Isis International - Manila Coordlnaters:

La Rainne Abad-Sarmiento, Marilee Karl and Table of Contents

Lucia Pavia Ticzon.
Women in Action 1/92
Isis International Associates:
Isis International tias a group of Associates, women from Editorial 3
different parts of the world who support our aims, give
From our Readers 4
advice and collaborate in our programs.

Women and Feminism

Our current Associates are: Women's Media Network formed 5
Anita Anand, India; Peggy Antrobus, Barbados; Marie
Current Developments in Feminism
Assaad, Egypt; Judith Astellara, Spain; Suzanne Aurelius,
Chile; Brigalia Bam, South Africa; Nita Barrow, Barbados; by Nandita Gandhi and Vasantha Kannabiran 9
Jessie Bernard, USA; Rekha Beztwruah, India; Kamla Feminism, Women's Movements and
Bhasin, India; Adelia Borges, Brazil; Boston Women's Mass Movements
Health Collective, USA; Elise Boulding, USA; Charlotte
by Gail Omvedt. 10
Bunch, USA; Ximena Bunster, Chile; Ah Fong Chung,
l^auritius; Giuseppina Dante, Italy; Miranda Davies, UK; Asian Tradition of Feminist Activism
Corinne Kumar D'Souza, India; Elisabeth Eie, Nonway; Akke by Kamla Bhasin and Nighat Said Khan 13
van Eijden, the Netherlands; Magda Enriquez, Nicaragua; "Feminism" in Eastern Europe
Foo Gaik Sim, Malaysia; Maria Girardet, Italy; Saralee
by Lisa Mulholland. 14
Hamilton, USA; Karin Himmelstrand, Sweden; Devaki Jain,
India; Kumari Jayawardena, Sri Lanka; Annette Kaiser, Yugoslav Feminists found Newspaper
Switzerland; Nighat Khan, Pakistan; Geertje Lycklama, the by Natalie Nenandic 15
Netherlands; Mary John Mananzan, Philippines; Giovanna
Merola, Venezuela; Robin Morgan, USA; Vivian Mota,
Empowered Women
Dominican Republic; Magaly Pineda, Dominican Republic;
Ana Maria Portugal, Peru; Rhoda Reddock, Trinidad and For Women--and Revolution!
Tobago; Luz Helena Sanchez, Colombia; Olga Amparo by Barbara Rogers 16
Sanchez, Colombia; Adriana Santa Cruz, Chile; Marie- WIDE prepares for
Angelique Savane, Senegal; Else Skcnsberg, Norway;
1995 UN Conference on Women 17
Cecilia Torres, Ecuador; Moema Viezzer, Brazil; Maria
Villariba, Philippines. Women's Agenda 18
Solidarity Message 19
Founders of Isis: Jane Cottingham and Marilee Karl
Women and Health
Women In Action appears four times a year. Non-profit Women and Family Planning in Indonesia
women's groups may reproduce this material but please Where are the Women's Voices?
credit us. All others must request permission from: by Elizabeth Thomas 20
Singapore hosts Industrialization and Women's
Isis International Health Regional Workshop
P.O. Box 1837 by Dominga Anosan and Eliz Reyes Martinez 22

Quezon City Main Australian Speakout 24

1100 Philippines
Fax: (632) 990507 Women Workers
Convention Protects Women Migrant Workers 25
On Prostitution and Third World Women 27

This issue was produced by Isis International - Manila

Communications and Networking Program. A Call to Action
Peru: Maria Elena Moyano 28
Editorial Team: La Rainne Abad-Sarmiento, Belinda Kenya: Wangari Maathai 29
Giron-Arcilla, Belinda U. Calaguas, Elizabeth Reyes- Pakistan: Khursheed Begum and Veena Hayat 30
Martinez, Marilee Karl, Lucia Pavia Ticzon
Ireland: 14-year old Rape Victim 31
Program Writers: Jacqueline Taylor, Elizabeth Thomas
Cover Concept and Teenage Pregnancies 32
Overall Production Design: Elizabeth Reyes-Martinez
Layout and Scanning: Rene S. Rana Regular Features
Conferences 33
Networks 38
Resources 41
Isis Currents 46
ISSN 101-5048
isis International Women In Action 1/92
2
 Editorial

Empowering and Empowered Woman

•T* he global women's movement has brought many significant changes in women's
-JU lives. In Women in Action 1/92, we highlight some issues and actions that
empower women and are initiated by women.
We have included a feature on W O M E N E T , the international women's commu-
nications network formed during the D A W N media workshop in Barbados, an island
in the Caribbean. The women's media network will serve as a communication channel
for the exchange and sharing of information of women all over the world.
Three companion articles, all coming from South Asia, deal with the concept of
feminism and the current problems and ongoing debates about it within the feminist
movement. We also have two articles on feminism from Eastern Europe. In contrast to
South Asian women's long struggle in the movement and their evolving definitions of
feminism based on years of experience, our Eastern European sisters are just beginning
to take an active role in the women's movement. Despite this difference, we all share
a common cause~a desire to end patriarchy, poverty, underdevelopment and all other
forms of oppression, whether it is gender, race, national or state.
Our section, A Call to Action, features horror stories on female victims of
violence-rape, torture, beating, and clubbing. Maria Elena, Wangari, Kursheed, Veena
are all courageous women who stood up and resisted patriarchal institutions. In the case
of Maria Elena, it was against an ideological group; in the case of Wangari, Kursheed
and Veena, it was against the state. These women have empowered themselves and
continue to fight those who wish to disempower them again. Another case is the 14-year
old Irish girl who was a victim of rape. She too had the courage to speak about her
experience despite the taboo for women to speak about rape and pressures from Ireland's
legal system.
We know that they are not the only victims of violence. There are other nameless
women who suffer in silence. We express our solidarity with all of them and will be
ready to stand by them, should they decide to break out of their silence.
Isis workers brought home first hand accounts of their participation and network-
ing in two international conferences held in Japan and Singapore, respectively. We have
also participated in the Interregional consultation for global communicators held here
in Manila. Other conferences in this issue are the Isis-WICCE meeting on prostitution
and poverty held in Bangkok and the socialism and feminism workshop proceedings
from the International Peace Festival in the Philippines. Attendance in conferences of
Isis workers is one of the best networking tools, allowing more direct lines of
communication with other women.
There is much to celebrate in the women's movement today. We have tried to
cover the different stages in its development from old groups from South Asia who
continue to seek new ways of practicing feminism to new groups from Eastern Europe
who are searching for the meaning of feminism and their role within the women's
movement. We celebrate that empowerment is already a reality for many women who
have fought and continue to fight for a just and humane society for all of us. [T

Isis Inttfrnational Women In Action 1/92

3
From our Keadere

Gender Issues in Agriculture

Dear friends.

It's a pleasure for me to share with you the

Information of the new program on Gender and
Irrigation of the International Irrigation Manage-
ment Institute (IIMl). I recently Joined IIMI as cin
associate expert to initiate and develop this pro-
gram.
The objective of the program is to improve
irrigation management through a better under-
standing of gender difference In irrigated agricul-
Calling Women in Radio ture. IIMI will concentrate on gender questions
related to irrigation management and perform-
Dear friends. ance.
We are now i n the process of gathering and
At the fourth conference of the World Asso- reviewing literature, and developing interaction
c i a t i o n of C o m m u n i t y Radio B r o a d c a s t e r s with other institutions and individuals working
(AMARC) w h i c h was held i n August 1990 in in the field of gender Issues i n irrigated agricul-
D u b l i n , Ireland, an international women's com- ture. We hope this information will help us evalu-
mittee was created. The prlnclpcd objective of this ate where and how gender is Important for irriga-
committee is to set up an international network tion management, to identify areas of research
in order to enable exchanges between women and to further develop the program.
who use radio media (particularly community I would appreciate it very m u c h if you could
radio) i n order to give a voice to women and to help me with names of people, organizations and
support their full participation i n society. institutions w h i c h are working i n the field of
In order that this network includes as many gender issues i n agriculture, or if you could
women as possible, we would like to ask you to provide me with any information on projects,
send a copy of this letter and questionnaire to programs or actions in this field.
women and organizations who may be interested I am enclosing background information on
in the project. IIMI and on the gender program. I shall be pleased
The lines of communication which will be to receive your comments or suggestions and
weaved by this network will reinforce women's look forward to possible future collaboration.
initiatives toward the democratization of commu-
nication and society as a whole. Yours sincerely,

Warm regards, Margreet Zweirteveen

Associate Expert Gender i n Irrigation
Louise Boivln International Irrigation Management Institute
Intematloncd Women's Committee of A M A R C P.O. Box 2075, Colombo. Sri L a n k a
3575, B o u l . St-Laurent, Suite 602. Montreal, Tel.: 94-1-567404, Fax: 94-1-566854
Quebec, C a n a d a H 2 X 2T7
Tel.: (514) 982-0351, Fax: (514) 849-7129 Ed. note: Gender issues should be integrated in
aR areas of research. We are happy to know that
Ed. note: Good luck with your network! We wiU you have taken on gender related research in the
send copies of your questionnaire to women's field of irrigated agriculture. We wiR send you
groups working in radio. information on groups working in the same field.

4 ieis Inttfrnatlonai Women in Action 1/92

 i
WMENET

Women'6 Media Network formed

O A W N (Development Altema-
, tives for Women in the New
Era) held an interregional me-
The purpose of the workshop
was to identify effective methods of
sharing DAWN's research analyses
D A W N in distributing its research
analyses to N G O women's organiza-
tions in mainstream media.
dia workshop last February 10-13 at which challenge current models of By sharing its analyses, D A W N
the Barbados Workers Union Labour development. These are models which hopes to sensitize policy makers to
College in Barbados, bringing together the organization believes are responsi- development alternatives which could
11 representatives of international ble for the chain of borrowing, debt lead to improved socioeconomic con-
women's communications networks. and poverty in countries of the South. ditions in the South.
The women's communications One of the major outcome of W O M E N E T members wUl
network groups i n c l u d e d : Isis the workshop was the formation of contact each other monthly through
Intemacional Santiago, Chile; South Women's Media Network facsimiles to share any relevant news
Pacific Commission/Pacific Women's (WOMENET), comprising among oth- and information that they have re-
Resource Bureau (SPC/PWRB)). New ers, those organizations which partici- ceived during the month. In turn, this
Caledonia; The Caribbean Associa- pated in the workshop. Other groups information will be shared through
tion for Feminist Research and Action who have been invited to the workshop each member's networks.
(C AFR A), Trinidad and Tobago; Tan- but were unable to attend have also Every six months, members will
zania Media Women's Association been asked to join W O M E N E T . For a accomplish a survey form indicating
( T A M W A ) , Tanzania; Sistren Thea- complete listing of member groups, how often they sent and received in-
tre Collective, Jamaica; Isis Interna- refer to pages 6-7. formation through W O M E N E T and
tional Manila, Philippines; Women's W O M E N E T has the capacity how they shared the information with
Feature Service (WFS), India; Inter- to distribute information across the their network.
national Women's Tribune Centre world through its member networks W O M E N E T hopes to become
(IWTC), U S A ; and Women and De- which cover nearly all parts of the an effective communications services
velopment Unit (WAND), University globe (See network map above). group to Third World women who
of the West Indies, Barbados. Through its wide network, it will help need access to information.

isle International Women In Action 1/92 5

WOMENET

Members of WOMEMET
1
Association of African Women FEMNET
for Research and Development Njoki Wainana
(AAWORD) Eddah Gachukla
Marie-Angelique Savanne P.O. Box 54562, Nairobi, Kenya
66 Bid de la Republique Fax: (254-2) 330-737
B.P. 11007 C D Annexe Tel.: (254-2) 744-977
Dakar, Senegal Telex: (254-2) 25130

Assoc. des Professonnelles de FEMPRESS

la Communication ( A P A C ) Alternative Women's M e d i a
Fatonmata Soiv Network
B.P. 4234, Dakar, Senegal Adriana Santa Cruz
Fax: (221)210-042 Viviana Erazo
Tel.: (221)210-815 Teresa Valdovinos
Casilla 16-637, Santiago 9, Chile
Asia and Pacific Development Fax: (562) 232-5000
Tel.: (562) 232-2577
Centre
(APDCAVomen's Programme)
Noeleen Heyzer Isis International M a n i l a
Rashidah Abdullah Elizabeth Reyes-Martinez
Yezv Bee Yee P.O. Box 1837
Pesiaran Duta, P.O. Box 12224 Quezon City M a i n
Kuala L u m p u r , Malaysia Philippines 1100
Fax; (603) 255-0316 Fax: (632) 99-05-07
Tel.: (603) 254-8088 Tel: (632) 99-32-92, 99-75-12

C a r i b b e a n A s s o c i a t i o n for Isis Internacional Santiago

Feminist Research and Action Isabel Duque
(CAFRA) Casilla Postal 2067
Roivena Kalloo Correo Central, Santiago, Chile
P.O. Box 442, Tunapuna Fax: (562) 383-142;
Trinidad a n d Tobago Tel.: (562) 334-562, 382-219
Fax:(809)663-6482 ' •
Tel.: (809)663-8670 Institute for Women's
Studies in the Arab World
Depthnews Women's (IWSA/BUC)
Features (DWF) Randa Aboul-Hosn
Julinda Abu-Nasr
Estrella Maniquis
Beirut University College
Press Foundation of A s i a
P.O. Box 135053,
P.O. Box 1843, Manila, Philippines
Beirut, Lebanon
Fax: (632) 522-43-65
Fax: (212) 870-2762 (New York)
Tel.: (632) 59-14-78
Tel.: (166-1) 811-968 (Beimt)

6 Isis IntcmationaJ Women In Action 1/92

International Women's Women and Development Unit, School of
Tribune Center (IWTC) Continuing Studies (WAND/DAWN)
Anne S. Walker Peggy Antrobus
Vicki J. Setnler Sandra Edwards
Alice Mastrangelo Nan Peacocke
777 United Nations Plaza Sheila Stuart
New York, N Y 10017 USA Kurlyne Alleyne
Fax: (212) 661-2704 Rosina Wiltshire '
Tel: (212) 687-8633/4/5 Brenda Thomas
Rhuan Smith
SISTERLINK University of the West Indies
YWCA of Australia Pinelands, St. Michael
Penny Underwood Barbados
121 Queen's Parade, Clifton Hill Fax: (809) 427-4397
Victoria 3068 Australia Tel: (809) 436-6312
Fax: (613) 482-3661 (YWCA)
Fax: (613) 482-4937 (Penny's) Women's Feature Service
Tel.: (613) 482-3899 (YWCA) Gouri Salvi
Anita Anand
49 Golf Links
South Pacific Commission/
New Delhi, India
Pacific Women's Resource
Fax: (911-1) 462-6699
Bureau (SPOPWRB)
Tel.: (911-1)462-9886
Jill Emberson
B.P. D5, Noumea Cedex SISTREN Theatre Collective
Noumea, New Caledonia Hilary Nicholson
Fax: (687) 26-38-18 20 Kensington Crescent
Tel: (687) 26-20-00 Kingston 5, Jamaica
Fax: (809) 926-6990
Tanzania Media Women's Tel: (809) 929-2457, 929-6171
Association (TAMWA)
Pili Mtambalike Joan Ross-Frankson
Maria Shaba DAWN Consultant
P.O. Box 6143 21 Windsor Avenue
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Kingston 5, Jamaica
Fax: (255) 512-9347 Fax: (809) 926-6990
Tel.: (255) 29089, (255) 32181 Tel: (809) 927-8701 3-

lele International Women In Action 1/92 7

WOMENET

St. MichaaJ, Barbados

Media workshop participants in action
(Leftphoto): Anne Walker, IWTCdirector, explains
her visual presentation during the women and envi-
ronment workshop.

