four marriages and more property for men in Islam and I can go on and on.

As to the power of these rituals, even I did not wash my hair on a Thursday until I was 24. In our Punjabi community Thursday is called Veervaar, or brother’s day. We were told if sisters washed their head on this day, something bad will happen to their brother/s. Since I loved my brothers I followed this superstition until Feminism dawned on me. Of course there was never a day on which my brothers did not wash their hair for their love for me.

I think the time has come for us and our leaders to think and decide if we believe in our Constitution or in the superstition of Patriarchy or Caste. We cannot believe in both. Therefore, it is indeed time to remove these superstitions from our personal belief systems, from our families and communities and then declare them illegal. If we accept and respect the Indian Constitution, then words like Pati, Swami, Jajmana. Mijazi Khuda (all words for husband in different Indian languages), even the word husband which means controller, manager, domesticator (remember animal husbandry?)should be illegal and abandoned. Practices like Kanyadaan should be illegal and abandoned. Unless we do these things in our personal lives the Constitution cannot be implemented. This is why we feminists say the Personal is the Political.

Kamla Bhasin

Spain’s Alarming Abortion Debate

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s proposal to enact some of the toughest abortion restrictions in Europe has exposed his already unpopular government to a building political backlash and criticism from the European Parliament, while reinvigorating his Socialist opponents and opening divisions in his own conservative Popular Party.

On Sunday, demonstrators gathered in downtown Madrid to protest the government’s health care cuts and the abortion proposal, which was introduced in December and would allow the termination of a pregnancy only if it was the result of rape or if having the baby would significantly endanger the mother’s health. It would not allow abortions if the fetus was deformed.

“Those who give birth should be deciding,” said Pilar Gómez, an administrator of the Los Yébenes health care center in Madrid. “After all the advances that we had made, we’re now being taken right back to the days of Franco.”

The current abortion law, adopted under the previous Socialist administration, allows women to end a pregnancy within the first 14 weeks and beyond that period in cases of life-threatening problems related to the fetus.

The debate in Spain began about the same time that a law in Ireland, another Roman Catholic country, set out for the first time the conditions under which abortions would be allowed. The Irish law, which was prompted in part by the death of a woman who was refused an abortion, allows termination of a pregnancy in cases of a threat to the mother’s life. It leaves Malta as the only European Union country that has a complete ban on abortion.

On Wednesday, Elena Valenciano, the deputy leader of the Socialist Party, argued that Mr. Rajoy’s government, which up to now had been focused on Spain’s ailing economy, was also taking a “real step back in history” with a proposed law that she described as an affront to women.

She predicted that the law would turn on Mr. Rajoy by dividing his party rather than strengthening his electoral appeal among conservatives. Already, some senior members of his Popular Party have urged the prime minister to soften the legislation.

Still, Benigno Blanco, the president of the Spanish Family Forum, an association that has campaigned against abortion and represents about four million families, welcomed the legislation as “a very important step” that “should guarantee Spain becomes the first country in Western Europe to prioritize the right to life and to fight back against the social normalization of abortion.”

The abortion debate has transcended Spain’s borders. Protests were recently held outside Spain’s embassy in Paris, and France’s minister for women’s affairs, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, said it was “terrible to see Spain about to take a step back on the right to decide over one’s own body.”

Last week, the European Parliament held a heated session over what Spain’s planned U-turn would mean for the rest of the Continent. In Portugal, news media have started speculating about whether the country’s abortion clinics could cope with an influx of women from neighboring Spain.

Even as left-leaning politicians and women’s associations have expressed dismay at the draft law, the government has insisted that it was merely following through on Mr. Rajoy’s campaign pledges from 2011, when the Popular Party swept into office after voters punished the Socialists for their economic mismanagement. Spain pulled out of its two-year recession in the third quarter of 2013, but still struggles with an unemployment rate of 26 percent and anemic domestic consumption.

