Letters From The Chair


WAFE Newsletter April 2010 PDF Print E-mail

Dear All,
It’s April and at last Spring is here! I hope you all enjoyed a happy Easter break. WWAFE has much good news to report:

1. News of our Patronsbaroness_angela_harris_website.jpg
For years, our sole Patron has been Baroness Harris of Richmond and a huge support she has been, despite her heavy workload in the House of Lords. Her many qualities have now been recognised by her appointment as Chair of the powerful Industry and Parliamentary Trust, a job which she takes up after the election. We send our hearty congratulations.

david_kilgour.jpgNext, I am delighted to announce a second Patron – David Kilgour of Canada (www.david-kilgour.com). David is a former Cabinet Minister and Crown Prosecutor who carries out an astonishing programme of international travel, promoting liberty, human rights and the rule of law. He has recently visited 44 countries to raise awareness of the fact that that tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been killed by the Chinese regime in the process of extracting their organs for lucrative transplant surgery.  Together with David Matas, he co-authored Bloody Harvest: the killing of Falun Gong for their organs, a 2009 book detailing the evidence for this. Both men have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Canadian MP Boris Wrzesnewskyj and we are supporting this campaign. I am delighted that WWAFE has the support of this special man: the gender distinction in our fight for universal human rights grows increasingly irrelevant.

2. Was WAFE – is now WWAFE!
WAFE was founded in 2004 at a meeting called by the Women’s Council of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Paris, with the subtitle International Federation of Women against Fundamentalism and for Equality. WAFE founders accepted from the beginning that women’s human rights were seriously challenged by all extremist religious regimes. The new organisation would accordingly continue to support resistance to the extremist regime in Iran, but would also work to expose the misogyny of other such regimes. WAFE would also strongly promote the ideology of universal human rights. With the assistance of NCRI the WAFE website was set up and its logo designed.

Thereafter, WAFE in fact operated increasingly independently of NCRI and was based in London for most of its activities. For various reasons, it became necessary to remove the word ‘Fundamentalism’ from the title and it was changed, with the agreement of the Board, to Women Worldwide Advancing Freedom and Equality.

In the autumn of 2009, the Women’s Council of the National Council of Resistance of Iran claimed ownership of the title WAFE and of the logo. They proposed that WAFE should either amalgamate with the Council, or formalise a separate identity. Following discussions in Paris last month, it was agreed that the Women’s Council needed to concentrate on resistance to the present regime in Iran, while the present WAFE Board and members were committed to a more international movement. It was agreed that the two organisations would therefore work separately while offering mutual support.

It was further agreed that the Women’s Council should retain the title WAFE and the logo and would resume the original subtitle. The organisation recently known as WAFE would become WWAFE (Women Worldwide Advancing Freedom and Equality) with a new logo, currently being worked on.

For the present, WWAFE will continue with WAFE’s 2010 programme of meetings on the theme of Equality, maintaining the website and Newsletter, developing projects and fundraising. In November a new Board and Officers will be elected, who will review our Mission Statement and relate it to future activities.

3. Volunteers Committee
Yet more good news. Alice Fuller and Debra Wilson, both active volunteers, have been co-opted to our Board. Alice plans to develop our lobbying skills and Debra hopes to develop more projects. Our dear Clemmie is currently busy with exams, but will shortly be resuming her valuable help in the office.

4. AGM of the Commission on the Status of Women
The 2010 AGM of CSW took place in March. It passed seven resolutions, to be seen at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing15/outcomes.html

They included a continuing protest at the impact of HIV/AIDS on the girl child, the plight of women hostages and of Palestinian women, the lack of women’s economic empowerment, the need to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity and condemnation of female genital mutilation.

CSW also pushed for the UN to get on with a composite entity to reflect women’s concerns. We wait until September to know about this – who is to lead the organisation? How is it to be funded?

5. Abolition of the Death Penalty (Amnesty Report)
This campaign was launched in 1977, when the death penalty was still in operation in 137 countries. Today, that is down to 58 countries. Public execution does not exonerate the community from dealing with the huge social problems each convict represents, and it remains a revolting public spectacle. An increasing number of countries now recognises this, alas not including China, where the death penalty applies to 68 offences and has been applied (it is estimated) to thousands. Nor of course, Iran, where there were at least 112 executions between the disputed election of President Ahmadinejad and his inauguration (two months). In the EU, only one country retains the death penalty – Belarus. It has been applied twice in 2010. In the US, only 15 states have banned it, although implementation varies widely.