(Middle left photo): Rosina Wiltshire is guest speaker

of the women and environment workshop. (Middle
right photo): Margaret Walker and Jill Emberson
read Caribbean poetry during the evening withfriends
at the College.

(Above) Hilary, Isabel, Nan and Gouri sing their own composition during a pre-
workshop activity.

Peggy Antrobus, DAWN coordinator

Isis Internationai Women In Action 1/92

 Women and Feminism

Current PeveJopments in Feminism

by Nandlta Gandhi and Vasantha Kannablran

he definition of feminism raises suffer discrimination and oppression. movements of the past. Feminism
several questions. How open- Within revolutionary movements, stands for a total transformation of
ended should it be? What do women continue to face problems patriarchal relations and of society and
we exclude? What do we include? including overt violence. Their criti- not just equal rights or other bourgeois
How necessary is it to spread its ideol- cism and questioning of party struc- democratic rights. It marks a definite
ogy at this juncture? Feminism ture, organisation and functioning has shift in ideology from that of other
emerged as a reaction to certain as- also raised problems for them. It is this periods and movements, j ust as social-
pects ofparty politics (especially meth- experience of continuously being ism has a definite ideological charac-
ods of organisation, structure and hi- marginalised in mainstream politics ter and cannot loosely be applied to
erarchy within) and the bias in fellow that make women feel a continuous anyone like Z.A. Bhutto or Rajiv
workers' or comrades'attitudes. Since need for participating in feminist ac- Ghandi for instance, who may choose
these have undergone certain changes tivity and politics. Women feel it is to call themselves socialists. It might
as a result of the women's movement, necessary to continue to articulate this be more accurate to say that, in the
is it still necessary to earlier period,
define feminism and ^^^^^^^^^ individual
Us ideological con- women rather
tours? Would it not Feminism is an awareness of patriarchal control, ex- than the entire
be more appropriate movement
ploitation and oppression at the material and ideologi-
to take up the task of could be char-
restructuring social- cal levels, of women's labour, fertility and sexuality, in acterised as
ism which addresses the family, at the place of work and in society in general, feminist. If we
the very issues that and includes action by women and men to transform do not recog-
concern us so deeply society. nise and mark
- a vision of a new such a shift we
economic order, hu- could end up
man relations with na- going all the
ture, a classless society, etc.? Do we marginalisation and the bias we con- way back to the Prophet Muhammad,
feel the need for feminism merely front, in common with other women who made some very radical changes,
because women are biologically dif- who are not politically active. There is giving women the right to inheritance
ferent and so need a separate ideol- a continued need also to articulate our and education, in addition to introduc-
ogy? Given a background in Left poli- problems, name them and develop our ing progressive reforms. Many move-
tics and some experience in working theory, because experience which is ments for change in society have had a
with Left organisations, a good ap- not theorised is often lost. This attempt component addressing women's needs
proach would be to work towards theo- is subtly undermined both within and but they cannot be called feminist. For
retical clarifications that would enrich outside the movements as no longer example, the Mother's Front in Sri
socialism instead. While Marx thought being necessary. It is in this context Lanka, now extinct, was basically a
of his work as an exploration, that that we need to clarify our own per- welfare group, not feminist at all.
spirit of openness has been lost in the spective and work out the possibilities The opposing viewpoint was
course of practice. Mao articulated the and linkages that are emerging through that one cannot date feminism any
role of the peasantry and raised the the women's movement. more than one can date socialism.
question of women. Yet today there ...Anotherissue was: would we Marx, as we know, drew from the
remain large gaps in both the theory use feminism as a term to describe Utopian Socialists before him. With-
and practice of Left movements on the other movements for women's rights out getting involved in questions of
question of peasants, dalits, women in the 19th and 20th centuries? Would methodology, we can say that femi-
and ecology. These inadequacies are we differentiate between a feminist nism, the word and concept, comes
evident from the fact that even in movement and a women's movement? from a long tradition spread over sev-
socialist countries where women have One opinion was that we cannot use eral different epochs in history. We
made progress on all fronts, they still modem definitions to understand can see the struggle in the late 19th and

lets International Women In Action 1/92 9

Women and Feminism

early 20th centuries as one mainly see women activists, their lives, their Note: This article and the following
concerned with equal rights for women. travelling and networking have a fa- one were taken from the nine day
Although control over one's body and miliar ring. Or there are actions, so workshop attended by 23 women from
fertility is considered one of the key bold and daring for their time that we Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri
demands of feminism, there was no might want to call them feminist. What Lanka in 1989. The two reports were a
demand for contraception in India be- is important, however, is that definite result of the debates on critical issues
cause there was no material basis for ideological shifts were made from time beingfaced by women in South Asia. It
it, though some individuals might have to time. Today we emphasise the focuses on current trends in feminism
propagated it. Therefore, even tlie defi- struggle against patriarchy and capi- and the women's movement.
nition of feminism changes with what talism; this does not mean that all
is historically possible. groups are waging anti-patriarchal/
Our definition of socialist femi- capitalist struggles but that there is a
nism applies to the present period and movement towards it. In Pakistan, Source: Pressing Against the Bounda-
cannot be used for earlier periods. Our women are campaigning against their ries, Draft Report of an FAO-FFHO
feminist tradition and history give us personal laws and going to vote against AD South Asian Workshop on Women
a sense of strength and continuity, so the wishes of their men There is a and Development, pp. 12-14. Free-
that feminism can also be used gener- consistent effort in the development of dom from Hunger Campaign/Action
ally to describe different movements feminist theory towards an interna- for Development F.A.O., 55 Max
which took up the rights and issues of tional perspective which takes into Mueller Marg, New Delhi -110 003,
women. If we go into history, we will account the processes of imperialism. India.

Feminism, Women's Movements

and Mass Movements
by GaiJ Omvcdt

n taking "mass movements" rion, the women's movement would

and "autonomous women's indeed seem to be of secondary status,
groups'' as the two main forms for it is clear that women do not come
in which women's action can be seen, out in huge numbers in response to
these can be viewed as almost polar calls by feminist leaders; rather there
opposites. Further, feminists whose is much more massive and enthusias-
main experience was in small groups tic participation by women themselves
and have gone through the process of in mobilisation by class or caste-based
working with Left parties and organi- organizations or those taking up the
zations, have often seen mass move- nationality question. Mobilisation
ments as inherently inimical to the even on clearly reactionary appeals to
values of feminism. religious identities has also outstripped
In conventional terms, it has to in South Asia do, of mass movements that by women's organisations, while
be said that, at the very least, mass as strikes, rallies, demonstrations in even on''women's issues'' mass calls
movements seem to work on a differ- the streets, roads or government of- seem to have to be done on the fronts
ent level than the new' 'feminist move- fices, involving thousands or hundreds with more "general issue" mass or-
ment' ' - if we have the image that most of thousands. Judging by this crite- ganisations or party wings. This seems

10 Isis \nternat\ona[ Women In Action 1/92

 Women and Femlniem

to yield a general situation that while emerge when looking at the actual issues'', and women's involvement in
women's oppression is now almost processes of mass movements. We movements taking up such issues ex-
universally admitted and the new wom- could begin by questioning the very presses their very basic concerns.
en's movement has gained a good deal definition/ conceptualization of' 'mass What about the objection that
of social prestige, feminist organisa- movements'' - which need not simply the "actually existing mass move-
tions and activists seem to have very mean a one-time huge mobilisation at ments' ' have often simply used women
little "movement power" the call of a leader or organisation, but as participants and then moved to-
As a result, the relationship of also, for instance, large-scale coordi- wards restoration of patriarchal con-
feminist activists andmass movements nated actions held in widely dispersed trol when the need has passed? While
or party leaders may be a tense one. On places over a large geographical area, we do see, historically and today, such
the one hand, leaders of party and mass organised under the auspices of fronts processes taking place, it is also con-
organisations feel free to dismiss the including quite diverse organisations. nected with the fact that all kinds of
women's movement and feminist ac-
tivists as insignificant and ineffective
- when tliey do not go farther and
describe Uiem as the bearers of an alien
"bourgeois" ideology floating on the
wings of foreign funding. On the
other, some feminists reject mass
movements as wholesale, viewing lead- •A ^i

ership and structure themselves as too

patriarchal and anti-democratic to be
of use on women's issues. "Mass
mobilisation" (in response to a call
given by a leader or a large organisa-
tion) is posed against "self-mobilisa-
tion' ' (undertaken by a small group on
its own initiative); "collectivity/de-
and with local initiative providing the
mocracy" is posed against "hierar- control - imperialist, capitalist,
main infrastructure. "Mass move-
chy/bureaucracy' ', and parties, organi- brjilimanic - tend to get reasserted,
ments" might also mean innumerable
sations and mass leaders are accused often in new forms, once the course of
local actions guided by a common
o f ' 'using women'' for their other pri- a movement or revolt has been run.
understanding. It should also not be
orities.
forgoUen that the one-time' 'big'' rally Further, the tendency to evaluate a
Both responses seem inad- or demonstration is i n v a r i a b l y mass organisation or mass campaign
equate, it has been argued. The fact is preceededby numerous "small" meet- in terms of whetlier tlie party or indi-
that in spite of the seeming lack of ings, discussions, camps, training ses- vidual leading i s ' 'using women" is in
' 'mass'' mobilisation by purely women sions. Far from "mass mobilisation" fact analysing the movement in terms
on women's issues, ilie women's move- being a contrast to "self-mobilisa- of the subjective intentions of leader-
ment is still felt to be a force in contem- tion", it seems to presuppose it, in the ship; put more polemically, it is to look
porary South Asian societies; femi- sense that involvement always ex- at the movement tJirough male eyes.
nism continues to be a spectre haunt- presses some inherent needs, and in Instead of looking at the masses of
ing both conservatives and the tradi- the process, people leave their stamp women as if they were simply helpless
tional Ixft. How can we understand on both leaders and organisational sheep herded into a pen, it is important
this? In fact it is argued that to do so we structures. Similarly, it is difficult if to understand their reasons for joining
liave to transcend the rigid polarisations not impossible to separate "purely the agitation and to ask the question:
of autonomous collectives/controlled women's issues" from others: in a what kinds of long-term and short-
mass movements; mass mobilisation/ very real sense imperialism, environ- term openings does this provide for a
self-mobilisation; women's issues/gen- mental degradation, the lack of basic mass feminism move forward?
eral issues. needs such as water and housing, caste While these becomequitecom-
There are several points that oppression, etc. are also "women's plex issues, we can make a beginning

Isis I n t e r n a t i o n a ] Women In Action 1/92

11
Womffn and Feminism

in dealing with them by noting the suming the need for special protection tion. It is a striking fact that in the last
obstacles to increasing women's par- implies the weakness of women and decade in India, at least, some of the
ticipation in mass movements. There provides justification for their down- most fundamental issues striking at
is first the fact that any massive and grading by nude activists. Another strat- the heart of patriarchy seem to have
sustained participation by women in egy would be the activating of a sepa- been raised by mass organisations.
socio-political movements involves a rate women's wing which may, by ...Can we speak of a new "ep-
challenge to the "public/private" dis- making an organisational separation och of feminism" which holds the
tinction so crucial to almost all struc- b<^ween male and female activists - be promise not only of confronting patri-
tures of patriarchy. Women have to used to avoid some of the problems of archy in fundamental ways but also of
break the traditional notion that " a this type. Or, women in public life may transforming - or being a central part
woman's place is in the home" when
they do participate, particularly when
they move to decision-making and
leadership levels.
Second, there are more "mate-
r i a l " factors involved: the burdens of
domestic work and childcare which
put constraints on the ability of women
to move out of the house, and which
require some socially institutionalised
solutions (including the involvement
of men in such activities) if participa-
tion is to continue. Perhaps even more
sensitive, though, is the whole issue of
sexuality and male control. Though it
has been little discussed publicly within
the movement, this has affected women seek to protect themselves through an of the process of transforming - so-
in all kinds of mass movements. Mov- inversion of the ideal that the "per- cialist and liberation movements them-
ing out of the house and coming into sonal is political'', asserting their right selves?
interaction with the men inevitably to have their private lives kept out of Can the traditions and experi-
raises doubts about the woman's public purview. (This in fact is the ences of South Asian feminism also be
"chastity" and loyalty. In fact there is most challenging to traditional patri- a vital resource in other parts of the
more than simple suspicion at stake archal evaluations of the character of world?
here: sexual or other personal needs do
women.) Can the gloom which some-
not get expressed in the formation of
But the fact is, that the dynam- times settles on us, the feeling of ex-
new relationships in the process of
ics of women's mass participation haustion and wasted effort, of having
movement involvement. Sexual slan-
brings them into confrontation with to confront too many personal level
dering and in some cases more direct
various aspects of patriarchal control obstacles and powerful political reac-
physical suppression are used against
and thus, as noted further, must either tionary forces be changed into some
women in almost every form of public
lead to moving further or to a slacken- confidence in our own power to face
life.
ing of participation itself. the future?
There have been different ways " M o v i n g further" involves
of dealing with this issue. More tradi- several things. One is the degree to
tionally, organisational assurances that which mass organisations themselves Source: Excerptfrom Pressing Against
"our women are chaste" or that the take up what we may call "women- the Boundaries, pp. 20-23. Draft Re-
organisation provides them with pro- specific" issues. This has been hap- port ofan FAO-FFHC/AD South Asian
tection are used - this is a correlate of pening increasingly and it is linked to Workshop on Women and Develop-
the special care that women activists in the process in which the women's ment, pp. 20-23. Freedom from Hun-
mass movements often get, but it in- movement as a whole is moving to- ger Campaign/A ctionfor Development
volves at least some reaffirmation of wards taking up more and more funda- F.A.O., 55 Max Mueller Marg, New
the traditional ideal woman, and as- mental issues of women's exploita- Delhi-110 003, India..

