In a February 17 article, The New York Times reports that 12 women in Iraq have formed a political party of their own, “with a platform built on women’s rights and a jobs program for Iraq’s more than 700,000 widows.” After interviews with local women, the NYT writes that “some women say a new female political class is starting to emerge.”

Read the full article: Iraqi Women Are Seeking Greater Political Influence- The New York Times

Turkish police have found the body of a 16-year old girl who they believe was buried alive in an honor killing “carried out as punishment for talking to boys,” reports The Guardian. An informant allegedly told the police that the girl had been killed after a “family council meeting.” The father and grandfather of the girl, who is known only by the initials MM, have been arrested and are being held in custody.

Honor killings are reportedly prevalent in the southeast of Turkey, and official figures estimate that more than 200 honor killings take place each year, “accounting for around half of all murders in Turkey,” according to The Guardian.

Turkish girl, 16, buried alive for talking to boys - The Guardian

On February 8, Laura Chinchilla was declared winner in the presidential election in Costa Rica, becoming the first female president of the nation and the fifth in Latin America. Winning 47 percent of the votes counted, Chinchilla avoids a potential run-off. In her acceptance speech, Chinchilla said to the gathered crowd:

“Thank you, Costa Rica. It’s certainly a moment of happiness, but above all of humility.”

Chinchilla, a former vice president, follows in the footsteps of female presidents in Chile, Argentina, Panama and Nicaragua. Her victory comes after various efforts in recent years to promote change and increase women’s political representation in the region.

Laura Chinchilla voted first female president of Costa Rica -TimesOnline

Laura Chinchilla to be Costa Rica’s first female leader -BBC

In her keynote address at the 58th National Prayer Breakfast on February 4, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke about the current crisis in Haiti, where tent cities, “food lines and makeshift hospitals” are evidence of the urgent needs of millions of people.

“When I think about the horrible catastrophe that has struck Haiti, I am both saddened but also spurred.”

Secretary Clinton went on to say that the people of Haiti will need assistance and committed partners in reconstruction efforts long after the memory of the crisis fades and news cameras move away.

Read Secretary Clinton’s full remarks: Keynote Address at the 58th National Prayer Breakfast - U.S. Department of State

Kakenya Ntaiya of Kenya, 2008 Rising Voices Award honoree and a valued member of the Vital Voices network, has been voted as one of the People of 2009 by One World, an online news service. Kakenya provides young girls an education through her Academy for Girls, the Kakenya Center for Excellence.

One World was introduced to Kakenya from the inspiring blog entries written by Vital Voices and Advocacy Project Fellow Kate Cummings, who spent her summer with Kakenya.

Congratulations to Kakenya and to Kate for sharing her story!

People of 2009: Neipamei Ngodia and Kakenya Ntaiya - One World

President Evo Morales begun his second term by swearing in Bolivia’s first cabinet to be comprised of an equal number of men and women. Bolivia now joins Chile as the second country in Latin America to have a cabinet with gender parity, reports IPS News. Monica Novillo, head of advocacy and lobbying for the Coordinadora de la Mujer, a Bolivian coalition of more than 200 women’s organizations, told IPS that the swearing in represents the fulfillment of a promise made by Morales following the adoption of a new constitution in February of 2009. The 10 women in the 20-member cabinet include “singers, lawyers, activists and social leaders, economists, doctors and workers.” In his remarks, Morales also noted that Bolivia now has its first female Minister of Labor.

This development is a testament to the effort and “long-time demand[s]” of the women’s movement in Bolivia, says Novillo. The proportion of women representatives in parliament is also far improved, doubling in percentage share from 14 to 28 percent (46 out of 166) of all seats from the previous Congress. When he announced his new cabinet, Morales said “that Bolivian women’s social conscience, patriotism and dedication to defending national interests, as well as the respect he feels for his mother, sister and daughter, were factors in his decision to break with a long history of discrimination against women.”

Bolivia: Unprecedented Gender Parity in Cabinet -IPS News

The following is a post written by Alison Chatfield, an intern in the Middle East and North Africa Program at Vital Voices. She is a senior at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University and is majoring in International Development Studies.

“If a woman feels secure with her rights and her family, she will have the chance to venture out for other things,” MENA Business Women’s Network President Afnan Al Zayani said in a January 18 interview with the Gulf Daily News.

Women in Bahrain are currently experiencing a conflict of interest in making the tough compromises necessary to juggle a professional and a personal life. Ms. Al Zayani asserted in her statements that traditional roles and responsibilities are still preventing many women from entering or re-entering the workplace. She said that these challenges can be overcome if Bahrain were to provide more reasonably priced services that support women who work and also have responsibilities to their families. These services include a reliable public transport system, care centers for infants, affordable home cooked food, and care for the elderly.

Bahrain considers its people as its greatest resource, making it equally important for women to be given the same employment opportunities as men. Without supportive services to facilitate the interconnectedness of many Bahraini women’s professional and personal lives, many feel they cannot cope under the pressure and are therefore much more likely to give up work or not return to work after having children. Agency is a key ingredient to professional success, and an increase in accessible and affordable services in Bahrain would give women the opportunity of a level playing field.

