[APWW-Meet] WFS Log

["Anne S. Walker" <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,

The recent National Convention of Muslim Women organised by the All
India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) in New Delhi saw over 800
women share testimonies of neglect and discrimination, as captured in
'Muslim Women And The Courage To Change'. Khedarnal in South Tripura
district has become the first village in the country to generate 100
person-days of work for all its Below Poverty Line (BPL) families under
the NREGA largely because of 'A Tripura Woman's Tryst With The Future'.
In a number of districts of Uttar Pradesh, local street theatre groups
and women's courts are helping women to benefit from the provisions of
the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, as presented
in 'An Act to the Rescue'. 'Individual Choice on Abortion: Myth or
Reality?' - an extract from the 'Indian Journal of Gender Studies'
(Volume 15, Number 2), published by Sage, questions the ideology that
regards abortion as the only option when prenatal testing reveals a
birth abnormality. Ann Soetoro was a leader in microfinancing for women
in Indonesia but more significantly she was the 'The Woman Behind Obama'
- her son and the US Democratic Party's Presidential candidate. As he
weaves development issues into his tourism profession and distributes
free contraceptives to the women of the shanties, tourists realise 'Why
Women Follow This Pied Piper of Manila'. The discussions at this year's
convention of the Centre for Women's Research brought to light the fact
that marital rape is still an issue of domestic violence as per the
Penal Code of Sri Lanka, in 'Island Dilemma: Is It Marital Rape or
Domestic Violence?'=20

Please forward your requests for 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 LOG                         September 1, 2008=20
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Indonesia:        The Woman Behind Obama
By Elayne Clift

Ann Soetoro, a leader in microfinancing for women in Indonesia, was the
"single constant" in the life of Barack Obama, the US Democratic Party's
Presidential candidate and her son from her first marriage to her Kenyan
contemporary at the University of Hawaii during her student days.
Soetoro, who died in 1995 at age 52 from ovarian cancer, adored her
children and did not want them to be limited by fear or narrow
definitions.=20

* "She believed that bigotry of any sort was wrong and that the goal was
to treat everybody as unique individuals."

WFS REF NO: INAh825
1,035 words=20
Microfinance\Profile
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India:            Muslim Women And The Courage To Change
By Shobha S.V.

At the recent National Convention of Muslim Women organised by the All
India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) in New Delhi, over 800
women - home-based workers, self-help group workers, riot victims and
elected representatives, among others - came together to share detailed
testimonies of neglect and discrimination, caused by the government and
so-called custodians of culture and religion. K.S. Saleeka, the only
Muslim MLA from Kerala, who fulfilled her political ambitions despite
family opposition; Orissa's Nazama Bibi who challenged religious diktat
to be with her husband; and Gujarat riot victim Shakeela Begum, who six
years down the line is still unable to file an FIR against the police
were just some of the inspiring women participants.

* "We are perpetually worried and scared. We feel someone will come and
attack us anytime."=20

WFS REF NO: INDh825
1,290 words=20
Muslim Women\Rights
Photographs Available=20
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India:            An Act to the Rescue
By Tarannum

In a small village in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP),
around 50 women are assembled near the 'chaupal', the village public
space. A little away in a corner, a man sits with his head cast down. He
is quiet. Seated across from him is his wife. A few elderly women of the
village accompany her. Those gathered are waiting for the 'nari adalat',
or the women's court, to commence and deliver its verdict, based on the
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Interestingly,
these people are actually the cast of the local 'nukkad natak' or street
theatre group, that spreads the word about the provisions of the Act and
the 'nari adalats' that resolve marital disputes and those related to
bigamy and dowry.=20

* "We want to show the men that they will not be able to easily get away
with beating their wives, daughters or any women living in their homes.
There is a law which protects every woman, whether in the house or
outside."