leie International Women In Action 1/92

 Women and Feminism

Asian Tradition of Feminist Activism

by KamJa Bhasin and Nlghat Said Khan

he booklet. Feminism in South feminine passivity and prudery to give The Link to Europe
Asia, wasfirstpublishedin 1986 expression to their individuality as
with two subsequent printings women. Sugala foughtKing Parakrama European imperialism directly
in 1987 and 1988, by Kali for Women. Bahu I in defence of her kingdom, linked the European capitalist system
It is an attempt to respond to questions while Gajaman Nona wrote poetry, to those countries that were colonized
and doubts raised on feminism. The some of which are considered by men and brought about major changes in
following excerpt from the booklet to be too ribald for a woman. them. These changes were not only
focuses on the early activism of our political and administrative but also
South Asian sisters and their male Male Counterparts fundamental to existing economic and
counterparts. They continue to serve social systems, in that they fundamen-
as an inspiration in our continuing Many of the earliest agitators tally altered the lives of the colonized
struggle for women's rights and em- for women's emancipation in the East peoples. Women were equally affected
powerment. were men. In China, for example, Kang by all these changes. The policies and
Yu-Wei attacked footbinding and practices of the colonialists made the
18th Century Women Activists women's subordination:" I now have position of women even worse than
a task: to cry out the natural grievances what it used to be.
There were many women ac- of the incalculable number of women As in Europe, in South Asia
tivists in Asia in the 18th century. of the past. I now have one great women of the bourgeoisie were kept in
Some of the lesser known early agita- desire: to save eight hundred million the home but were given some educa-
tors on women's rights were Pandita women of my own time from drown- tion and a few basicrights.But inspite
Ramabai (1858-1922) of India, who ing in the sea of suffering. I now have of these, basic laws were patriarchal
attacked Hindu religious orthodoxy a great longing: to bring the incalcula- with the man as the undisputed head of
and spoke up for women's freedom as ble, inconceivable numbers of women the family.
early as the 1880s and who herself led of the future the happiness of equality Thus with the growth and de-
an independent life; Kartini (1879- and of independence." velopment of capitalism both in Eu-
1904), a pioneer of women's educa- In Egypt Ahmed Fares E l rope and in the colonies, patriarchal
tion and emancipation in Indonesia, Shidyak in 1855 wrote a book (One structures were strengthened. Women
who defied tradition to start a girl's Leg Crossed Over the Other) sup- lost their earlier rights in household
school; Qurrat ul Ayn (1815-51) of porting women's emancipation, and production and were exploited in the
Iran, a Babi heretic who abandoned Kasim Amin, around the same time field and factory, or confined to the
her family, gave up veiled seclusion, created a sensation with his book, The home.
preached unveiled in public, and died New Woman. In all spheres, the culture of
fighting on the battlefield; Jiu Jin of In Iran several male intellectu- capitalism initiated in the 19th century
China (1875-1907) who left home to als of the 1880s and the 1890s took up by colonialists reinforced and estab-
study in Tokyo and to involve herself the issue of women'srights,opposing lished patriarchy and patriarchal so-
in revolutionary politics and women's polygamy and the seclusion of women; cioeconomic values more firmly.
issues. Jiu Jin was arrested for these while in India, from the time of Ram
activities and executed. It was she who Mohun Roy who agitated against sati
said,' The revolution will have to start and women's enslavement, numerous
in our homes, by achieving equal rights social and political reformers have Original source: "Feminism is Rel-
for women." raised the issue, including famous evant" by the Feminist Study Circle in
Sugala (from the Mahavamsa) names like Vidyasagar, Gandhi, Colombo.
and Gajaman Nona are two Sri Lankan Ramakrishna, Rabindranatb Tagore, Our Source: "Feminism in South
women who defied the stereotype of Nehru, and Syed Ahmed. - Asia." India: Kali for Women. 1986.

Isig International Women In Action 1/92 13

^omen and Feminiem

The PoJitics of Language:

"Feminism" in Eastern Europe
by Lisa MuJhoJJand

treated as social equals, women car-

•iAJI ^^^^ ried the double burden of outside job

and household maintenance. They of-
ten mistrusted state provided childcare
and resented demands on their time for
• a..
mandatory attendance at party meet-
ings and holiday celebrations.
I Pi/ Given present opportunities, the
pendulum has swung far to the right.
Private enterprise, imported goods on
store shelves, and tourism are on the
rise, as are skinheads, racism, and

z
threats to legal abortion. Women are
expressing hopes to return to roles
labelled "traditional," caring for the
home, and their families.
When asked about their dreams

I n Eastern Europe, "feminism"

is a dirty word. The same holds
for their daughters, many of the 110
Czech women questioned in a recent Alena Kratka, a young, highly
titie for other words like "eman- survey responded tiiat they are looking educated English teacher in Prague
cipation," "equal rights for women," forwaid to sons-in-law with well-pay- explains her distaste for the term. "I
and "women's liberation." Under com- ing jobs or other circumstances that don't like the word 'feminism' myself.
munist regimes of the past, "emanci- will allow their daughters to stay at It reminds me of the Czechoslovak
pation" was imposed on women and home more than they were able to do. Union of Women. It was a really for-
given as the reason forrequiring women One architectural engineer named mal group. The women in this horrible
to leave their homes to become part of Lenka had this to say, "The girls should institution were gung-ho communists
the labor force. [put aside] their emancipation, which who were supposed to represent the
As a result, the newly demo- they have learned in socialism. They working women of Czechoslovakia.
cratic nations like Czechoslovakia and should learn the woman's role in the They had funny congresses and funny
Hungary are experiencing a backlash family, which was suppressed by so- meetings to solve pseudo problems, it
against feminist ideas. cialism." was all in theory. They just talked
Theanalogy of apendulum used Although a number of women about it. The institution was purely
for other political and social trends in hold beliefs which are encompassed in women and showed that women had
the region also works with this issue. the spectrum of feminist thought-equal the right to talk about problems in
In the past 50 years, the pendulum was access toeducation, freedom to choose public, but it was very superficial, no
held artificially to the left. Pictured as a career, abortion on demand, etc., depth. In the past, equality was not that
happy workers, contented to leave even many of these women would not a woman could become a head of a
children with equally happy grand- claim to be "feminists." school, but that she could drive a trac-
mothers or in provided childcare, Klara Sankova, a representa- tor or operate a crane."
women were visible in unrepresenta- tive to the Czech and Slovak Federal
tive but recognizable numbers in the Assembly, is one example. Elected on
political and public social arena and a platform of rights for minorities, she Source: Ojf our backs, July 1991,
the charters of most governments pro- refuses the title of feminist, saying, "I page 10. 2423 18th NW, 2nd floor,
vided equality under the law. am for all minorities in our democ- Washington, DC 20009, USA.
The result was not so rosy. Not racy, not just one." Tel.: (202) 234-8072.

lele International Women In Action 1/92

14
 Women and Feminism

Yugoslav Feminists found Newspaper

by Natalie Nenandlc

ARETA is the first independ- The first issue included: a re- to insisting on the right to abortion,
K ent, nonpolitically affiliated
feminist newspaper in Yugo-
print of an anti-war article first pub-
lished in 1917 in the Zagreb feminist
KARETA is placing pressure on the
new government to invest in contra-
slavia. It is a quarterly which comes periodical "Women's World," a call ception and to politicize rape and in-
out of Zagreb, the capital of the west- for an anti-war demonstration, a report cest.
em republic of Croatia. It was named on the first Parliament of the Women KARETA is also politicizing
under the title of a poem by the late of Croatia, which was in part organ- pornography and increasing violence
Croatian feminist poet Yelena against women and will print in-
Zuppa. formation and evidence of women
The radical feminist group being coerced into pornography.
KARETA was formed in the KARETA is also encouraging
spring of 1990 in the aftermath of Che formation of feminist institu-
democratic elections in Croatia tions, such as rape crisis centers
and Slovenia when it became clear (Zagreb already has a battered
that it would no longer be illegal women's hotline number in effect
to form a feminist newspaper for over three years), feminist
outside the institution of the state. bookstores, feminist historical
The group received a small startup archives, women's presses, and
grant from The Global Fund for feminist studies programs by
Women. printing articles about such insti-
KARETA is run by a col- tutions abroad.
lective which includes poets, jour- In addition to coming out with
nahsts, sociologists, ethnologists, a feminist newspaper, KARETA
and economists-lesbian and het- is trying to raise money to form a
erosexual. In Slovenia there is badly needed feminist library/
also a recently formed feminist reading room so that scarce re-
group called Lilit and a lesbian sources can be shared. The group
and gay newspaper called Re- would like to request the interna-
volver. tional feminist community to as-
As thefirstfeminist news- sist them in their library/reading
paper in Yugoslavia, KARETA is room project by donating new
directed toward all women who and used books, pamphlets, pho-
want to engage in feminist dis- tocopies, journals, newspapers
cussions about women's new po- and advice on how to run the
litical status. Its aims are to raise library.
women's consciousness and to This article was compiled by
stimulate further development of Ihe KARETA collective-Asja
feminism by politicizing women's ized by KARETA, an article on how Armanda, Katarina Vidovic, Durda
lives. K A R E TA covers discussions on the economy excludes women, an ar- Miklauzic, Katja Gattin and Zorica
issues such as male violence against ticle on women's legal status, adver- Spoljar.
women, women's legal status, sexual tisements for donations for the SOS For more information, write:
violence, women's reproductive rights, battered women's shelter, feminist KARETA, 44 Zagorska,41000Zagreb,
pornography, rape, prostitution, and poetry and interviews with feminist Yugoslavia.
women's work status. filmmakers, news from international
K A R E T A prints interviews feminism, and feminist studies at
with international feminists and re- Stanford. Source: Off our backs, July 1991,
views of feminist texts in order to KARETA's next issues will page 10. 2423 18th St, NW, 2nd
encourage publishers to translate for- cover major themes of abortion, por- floor, WashingtonD.C. 20009, USA.
eign feminist literature. nography and prostitution. In addition Tel. (202) 234-8072.

\9\9 International Women In Action 1/92

15
Empowered Women

For Women—and RevoJution!

by Barbara Rogers

ntemational Women'sDay was hours in dangerous and unhealthy con- Women's Day rally was held in Rus-
I formalised as an annual event
by the United Nations General
ditions. March 8th was proposed as
the landmark when a march was held
sia's main industrial city, Petersburg.
The marchers, also comprising mainly
Assembly, which fixed 8th March as in New York on that day in 1908 to women from the clothing industry,
the date during its 1977 session. Since commemorate the struggle for im- faced severe poUce brutality. The event
then the idea has been taken up by proved conditions by a group of cloth- established International Women's
women's organisations, trade unions ing workers - and their hunger march Day as the Russian "working wom-
and local authorities in Britian as an the previous year calling for better en's day of militancy" and the event
event around which women's activi- wages and a ten-hour day, which had has become a standard part of the
ties can focus. It can easily go beyond been attacked by the city police. Soviet Union's official secular calen-
the idea of a single day, and sometimes Two years later the Second dar - although now sentimentalised
lasts for a week or even a fortnight. Socialist Women's International Con- into a kind of Soviet Mother's Day
The idea of an annual day for ference, held in Copenhagen with del- complete with soppy cards, bunches of
women has been around long before egates from 17 countries, adopted a flowers (at inflated freemarket prices)
1977. International Women's Day has resolution calling for "an annual and acouple of hours off for all women
had its moments of glory both in sup- Women's Day - a unified interna- on that day. A few hours to compen-
port of women's rights and in the tional demonstration" to be celebrated sate for a double or triple shift and the
peace movement. The most dramatic by women all over the world in the ravages of a long, cold winter. Big
was a 1917 Women's Day march in movement for women's rights, peace deal.
Petersburg which sparked the revolu- and freedom. This was celebrated for As the First World War loomed
tion overthrowing the Russian Em- the first time in 1911 in Germany, in 1914 International Women's Day
pire' s semi-feudal and autocratic mon- Denmark, Switzerland and Austria - became an anti-war event. Peace be-
archy. with another in the US a month earlier. came a major theme of the day in the
In Britian as in many other coun- Rallies and demonstrations involving US for the duration of the war. Mean-
tries. International Women's Day was an estimated one million women and while back in Petrograd, on 23 Febru-
long associated with the trade unions men demanded the right to vote and to ary (the equivalent of 8th March in the
and the left in general - and it in fact hold public office, and an end to sex old Julian calendar, later abandoned
originates in trade union organising by discrimination in employment and for the western or Georgian one) it was
working women, especially those in training. the large demonstration celebrating
the sweatshops of the clothing indus- Two years later, with more Women's Day that led to ariot- and to
try, who were doing extremely long countries joining in the event, the first the February Revolution which estab-

Trade Union Congress

Isis International Women In Action 1/92

16
 Empowered Women

lished the Provisional Government

under Kerensky. This lasted only a few
months, trying to continue fighting the
war against the Germans against all
odds, until the Bolshevik coup d'etat
in October.
In Britain it was only in 1926 - Women in Development
the year of the General Strike - that
International Women's Day was taken
up. This was done by an interesting
Europe Working Group prepares for
alliance of the (then) very important 1995 UN Conference on Women
Co-operative Women's Guild and the
Communist Party. From then on until
the end of the Second Worid War, 8th
March was a regular event for express-
reparations are now beginning planning, women in urban areas,
ing opposition to fascism in Britain
for a UN conference on women population, and nutrition, health fac-
and Europe.
to be held in 1995. Women in tors, migration, drug consumption
Perhaps because of this anti- and AIDS, peace, women and the
Development Europe (WIDE) has de-
fascist (and left-wing) association, the peace process, measures to eradicate
cided to begin preparing for this event
event was dropped at the end of the war violence against women, women in
by assessing the achievements/failures
in Britain and many other countries. It international decision-making, and
of the Nairobi Forward Looking Strat-
was revived in the late 1960s by the education for peace.
egies. WIDE is also planning to be
new women's liberation movement.
involved in the early discussions about
In 1971 a demonstration of 5,0(X)
women in London demanded equal the agenda of the Conference by ap- Contact addresses
pay, equal opportunity, free 24-hour plying for official UN observer status.
childcare, free contraception and abor- Pauline Eccles, Mieke van der Focal points for United Na-
tion on demand. The event has grown Veken and Anna Foca will make up tions agencies who are preparing the
since then in a completely unsouc- the core working group which will meeting are:
tured kind of way - there is no co- prepare a discussion paper assessing
the Forward Looking Strategies (FLS) • Division for the Advancement
ordinating body, for instance - because
for broader discussion among WIDE of Women, Vienna
it provides a convenient date around
which women can organise if we want network. International Centre
to. This is why some parts of the coun- At present the group is collect- P.O. Box 500 A-1400
try have well-organised and very lively ing information and responding to a Vienna, Austria
events, while others may not have paper sent to the group by Erika Maerke
anything. Most trade unions organise on the FLS. • International Research Training
something, and the Women's Trade Institute for the Advancement
Union Congress takes place around Possible themes of Women (Instraw)
this time. Local authorities are the Avenida Cesar Nicolas
other source of events. The UN division for the Ad- Penson 102-A
vancement of Women in Vienna re- P.O. Box 21747
International Women's Day has Santo Domingo,
ports that the priority themes for the
taken its place, along with Feminist Dominican Republic
meeting are: equality, increased aware-
Book Fortnight in June, as one of the
ness by women of theirrightsinclud-
twokey dates for women'sevents. Itis
ing legal literacy, equal pay for equal
Women's Day which offers perhaps
value, equality in economic decision-
the widest range of activities, and the
possibility of reflecting on the original making, elimination of stereotyping Source: WIDE Bulletin, August
- and not yet achieved - goals of the of women, development, women in 1991:2. c/oSID, Palazzo Civiltadel
women who started it all: women's extreme poverty, integration of wom- Lavaro 00144 EUR Rome, Italy.
rights, and peace and freedom for all. en's concerns in national development Fax: 39/6/5919836.

