[APWW-Meet] Women's Feature Service

[annewalker@iwtc.org]

Welcome to the APWW-Meet
An announcement list of the Asia Pacific Women Watch network
working for the advancement of the status of women.
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Dear Editor,

This week, 'Hillary's Campaign Has a Meaning and Message' deconstructs
Senator Clinton's 15 month-long historic campaign for US presidency and
takes a look at the reasons behind her defeat. Back from a trip to
Pakistan, Dr Syeda Hameed, Member, Planning Commission, reflects on the
complexity of gender in the country, in 'Pakistan's Women in Two Time
Zones'. In 'An Aria to Change: Wasfi Vaults Over Musical Boundaries', we
profile British Indian Wasfi Kani, recipient of the Asian Women of
Achievement Award this year, who has risen to the top of the elite world
of opera. On an average, 16,000 children, mostly girls, go missing from
West Bengal each year. Poverty and a gender bias compel parents to send
off their daughters with 'agents' to work as child domestic workers or
under the allurement of marriage, as explained by 'Children Are Not For
Trafficking'. 'A Friend Indeed to Women in Need' profiles Shanti, an
Accredited Social Health Activist or 'sahiya' in Jharkhand, who bridges
the gap between the state health infrastructure and the community. A
residential school run by an NGO gives poor girls in rural India a shot
at learning by taking them in for nine months and teaching them about
women's rights, gender equality, health and hygiene, besides regular
school work, reveals 'Teenage Hope Grows Wings'. For every five weddings
registered in Mumbai and Thane, Maharashtra, since 2002, the family
courts have received two applications for divorce. 'Till Divorce Do Us
Part' traces this new trend in family relationships.=20

Please do forward your requests for the stories. We would be happy to
send them to you.

With warm regards,
Ain Haider
Associate Editor
Women's Feature Service
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The WFS office will remain closed from June 16-22, 2008. We are taking
our annual summer break and will reopen on June 23. There will be no log
dated June 16, 2008, but do look forward to our next log on June 23,
2008.=20

We will respond to requests for features and images till June 13, 2008.
- Editor
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THE WFS LOG                                        June 9, 2008=20
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Opinion:              Hillary's Campaign Has a Meaning and Message
By Elayne Clift=20

Hillary Clinton has finally bowed out of the race for US presidency
after a vigorous primary season of 15 months. Her non-stop campaign is
historic, not just because she attempted to break through the toughest
glass ceiling in the world, but also because she competed with Barack
Obama, an African-American man - a first in US history. There is no
doubt that Hillary was a formidable opponent, or that she is
super-smart, hard-working, and conversant with all the issues. And when
it comes to policy, proposals and strategy, there is precious little
difference between her ideas and Obama's. So why did Hillary not fare
better? Her earlier show of support for the Iraq war, the American
people's distrust of political dynasties, a malicious campaign and
silence over personal financial assets may have worked against her. But
it's a sure bet that Hillary will make the history books for sheer
chutzpah.=20

* The message of Hillary's run is clear - she represents a powerful
moment in American history; never again will it seem strange or silly
for a woman to attempt to capture the office of the president.

WFS REF NO: OPIh602
1,080 words=20
Politics\Opinion
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Pakistan:            Pakistan's Women in Two Time Zones
By Dr Syeda Hameed

Back from a trip to Pakistan, Dr Syeda Hameed, Member, Planning
Commission, reflects on the complexity of gender in the country,
obscured by the stereotyping of Pakistani women. From the gliztly malls
where stylish 'abayas' (Arabian 'burqas') demand consumer attention
alongside daring designer wear, to the shrines where women are not
permitted entry. From the exclusive Cuckoo's Den in Lahore's red light
area, to the Swat and FATA regions of Islamist militancy, gender
dimension in Pakistan is caught in two time warps, comments the writer.

* 'It is an old building where sex workers once lived. Its ground floor
has been turned into an art gallery featuring paintings of women in
their daily lives. There is no man in any frame, no woman wears a
veil... the restaurant overlooks the spectacular Badshahi Masjid.'

WFS REF NO: PAKh603
1,100 words=20
Gender\society
Photographs Available
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India:             Children Are Not For Trafficking
By Soma Mitra Mukherjee

According to a recent study nearly three-and-half-thousand children have
moved out of the districts of North and South 24 Parganas, West Bengal,
in the last year to work as child domestic workers or under the
allurement of marriage. Of the 271 children who have gone missing, 66.6
per cent are girls. Abject poverty, ignorance, a strong gender bias and
the promise of an income compel parents to send off their daughters with
'agents'. Fortunately, more parents are becoming aware of the perils of
giving in to the middlemen. The formation of 'panchayat' (village
council) monitoring committees that keep an eye on parents approached by
'agents' and the setting up of Bridge Course Centres where young women
are trained to become informers for NGOs are a few steps taken to arrest
this socially accepted evil.