Mr. Rajoy’s Popular Party has a comfortable majority in Parliament. But the Socialists have urged the government to allow voting on the abortion law to take place by secret ballot, to help encourage dissenting conservative lawmakers to break ranks.

RAPHAEL MINDER - January 19, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/opinion/spains-alarming-abortion-debate.html?_r=0

STATEMENT FROM SOUTH SUDAN WOMEN TO THE AFRICAN UNION (AU) & INTERGOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY ON DEVELOPMENT (IGAD)

24 JANUARY 2014, ADDIS ABABA

We, the women of South Sudan are shocked and disappointed by the recent outbreak of armed conflict in South Sudan, and are also concerned by the wide spread violence that has led to a continuous loss of numerous lives and displacement of women, men, youth and children.    

South Sudan women met at the SPLM secretariat in Juba on the 20th December 2013 to deliberate on how they can quickly intervene and seek all possible ways to end the crisis. Thereafter the women of South Sudan met various leaders to urge for dialogue and peace. The women also held a national meeting for women from all walks of life on the 15th January in Juba to discuss all possible interventions for peace. Similarly South Sudanese women in Nairobi, Kenya and Kampala, Uganda held meetings on the same on the 17th January 2014 and 19th January 2014 respectively. On the 24th January 2014 we converged in Addis Ababa under the Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) conference at the margins of the Heads of State meeting, to share our experiences and bring the different voices of women of South Sudan together for peace. 

We are also concerned about the negative involvement of youth, both women and men, as combatants and agents of negative propaganda in the ongoing conflict; and demand that all parties to the conflict desist from involving the youth. 

We recognize the historic participation of South Sudanese women in the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005; and the critical role they played during the 2011 South Sudan referendum for independence. We, the women of South Sudan are committed to continuously calling for and defending the peace and all that has been achieved since the signing of the CPA. 

We acknowledge and appreciate the commitment of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan and the SPLM/A in opposition for signing the cessation of hostilities agreement on the 23 January 2014 in Addis Ababa. We believe that this is an important step towards attaining a lasting peace in South Sudan. We also acknowledge that this is only the beginning of a difficult part of the peace process and believe that the inclusion and full participation of women in the process of mediation and negotiation is a prerequisite for the success of this process and sustainable peace in South Sudan. 

Based on the above, we the women of South Sudan call on the AU and IGAD: 

-To strongly urge all parties to the conflict not to breach the cessation of hostilities agreement. 

-To commit to women's participation in the next phase of the political mediation and negotiation as stipulated in the UNSCR 1325 and provide all necessary support. 

-To urge all parties to the conflict and the UN to provide protection for women who advocate for peace, displaced women and particularly young women who are often targeted for abuse by the different conflicting parties 

-To urge all conflicting parties to open corridors for humanitarian assistance and also urge the humanitarian organizations to include special packages for women

We call on our sisters in the African continent to continue supporting our cause and all actors to respond to the plea of South Sudanese women. 

http://www.gnwp.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/South-Sudanese-Women-Statement-to-AU-and-IGAD-2014.pdf

GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE

According to the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma, "reporting on sexual violence demands special care and increased ethical sensitivity. It requires specialised interviewing skills, understanding of the law, and basic awareness about the psychological impact of trauma.” On all levels and topics of reporting, a special awareness is required to offer ethical journalism that challenges stereotypes and begins to provide a more balanced and just worldview. However, in the case of reporting on violence against women, including sexual violence, it carries an extra responsibility; as anything short of breaking through the silence that often surrounds these criminal acts of rape, assault and murder supports a status quo that minimises and excuses the impact of violence, and endangers women everywhere.