Source: Everywoman
March 1991.34 Islington Green, Lon-
don, Nl 8DU United Kingdom.

Isle International Women In Action 1/92

17
Women's Agenda

1992 Calendar. Dates to Remember

F e b r u a r y 15 Self Defense Day
March 3 Girls'Day, Japan
March 8 International Women's
- • • Day
April 7 World Health Day
A p r i l 22 Earth Day
Mayl International Day of
Workers'Solidarity
M a y 24 International Women's
Day of Disarmament
M a y 28 International Day of
Action forWomen's Health
M a y 31 World No Tobacco Day
June 5 World Environment Day
J u n e 16 International Day of
Solidarity with the
Struggling People of South
Africa
August 9 South African Women's
Day
September 8 International Literacy Day
September 14 Women's Image in Media
Day
September 20 International Day of Peace
September 28 International Abortion
Rights Day
October 16 World Food Day
November 25 Day of NO Violence
Against Women
November 29 International Day of
Solidarity with the
--
Palestinian People
December 1 World AIDS Day
December 10 Human Rights Day

leie international Women In Action 1/92

13
 Soiidarity Meeea^e

What all the women of the world did say and

would have said at the Earth Summit,

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

1-12 June 1992

Isis International Women In Action 1/92

19
Women and Health

Women and FamiJy F\ar\n'm^ in \ndonee\a:

Whara are the VJomen'e Volcee?

by EJIzabeth Thomas

n 1989 President Suharto of However, no such posters or signs are at the government health clinics are
I Indonesia received tlie United to be found on university campuses or supposed to keep track of the number
Nations Population Award. In- in middle or upperclass neighborhoods. of families, the number of children in
deed, Indonesia's family planning pro- The K B program in Indonesia each family, and the method of contra-
gram is frequently acclaimed by de- is run jointly by the Department of ception used by each woman. Each
velopment agencies and international Health and the Badan Koordinasi person who accepts K B is given a
organizations as a program which is K e l u a r g a Berencana Nasional kartu merah. a red card stating what
successfully lowering population ( B K K B N ) , the National Coordinating type of contraception the woman is
growth. With the fifth largest popula- Board for Family Planning. The De- using. This card must be regularly
tion in the world- 180 million - a partment of Healtli has national, dis- presented in bureaucratic dealings,
successful family planning program is trict and sub-district levels; the B K K B N even if they have nothing to do with
one of the major factors motivating composes an extensive, centralized family planning.
international lending agencies to give reporting structure. For both organiza- Not only are there target num-
development loans and aid to Indone- tions, all policy decisions are made in bers for acceptors of K B , but the meth-
sia. Jakarta and representation is made at ods of contraception are also targetted.
The voices which are left un- the puskesmas, the government health These targets form an essential part of
heard in this exchange between tlie clinics. Puskesmas are likely to be the the program because health care work-
Indonesian State, the United Nations, cheapest and often tlie only source of ers will persuade women to use the
and international lending agencies, are western medical facilities for women, targetted methods in order to fulfill
those of the women to whom tliis issue so it is significant that the state chooses requirements issued from Jakarta. The
most pertains. Women whose bodies tliese as the place from which to run the
methodsof contraception most strongly
K B program.
and lives are controlled by contracep- encouraged by the B K K B N are lUDs,
tive technologies and government poli- Each puskesmas in a given dis- D e p o V e r a injections and tubal
cies receive little information and are trict is seta target figure by the B K K B N ligations, methods in which the woman
not given any voice in decision mak- office in Jakarta. This target figure for has little direct control. Vasectomies
ing. people who accept K B is determined are not targetted and are rare; also
Family planning is a big issue from ideal population percentages pro- extremely rare is the use of condoms.
for the government of Indonesia, par- vided by the United Nations. Workers While there are no legal penal-
ticularly when it comes to the lower ties for having more than two children,
classes. A jeepney ride down a main government employees, for example,
road reveals this; each tree bears a cannot receive state assistance for a
symbol showing tlie blue circle with third child. (In Indonesia where many
the letters K B , short for Keluarga industries are state-owned, and the
Berencana, meaning family planning. majority of universities and schools
The circle can be seen painted on are state-run, most professionals are
curbsides or stencilled onto trash cans state employees.) B K K B N employees
in front of every home. cannot receive raises or promotions if
In villages, low walls are built they have more than two children.
in front of homes. They bear the pic- They must also use targetted methods
ture of a hand with two fingers raised, of contraception. However, a wom-
beneath them the slogan Dua Anak an's choice to have only one child or
Cukup (Two children is enough), then none at all is not given recognition.
the Indonesian state symbol. At sugar Indeed, if a woman requests steriliza-
factories and cigarette production lines tion, her age multiplied by the number
signs and posters extol the virtues of of children she has must come to a
small families and family planning. figure over 100 for the request to be

20 Isis International Women In Action 1/92

 Women and Health

granted. Women cannot obtain family

planning without the consent of their
husbands and chere is no access to
family planning before marriage. Abor-
tion is illegal unless one doctor and
two specialists believe it to be neces-
sary for the health of the mother.
The puskesmas reach into the
community through kader, local
women volunteers who recruit women Family Planning Health Clinic in Indonesia.
and check up on their contraceptive
use. In a clinic that 1 visited, the kader emment is making strides in control- are often done in unhygienic and
were more conservative M u s l i m ling population growth, it seems to be rushed conditions and, more fright-
women than the general community; doing so at a cost. There is a general eningly, no one has been trained to
one was the wife of the village head- lack of consideration for the women take them out.' 'Up until now, health
man. In chis way the K B program takes involved in these policies. Information worker training has focused almost
advantage of an existing power struc- is hard to come by, statistics kept by entirely on insertion rather than re-
ture to encourage people to become workers at the puskesmas and used in moval, the latter being far more dif-
acceptors. This has been documented calculating targets are precarious to say ficult. As the original acceptors near
in an article in the Far Eastern Eco- the least, and there seems to be little or the end of the five-year cycle, this is
nomic Review. Here, what they call
no feedback between community work- becoming critical." (PEER, p.49)
"safaris" were described in the outer
ers who deal directly with the women, From the evidence I witnessed
island areas of Indonesia. These are
those who make the policies, and the during my stay in Indonesia, it seems
' 'intensive efforts to meet fixed targets
international organizations that set the that before holding up these family
of new acceptors.... A team of govern-
initial target figures. Minimal consid- planning policies as an example for
ment health workers ~ accompanied
eration has been given to counselling other developing countries, the loop-
by local Muslim leaders, teachers, and
women, offering alternative methods holes and failings of the system, par-
military personnel - descend on a
should a particular type of contracep- ticularly regarding women's rights,
village and gather all the women to-
tive not suit her, or warning her about should first be seriously addressed.
gether for a lecture on the benefits of
the side effects certain methods may
contraception. By the end of the day,
have.
they recruit anywhere from ten to hun-
Another question that needs at-
dreds of women to adopt lUDs, pills or
tention is the use of Norplant (hormone About the author: Elizabeth Thomas,
other methods. Individual counselling
implants) in Indonesia. According to an North American, served a six-week
and information on side effects tends
article in the Far Eastern Economic internship program with Isis Interna-
to be minimal on these occasions."
(PEER. 18 April 1991, p. 48). The Review, "From 1987 to 1990 more tional Manila from January to Feb-
article goes on to say that international than 886,000 women in 27 provinces in ruary 1992.
agencies have discouraged the Indo- Indonesia received implants. To date, Prior to joining Isis, she was in
nesian government from using such the Indonesian government has pur- Malang, Indonesia for six months
tactics. Yet the persuasion of women chased some 75 percent of the supply.'' where she studied languages and
to use specific contraceptives still takes The Norplant treatment consists of sili- women's issues dealing with health
place in a social structure which denies cone and rubber capsules implanted care. Her article is based on her
the status of women, particularly those into the upper arms. These are intended research work.
of the lower class. to release a low dosage of progestin She will pursue her Master's degree
over a five-year period before being in International Relations at the
Although the Indonesian gov- removed. However, surgical insertions University of Chicago this fall.

lele international Women In Action 1/92 21

Women and Health

S>\r\qapore hosts \r\duetr\al\zat\on and

)Nomen^e Health Keqlonal Workshop
by Pomitiga Anosan and EJlz Reyes-Martinez

ifty participants, composed pri- harassment: its legal and political im-
marily of Singaporean women plications: and health hazards to women
from the Ministry of Labor, at work: the right to know.
Health and the academe attended the A wide range of issues was raised and
Industrialization and Women's Health discussed during the three-day confer-
Regional Workshop for A S E A N coun- ence. Some highlights from the presen-
tries held at the Amara Hotel in Singa- tations were:
pore last April 21 to 26,1992. Invited • With regard to the health
as resource speakers were health ex- implications of the changing roles of
perts from both government and non- women in industrialization, it was a
government organizations and the aca- general observation that the number of
deme in the A S E A N region. women in the labor force has increased.
This workshop brought to- It was also noted that women play twin
gether researchers in the field of wom- or triple roles as mother, homemaker
en's healtli and industrialization to and wage earner. Some questions raised
report their findings and to propose were: Does the entry of women in the
actions for the promotion and im- labor market bring about improvement
provement of women's health. Some in their health and welfare? And does
of tlie NGOs represented were Isis Isis presenter Doms Anosan women's participation in wage work in
International Manila, Solidaritas fact create more demands on their time
Perempuan (Women Solidarity) in Indonesia, A l l Women's and energies causing their health to
Action Society (AW A M ) in Malaysia and the Asia Monitor suffer?
Resource Center in Hong Kong. In her paper, Chung Yuen Kay states that "House-
The workshop was jointly organized by the Singa- work and childcare remain firmly entrenched as the concern
pore Council of Women's Organizations (SCWO) and and responsibility of women even when it has been del-
Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE). egated, because it is delegated to other women-these
It was tlie outcome of a resolution passed during the 4th women are usually mothers and other relatives and hired
General Assembly of the A S E A N Confederation of Wom- maids who are expatriates."
en's Organizations (ACWO) in January 1990 in Bangkok, In her conclusion, she says that real alternatives to
Thailand. This resolution called upon A S E A N women's solving problems on the sexual division of labor which
organizations to work together on environmental and occu- places household chore and childcare as the sole responsi-
pational hazards to women by coordinating research ef- bility of women will come about only when real gender-
forts, establishing contacts, sharing information and expe- related questions are raised with accompanying real shifts
riences and organizing a regional workshop. in perspectives on what constitutes work-in particular, the
Dominga Anosan, Isis International health network- work women do, which must include housework. Real
ing project associate, participated as a resource speaker and structural and attitudinal reorientations must be woriced out.
presented a paper on the conference topic: Medicine and At the everyday level, this wouldmean that shared parenting
society: health education andfacilitiesfor working women. and shared domestic management will have to become
The other three conference topics were: the health more of a reality than it presently is.
implications of the changing roles of women in industriali- • In the discussions on the effects of industrialization
zation; the effects of industrialization on reproduction; and on reproduction, Dr. David Koh in his paper on Reproduc-
the impact of industrial work regime on women's health. tive Toxicology says that "the study of the effects of
These were discussed through 26 paper presentations from environmental exposures on the reproductive system has
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and undergone rapid growth in the past few decades. Its devel-
Thailand. opment is due in part to several reasons, including 1) the
In addition, public forums were held on sexual recognition of numerous potential environmental toxins.

Isis International Women In Action 1/92

22
 Women and Health

many of which have been introduced through the process of facilities for working women, included the availability of
industrialization; 2) the progressiverisein the participation information about occupational hazards to women working
of women of reproductive age in the industrial work force; in industries; extent of affordable health care provided by
and 3) the increasing importance of reproduction in many industry, government and other organizations to factory
of the industrial countries which have declining birth rates. women; the percentage of working class women's income
Reproductive processes in both men and women may be available for her health over and above her subsistence
adversely affected by some environmental and occupa- needs and contributions to her family; medical care and
tional agents. All stages of reproduction are potentially at financial compensations provided by industry, government
risk. and other organizations in the event of industrial accidents.
Unfortunately, the extent of the problem of adverse Except for Singapore where health education and
reproductive outcomes from work exposure is presently health facilities are readily available to working women,
unknown. Much of the available information originate from majority of working women in the other ASEAN countries
laboratory studies on animals which may not always be experience a general dearth of all these health facilities and
extrapolated to humans. benefits. Among women in particular, middle class work-
In the final analysis, there is a need to balance the ing women are generally better informed and can afford
moral duty to protect the unborn from environmental and better health care than working class women who have to
workplace toxins, against the danger of exaggerating the work a "double day", bear and nurse children, earn a living
potential risks based on current information. and give medical priority to otlier family members.
• .Six papers were presented to discuss the impact of From the workshop discussions, it became evident
the industrial work regime on women's health which raised that researches and studies on the effects of industrializa-
a wide range of work related health issues such as the effects tion to women's health and reproduction were lacking. On
of shiftwork and visual display terminals (VDT) and other the positive side, the workshop became the venue for
types of emerging new technologies on women's health and Singaporean women to see the realities of working women
ergonomics and legislation for workers' protection. in the other ASEAN countries.
Ergonomics was defined by Halimathun Mohd Khalid Built into the conference schedule was a factory tour
as the study of human abilities and characteristics which which allowed participants to take a first hand look at an
affect the design of equipment, systems and jobs...and its actual work station.
aim is to improve ef- Future plans in-
ficiency, safety and clude holding an-
well being (Clark other regional
and Coriett 1984:2). workshop in
It is an approach of 19 94 .T he
taking into account Women and
workers in the design Health Commit-
and organization of tee in Singapore
things. Furthermore, will continue as
it is a listing of objec- the Secretariat
tives or criteria which for the next
includes jobs, sys- workshop. For
tems or products that more informa-
are comfortable, safe, tion about the
effective and satisfy- conference,
ing. write:AWARE,
• The issues 64 A / B Race
raised by the topic, Course Road,
Medicine and society: Singapore 0821.
health education and Conference participants
5
Iel6 International Women In Action 1/92 23
Women and Health

Brisbane, AustraJia: Woinan of Non EngJish Spaaking

Background (NESB) SpaakOut
A lthough Australia is classified as a developed coun-
try, and its population has a very high standard of
a greater outreach to women in isolated areas so that they
may be informed about such events as the Speakout. The
health, pockets of inequality still exist. Women of majority of women who attended the Speakout were attend-
non English speaking backgrounds (NESB) are doubly ing English classes or working at community centres and
disadvantaged because of their gender and ethnic back- appeared to be from relatively secure economic back-
ground. However, they have not remained a silent minor- grounds. One venue through which contact may be made
ity. Through activities such as the Speakout, they are being is through the Factory Project.
heard. Another way outreach work may be done is through
The Association of NESB Women in Queensland travelling vans with multilingual information and interpret-
held a Speakout on the 9th and 12th of October 1991. The ers who can visit isolated areas, shopping centres, and
Speakout aimed to give grassroots NESB women an oppor- schools with high percentages of N E S B women. Stalls
tunity to share their experiences, raise issues of concern, could be set up in shopping centres with needed information
provide ideas to the Association and produce recommenda- and multilingual posters could be put up in shops and
tions to the relevant government bodies. schools. Other strategies include holding workshops on
The major problems the women identified are those issues such as health, legal issues and domestic violence and
having to do with language difficulties, especially in rela- running talks and information sessions at community cen-
tion to health and legal services and information. English tres. More English classes should be held in the inner city
classes are often not suited to N E S B women. For example, and isolated areas, and questionnaires can be distributed to
some women are refugees who are traumatised and cannot appropriate services to better identify needs and resources.
relate to or learn within a formal education environment. In addition, women may lobby government for improved
Unemployment as the result of factors such as language services. This can be done through letter writing to news-
difficulties and racial discrimination is a great stress on papers, visiting local and state parliamentarians and gov-
these women. In addition, women identified problems with ernment officials and having stories run on current affairs
isolation due to inadequate public transport and lack of shows and in newspapers.
multilingual information on existing transport services.
Also, there is a lack of ethnic child care services and Source: Women's Health Centre do Indrani Ganguly,
information on the ones which are operating. Ph.D., project research officer. 165 Gregory Terrace Spring
Women at the Speakout made a number of sugges- Hill. P.O. Box 665 Spring Hill, Queensland, Australia,
tions for tackling these problems. First, there needs to be 1004.