6. Religion in the UK
Britain’s religious status remains ambiguous. Public behaviour suggests that we operate as a secular state, tolerant of many faiths, whilst our institutions retain adherence to State support of Christianity.

The British Humanist Society, which promotes human rights and equalities without adherence to a religious faith, has come under attack from the (established) Church of England for, in their view, criticising religious faith and offering few solutions to world problems. Nevertheless, support for secular government seems to be growing worldwide. Fewer people now accept that criticism of religion is ‘a serious affront to human dignity’ as stated in the UN Human Rights Defamation of Religion resolution (20 in favour, 17 against).

Both BHA and the Church, however, welcome the UK Government’s commitment to equality of us all, regardless of belief.

7. Other Problems in the Churches
The unfolding horror of paedophiliac practices among Roman Catholic priests raises many problems. How can a worldwide organisation which upholds moral standards ignore, or provide only palliative measures to deal with, its criminal servants. There should be many repercussions from this crisis. Let us hope that they include a better understanding of both human sexuality and democratic criminal law. Have Catholic women taken any action?

Come to that, the Anglican Church in Uganda has not shown much Christian love towards its homosexual members recently. Christopher Senyonjo, a retired Anglican bishop in Kampala, is believed to be the only member of the clergy still ministering to lesbian and gay Christians, now threatened by the repressive anti-homosexuality bill before Parliament. Under international pressure, the most draconian clause – the execution of some gays – has been removed. But the bill still calls for life imprisonment of those committing homosexual acts and requires those aware of such acts to turn offenders in within 24 hours (New International April 2010).

Fundamentalism begins here.

8. UK Parliamentary Reform??
WWAFE is full or respect from many women in the UK House of Lords – which does not prevent our seeking wholesale reform of this obsolete second chamber. The Evening Standard (15/3/10) reported that ministers were expected to unveil proposals for Lords reform early in April. These would include:
• Renaming the House, now possibly to be called the Senate
• Reducing the House from 704 to 300 members, to be elected by proportional representation for 15 years
• Current peers encouraged to take voluntary redundancy with generous payoffs (some live entirely on their daily allowance)
• Pay off amounts and wages for those elected to be set by the Senior Salaries Review Body.

Unresolved is what to do with the unelected Church of England bishops.

WWAFE members are likely to welcome all reforms in the direction of more democratic government – which could also give women a better chance of election.

Meanwhile, the House of Commons still has a shooting gallery but no crèche. See the report on our March meeting for a discussion of this patriarchal institution and what might be done to improve women’s representation.

In mid April I’m off to Paris to meet our Board member Maria Hapberg and Lilian Halls French, President of the European Feminist Initiative (EFI). I hope this will establish WWAFE on the International scene! I’ll let you know.
All good wishes,
Elizabeth Sidney

 
WAFE Newsletter January 2010 PDF Print E-mail

 

Dear Friends,
A Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2010 to you all. I hope you had as good a Christmas as I did, well away from emails and phone calls and even the post, walking in the mild coastal weather along the Hampshire seashore, reading by an open fire, enjoying good meals and family company. Now back, greatly refreshed.

News from the Board
WAFE Board members have kept active since the last Chair’s letter. Carole Fontaine was invited to speak about WAFE in Sweden and set up contacts which I have referred to Maria Hagberg. Alas, since then Carole has had to withdraw temporarily from the Board whilst dealing with health problems. I know you will all wish her a swift recovery and hope that she can re-join us soon.

Jocelynne flew to Australia  for the weekend  (these world travellers!) to collect winter clothes. She and I are meeting soon to sort out what she can take over and develop for WAFE.

On December 14th, I spoke at the re-launch of the Westminster Forum, on Beijing plus 15. I described what it was like for the NGOs at that remarkable event and then considered what progress we have made in the twelve areas outlined in the Platform (see website). It was a good subject for the meeting as CSW (Commission for the Status of Women) is discussing the same theme in March 2010. There should be a spring in the delegates’ steps, now that the new top level Commission on Women has been agreed and the new Under Secretary General, who will lead it, is due to be announced.

Copenhagen!
The outcome of that much heralded Summit meeting on climate change is about as dismal as it could be for all but the oil companies (and their lobbyists), conservative members of the US Senate and China, which has gained a short-term reprieve for its massive polluting industries. But it is worth remembering the huge world-wide demonstrations calling for serious commitment to change. No politician can afford to ignore this powerful movement. It would be good to hear from WAFE members on this issue.