Al Zayani’s statements were issued at the second annual Regional Women and Leadership Conference, the same in which Labor Minister Dr. Majeed Al Alawi stated that Bahrain had allocated a budget of BD 24 million, equivalent to just over 63 million US dollars, to be used to help 4,500 university graduates find jobs in the private sector in the next 24 months. Seventy-five percent of those graduates are women. He added that “Empowering women is not propaganda to show we are a liberal society, it’s about employing 50 percent of all assets. We don’t want to lose them, we want to make sure female talents have equal opportunities as men.”

Ms. Afnan Al Zayani will be recognized for her work both in business and public life in Bahrain at the Vital Voices 2010 Global Leadership Awards at the Kennedy Center on March 10.

Source: Workplace Help for Women-Gulf Daily News

The following is a post written by Mikhail Bell, a Human Rights Program Intern with Vital Voices. Mikhail Bell is a 2008 graduate of Hamilton College (Clinton, NY). He is interested in studying sex trafficking and plans to pursue an advanced degree in International Affairs.

On January 21, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed an attentive Newseum audience. The gathering, sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, outlined the Obama Administration’s plans to increase internet access and freedom of expression within the international community. Her comments, delivered nine days after the Haiti earthquake, positioned “21st century statecraft” as an important tool in America’s foreign policy arsenal.

Even now, state-sponsored technology is helping survivors of Haiti earthquake. The State Department’s text campaign lets mobile users text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 dollars towards American Red Cross relief efforts. The effort, which has raised over $25 million since it began, is one of the few resources that provides emergency alerts and locates victims. Two survivors, a woman and a 16-month old infant, were found beneath the rubble because people texted for help.

Secretary Clinton asserted that technology is forming a new nervous system, which is keeping more governments accountable and increasing transparency in certain places, such as Iran. She also noted that information networks are a double-edged sword. While demonstrations were organized online, the Iranian government also used websites like Youtube to crush protests and locate dissenters.

Encouraging Americans to promote internet freedom, Secretary Clinton declared:

“We cannot be silent about these issues simply because we cannot hear the cries.”

Continue Reading »

Among the thousands lost following the devastating earthquake that struck Port Au Prince on January 12 are three renowned women’s rights activists, Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcelin, and Anne Marie Coriolan. These women, CNN reports, were “founders of three of the country’s most important advocacy organizations working on behalf of women and girls.” Their deaths leave the women’s movement in Haiti in mourning for three remarkable advocates who devoted themselves to furthering women’s rights in their nation.

Myriam Merlet was a published author and dedicated advocate who was “committed to the process of social and political change in Haiti,” according to V-Day, the anti-violence organization founded by Eve Ensler. Merlet worked to introduce the V-Day movement to Haiti, courageously shining a light on gender-based violence and promoting equality for women and girls. As founder of Enfofamn, Merlet raised awareness about women through the media, documenting their stories. She will be remembered for her tireless spirit, poignantly captured in her own words:

“I look at things through the eyes of women, very conscious of the roles, limitations, and stereotypes imposed on us. Everything I do is informed by that consciousness. So I want to get to a different concept and application of power than the one that keeps women from attaining their full potential…The basis of my work with women is to open them up to other things, give them new tools, give them new capabilities…give women the opportunity to grow…”

Magalie Marcelin was an actress and lawyer who founded Kay Famn, a women’s rights organization that provides shelter and offers microloan services to survivors of domestic violence. Marcelin was passionate in her work as an advocate, calling attention to the inequality and prejudice that women face daily in her community. In public awareness-raising campaigns, stickers are marked with the image of a drum, which Marcelin once explained:

“It’s very symbolic in the Haitian cultural imagination. The sound of the drum is the sound of freedom, it’s the sound of slaves breaking with slavery.”

Ann Marie Coriolan served as a top advisor to Haiti’s Ministry for Gender and the Rights of Women and founded advocacy organization Solidarite Fanm Ayisyen (Solidarity with Haitian Women SOFA). As a political organizer, Coriolan was a leader in a movement that “helped bring rape…to the forefront of Haitian courts,” according to CNN. Before her efforts, and those of fellow women’s activists, rape was regarded only as a “crime of passion” in Haiti. Coriolan’s daughter, Wani Thelusmon Coriolan, said of her mother:

“She loved her country. She never stopped believing in Haiti. She said that when you have a dream you have to fight for it. She wanted women to have equal rights. She wanted women to hold their heads high.”

Women’s movement mourns death of 3 Haitian leaders

In the hill state of Uttarakhand, traditionally marginalized women have formed their own cooperative and are producing processed food items that rival multinational brands in local markets, reports IPS News. Limited by the remoteness of their state, social conventions, and often illiteracy, the women of the region have largely been left out of developmental processes. The cooperative has empowered its members and instilled them with self-confidence, as one woman says:

“I had no self-worth. I just looked after the domestic chores and had no say in decision-making matters in the household. Today, I operate the machines at our processing center, carry out money transactions and have become a popular face at the local bank.”

Now entrepreneurs, the 250 women who form the collective, or self-help group, “have been engaged in community-based activities for over two decades now,” according to IPS News. The women train one another, lifting up the next generation and encouraging sustainable farming and economic independence. In large cities like Delhi, where there is a demand for organically grown products, there is high demand for the women’s produce. Contributing a share of their earnings to a collective fund, the women work collaboratively and invest in educational efforts to enhance their marketing and trading skills.

INDIA: Hill Women Form Cooperative, Turn Entrepreneurs -IPS News