Women and AID5

I eraldine Bailey, a Canadian feminist

working on women and health issues,
was guest speaker in a video film show-
ing and discussion at the WomanHealth office
in Manila last March 6, 1992. Isis International
Manila workers participated in the lively ex-
change which started with explaining what part
of the body you like and why, followed by
videos on rape and prostitution and the vulva,
and the main discussion on AIDS and safe sex
and the use of condoms. [J

24 lels International Women In Action 1/92

 Women Workere

Convention Frotecte Woman Migrant Workers

uring the 48th Session Com-

O
'
mission on Human Rights in
' Geneva, Switzerland held on 3
March 1992, the Third World Move-
ment Against the Exploitation of
Women brought to the attention of the
Commission the situation faced by
thousands of women migrant workers
in the world.
While the problems faced by
migrant women cannot be isolated
from the problems facing all migrant
workers, it is nevertheless true that
their situation is considerably harder
than that of men. Women migrant
workers are forced to live in more
inhuman conditions in which migrants
are generally forced to live in. To an
even greater degree than men, the
women are alienated, exploited and taught; and in the case of the Philippines, to debt
oppressed: • as women vulnerable to sexual abuse, servicing.
• as migrants sharing tlic conditions rape and violence. At the same time, the labor that
suffered by all migrant workers; Women migrant workers leave women migrant workers give in to
• as wives of migrant workers who their countries and traditional homes receiving countries, primarily the in-
have, in most cases, been obliged to primarily because of the unjust eco- dustrialized countries, are necessary
leave their homes and follow their nomic and political conditions in their for the functioning of these industrial-
husbands; own countries. These economic and ized countries. The women migrant
• as women workers, working for the poltical conditions are bred by the workers are received by these coun-
lowest wages in the hardest and most inequality of North and South interna- tries because of their countries' needs.
exhausting conditions, and subjected tional relations as well as by the inter- For example, there is a felt need in
to discrimination and pettiness of all national division of labor between the these industrialized and newly devel-
kinds; North and the South. Thus, women oped countries for domestic services.
• as foreign women who have to be the migrant workers, barely surviving in Moreover, the need for entertainment,
guardians and defenders of the tradi- their own countries, are forced to look rest and recreation and sexual pleas-
tions of their own countries while, at for opportunities for a better chance to ures of the industrial men and techno-
the same time, going through the cul- live primarily for their families and for crats have become more prevalent in
tural shock of adapting to new ways of themselves. these countries, particularly in the case
life; Familial obligation is so deeply of Japan which, by estimate, receives
• as women living in a male-domi- internalized in Third World women about 100,000 women entertainers
nated industrial society and coming that they become, consciously or un- every year.
from societies where man is the abso- consciously, "sacrificers" for the ben- The conditions most women
lute master; efit of other family members. Thus, migrant workers find themselves in
• as mothers whose traditional role is many of these women migrant work- consequent to their migration are more
to transmit the language, customs and ers work abroad in order to earn enough often than not fraught with harsh con-
religion of their country to their chil- for their families. The money that ditions of work and injustice. Research
dren while the children attend school migrant workers send home resulting and studieson the plightof these women
where only the values, language and from their work contribute to their have revealed disturbing cases of vio-
way of life of the receiving country are countries' capital accumulation and. lations of their human rights.

leie International Women In Action 1/92

25
Women Workere

Moreover, the illegal status of At least 69 women had hidden In response to tliis situation, studies
a number of women migrants as work- in the Sri Lankan Embassy with up to and researches, as well as social work-
ers without pennits make these women eight more arriving daily. Officials ers giving direct assistance to the vic-
more vulnerable to state control and report that as many as six sexual as- tims, have concluded that there is an
punishment on one hand, and keeps sault cases are reported each day and urgent need for policy changes with
them inferior to local workers, on the at least one pregnancy a month. Sev- regard to the treatment of migrant
other hand. Treated as criminals, they eral dozen women hide in the Indian workers in accordance with the Uni-
cannot rely on justice or legal protec- and Bangladeshi embassies with up to versal Declaration of Human Rights.
tion. 20 more a day arriving. It is in this light that the Third
A specific example of this situ- According to the news report, World Movement against the Exploi-
ation concerns the very recent news- Kuwaiti officials angrily deny the tation of Women welcomes the adop-
paper report on tJie experiences of women as being abused - as they did tion by the General Assembly of the
women migrant workers in Kuwait. when the rapes were first reported in a International Convention on the Rights
One year after the liberation, hundreds newspaper - and tell the outsiders to of Migrant Workers. This international
of foreign workers, including Filipino butt out. Interior Minister Ahmed instrument contains very important
and Sri Lankan women migrant work- Hamoud al-Sabah had reportedly protective measures that, i f imple-
ers, are being beaten and raped by their stated that only Kuwaitis under the mented, will protect and promote the
Kuwaiti employers. In January 1992, constitution have the right to criticize rights of migrant workers, including
172 Filipino women migrant workers them but not the foreigners and that women migrants. We therefore urge
were in the Philippine Embassy, some foreigners ought not interfere. the members of the Commission, as
with faces so swollen tiieir eyes are The example just shared with well as all other States, to ratify this
shut up. Up to a dozen more runaway this Commission is merely one of the Convention. PS
housemaids arrived daily. Three- many otherexamples and is just the tip
fourths of the women have told em- of the iceberg. What the situation does
bassy officials tliey have been sexu- reveal is that more and more, women Source.-Third World Movement
ally assaulted. One badly cut and migrant workers all over the world, in Against the Exploitation of Women.
bruised woman said that her Kuwaiti varying degrees, suffer from harsh 41 RajahMatandaSt., Proj. 4, Quezon
boss had thrown her out of a second- conditions of work, sexual abuse and City, Philippines 1109. Tel. (632)
story window. 786469; Fax: (632) 9215662.
violence, discrimination and injustice.

26 Igie International Women In Action 1/92

 Women Workers

A Faminist Perspactive

On Prostitution and Third WorJd )Nomen

n the latter part of 1991, a group tions. National governments, of both women may knowingly enter prostitu-
of 15 women from L a t i n North and South, in not taking decisive tion for lack of viable economic alter-
America, Asia and Africa met actions against this situation, are con- natives, the recruitment of women for
in Thailand to begin a period of ex- tributing to reinforce the sex industry prostitution is often characterized by
change and intensive exposure to the in society. force, violence, trickery and deceit.
realities of prostitution in these re- The internationalization of sex The institution and business of
gions. The women who were part of services is manifested in sex tourism, prostitution are maintained and per-
the Isis-WICCE exchange program re- prostitution around military bases and petuated by patriarchal assumptions
alized the need to articulate a feminist international trafficking in women and and myths such as: prostitution is the
and Third World perspective on the children for prostitution. Although oldest profession; male sexuality is
issue as the prevailing analysis ap- uncontrollable and should be given
proaches groups, scholars or research- full rein; women's sexuality should be
ers and official institutions. One of the for the service of men, and therefore
most misleading elements in their view women's bodies are commodities to
is to reduce the issue of prostitution to be bought and sold in prostitution.
one of violence against women. This The women who attended the
view lacks an integrated framework meeting challenge the very basis of the
which takes into consideration the glo- institution of prostitution and denounce
bal, social and economic realities and c h i l d prostitution, sex tourism,
in particular the unequal North-South militarization and prostitution and traf-
relations. ficking of women and girls for prosti-
In Third World societies, there tution. They make a distinction be-
is an alarming increase in the magni- tween the institution of prostitution
tude of poverty and prostitution. and the individual ^yomen, and ad-
Viewed within the context of North- dress their concerns to women in pros-
South relations, this situation is the titution and stand for the
outgrowth of the colonial histories decriminalization of prostitutes.
which brought capitalism which in In light of this, and as a result of
turn has improved economic and so- the exchange and exposure, the par-
cial lifestyles. Today, in spite of all the ticipants at the meeting have formu-
modem development strategies, large lated action strategies in education
numbers of Third World women are and awareness raising, economic de-
entering prostitution as a survival strat- velopment, legal actions, creation of
egy- infrastructure, and networking, lobby-
The transnationalization of ing and political action.
capital has been paralleled by the The formulated action strate-
transnationalization of tlie sex indus- gies will be implemented at the na-
try where demand and supply for tional, regional and international lev-
women in prostitution go beyond na- els.
tional boundaries. Demand largely
comes from men of the North and Source: Isis-WICCE, 3, chemin des
middle men from both North and South, Campanules, 1219 Aire, Geneva, Swit-
and this demand seems to form effec- zerland, Tel.: (022) 796-4437, Fax:
tive international criminal organiza- (022) 796-0603.

Isle International Women In Action 1/92 27

A Call to Action

Maria EJena Moyano

Rao^uiam for a Faminist Activist
[jTyi aria Elena Moyano, Peruvian F E P O M U V E S Moyano opposed pub- Moyano is one of the most ferocious
liVJt activist, community organizer licly all Shining Path attempts at pen- attacks in the relentless and bloody
and feminist was assassinated etrating the community, denouncing violence perpetrated by Shining Path
by a comando de aniquilamiento (death its terrorist methods of trying to con- in the 12 years it has been terrorizing
squad) of the group Sendero Luminoso trol the population by fear. She be- Peru.
(Shining Path) on February 15,1992 in lieved the only response to Shining This is a call to the interna-
Lima. A 33 year old black woman, she Path's terrorism was to create aware- tional community to denounce the
was the mother of two boys, 10 and 8. ness among the population, speak up assassination of Maria Elena Moyano
Moyano was the founding presi- against it and provide an avenue for at the hands of Shining Path. While
dent of the Federacion Popular de people's participation in the direction the political and economic situation in
Mujeres de Villa El Salvador -- of their communities. She was the Peru has deteriorated badly and there
F E P O M U V E S (People's FederaUon of target of death threats and various is an urgent need for social justice, it
Women of V i l l a E l Salvador), one of attempts at undermining her leader- is ironic that Shining Path targets popu-
the most vibrant grassroots organiza- ship. These only increased her com- lar leaders of the very communities in
tions in the largest shanty town on the mitment to change within the demo- whose name it claims to act. Union
outskirts of Lima, Peru. As head of the cratic system. leaders, community organizers, peas-
organization, she played a key role in On February 14, Shining Path ants, religious and development work-
the establishment of hundreds of so- called for an "armed strike" aimed at ers, teachers, politicians, and small
cial programs attending to the basic bringing Lima, the capital of Peru, to businessmen are among the thousands
needs of an increasingly impoverished a halt. They warned they would kill of civilian victims in the war waged
population. In the context of Peru's anyone who attempted to come out of between Shining Path and the armed
economic crisis, Moyano was instru- their homes. That morning all the forces. Shining Path has come to jus-
mental in devising a response based on houses of Villa E l Salvador raised a tify any violent act on the grounds that
women's community efforts rather than white flag under the slogan "Unity, it will lead to a revolution and the
on the State or outside agencies. Under Peace, and Work." Maria Elena destruction of the State. They are es-
Maria Elena Moyano's visionary lead- Moyano and other community leaders pecially brutal to those who are trying
ership thousands of poor women be- took to the streets and thousands of to better the conditions of the poor,
came involved in mother's clubs, com- people joined them in a March for accusing them of collusion with the
munity soup kitchens, community Peace signaling their rejection of Shin- State. What is most distressing is how
health groups, small income generat- ing Path's "armed strike". their claims find a sympathetic ear
ing projects, and programs that pro- among romantic and uninformed peo-
On the evening of Saturday Feb-
vide a daily glass of milk to malnour- ple in the industrialized world who see
ruary 15, Moyano attended a commu-
ished children. These organizations them as revolutionaries.
nity celebration to raise funds for the
were the training grounds for a leader- women's glass of milk program. At the You can show your rejection of
ship model from the bottom up, and event she was surrounded by a woman this attack and express your solidarity
catapulted Moyano to the position of and four men who shot her twice, in the with women's organizations by doing
Deputy Mayor of V i l l a E l Salvador in chest and in the head. After she fell the following:
the last municipal elections. In 1991 down the killers ordered everybody to
she was named "Woman of the Year" leave, shooting anyone who tried to • Write to the President of Peru,
by two of Peru's most respected media assist Moyano. The squad proceeded AlbertoFujimori, PalaciodeCjobiemo,
publications. to order a teenage boy to tie five kilos Lima I, Peru, demanding the capture
of dynamite to her body, blowing her of the assassins, and bringing them to
The women's organization
to pieces in front of her children and trial.
started by Maria Elena Moyano came
together in their struggle for autonomy other women from the organizations,
from all kinds of political manipula- and woundingeightotherpeoplc. They • Speak up against Shining Path in
tion and evolved into a powerful and further threatened to blow up her tomb every forum where they come to spread
independent women's Federation, the if she was buried in the district's cem- their propaganda and sell their publi-
first of its kind. A s President of etery. The assassination of Maria Elena cations. Fvl