Violence in Iran
There have also been huge demonstrations in Iran, increasing calling for regime change. They continue despite violent suppression – one horrible story describes the deaths of a girl and a boy run over by official tanks driven at speed into the crowds. The vehicles went over them twice. Yet even violence such as this no longer prevents the demonstrations.
Let none of us forget what extremist regimes such as Iran mean for the lives of women. They all impose cruel male hierarchies leaving oppressed and frustrated men one area of freedom – their homes and their dominion over their wives, the creatures they possess. There is little legal redress for women victims of their violence – indeed, these regimes accept and condone it.

Daily life is as grey and grim as the authorities can make it. Ayatollah Khomeni banned the playing of Mozart and Haydn. All music is supposed to be approved by officials. Women cannot sing solo lest their voices arouse male listeners. In Iraq, now heavily infiltrated from Iran, UN investigators found that at least 75 singers were murdered between 2003 and 2006. By the end of that year, 80% of singers had left the country (reported by Robert Fisk, Independent, 5/12/09).

The mystery remains how Islamists continue to find recruits ready to commit appalling violence. Characteristically, they are young men – but they are not necessarily deprived or cut off from democratic opportunities. Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab grew up in a wealthy Nigerian family, lived in luxury in London and studied at University College. What poison entered his brain, bringing him to see the destruction of innocent people along with himself as a contribution to Islam?

Good News
It is a relief to record some advances towards gender equality. The Violence against Women campaign is now worldwide. It’s right that women should band together against the scourge, but it’s crucial that we are also joined by men. Here the excellent news is that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon launched in December the Network of Men leaders to oppose Violence against Women. The White Ribbon Campaign has, of course, been running for some time [www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk]. Its lively Director, Chris Green, spoke at one of our meetings in 2008.

President Obama has transformed expectations for women in the US. He created the White House Council on Women and girls almost as soon as he took office, and applications to the US Running Start programme, to introduce girls to public life, rose during 2009 from 300 to 30,000.

In India, the Federal and State governments have failed to pass the legislation giving women a 30% quota in the parliaments. This is despite the great success of the quota system at panchayat (local council) level. So what have the activists done? Sixty years after women got the vote, they have set up the Women’s Parliament, which operates in parallel with the Federal Parliament. A drastic and highly innovative act.

There are signs that the Violence against Women campaign is bearing some fruit. In Kenya, a Gender and Development Office, backed by the UN refugee agency, now counsels and trains women victims of sexual violence. On December 10th, its work was extended with the opening of the Gender Recovery Centre, to be run by the International Rescue Committee. Many women are now testifying to the help they have received, both mentally and materially, in establishing their confidence and livelihoods.

In Kashmir, where widespread domestic violence has received little attention due to the overwhelming violence of the separatist insurgency, Hindu and Muslim activists have come together to spread a message of no tolerance, to enlist the help of religious leaders and teachers and the media, and to provide a physical space where women can meet and share experiences. The Commission for Women in Kashmir hears many marital cases, mostly brought by women suffering violence. Thanks largely to the local organisation Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace, they are now finding help. Women’s organisations are now seeking better legal protection for women; Kashmir has yet to adopt the anti-violence legislation now in operation in most Indian states.

Best news of all, in 2009 five of the twelve Nobel prizes went to women – for literature, economics, chemistry and physiology and medicine. Overall, women have made up 5.12% of Nobel prize winners, so 2009 saw a remarkable change. Let’s hope it’s just the start.

Well, friends, our next London meeting will be on March 8th, International Women’s Day, in the House of Lords. Put it in your diaries. I hope to send you our spectacular programme in my next letter.
All good wishes,
Elizabeth

