Ruqayya Jafri

Partition - one woman tells her story of not one but two political partitions that have still left an indelible imprint upon her heart.

The first partition occurred in 1947 when India was partitioned to create Pakistan. The second occurred in 1971 with the creation of Bangladesh.

"Between the two events, she progressed from a student leader to a member of Pakistan's national parliament, where she was instrumental in organising opposition to General Ayub Khan, Pakistan's first military ruler in the 1960s.

But she feels her career as a high achiever has done little to ameliorate her own plight as the forgotten matriarch of a divided house. "

Read the her story at BBC News.

Moroccan Women - the Future

In Morocco, King Mohammad VI believes women are the pathway to the future.

From the Daily Star:
"Women, he believes, can be the purveyors of a mainstream humanitarian Islamic message.

At the heart of King Mohammad's initiative is the recruitment and education of female guides. This initiative first made news in April 2006 when the Moroccan government announced that the first 50 had graduated.

They will work in local communities helping women with religious questions and giving support in schools and prisons. By working face-to-face in the community, women (still the primary care givers and nurturers in Moroccan society through their role as mothers, sisters, aunts, friends and community guardians), will present the mainstream face of Islam and curtail fundamentalist violent excesses."

Inroads of South Africa Women

On 11th August 2008, thousands of women from Gauteng Province, celebrated the 52nd anniversary of a march their female forerunners made upon the Union Building. This year they converged to celebrate the progress made by women in both politics and business.

From IOL:
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa ... "said although the women's march was organised as a protest against pass laws, it was about the rights of women to participate in shaping a nation, their right and freedom to participate as equals in the economic and social life of the country.

He said women should continue to raise their voices whenever injustice occurs and when democracy is threatened. "

Tshwane's executive mayor Dr Gwen Ramokgopa "challenged women to get involved in politics, business and religious institutions to stand up and be counted to create a better future for the women of South Africa.

"The women, who marched in 1956, used their rights to fight apartheid as well as to create a better life for us. As we look forward to 2010, let us make gender equality one of our main priorities," Ramokgopa said."

Lillian Beam

A month ago, a woman who dedicated her life to the education of others passed.

From Sign on San Diego:
"Lillian Beam used to list her gender, race and stature among obstacles she faced, but the tiny woman managed to make big contributions to education worldwide and garnered accolades along the way.

As a mother of six, she worked part time as a teacher assistant for the San Diego Unified School District in the 1960s. She went on to be president of the Educational Cultural Complex in the San Diego Community College District.

She left San Diego in 1984 to head the Nairobi, Kenya, campus of the then-named United States International University and guided its growth from fewer than 200 students in leased space in an old hotel to more than 750 students in permanent buildings on 20 acres. "

Sorry ... this one had been sitting in my "in tray" for about a week ...

Empress Faustina the Elder

"Archaeology" - a US publication - ran a story on the recent discovery of a "colossal" head of the Roman Empress, Faustina the Elder.

Faustina's likeness has appeared on many items, from statues to coins.
"The find was made almost exactly one year after we discovered the remains of a colossal (ca. 5 m; 16 foot) statue of the emperor Hadrian (A.D. 117-138) at a spot about 6 m (20 feet) away."


From the article:
"Antoninus Pius married the daughter of a family friend from Ucibe (in Baetica, Spain), Annius Verus, who through her marriage (at the age of ten !) would become the empress Annia Galeria Faustina (the Elder). In contrast with the messy marriage of Hadrian and Sabina, the Elder Faustina and Antoninus Pius had a happy marriage, lasting 31 years until Faustina's death in A.D. 141. While adopting Antoninus Pius as his son and successor, Hadrian tried to assure the dynasty's future by forcing him to adopt two sons. These were Faustina's brother's son M. Annius Verus, who would rule as Marcus Aurelius and marry Faustina's daughter the Younger Faustina, and the son of Aelius Caesar, L. Ceionius Commodus, better known as Lucius Verus, who would marry Marcus Aurelius' daughter Lucilla."


Faustina the Elder - from wiki
Antoninus Pius - Roman Emperors' site
"The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition" by Michael Grant (Pub: Routledge, 1996)

Seychelles Womens' Rights

This week, women in the Seychelles attended workshops addressing their rights under the Africa Charter, ratified by the Seychelles in 2006.