23 leis International Women In Action 1/92

 A Call to Action

I am certain I wae not born to epend my ent

life at the front Jlne, fighting battlee wh
never eeem to end." --Wan^ari Maathai

O n Tuesday, 3rd of
M a r c h , Wangari
Maathai, tlie well
mm--- '^^^ plant that survives three
months; often this is
their only cash income.
known activist and envi- Fifty thousand
ronmentalistand founder women have now been
of the Greenbelt Move- involved in Maathai's
ment of Kenya, was one Green Belt Movement,
of a group of women planting 10 million
clubbed unconscious by trees. Following her
riot police after holding example, the govern-
a peaceful hunger strike ment increased its
to demand freedom for spending on tree-plant-
poUtical prisonersin Nai- ing twentyfold in just
robi. The incident comes four years, and 12 other
only a few weeks after African countries be-
Maathai had been released on bail following a court case in gan similar movements.
which she was charged with having spread false rumors: Poor women are now harvesting fuel wood and fruit
Maathai had participated in a meeting in January in which from their own trees, and springs have returned to dry land.
the public was warned that President Daniel Arap M o i was The movement, working with the National Council of
possibly planning to turn the government over to the Women of Kenya, also teaches good nutrition with tradi-
military in order to prevent multiparty elections. At her trial tional foods, promotes family planning, campaigns to im-
it was reported that Maathai was in bad shape after her stay prove the status of women and helps them to become
in prison. Despite a history of heart trouble and arthritis, she effective leaders in their communities. And, for many
had been forced to sleep on the floor of a cold cell without years, Maathai has been bravely denouncing official cor-
a mattress or blanket; her requests to see a doctor had been ruption.
refused. While Maathai has become increasingly unpopular
Wangari Maathai was Kenya's first female PhD, and with her own country's establishment, her reputation has
at 38, the first female professor at Nairobi University. She grown overseas. Last year she won The Hunger Project's
married a young politician who promised, in elections in Africa Prize and the Goldman Award for environmental
1974, to plant trees in a slum area in his constituency. She activity.
decided to keep the pledge, and, after several false starts, Women' s organizations and other concerned groups
Maathai began to build a mass movement. She soon found are rallying to support Wangari Maathai and urging their
that newly-planted trees left in the care of officialdom respective governments to intercede with President Moi to
quickly perished, while those looked after by local women secure the safety and freedom of one woman who has done
flourished. Women are paid a small fee for every tree they so much for women and the environment. 5]

Action Alert
Send your letters of protest to the Kenyan president immediately and to your national government and yo
embassy in Nairobi in order to secure the safety and freedom of all our fellow sisters who have been harrassed
arrested or imprisoned on the issue. Notify other organizations and contacts nationally and internationally.
Please send copies of your protest letter to: The Standard, P.O. Box 30080, Nairobi; Society Magazine,
Box 12868, Nairobi; Weekly Review, P.O. Box 42271, Nairobi; Attorney General, P.O. Box 40112, Nairobi.

Isie international Women in Action 1/92 29

A Call to Action

The FoWtice of Rape

he year 1991 in Pakistan has seen an absolutely horrendous increase in rape and
violence against women at the hands of the state, particularly the police agencies
and specially in Sindh where violence against women is being used as a tool of
political repression. The instances are too many to list, but the latest has been the rape
and torture of two women in Karachi, Sindh: Khursheed Begum and Veena Hayat. While
the government finally has set up a tribunal to investigate the Veena Hayat case which
had received considerable international attention, the agony of Khursheed Begum
continues.
Kursheed Begum is an unassuming woman who lived a life of quiet struggle in
Karachi's Sahabdar goth. Her crime: her husband Essa Baloch was a Pakistan People's
"They hurled me Party (PPP) worker activist, paying a price for his political beliefs in jail. Essa was
arrested during General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law and kept in jail for 8-1/2 years before
from one man to an- finally being released through the amnesty granted to political prisoners by Benazir
other "-- Khursheed Bhutto on assuming power. He was rearrested on October 4, 1991. Khursheed's eldest
Begum son, 16 year old Zulfikhar who is not involved in politics was also arrested on November
1,1991 and was not being produced in court. On November 13, Khursheed was returning
from her husband's court hearing when she was seized, blindfolded and taken away to
a dark room where she was raped and brutalized by men in uniform.
Veena Hayat is a dress designer by profession. Her crime: a long standing
friendship with the co-chairperson of the PPP.
The two women were made to pay for these crimes. One in a police station, the
other in the hitherto unviolated privacy of her own home. Khursheed Begum alleges rape
and torture at the hands of the police, while Veena Hayat was molested and raped by a
gang of five armed men who broke into her house. The men were more interested in her
links with Bilawal House than tliey were in her valuables. The story might have come
to the usual end at this point but the two women had one more thing in common: the
"They were like courage to speak about the unspeakable, the will to fight for justice. They refuse to suffer
in silence while their assailants go about their business unhindered in the land of the
animals." — Veena chadar and chardiwari.
Hayat Most recently Khursheed Begum was in Lahore to mobilize support and to plead
for justice. She indicated that the officials seem to want to make a deal: for her to retract
her case against the police in exchange for her son. She wants no compromise and only
wants justice, but does not know where to turn and where to go. ^

Action Alert
We urgently request you to immediately send telegrams/letters of appeal to:
Prime Minister M. Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister's Secretariat, Islamabad; President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Presid
Secretariat, Islamabad; Chief Minister Sindh, Jam Sadiq Ali, Chief Minister's Secretariat, Karachi and copies of t
same to the Pakistan ambassador in your country; demanding:
1) the immediate arrest of the rapists who Khursheed recognizes and are police officials;
2) the immediate transfer of her son to a hospital;
3) the withdrawal of her son's case from the Special Court, and
4) the disbanding of all parallel courts like the Special Courts, Terrorist Courts, etc.
Please send copies of your letters to:
Shirkat Gah, I8-A Mian Mir Road, P.O. Mughalpura, Lahore, Pakistan-15. ^

30 Isi6 \nternat\ona\ in Action 1/92

 A Call to Action

A I fourteen year old Irish girl was alty of imprisonment. After their re-
•LM. raped in December 1991 by turn to Ireland, the pregnant girl was Please write in support of their aim
the fatherof her best girl friend forbidden by the High Court to leave to:
and became pregnant. Together with Irelandduring aperiod of nine months.
her parents the girl decided to go to She was admitted in a hospital since The Irish Parliament
England for an abortion. she had announced that she wanted to Oireachtas Dail
In the Irish Republic, informa- commit suicide. Leinster House
tion on where and how to have an Massive protest inside and out- Dublin 2
abortion in any country is totally for- side Ireland due to immediate actions Republic of Ireland
bidden and after a referendum in 1983 by Irish Women's Groups and many
the "equal right to life of the woman protests from outside Ireland, the in-
and the unborn child" was taken up in junction for the girl to leave Ireland and send copies of these letters
the Irish Constitution. However, Irish was uplifted two weeks later by the to:
women secretly do go to England for Irish Supreme Court on February 26.
abortion. The Dublin Well Woman Centre im- The Dublin Well Woman Centre
The parents had notified the mediately sent out a press release that 73 Lower Leeson Street
police of the rape and had also in- "they welcomed the decision and that Dublin 2
quired if it might be useful to take they trusted that the girl and her family Republic of Ireland
along some foetal tissue from Eng- could now deal with the matter in
land as a possible proof of the identity complete privacy and with every pos-
of the rapist. Of its own accord the sible support." If possible, send your financial
police notified the Public Prosecuter Irish Women's Groups are de- contributions to:
of the intention of the trip of the termined that the equal right to life
parents and their daughter. amendment should be removed from Bank account "Defend the Clin-
Thereupon the Public the Irish Constitution to prevent such ics' No 366 230 62, Ulster Bank
Prosecuter summoned the girl and her tragedies. They will start an intensive Lmt, Lower Baggot Street, Dublin
parents to return to Ireland under pen- Campaign to fight for this aim. 2, Republic of Ireland

reJand'5 Shame

I
n Dublin, Ireland, 10,000 people demonstrated
to demand an abortion for the 14 year old Irish
girl who was a victim of sexual abuse from a
close friend of tlie family for over two years. (See left
photo.)
Thousands of women expressed their anger over
the present legal situation and specifically the 1983
Amendment which took away the woman's right to
control her body.

Photo and article courtesy of Spare Rib, March

1992. 27 Clerkenwell Close, London ECIR OAT United
Kingdom. Tel.: (071) 253 9792; Fax: (071) 251 1773.

Isis International Women in Action 1/92

A Call to Action

FIFTH CALL FOR ACTION

International Day of Action for Women's Health
May 28, 1992
Campaign for the Prevention of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity

he decision to start the campaign on Women's What you can do

Health was first taken at the fifth International and
Health Meeting (IWHM) in Costa Rica in May • Use the International Day of Action to publicize the
1987. At the members' meeting of the Women's Global causes and consequences of teenage pregnancies. Explain
Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), which took what changes are necessary to give teenage girls a better
place on May 28,1987, after the I W H M , May 28 was chosen chance in life.
as the International Day of Action for Women's Health. • Join women's groups and women's health networks
Since then. May 28 has become the day on which an
around the world in organizing activities on May 28.
increasing number of women's groups and national and
• Get copies of the call for action leaflets for distribution in
regional Women's Health Networks organize a variety of
your country and translate it into your local language.
activities focusing on different aspects of the campaign and
women's health. For many groups May 28 is the start of new
Join the campaign and join all the other women's
activities that continue for a long time. For others it is the
health groups that are fighting for a better and healthier life
culmination of discussions, meetings and the development
of plans that precede May 28. for women. ^
In 1988 the central focus of the campaign was
Maternal Mortality. Since 1989, Maternal Morbidity has
For more information about the WGNRR, write or call:
also been included. In the fourth call for action in 1991,
NZ Voorburgwal 32, 1012 RZ
special attention was given to the role of Health Services.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
This year the call for action is focused on the issue
Tel.: (31-20)620 96 72
of Teenage Pregnancies, which is another important cause
Fax: (31-20) 622 24 50
of maternal mortality and morbidity.

Special call for information on teenage pregnancies

The W G N R R who is coordinating the campaign

would like to receive articles about teenage pregnancies and
about existing or proposed policies on the subject. It would
also like to find out details of projects set up for or by
teenage women on reproductive health, pregnancy, sexual-
ity, contraception, abortion, special services for teenagers,
etc. It plans to publish some of these materials in their
newsletter and in (he campaign report at tlie end of the year.

Campaign sponsors

This year's sponsors are the Latin American and

Caribbean Women's Health Network, Isis Intemacional,
Chile; Association of African Women for Research and
Development; Catholics for a Free Choice; Women Living
under Muslim Laws; Women's International Public Health
Network; Boston Women's Health Collective; and Isis
International Philippines.

32 leis International Women In AcUon 1/92

 Conferencee

Communicatore meet on Global

Communication and Justice
rom January 8 to 15,1992journalists and experts in the marginalised groups in North America.
the fields of sociology, religion and education at- The consultation allowed the participants to exam-
tended an eight-day consultation in Quezon City, ine how the transformation of communication impacts on us
Philippines, on Global Communication and Justice. and our communities.
The 25 participants who represented eight countries Participants in the consultation had intense discus-
in Asia and North America came to examine in-depth the sions with local grassroots organizers from thefishingand
issues of global communication and justice and to devise a farm communities, labor movement and urban poor. They
plan of action to change communication policies in struc- also visited the various conmiunication agencies. These
tures of governments, development agencies and religious visits, together with the research papers presented helped
institutions. participants to see firsthand how the communication proc-
La Rainne Abad-Sarmiento andEliz Reyes-Martinez, ess is being used and abused.
coordinater and program officer, respectively, of Isis Inter- Participants called on conmiunicators and educators
national Manila were invited to give a presentation on in both North America and Asia to work together for a more
media messages and values from the context of Asia and the just global communication environment.
experience of women in the global community. In the Religious authorities were called on to see the
session, "Taking Control: Media Education and Aware- impact of communication as an object of social action and
ness," the Isis resource speakers gave their inputs on what reform and take the lead in promoting change and justice.
is being done by women to raise awareness about the images The participants also recommended that an Asia-
and content of the portrayal of women in media and North America forum be held in the next three years to
specffically the impact of media in stereotyping, consum- conduct studies, work on the building of a resource network,
erism, sexism, racism, etc. and organize the exchange of resources.
As the world moves towards a global village there is The consultation was sponsored by Intermedia, Asia
a growing concern over how the media is communicating Region-Worid Association of Christian Communication
to the people. Along with the messages of buy and sell, there (AR-WACC), ChrisUan Conference of Asia (CCA) in co-
is a message of domination from those controlling the operation with National Council of Churches of Christ
media and the new communication technologies. (NCCC) USA, Asian Social Institute (ASI), People in
North America is recognized as one of the cultural Communication (PIC) and National Council of Churches
dominators. It not only exports form and content but Philippines (NCCP). RJI
western economic-based theories of media regulation that
serve the interests of the transnational corporations rather
than those of the people - especially women, the dalits Source: Article based on press release written by Shala
(outcasts) in India, the indigenous people in Asia as well as Koshy and Jeneane Jones.

avid Bridell, director of Intermedia of the Na-

tional Council of the Churches of Christ in the
USA, New York and a member of the planning
group of the Interregional Consultation on Global Com-
munication and Justice (See above story) visited the Isis
International office in Manila after the consultation.
David was responsiblefor coordinating the participation
of Isis in the consultation.