Challenges to reporting on violence against women

Language: The inherent dangers in reporting on violence against women are many, and to follow any ethical guidelines requires an awareness of the impact of language, its underlying messages and a willingness to avoid journalistic shorthand in the ever-quickening turn-around speed of modern media. This is not an easy task, many of the stock words and phrases used support an imbalanced status quo and endanger change in societal thinking and treatment of survivors. These can be expressions that mislead (sexual violence should never be related to sex – it is a violent act and an abuse of power), that blame the survivor (“she got herself raped”), that avoid placing the responsibility for the attack on the attacker, or that suggest that attackers do not look like “normal” men. In the worst cases, in terms of sexual violence, the survivor is often judged through use of dramatic language (i.e. “cowering in fear”), which suggests that for women to be proper “victims”, they must express the trauma in a certain way. This goes against most beliefs on the impact of trauma, which acknowledge that each person reacts in their own, individual way. Therefore, it is essential not only to get the facts correct, but to be precise, to offer alternatives to popular myths, and not use euphemism or shorthand. Language use is discussed in the “guidelines” section below.

Context: The issue is not one of using religion, culture or geographic location as an excuse for any form of violence: all violence is inexcusable. Rather, the issue is to recognize the consequences of reporting in a particular way, and the inherent possible dangers posed to interviewees, to others providing support, as well as to the journalist herself. Survivors or witnesses have the right to respect and privacy, but foremost to that of safety. It is essential for a journalist to educate herself in order to safeguard the life and wellbeing of those she interviews and works with. Often violence against women is dismissed or the impact minimised, yet research reveals the severe lifelong effects on the physical and mental health of survivors. An awareness and sensitivity of the risks posed to the survivor by going public and others providing support should form the contextual framework for everything a journalist does. Local and international women’s organisations, non-governmental organisations and, journalist unions and organisations are all good places to obtain information on potential risks, hazards, and threats to survivors, as well as the cultural context.

Guidelines: Reporting on (sexual) violence against women

1.    Accurate language: Frame violence and sexual violence using accurate language. Rape is never sex nor is it a volatile ‘relationship’; it is a violent crime with judicial consequences. Sexual violence and violence against women has been defined not only as a human rights abuse but also as a crime against humanity, whether during war or peace.  Be aware of the legal framework of the crime and use the terminology to challenge myths that minimise violence.

2.    “Survivor” or “victim”?: Use of the word “victim” presumes knowledge of the impact of the survived trauma, and presupposes that the woman is, and was, powerless. The word itself removes the possibilities that a woman can resist, not accept that violence is normal and expected, seek help and survive. Use of the word “survivor” supports life after the attack, does not define her by that one event in her life, and helps to highlight the woman’s agency to take control, and make choices about her future.

3.    Privacy and respect issues: Many survivors may feel shame, or guilt, or be distressed by the retelling of events. Identify yourself clearly as a journalist and explain the content of the story, it is important to build trust. It is also important to inform interviewees that they have the right to refuse to answer a question and that they may bring someone to support them. If possible, the interviewer should be female, with some understanding of the impacts of trauma. For example, some survivors of sexual violence remember things in a disjointed way, or may not remember certain events if too severe for them to cope. If you have offered anonymity, respect it, and think about obscuring identifiable elements, such as job or location (see guideline 9 below).

4.    Safety concerns: In some cases, speaking to a journalist can further endanger a woman (see guideline 9). Recognize that you may be putting someone in further danger by approaching them. In some cases, to admit rape can lead to exile from the community, retaliation, or even death. Be aware and thoughtful about these risks when choosing the time and location of interviews. Local women’s organisations, non-governmental organisations working in the area, and local press organisations can provide information on the context and dangers posed by “going public”. Further, be aware that sexual violence can have wider impacts on family members, communities and witnesses.

5.    Do your research: Misinformation is perpetuated through poor research. For example, Western media often focuses on “stranger danger”, when in fact most sexual violence (outside of war) is often perpetrated by persons known to the survivor, or treating domestic violence as an isolated event. Challenge these myths by doing research to give the story the proper, factual base and context necessary in order to educate the audience about the reality.

http://www.whomakesthenews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117:16-days-2013&catid=14:news&Itemid=105