* "Now I know that as soon as any man offers me a job or marriage
proposal, I have to tell teacher aunty. She will save me from his evil
clutches and convince my parents not to send me with him."

WFS REF NO: INDh602c
1,270 words=20
Girl Child\Trafficking
Photographs Available
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India:               A Friend Indeed to Women in Need
By Manisha Prakash

In Jharkhand, 'Sahiya' means friend. And Shanti, 30, is one such friend
who takes care of the health needs of women and children of Khaksidag, a
village in the state's Gumla district. Shanti is an ASHA, or Accredited
Social Health Activist, an interface between the government health
system and the community. Amongst her many tasks is the care of pregnant
women - ensuring that they take their scheduled vaccinations and daily
dose of iron tablets. She is also a friend to newborns and toddlers,
reminding their families of their inoculation dates. Despite the older
women of the village initially not taking kindly to her advice, doubting
her expertise because she is unmarried, the young 'sahiya' has won
people over by her outstanding service. In fact, many rural women now
want to become social workers.

* 'Persistence is Shanti's hallmark. "Who are you to tell us that we
must feed colostrum to the child? We have not been doing this for ages
and see how healthy our children are!" is a familiar retort she tackles
convincingly.'

WFS REF NO: INDh603c
1,075words=20
Health\Rural Women
Photographs Available
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India:                Teenage Hope Grows Wings
By Anuja Agrawal

For most poor girls in rural India, studying up to class five is a
distant dream. But the residential Mahila Shikshan Kendras (MSK) - run
under the aegis of the Mahila Samakhya Programme in Uttar Pradesh - are
turning this dream into a reality by taking them in for nine months and
teaching them about women's rights, gender equality, health and hygiene,
along with regular school work. The MSKs enable the eager students to
appear for their class five examinations at the end of the term. At
present, 35 girls, aged between 12 and 19 years, study at the Saharanpur
MSK and almost 90 per cent belong to very poor Dalit families. The
wholesome education has initiated a social change in villages with young
women declining to marry early and keen to further their education to
become career women.=20

* 'After passing out of class five from the Kendra, Sharmila has
continued her schooling. Though she still does all the household work,
she wishes to continue studying to become a schoolteacher.'=20

WFS REF NO: INDh604c
1,180 words=20
Girls\Education
Photographs Available
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India:               Till Divorce Do Us Part
By Surekha Kadapa-Bose

Marriages may still be made in heaven but they now come with a shorter
shelf life. How else does one explain the fact that for every five
weddings registered in Mumbai and Thane, Maharashtra, since 2002, the
family courts have received two applications for divorce? Paucity of
time, the 'office spouse', and ambition are just some of the reasons for
younger couples to split up within the first three years. Yet, despite
the nonchalance and let's-move-on attitude, heartache and financial
insecurity remain the spoils of the legal battle.

* 'Couples no longer seem keen to make the marriage work. They come with
the attitude: Say what you have to say. We have decided to call it
quits.'

WFS REF NO: INDh605
960 words=20
Divorce\Women=20
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UK:                  An Aria to Change: Wasfi Vaults Over Musical
Boundaries=20
By Barbara Lewis

From stately homes to prison cells, British Indian Wasfi Kani has
crossed cultures and classes and smashed through glass ceilings by
rising to the top of the elite world of opera and then taking the art
form to the disadvantaged.
Grange Park Opera, of which Kani is chief executive, has staged
productions like 'Les Miserables' and 'The Marriage of Figaro' in London
prisons to help fund prison work. While her work provides well-heeled
opera-lovers with the opportunity to wake up to harsh realities, the
inmates gain in self-esteem and discover talents they did not know they
possessed. A talented violinist, a computer programmer, a conductor and
a trustee for the London Mayor's Fund, Kani has played many a role with
perfection. Her work has earned her an Order of the British Empire and
in May this year, an Asian Women of Achievement Award.

* "Often the prisoners have never even been to a theatre. But through
the rehearsal period of six weeks, they must all work together alongside
a professional director and production team, overcome their fears and
work towards singing before a public audience."
 WFS REF NO: BRIh604
825 words=20
Profile\Arts
Photographs Available
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FOR THE COMPLETE TEXT OF THE STORIES PLEASE CONTACT
WOMEN'S FEATURE SERVICE AT: wfsdelhi@vsnl.com or wfsdelhi@yahoo.com=20
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Views reflected in these features do not necessarily reflect those of
Women's Feature Service.
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