The Chairman of the inaugural workshop, Bernard Elizabeth, was reported as saying:
".... that to ensure women’s rights are not only guaranteed but applied in their daily lives, women themselves must know what these rights are.

“Knowing your rights will enable you to take part more actively and effectively in the social and economic development process of your country.” "

Article: "Women’s groups learn of African Charter rights" as reported in the Seychelles Nation.


So, what exactly is the "African Charter". Simply put - this charter tackles the issue of "human and peoples rights" in Africa, looking particlarly into national identity, religious freedom and gender equality.

African Charter on Human & Peoples Rights - pdf
African Charter on Human & Peoples Rights - Human Dimension Program

From the Preamble:
"....to eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa, to coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa and to promote international cooperation having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations. and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Taking into consideration the virtues of their historical tradition and the values of African civilization which should inspire and characterize their reflection on the concept of human and peoples' rights;

Recognizing on the one hand, that fundamental human rights stem from the attributes of human beings which justifies their national and international protection and on the other hand that the reality and respect of peoples rights should necessarily guarantee human rights;

Considering that the enjoyment of rights and freedoms also implies the performance of duties on the part of everyone; Convinced that it is henceforth essential to pay a particular attention to the right to development and that civil and political rights cannot be dissociated from economic, social and cultural rights in their conception as well as universality and that the satisfaction of economic, social and cultural rights ia a guarantee for the enjoyment of civil and political rights;

Conscious of their duty to achieve the total liberation of Africa, the peoples of which are still struggling for their dignity and genuine independence, and undertaking to eliminate colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, zionism and to dismantle aggressive foreign military bases and all forms of discrimination, particularly those based on race, ethnic group, color, sex. language, religion or political opinions;

Reaffirming their adherence to the principles of human and peoples' rights and freedoms contained in the declarations, conventions and other instrument adopted by the Organization of African Unity, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the United Nations;

Firmly convinced of their duty to promote and protect human and people' rights and freedoms taking into account the importance traditionally attached to these rights and freedoms in Africa; "

Poison Pen Takes Aim

This appeared in the Mail Online back in July - but I thought it would interest readers still.

Mrs Angry! Grande dame of the poision pen Julie Burchill takes aim at modern life
"From self-obsessed celebrities to cynical beauty companies, she's got an opinion on everything - and none of them flattering. In a waspish new book, Julie Burchill lets rip at modern life

Beauty manufacturers who ruthlessly target women's self-esteem. Ugly older men who think they're God's gift to women. And celebrities who say they long for privacy - but are happy to sell their stories to gossip magazines. In a witty and coruscating new book, Not In My Name, Britain's grande dame of the poison pen, Julie Burchill, lets rip at what she regards as the biggest hypocrites of the modern age. Take cover!"

Female Circumcision

A number of articles have appeared reporting on the decrease in female circumcision in Egypt. And the reversal is coming from women who have undergone the process themselves.

From The State:
"In this small Nile River farming village, Maha Mohammed has started to doubt whether she should circumcise her two daughters.

A year ago, she had few qualms about female genital mutilation, the practice of cutting a girl's clitoris and sometimes other genitalia. She herself was cut two decades ago, and she fears her daughters will not find husbands otherwise.

But Mohammed also has heard that circumcision can be medically risky and emotionally painful. And a strong-willed neighbor, another woman, has been dropping by her house regularly to persuade her to say no.

"I hear that girls suffer not just physically but psychologically," the 31-year-old Mohammed said. "But I am afraid. I don't want my daughters to have uncontrollable demands for sex."

Such doubts are significant. With vigorous grass-roots campaigns and the passage of tough laws against circumcision, Egypt seems to be making a dent in this deeply ingrained practice, thousands of years old. The number of young girls circumcised is now steadily declining in a country where an estimated 96 percent of married Egyptian women have had their genitals cut.

The most recent comprehensive study predicts about 63 percent of Egyptian girls 9 years old and under will be circumcised over the next decade. The numbers are lower in urban areas like Cairo - about 40 percent - but higher for rural areas in the south - about 78 percent, the government's 2005 demographic and health survey predicts.