l0le Jntem«tlon«l Women In Action 1/92 33

Conferences

uring the International Peace

F e s t i v a l i n the P h i l i p p i n e s
(IPFP) w h i c h was held last 4 to
17 September 1991 at the University
Socialism
o f the P h i l i p p i n e s i n L o s B a n o s , and
L a g u n a , P h i l i p p i n e s , a workshop o n
S o c i a l i s m and F e m i n i s m sponsored b y
Feminism
the A s i a n W o m e n ' s H u m a n Rights
C o u n c i l was held from 10 to 12 Sep-
tember. F o l l o w i n g are the resolutions
FESTIVAL Worisshop Resolutions
at the conclusion o f the three-day woric- IN T H E PHILIPPINES
shop.
R e a l i z i n g that the oppression
o f w o m e n persists i n varying degrees
i n a l l countries o f the w o r l d .
W h i l e it is recognized that gains
have been achieved by w o m e n i n a l l against women i n the form o f rape, R e a l i z i n g that socialism is per-
countries where strong women's move- incest, domestic battering, political ceived as an important phase in bring-
ments exist and i n socialist countries, repression and sexualized torture o f ing about w o m e n ' s liberation, it is
patriarchy still manifests itself i n the women. likewise imperative for the women's
family, i n r e l i g i o n , i n traditions and movement to continue to protect the
Realizing that in socialist coun-
customs a n d i n the e c o n o m i c and po- gains achieved for women and further
tries i n w h i c h substantial gains for
litical structures, push the goal o f w o m e n ' s emancipa-
women have been achieved through
Whereas the multiple oppres- tion.
legislation and the provision o f the
sion o f women is determined b y fac- N o t i n g w i t h sadness, however,
state o f support systems for women,
tors o f class, gender, nationality, race that sexism persists even within pro-
socialization of housework and
and ethnicity, gressive and revolutionary movements
childcare, there is a noticeable trend
R e c o g n i z i n g that the " n e w w h i c h urges us to continuously chal-
towards bringing back women to the
w o r l d o r d e r ' ' has exacerbated the pov- lenge our brothers, a n d to a certain
confines o f the home and remolded
erty a n d oppression o f T h i r d W o r l d extent our sisters as w e l l , to rid them-
within the patriarchal traditions and
women g i v i n g rise to new forms o f selves o f this. W e w o u l d l i k e to under-
culture.
slavery such as the sex trafficking o f score the fact that even in international
Whereas with the magnitude
women. conferences o f progressive movements
and persistence o f problems and issues
R e a l i z i n g that the bodies o f such as the one we are holding today,
confronting them, women have organ-
w o m e n have become the raw materi- sexual harassment and molestation of
ized and developed their o w n distinct
als for b i g business i n their b i d to women happen,
movements dictated by conditions ob-
amass more profits. W i t h great courage and high
tained i n their respective countries.
W h i l e t h i s ' 'new w o r l d order'' hopes that w e bring the w o m e n ' s
W h i l e from this wealth o f ex-
is slowly taking back the gains achieved agenda to this historical gathering o f
perience, the women's movement i n
by the w o m e n ' s movement in the First women and m e n from different parts
the T h i r d W o r l d has synthesized its
W o r l d through the cutbacks in budgets o f the globe.
vital and integral role i n the struggle
for w o m e n ' s support services, denial T a k i n g into account that peace
o f w o m e n ' s reproductive rights, wors- for national liberation while maintain-
is a noble goal for w h i c h every human
ening unemployment a n d the ing its distinct character.
being should strive, and.
feminization o f poverty. Whereas the imperative for Yet, cognizant that peace would
Whereas under this situation o f national liberation movements to carry remain an elusive goal for women, as
worsening poverty, injustice and ineq- as its o w n the agenda o f women for long as the conditions for women's
uity, violence against w o m e n is inten- liberation is slowly being recognized. oppression exist a n d the particular
sified and continues to present itself in F i r m l y believing that social- w o m e n ' s problems are not addressed,
the home, the workplace, a n d i n the ism remains a genuine alternative for W e , the participants o f the In-
society i n general. the oppressed as long as it comprehen- ternational Peace Festival i n the P h i l -
Recognizing that violence sively addresses the issues o f women. ippines 1991:

34 lele \ntem»t\onB\ in Actkm 1/92

 Conferences

1. Urge each other and every delegate

to seriously take up the cause of women
in every sphere of our lives: in our
relationships, in our homes, in our
HeaJth Meeting scheduJed in October
workplace, and in our political work,

2. Urge socialist states to continue

advancing the cause of women's eman-
cipation by equally addressing con-
n Asia regional meeting on Women's Perspectives on the Intro-
cerns of women in the productive and
duction of Fertility Regulation Technologies will be held in
reproductive spheres,
Manila, Philippines from 5-9 October 1992. It is sponsored by
Worid Health Organization (WHO).
3. Call on our sisters to continue to
Preparatory to the October meeting, Isis International Manila
build solidarity based on common is-
helped organize and facilitate consultations with Philippine women's
sues even as we respect the particular-
health advocacy groups to discuss the country paper presentation of the
ity of each other's struggles because
Philippines. Aside from the host country, Bangladesh, India and Indo-
of our different cultures, historical
nesia will also be represented at the meeting.
conditions and experiences, and,
The topics will include:
• Users' perspectives on the appropriateness of particular methods
4. Call on all delegates to continue and
of fertility regulation for particular settings in Asia.
build mutual support and solidarity
• Women's reproductive health in the context of their broader
and bring to completion the goals of
realities of life: linking health rights to general status, including aspects
women's emancipation and to con-
such as violence, prostitution, employment and political rights. Wom-
tinuously thwart any attempt at sub-
en's perception of reproductive health services, problems, needs and
verting whatever gains have been
possibilities.
achieved by the women's struggle.
• Policy considerations taken into account in a government's
elaboration of its population policy and program, including goals,
The IPFP conducted 36 work-
resource allocation, priorities in research and the relationship between
shops for the 169 foreign and 206 local
the public and private sectors.
delegates who attended the event. The
• Policy maker perspective on the selection and introduction of
workshop on Socialism and Feminism
fertility regulation technologies into family planning programs in some
was geared specifically towards the
Asian contexts, and on the participation of women in those efforts.
needs of women, but other issues such
• Providers' perspectives of service-related issues, including qual-
as trafficking of women, women and
ity of care, training, counselling and information.
children, ecology and development,
• Description and analysis of the experiences in introducing fertil-
the plight of the indigenous peoples
ity regulation methods into a country.
were equally important to the women
Aside from the plenary sessions and country paper presentations,
delegates.
working groups will prepare recommendations and proposals in order to
It was recognized that the wom-
be able to address priority areas for research and program implementa-
en's struggle is part of the broader
tion and consequently women's concerns and realities in fertility regu-
struggle for global peace, justice and
lation technologies.
sovereignty among all the nations.

Source: Documents of the Peace Fes-

tival in the Philippines 1991. Pub-
lisher: BAY AN. IPFP '91 Proceed-
ings, P.O. Box 190, 1099 Manila.
Philippines. Telefax: (632) 999-437;
922-02-17.

Isi» Intemationai Women In Action 1/92 35

Conferencee

Tha Second Asian Woman's Conference

by Belinda Giron ArciUa and Cristina Bontuyan

W R A N (Asian Women's Re- presented sociopolitical profiles of women's sexuality, and prostitution in
search and Action Network) their respective countries and their Asia.
together with several women's insights on the women's movement in Highlights of the draft resolu-
groups in Asia organized the Second Asia. tion cited by the participants at the end
Asian Women's Conference with the The speakers were: Teresita of the conference:
theme "Recreating Women's Asia Quintos Deles (Philippines), Anjana • they recognize the great ad-
1992." The conference opened on Suvamananda (Thailand), Shumeng vancement of women's consciousness
April 2,1992 at the National Women's Ng (Laos), Duong Thi Duyen (Viet- and the expansion of women's move-
Educational Center Auditorium in Ja- nam), Prabha Thacker (Nepal), Tati ments and solidarity in Asian coun-
pan. Hema Goonatilake of tries;
Sri Lanka, Irene Santiago of • they recognize the fact that
UNIFEM and Kuniko women are not treated equally despite
Funabashi of the Organizing their important contribution to the his-
Committee opened tlie con- tories and cultures of Asian countries,
ference. and
Aside from A W R A N , • they recognize that they are
making the conference a re- deprived of the right of living by the
ality were: International triple oppression of race, class and
Women's Studies Asswia- genderthat is often concealedby socio-
tion; Women'sStudies Asso- cultural structures;
ciation of Japan; Women's • they recognize the fact that
Studies Group; Women's Japan has neglected the Asian per-
Studies Society of Japan; spective with its orientation towards
Yokohama Women' s Forum; tlie west, and
Sakai Women's Organiza- • they recognize that Japanese
tion; Sendai City; Hiroshima economic prosperity is deeply interre-
Asian Women's Conference; lated with the life of otlier Asians.
Kitakyushu Forum on Asian The resolution also recognized
Women; Asian Women's that the participants valued the histori-
Conference in Osaka. (Left to right): Cristy. Kuniko and Belyn. cal significance and benefits gained
Participants to the con- from the conference. They shared a
ference were approximately 300 Japa- Krisnawaty (Indonesia), Jiraporn common Asian perspective for the fu-
nese women and 20 overseas partici- Chimpimai (Thailand), FareechaZafar ture, and agreed that something should
pants from Australia, Guam, Korea, (Pakistan), Rohana Ariffm (Malay- be done in order to find the direction in
Thailand and tlie Philippines. Most of sia), Manju Baroi (Bangladesh), Rita which Asian women can advance to-
the participants were women's studies Monteiro (India), Connie Jan Maraan gether and promote the movement as
students, women's organization mem- (Philippines), Ku Yenlin (Taiwan), and one unified group.
bers, labor party members, local gov- Zeng B i Jun (China).
ernment officials, writers, artists,
housewives, etc. Twelve workshops were offered
Isis International Manila par- during the conference: women and For more information about the con-
ticipants to the conference were Belinda politics, women and education, wom- ference, write: Asian Women's Con-
ArciUa and Cristina Bontuyan. en's studies in Asia, women and labor, ference Organizing Committee
At the opening ceremony, there sexuality, patriarchy and violence 22-17 Nishikubo-cho, Tokiwadaira,
were 14 resource persons from 12 dif- against women, women in media, Matsudo City, Chiba 270, Japan.
ferent Asian countries. Each of them women and representation, war and Telefax: 81-473-87-7800

36 Isle international Women in Action 1/92

 Conferences

"Recreating Women's Asia 1992"

eart Link was written for the

H Second Asian Women's Con-
ference in Japan by Ochiei
Keiko. It was the theme song of the
conference and was sung by the par-
ticipants (right photo) on opening
day and throughout the conference.
Below are the lyrics of Heart
Link in three languages: the first was
translated by Sarah Pradt; the second
is tlic original text by Ochiei Keiko
and the third version was translated
by Malee Benyagusol.

l l e a r t - l Ink

flltiO
Heart-Link mxi

I.

Our lives intersect.

Yours and mine
The joy of this occasion
The dreams we can 'I fulfill alone, hear t-I I nk, hearl-llnli
You and I can fulfill together fmjia'ju^ututnijifu
All of us can fulfill together Heart-Link HQort-LInk
Heart-Link Heart-Link

Our lives intersect, 2.

Yours and mine
This rich diversity
We go beyond words
We draw together In sisterhood
In Sisterhood
heart-link, heart-link
Heart-Link Heart-Link In Sisterhood
A time for minds to open Heart-Link Heart-Link

Our lives intersect.

Yours and mine 3, Jlau
We share the excitement jiui^uv(lS>nn>inu
See one another for what we are
Meet without the barriers we have
known
Heart-Link Heart-Unk
A bridge reaching tomorrow Heart-Link HoBrt-Llnk heart-link, heart-link
i^osrojjViwnuluouififi

lele International Women In Action 1/92

37
Networke

Ahmedabad Women's Action Group Zimbabwe Women's Resource Centre

(AWAG) and Network (ZWRCN)
(India) (Zimbabwe)

jy/lllZWRCN

Ahmedabad Women's A c t i o n Group T h e Z W R C N is a newly e s t a b l i s h e d n o n -

(AWAG) Started w o r k i n g i n J a n u a r y 1981 as g o v e r n m e n t a l o r g a n i z a t i o n (NGO) w h i c h h a s
a b r a n c h of F o u n d a t i o n for P u b l i c Interest. It as its m a i n objective the e n h a n c e m e n t of the
h a s b e e n the g r o u p ' s endeavor to e s t a b l i s h p o s i t i o n of w o m e n i n Z i m b a b w e a n society. It
w o m e n ' s e q u a l i t y i n a l l w a l k s of life a n d t h u s i s a resource centre a n d a n e t w o r k w i t h
e n s u r e t h e i r e q u a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the devel- documents and information on Women i n
o p m e n t of the c o u n t r y . T h e group a i m s to Development (WID). T h e C e n t r e f u n c t i o n s as
raise w o m e n ' s image i n society b y protesting a l i b r a r y where d o c u m e n t s a n d i n f o r m a t i o n
elements w h i c h d e m e a n the image of w o m e n . o n gender i s s u e s are systematiceilly o r g a n -
A W A G u n d e r t a k e s a n u m b e r of aware- ized for a w i d e variety of u s e r s . T h e Network
ness b u i l d i n g activities s u c h as: doing projects l i n k s people active i n the w o m e n a n d devel-
a n d s t u d i e s related to the w e l l being, s e c u r i t y o p m e n t field, w i t h a view to e l i m i n a t i n g
a n d e d u c a t i o n of w o m e n ; p u t t i n g u p e x h i b i - d u p l i c a t i o n of efforts.
tions, orgEinising meetings a n d s e m i n a r s ; T h e ZWRCN collects d o c u m e n t s , data,
o r g a n i s i n g m a r c h e s cind protests against reports a n d i n f o r m a t i o n o n w o m e n i n devel-
violence a g a i n s t w o m e n ; p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n o p m e n t i s s u e s from v a r i o u s (non)-govern-
meetings a n d s e m i n a r s t h a t other g r o u p s mental organizations on a regular basis, and
organise, b o t h i n a n d o u t s i d e the G u j a r a t m a k e s t h i s a v a i l a b l e to u s e r s i n the Centre.
region; c o n t r i b u t i n g to d a i l i e s a n d weeklies; It p r o d u c e s fact sheets w i t h i n t e r e s t i n g d a t a
p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n television d i s c u s s i o n s ; r u n -
for N G O s . women's o r g a n i z a t i o n s , m i n i s -
n i n g a c o u n s e l l i n g centre a n d a s s i s t i n g w o m e n
tries, d o n o r s a n d other g r o u p s to use.
i n t a k i n g legal a c t i o n .
T h e ZWRCN r e p a c k a g e s a n d t r a n s l a t e s
A W A G r u n s a c o u n s e l i n g center for i n f o r m a t i o n for the u s e of g r a s s r o o t s w o m e n .
w o m e n centered c o u n s e l i n g p r o b l e m s o n T h e o r g a n i z a t i o n also m a i n t a i n s a n d c o n -
m a r i t a l d i s c o r d , family d i s p u t e s a n d other tinuously updates a data base on organiza-
related m a t t e r s . T h e center also organizes tions a n d people w o r k i n g i n the W I D field a n d
c l a s s e s o n f a m i l y life e d u c a t i o n i n s c h o o l s , ongoing W I D r e s e a r c h . It facilitates debates
colleges a n d w o m e n ' s g r o u p s . It also serves a n d provides a p l a t f o r m to d i s c u s s c u r r e n t
as a field w o r k p l a c e m e n t center for t r a i n i n g WID issues i n Zimbabwe with policy makers
studies.
a n d beneficiaries.