WFS REF NO: INDh827c
1,080 words=20
Domestic Violence\Awareness
Photographs Available
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India:            A Tripura Woman's Tryst With The Future
By Ratna Bharali Talukdar

Khedarnal village in South Tripura district has become the first village
in the country to generate 100 person-days of work for all its Below
Poverty Line (BPL) families under the schemes of the National Rural
Employment Guaranteed Act (NREGA), during the year 2007-08, largely
because of a woman - Raipati Noatia, Chairperson, Khedarnal Village
Committee. Despite the absence of formal education, Noatia ploughed
through the formidable paperwork involved in the implementation of NREGA
schemes to ensure fruitful employment to the villagers, most of whom are
tribals. Along with her seven-member team, Noatia has facilitated the
implementation of 24 projects worth Rs 40,14,000, the construction 16
kilometres of proper road, six low-cost wooden-bridges and the creation
of two water bodies for fisheries.=20

* "The Block Development Officer told us that there was no dearth of
funds or work but that we would have to express our demands... we
planned projects and submitted them on time. This enabled us to gain our
current status."

WFS REF NO: INDh826
1,060 words=20
Governance\Empowerment
Photographs Available=20
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Philippines:     Why Women Follow This Pied Piper of Manila
BY Ross Harper Alonso

When Carlos Celdran takes tourists around the poor parts of the city, he
is termed as the Pied Piper of Manila simply because of the number of
impoverished mothers who follow him. A guide with a golden heart,
Celdran has woven a development angle into his tours. Rather than turn a
blind eye to the poverty of the shanties, Celdran distributes free
condoms and birth control pills, bought from his own resources, to women
of the squatter communities that he passes by. His advocacy initiatives
are helping mothers, who can't afford to have more children, take
control over their reproductive rights.=20

* "May I ask for four boxes? My husband doesn't like to use condoms... I
can't feed anymore children since I've become too weak to accept laundry
jobs. My children are hungry, naked and have never gone to school."

WFS REF NO: PHIh826
770 words=20
Reproductive Rights\Women
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Sri Lanka:        Island Dilemma: Is It Marital Rape or Domestic
Violence?
By Vijita Fernando

Rape in its various manifestations - statutory and marital, incest, in
conflict situations, among displaced women and those who migrate
overseas - has been a continuing topic of research studies presented at
the biannual conventions of the Centre for Women's Research (CENWOR),
Sri Lanka, the most recent of which was held early this year in Colombo.
The discussions, this year, also brought to light the fact that despite
amendments to the Penal Code, marital rape is still considered an issue
of domestic violence and that the perpetrator can be brought to trial
only if judicially separated from his wife.

* 'Within the Sri Lankan context, the reality is that sex in itself is a
taboo subject and rape within a marriage is regarded as a private matter
in the legal system. The victimised woman takes her cue from the legal
and social climate and opts to suffer in silence.'

WFS REF NO: SRIh827
990 words=20
Rape\Women=20
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India:            Individual Choice on Abortion: Myth or Reality?

The plea of the Mumbai-based couple to permit the abortion of their
25-week foetus after it was detected with a heart abnormality had
unwittingly brought the possibility of legitimising the abortion of
potentially disabled children. This extract, from the 'Indian Journal of
Gender Studies' (Volume 15, Number 2), published by Sage, questions the
ideology that regards abortion as the only option when prenatal testing
reveals a birth abnormality. It contends that disability is, to a great
extent, socially constructed: its conceptualisation reflects societal
attitudes that view disabled people as tragic, worthless and a burden.=20

* The pressure on women to exterminate that which seems to depart from
the norm is immense. ... If you choose to bear and rear a disabled
child, it appears to be illogical and ridiculous.

WFS REF NO: INDh828
630 words=20
Motherhood\Rights
Photograph 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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The Women's Feature Service office is located at:
G-69, Second floor; Nizammudin West, New Delhi: 110013; India.
Phone: +91-11-2435 9886, +91-11-2435 2546; Fax: +91-11-2435 4606
Email: wfsdelhi@vsnl.com; Website: www.wfsnews.org

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