The lower circumcision rate in urban areas is attributed to higher income and education levels and greater access to information. But in the villages along the Nile, where the rate is highest, a grass-roots effort is under way to bring information straight to people's homes.

But when village women do go public, the results are astonishing. Of some 3,000 families targeted over the past few years in several nearby villages, more than half say they have abandoned the practice, nearly 800 are undecided and fewer than 500 say they will continue to circumcise their daughters."

From the Miami Herald:
"The key is convincing villages that stopping circumcision is an Egyptian idea -- not one imported by international aid groups or Western governments, Fouad said. The group also promotes homegrown activities such as community plays, discussions with local doctors and religious debates.

Along with local groups taking action, Egypt's government has also been discouraging the practice in recent years. But activists stress that laws alone aren't enough.

Many women fear potential husbands will reject daughters as impure or immoral. Medical rumors -- including that circumcision is the only way to control a girl's sexual desires -- are rampant. Others believe that abandoning the practice is caving to Western pressures to change their society."

The article was also featured in:
Fox News ; the Star Tribune ; MSNBC ; USA Today ; Pravda ; and Chicago Sun-Times.

From Independent Online (SA):
"An estimated 70 million girls and women in 27 African and Middle Eastern countries have been "circumcised", according to Unicef.

Countries where more than 50 percent of girls and women ages 15 to 49 are mutilated include: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan (north).

Countries where 10-50 percent of females aged 15 to 49 are mutilated include: Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Yemen."

Even the doyen of crime-writing, Ruth Rendell has taken a stand:
From the Guardian:
"Lady Rendell, a long-term campaigner against the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), spoke out as the police prepared to announce a new initiative against it later this week.

She said that it would be classified "not as a quaint custom but as child cruelty, as child abuse, because that's what it is".

"Even if it may be committed without child abuse or cruelty in mind, that's what it is. I think that if we can persuade the Home Office to do more when the police are doing so much, I see that at last there has been a breakthrough and things are going to change. I hope so."

Rendell helped introduce tough new laws in 2004 that made it an offence to send a child abroad for the procedure, banned in the UK since 1985.

Tens of thousands of young girls in this country are believed to be at risk of FGM, but the peer conceded cultural sensitivities made it difficult to tackle.

Women who have undergone female genital mutilation are twice as likely to die in childbirth and four times more likely to give birth to a stillborn child, experts say.

Workers in the sector say it is typically carried out on girls aged between four and 13, but can sometimes be inflicted on newborn babies or on young women before marriage or pregnancy."


Further reading:
Female Genital Mutilation

Fate of Nepalese Girls

Extreme poverty is driving some rural families to the point of no return - they are selling the young daughters - some aged as young as 7yo - to wealthy families as domestic slaves.

However, one pioneering woman decided it was time for change ....

From San Francisco Chronicle:
Olga Murray "... asked the Tharu village fathers to keep their daughters home and send them to school instead of selling them at the annual Maghe Sakranti Festival every January. In exchange, families could raise the pigs and sell them for the same amount they could fetch for their daughters. Murray's nonprofit organization, the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation, also would pay for the girls' school expenses. Plus, it would kick in a kerosene lamp and 2 liters of kerosene a month - coveted items in an area without electricity.

It was an experiment based on Murray's understanding of Nepali culture after living there off and on for five years and sponsoring the education of orphans and street children. She knew pork is a prized meat and that for some families, selling a daughter was the only way to afford food for the rest of the family.

Of the 37 families she and her Nepalese counterpart Som Paneru approached that first year, 32 took the deal. Some asked for and received a goat instead of a pig.

Murray and Paneru have since steered 3,000 girls away from slavery and all but eradicated the long-held tradition of indentured servitude in the Tharu village.

Murray and Paneru have been so successful in Dang, they have started to bring their pigs-for-girls program to the neighboring district of Bardiya. Since January, they have liberated 500 girls there, Murray said.

Her foundation is putting 1,500 girls through school at an annual cost of $100 per student. The Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation also runs two boarding schools, one for boys and one for girls who are abandoned or disabled. So far they've been able to send 30 of their boarding school graduates to college."

Now - isn't that a good news story ....