 
WAFE Newsletter December 2009 PDF Print E-mail

Dear All,

Good News!
It’s good to be able to start with some good news for women. On November 4th, the European Parliament’s Committee for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality put forward measures enhancing flexible working methods, a targeted plan to counter violence against women, freedom of choice in having children and rights to health care. On November 10th, the same committee adopted a motion calling for the European Union Council and Commission to establish a clear legal basis for combating all forms of violence against women. And on November 12th, three other EP committees called for a European strategy to eradicate violence against women including prevention, victim protection and prosecution of perpetrators.
[www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/homeCom.do?body=FEMM]
And on November 20th a woman, Baroness Cathy Ashton, was appointed to the new EU Foreign Minister. I am, of course, very pleased that this important post has gone to the UK, but all in WAFE will also rejoice that it has gone to a woman. Baroness Ashton is not internationally known but she has a sound reputation as a hardworking and skilful negotiator, who is well liked by colleagues. On behalf of WAFE, I wrote to congratulate her and to wish her well in her demanding new post.
WAFE invites suggestions for distinguished women we should support for top EU positions. What about Mrs Vike-Freiberga who was President of Latvia from 1999-2007 and who played a vital role in her country’s accession to the European Union and NAT? She was appointed Special Ambassador for the Reform of the UN in 2005 and official candidate for the position of UN Secretary General in 2006. She is a member of the Club of Madrid, of the Council of Women World Leaders and of the European Council on Foreign Relations. In December 2007 she was appointed Vice-President of the Reflection Group on the Future of Europe 2020-2030. She has received 37 Orders of Merit (1st Class) and 16 Honorary Doctorates.

News from the Board
Dr Jocelynne Scutt has left Australia and is now studying in London. She was able to be with us on October 28th and has already taken over from me attendance at some seminars and rallies. I am really grateful, as there are so many at this time of year, and it suits Jocelynne as it introduces her to UK women activists.
Maria Hagberg was also with us on the 28th and has introduced WAFE to EFI (mentioned in last Newsletter). For six years the European Feminist initiative for Another Europe has been building co-operation between women from all parts of Europe, presenting evidence on the links between militarism, fundamentalism and misogyny and promoting secularism, democracy and women’s freedom. I look forward to this connection and very much hope we may be able to work with them in Europe in 2010.
Carole Fontaine has just sent information about a video on Forgiveness, spoken by a senior Iranian mullah:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcSG39EIjMs&feature=player_embedded
It is accompanied by the news that the government of Iran has had to build a whole new wing in Evin Prison to hold all the imams who resist the government’s misrepresentation of the religion of Islam. We send our fervent good wishes to all in the resistance movement.
Christine Aziz has had a play, Soulpost, running in Bournemouth. On November 14th, at our Tea Party, she and a friend gave an interesting (and harrowing) presentation about the women she met in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Maria Hapberg spoke at a rally organised by One Law for All in Trafalgar Square on November 13th. She explained that she had fought for Swedish women’s rights since the 1970s. Their campaigns had achieved the right to abortion and contraception and daycare for children. But she noted that some people now supported cultural relativism and denied the prevalence of honour crimes. A summary of Maria’s speech will appear on the website: she has coined the good word ‘theocrazy’.
Monique Auguste and Ahlam Balacz may be visiting here next spring. They will try to make it to our spring meeting, for which I hope to have a date very soon.
Volunteers: The contributions to WAFE’s activities by some of our volunteers appear below in my report on our November 14th Tea Party. We meet again shortly to take a first look at the 2010 programme. We shall be joined by Jocelynne and Debra Wilson, our American correspondent who recently sent a hilarious piece for the website on Sarah Palin (check it out on www.wafe-women.org )

Activities
On October 28th, we held the third of the three major meetings we hold each year, continuing the 2009 theme of The Limits of Tolerance. Dr Peter Cave asked uncomfortable questions about tolerance and whether it was more than a convenient coverall for topics about which we cared little. Professor Bob Pinker took us to an area where it mattered very much, the freedom of the press. He spelled out cases on which he had had to adjudicate and the many conflicting claims affecting each one. A participant in the discussion, David Trillo, later emailed to say how important it was for democracy to debate issues such as these. Peter Cave may be right that the best we can do is to ‘muddle on’. But we do all need muddle on. We need to debate whether Nick Griffin should have appeared on Question Time or Geert Wilders be allowed to come here from Holland. We need to listen to different views and firm up our own values about what we mean by freedom and the freedom of women. The full report of the meeting is enclosed and is now on the website.
Our Big Fundraising Tea Party took place on November 14th. Many thanks to Alice Fuller, who came to help set up and organise tea. Also thanks to Clemmie Jack and her mother Stephanie Sfakianos, who showed us how to make jewellery and her aunt Nathalie Sfakianos, showing hand-made cards. Also to my neighbour, Cathy Trillo, who brought a lovely display of hats. The venue was splendid, the food good, the music festive and the raffle went well. Alas, he weather was against us and many people decided to stay at home rather than battling with the wind and rain. I think we all had a good time, and we did make a profit, although the takings were less than we had hoped. Fundraising is on the agenda for the volunteers meeting.