F o r more information, write: F o r JUrther information, write to:

48, Somnath Nagar, Vijaynagar Road, Stemar House, Room 203
Naranpura, Ahmedabad 380 013 Comer Speke Avenue and Kaguvi Street
tel. 47 00 36 i Harare, Zimbabwe jj]

33 leie International Women in Action 1/92

 Networks
;^•:•:•:•;•:-x•:^•:•^:•:•;•:•••^••:•:•:•:•:•;•:•x•^^:•:•:•:•:•^^x•:•:^-:•^Xv:•^x•:•^

Women for Women Political Prisoners Wo Men Zhi Jian

(Jerusalem) (Taiwan)

FEMALE
CLUB
Women for Women Political Prison-
ers Is made up of women volunteers who
work with the objective of protecting the
h u m a n rights of women who are detained i n
prisons In Israel because of their struggle
against the occupation, and of bringing the
methods of interrogation and the torture
going on i n the Shin-Bet wing, to the atten-
tion of the public. WOFPP-Jerusalem mem-
bers £ire active In the following activities: Wo Men Zhi Jian. the first lesbian
• Finding out the identity of the prison- group In Taiwan, was formed on February
ers (especially at the R u s s i a n Compound), 23, 1990. Its name was taken from the
and giving them some basic aid; French film, "Entre Nous," a film about lesbi-
• Hiring a lawyer on behalf of the organi- ans.
zation, to monitor conditions of imprison- As its first task, the founders started
ment, to protect detainees from harassment networking and letting other lesbians know
i n the detention center, and to ensure that about the group. Ithas also published friendly
they get medical and other aid; articles i n the local press. In January, barely
• Providing clothing necessities, news- a year after It was formed.the group pub-
papers, and food through the prison can- lished Its first newsletter and currently has
teen; more than 100 women on Its mailing list.
• Appealing to public opinion and to
public bodies In Israel and abroad In cases of Current goals of the group
gross h u m a n rights violations, torture, sexual
humiliation, and collective punishment; Its current goals are:
• Maintciining contact with the prison- • primarily to serve as a support group
ers' families and lawyers; for lesbians and to provide a place for lesbi-
• Visiting released prisoners to obtciln ans to meet, talk and socialize with other
first-hand testimony about prison condi- lesbians.
tions and their treatment i n prison; • to provide a forum for cultural activi-
• Being present at court sessions. ties which include reading and discussing
books, watching films, and discussing les-
bian Identity.
For further information, please write or call: • In the future, to pursue more public
P.O. Box 8537, Jerusalem 91083 goals such as equal rights and treatment in
Tel.: (02)-255382 or (02)-241159 the political process, the law, the workplace,
Fax: (02)-251614 or (02)-253151 marriage and mass media.
Wo Men Zhi Jian is only two years old,
Donations for legal assistance to the prison- but its existence i n a country where the
ers can be sent to: feminist movement Is still i n Its inception
Israel Discount Bank stage is In Itself remarkable.
4 Queen Shlomzion Street
Jerusalem (Branch # 63) For further information, write:
Account number 707317 [T P.O. Box 10464, Taipei, Taiwan.

Isle Internationai Women In Action U9Z 39

Networks
3
SOLWODI The Kitakyushu Forum on
(Germany and Kenya) Asian Women (KFAW)
(Japan)

m 9

SOLWODI (Solidarity with Women in

Distress), Is a n information center that helps
00
KFAW
foreign women who encounter problems with A new forum for women has been estab-
the German language and culture, with their lished in J a p a n : The Kitak3nishu Forum on
residence permits, with the law for foreign- Asian Women (KFAW). The KFAW was es-
ers, with partnerships and matrimony. tablished by the City of Kitakyushu as part of
One example is the case of Linda who a "Hometown RevitalizaUon Plan". The idea
comes from a formerly Communist Eastern behind it is to improve women's status and
country. SOLWODI took up Linda's case and eventually through this to aim at an interna-
helped her through the intricacies of the tional improvement in equality, development
German legal system. They discovered that Eind world peace. The KFAW believes that the
Linda's husband had brought other women condition of women is one of h u m a n dignity.
to Germany, employing them Illegally and It is a social issue and should be addressed
without pay. SOLWODI had inadvertently by both men and women. In this way a wider
uncovered a dealer i n women. contribution can be made towards an equal
This is j u s t one of many cases that and stable community.
SOLWODI takes on. They provide support The KFAW hopes to achieve its alms by
and assistance to women who are often out- participating in cultural exchange programs,
side the boundaries of the law and because of sponsoring training programs and seminars
their Illegal status have little chance of fight- to cultivate a better understanding of Asia;
ing their case in court alone. studying past and present women's prob-
lems, accumulating and distributing infor-
For more information, please contact: mation by networking with both domestic
and overseas groups, c i n d working together
SOLWODI with volunteers and civic groups.
PO Box 3741 The KFAW publishes a newsletter,
6500 Mainz "Asian Breeze," four times a year.
Germany
Tel 06131122 22 24 (Mainz) For further information, please write:
Tel 06741/2232 (Boppard)
Tel 0228/108248 (SKF/Bonn) Hisako Takahashi, KFAW President
Kitakyushu International Conference Center
SOLWODI Asano 3-9-30, Kokura-Kita
Catholic Parish Makupa Kitakyushu, 802 Japan
P.O. Box 86823 Tel: (093) 551-1220
Mombasa, Kenya Fax:(093)551-7535 [J

40 Isle \nternational Women In Action 1/92

 Keeources

Books

Aguilar, Delia. Filipino Housewives

Speak. Manila: Institute of Women's
Studies, 1991.
OUT OF BOUNDS
M a l e Writers a n d

During the summer of 1984, Aguilar con- GenderCed) Criticism

ducted ten interviews with women in Metro M a -

nila. The interviews cover their lives, their work, EDiIED »Y
Loura Claridge
their families and their struggles. Aguilar analyzes AND

the commonalities within a Marxist feminist per-

Elizabeth Langland

spective.
The author offers the book as a "contribution
toward building the theoretical framework which
would articulate feminism into the revolutionary
agenda in the Philippines. I have undertaken this
work because no other institution has been the
object of mystification than the f a m i l y . "

Claridge, Laura and Langland,

Elizabeth, eds. Out of Bounds: Male
Writers and Gender(ed) Criticism.
Amherst: University of Massachusetts
Press, 1990.

This collection of papers grew out of a

Modern Language Association session, entitled
" M a l e Feminist V o i c e s " , which the editors or-
ganized in 1986. They and the contributors work
from the idea that 'patriarchy' is a complex term
for a gender system and is not synonymous with
FILIPINO
'male' alone. During the session the editors came
HOUSEWIVES SPEAK
to understand that male writers attempting a gen-
der perspective could not necessarily be called
feminist-hence the title of the book was evolved.
The contributors are professors at universities in
the U S . The works of M i l t o n , the Romantics, the
Victorians and Faulkner are among the subjects
treated. H)

leis International Women In Action 1/92 41

Keeourcee
Lefkowitz, Mary R. Women in Greek
Myth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity Press, 1986.
Sii
Communications
for

progress Lefkowitz studies the experience of women

as portrayed in Greek myth, finding both early
stories of women's struggle as well as a capacity
\ to international
e-mail for understanding which was not present in an-
other influential mythological tradition, the Old
Graham Lane
and New Testaments. The study covers Amazons,
Chosen Women, Women without Men, Wives,
Influential Women, Martyrs and Misogyny.
The author says, "The notions-now pre-
sumably obsolete-that a man should be active and
aggressive, a woman passive and subject... are
Lane, Graham. Communications for expressed in virtually every Greek myth." i)
Progress: A guide to intematipnal e-
mail. London: Catholic Institute for
international Relations, 1990.
Unlike a fax, e-mail (electronic mail) does
not tie up a phone line continually, costs little more
to send multiple transmissions and does not re-
quire special expensive equipment. Using a com-
puter and modem, e-mail users link with a central m
"host" computer and exchange information in WOMEN
local, regional or international systems. IN
GREEK M Y T H
It is particularly useful in developing coun-
Mary R.Lefkowitz
tries which may have unreliable and/or expensive
telephone systems. Some of e-mail's drawbacks
are that it is not well suited for urgent messages, it
can be cheaper than fax or telex but still is substan-
tial cost for some NGOs, and because it involves
a complex process there is more room for mishaps.
The author of this book provides a clear and
thorough explanation of e-mail, its uses and draw-
backs, and addresses the needs of organizations
located in the South and the North. A l l technical
terms are explained and the focus is on time and
cost efficiency.
Also, eight case examples are presented of
specific e-mail systems, with comments by the
users on its usefulness and problems. This is an
excellent resource book for anyone investigating
e-mail. [J

42 Isis \nternat\onal Women In Action 1/92

 Reeourcee

Journals

Australian Feminist Studies, pub-

lished twice yearly by The Research
Centre for Women's Studies, U n i -
versity of Adelaide. G P O Box 498,
Adelaide 5001, South Australia.

nHiiiP
This journal publishes material in the fields
of women's studies and feminist scholarship. This
includes both feminist scholarship and critique
based within mainstream academic disciplines,
and research and discussion that transcend the
conventional boundaries between academic disci-
plines.

ODWUN ADULT COUCATKM AUOCUTKM

Australian
Feminist Studies
Adult Education and Develop-
ment, Published twice yearly, in
English by the German Adult Edu-
cation Association. Deutscher
Volkshochschul-Verband, FachstelJe
Fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit,
Rheinallee 1, D-5300 Boim 2, Ger-
many.

No. 12 Summer 1990

The Adult Education and Development jour-

nal provides a forum for dialogue and exchange of
information among adult educators in Africa, Asia
and Latin America. The March 1991 issue focuses
on the centrality of the issue of development to
agricultural extension, training and literacy pro-
grams in the North and South. 5

Isis International Women In Action 1/92 43

Keeourcee

Booklets/Papers:
"Beyond the Debt Crisis: Structural
Transformations", Final report of the
International Women's Seminar of the
United Nations (23-25 April 1990).

Women scholars, grassroots activists, de-

velopment workers and development educators
from 27 countries participated in this seminar
which began as a women's alternative economic
seminar, held five years after Nairobi. Seeking to
bring together diverse experiences of working on
the debt crisis, the papers included in this booklet
summarize the situation in the Caribbean,
Appalachia (USA), the Philippines, Kenya, Bang-
ladesh, Hungary, Peru and Egypt. In addition,
there are summaries of small-group discussions of
structural analysis, envisioning economic alterna-
tives and strategies for future action. A resource
guide and list of participants are included.
Copies are available from United Nations
Non-Governmental Liaison Service DC2, Room
1103, New York, N Y 10017 U S A . Tel.: (212)
963-3125 H

Association of African Women

for Research and Development-
Occasional Paper Series. Pub-
lished by AAWORD, B.P. 11007
C D Annexe, Dakar, Senegal.

A A W O R D is an N G O dedicated to research,
networking and exchange of resources and infor-
mation among African women researchers and
those concerned with problems of development in
Africa. The Occasional Paper series is published in
bilingual (French/English) editions. Number four
in the series is titled "Women as Agents and
Beneficiaries of Development Assistance" and
includes papers by Staneala Beckley, Seynabou
Gueye-Tall and Takyiwaa Manuh.

44 Isis international Women In Action 1/92

 National Non-English Speaking Video
Background (NESB) Women's
Health Strategy/. Published for the
Office of the Status of Women by the
Australian Government Publishing " K A L E NYABO"
Service, Canberra, 1991. Women Farmers In Uganda

Prepared by Caroline Alcorso and Toni

Schofield of the Centre for Women's Health Stud-
ies, Cumberland College of Health Sciences, The
University of Sydney, this book bound paper
discusses the particular health concerns and status
of Non-English Speaking Background (NESB)
women and explores strategies for developing and
implementing a model to improve NESB wom-
AdkMiAld
en's access to quality health care. The paper
provides much data and concrete policy recom-
mendations.
For further information, write: Australian
Government Publishing Service, G P O Box 84,
Canberra A C T 2601, Australia. "Kale Nyabo" - Women Farmers
in Uganda. Producer: Action Aid.

Kale Nyabo is a respectful form of thankyou

and is a mark of respect given to women subsist-
ence farmers in central Uganda. In the video,
farmers are presented in many of the roles which
they undertake to support themselves and their
families. The video is divided into seven parts:
Hope and Optimism, Women Farmers, Woman's
Work is Never Done, Selling Food, Women Work-
ing for Export, Helping Women, and In Their
Hands. Produced by Action A i d of Britain, the
video comes with a teaching pack and is designed
for use within the public school curriculum. How-
ever, the video and numerous 8 x 10 black and
white prints which are included in the packet could
be useful in other ways as well.
The video and teaching pack is available for
10 pounds (UK), including postage and handling,
from Kate Turner, Action Aid, Old Church House,
Church Steps, Frome, Somerset B A l l IPL U K .
Tel. 0373 61623. Make checks payable to
' 'ActionAid GCSE Costs''. [2

Isle International Women In Action 1/92

45
le'ie Currente

leie
International
Vieitore and
Workere

Delegation of the Kitakyushu Forum

on Asian Women with Eliz (far left)
and La Rainne (second to the right).

Bel and Hilda Saeed. member of Women's

Action Forum and managing director of
National Health, Pakistan.

IsIs International Women In Action 1/92

 Alpout le'ie Internationa
Isis Intemalional is an intemalional non-govemmenuil women's organization providing information and commu-
nication services to women worldwide. Since 1974, Isis Intemalional has been working to promote women's empowerment
through information, communication, networking and skills sharing.

his International Resource Center

Our Resource Center houses a unique collection of information and resource materials,
most of it coming from women's groups, organizations and networks and from people's and
development organizations. It documents the history and growth of the women's movement
worldwide, its strengths and achievements, its problems and debates, and the many ways
women are organizing.

The resource collection contains: over 830 women's periodicals; books, pamphlets, reports,
bibliographies, directories; posters and other graphics by women; a Human Resources Data
Base with 4000 names and addresses of women's groups and networks and of individuals and
institutions supporting women's activities around the world.

The Resource Center offers: computerized library services for efficient and fast information
access and retrieval. You may use these services by visiting the resource center or by writing
for information on a specific issue; information packets on key issues; bibliographies and
reading lists; training in computer literacy and use of new technologies; and training and
assistance in setting up and organizing women's resource centers.

Isis International Publications

Women in Action is a quarterly magazine about women's experiences, ideas,

organizing activities, resource materials, groups, meetings and conferences. It is a commu-
nication channel for women to share and network with each otiier, to learn how women are
organizing and taking action. It gives women the space to tell their stories, define their issues
and agendas, and learn how other women are organizing and taking action.

The Isis Intemational book series focus on key issues tliat lead to women's empower-
ment. Each book brings together contributions from women around the world.

Health Networking

Because health is a key issue for women, Isis Intemational's health networking
program:
• promotes networking, consultations and meetings among women's hcalUi groups, organi-
zations and networks;
• provides information and bibliographies on healtli issues from the Isis Intemational special
collection of resource materials on healtli;
• promotes regional and interregional health infonnation campaigns;
• publishes an intemational Women and Health Journal with features and highlights of
healdi research; interviews and discussions witli women on Uicir experiences, reflections and
positions on women and health issues; sharing of women's experiences in organizing health
groups and activities; resource listings; information on conferences and meetings; health
campaign information.

Skills Sharing

Isis Intemational provides opportunities for sharing information and communication

skills tlirough: internships, in-service training and worker exchanges witli otlier women's
groups, organizations and networks; training courses; organization of meetings and consul-
tations; and technical assistance.

lels International Women In Action 1/92 47