New WAFE Publication
November 14th saw the launch of WAFE’s new booklet Gender Equality: how close are we? It gives a compact review of continuing discrimination against women in many countries, the causes of discrimination and the benefits of gender equality. A final section looks at measures to promote parity and the international and European conventions which have affirmed commitment to gender equality. Progress since the World Conference of Women Beijing 1995 is the theme of the CSW meeting in March 2010. The booklet was prepared as a handy reference for activists. It was written by myself, with contributions from volunteers Samehia Aziz and Rachel Minto, and was edited by Hannah Chapman. It is thanks to Hannah’s editorial skill and speed that the booklet appeared just in time for November 14th. It is on sale for £2, as is WAFE’s other booklet Religion is nothing to do with Fundamentalism. Email us on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to order either booklet.

Religion and Humanism
The Interfaith Week is a UK Government funded project to increase understanding between religious and non-religious people. The British Humanist Association has agreed to take part, with a stand at the launch of the week and an event of its own (BHA ebulletin 16/11/09) BHA is following up with its Atheist Bus Campaign with a display of posters in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. It is raising money to phase out ‘faith-based’ schools and the automatic labelling of children according to the faith of their parents.

MP Questionnaire
The UK faces an election in 2010. WAFE would like to equip all members with a few tough questions to ask all potential MPs regarding women’s equality. What should we ask them at political rallies?
Please send us your questions – then we will issue a list of everyone’s ideas.

Chair’s Programme
I have also drafted a comparison between women’s lives in a democracy and women’s lives in theocratic or patriarchal regimes. I think it might become an instrument for a survey which women could use to evaluate their society. I am starting discussions on this possibility with women in Bolivia and Nicaragua, who are experiencing regression in their rights as the Church extends its influence in government.
I spoke at the inauguration of Judith Whyte, one of our members, as Chair of the Greater London Branch of the Soroptomists. I quoted from the UN Development Report, which annually ranks counties in terms of their gender development. Of the top 10 countries, eight are also in the top ranking for gender development. Of the bottom 10, all appear in both rankings. In our comfortable western world, it is hard to imagine the lives of women in, say, the Democratic Republic of Congo, where cases of sexual violence average 1,100 a month. The injuries suffered by girls and women victims of rape may need surgery and can take a year in hospital to heal, while rapists often go free.
On November 10th, I attended a meeting organised by One World Action, on the theme of eliminating caste discrimination. Several powerful Dalit women spoke and I was honoured to meet Ruth Manorama, the Dalit President of the Women’s Parliament in Delhi. The Women’s Parliament is throwing out caste along with gender inequality. Lynne Featherstone, a LibDem MP, campaigned successfully for the elimination of caste discrimination to be included in the UK Equality Bill
There is considerable interest here in the next CSW meeting, which will review progress since Beijing 1995. I attended a One World Action meeting on the value of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women) as probably the most important international instrument preceding the Beijing Platform for Action. The UK government has produced a response to the UN report on Beijing Plus 15, which I shall study in preparation for a talk to Women for World Peace, Westminster branch, on December 14th.

Merry Christmas!
As my next letter will appear in the New Year, this is the time to wish you all a very happy and peaceful holiday break. For Christians, Christmas is of course associated with the birth of Christ. But an article in History Today, December 2009, points out that the traditions associated with Christmas pre-date the birth of Christ by some decades. Romans celebrated the winter solstice with the festival of Saturnalia, allowing relaxed dress codes, exchange of gifts and reversal of social roles. Masters and slaves swapped clothes (how wives behaved is not recorded). Saturnalia also celebrated the end of the planting season. During the reign of Emperor Augustus (63BC–14AD) it ran to two days of festivities. Public Saturnalia banquets were recorded from 217BC to the late 4th Century AD and Emperor Domitian (51-96AD) established December 25th as the focal date. In the Roman calendar, the birth of Christ is recorded as 354AD. The calendar also notes December 25th as a Roman civil holiday to celebrate Jupiter as the Sun King.
In spite of all this, Christians may be reassured to know, writes Mark Salisbury, that the date of 25th December may have been reached by early Ecclesiastics determining Mary’s pregnancy from the Annunciation on March 25th.
It seems whatever its origins, Christmas is a time we all can celebrate.
Peace and Joy,
Elizabeth

 
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