SAARC women entrepreneur meet

The SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneur Council (SCWEC) is organising a two-day event on ‘Innovative entrepreneurship’ aiming to create a wide network of women entrepreneurs from SAARC nations to improve their knowledge of marketing management methods.

The event will begin on August 6. Forty delegates from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Bangladesh will participate. They will take part in several discussions on socio-economic issues.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Post-Tsunami Violence Against Women On Rise-Report

Asian tsunami face heightened risks of violence, impoverishment and lack of privacy at relief camps in several nations.

Women who survived the 2004 Asian tsunami face heightened risks of violence, impoverishment and lack of privacy at relief camps in several nations, a report released on Saturday said.

In many places, women were more vulnerable to abuse by men after the tsunami uprooted their traditional way of life, the report by 174 organisations, including ActionAid International, said..

"They would often beat their wives after getting drunk and would force them to have sex in the camps, sometimes in front of children," said Sriyani Perera, ActionAid International's women rights coordinator for Asia.

The report covered five countries -- Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, India and Somalia -- and more than 7,000 women were interviewed.

In the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu where more than 7,000 people died when the monstrous waves struck on Dec. 26 over two years ago, some women who lost their houses or livelihood had to sell their kidneys to make ends meet,

"We were shifted to a place where there was no work and no food to feed our children," a woman from Tamil Nadu was quoted as saying in the report. Her name was not given.

"I sold my kidney and got a small amount. They did not give me the promised amount. Now I am suffering with heavy abdominal pain and I can't work."

The report said women were often not consulted in the distribution of relief -- material or financial -- and men often misused funds for drinking, leading to further abuse of women.

Single and older women as well as those with disabilities were particularly vulnerable in the post-tsunami rehabilitation period.

On Dec. 26, 2004, giant waves triggered by one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded pulverised villages along Indian Ocean shores. Around 230,000 people were killed or went missing. Another 1.5 million were left homeless.

South Asian nations were severely hit by the tsunami with tens of thousands killed across Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives.

The report said sex tourism was on the rise in coastal areas of tsunami-affected regions in India as hotels were being built near the shoreline.

Poor women, especially from devastated fishing communities, were particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

"The government doesn't allow fishermen to live within 500 metres (1,650 feet) of the seashore," Magline, 38, who is from a fishing community in the southern Indian state of Kerala, told Reuters.

"The coast has been leased to sand miners and hotels leading to influx of outsiders," she said. "This has affected our local culture and given rise to sex tourism."

The report has been released ahead of a summit of South Asian leaders in New Delhi from April 3-4 and its authors want the governments to pay heed to the plight of women survivors of the tsunami and provide them better protection.

Source: Reuters

Canadian journalist roughed up, local journalist held for two hours

Patrick Browne, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s South Asia correspondent, and his cameraman were manhandled by police during a demonstration on 23 March marking the return of opposition activist Mariya Ahmed Didi from Washington, where she received the International Woman of Courage award from secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. Brown is in the Maldives to do a report on President Abdul Gayoom. Ahmed Rasheed, a journalist with the opposition daily Minivan, was detained for two hours at the end of the demonstration without being given an explanation. It was the second time Rasheed has been held by the police.

Source:

First International Women of Courage Awards

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Announce the First International Women of Courage Awards

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will speak at a ceremony to announce the Secretary of State's Award for International Women of Courage and to recognize the first group of women from different regions around the world to receive the award. The event will take place on March 7, 2007 at 1:30 p.m. in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the U.S. Department of State. In honor of International Women's Day 2007, Secretary Rice has established the annual Award for International Women of Courage, recognizing women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and advancement. This is the only Department of State award that pays tribute to emerging women leaders worldwide, and offers a unique opportunity for transformational diplomacy in the field of international women's issues.

This year, the Department will honor the following 10 women of courage:
Africa Ms. Jennifer Louise Williams – Zimbabwe
East Asia/Pacific Dr. Siti Musdah Mulia - Indonesia
Europe Ms. Ilze Jaunalksne - Latvia
Near East Dr. Samia al-Amoudi - Saudi Arabia
South and Central Asia Ms. Mariya Ahmed Didi - Maldives
Western Hemisphere Ms. Susana Trimarco de Veron – Argentina
Afghanistan and Iraq Ms. Mary Akrami - Afghanistan
Ms. Aziza Siddiqui - Afghanistan
Dr. Sundus Abbas - Iraq
Ms. Shatha Abdul Razzak Abbousi - Iraq

Source: Scoop

Mariya Wins US International Women Of Courage Award

Mariya Ahmed Didi, an opposition MP, is being recognized for her contributions to promoting women’s rights. Representing South and Central Asia, Mariya is the regional winner of the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Woman of Courage Award.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will present Mariya with the prestigious honour at a ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department in Washington, DC.

The awards ceremony, on International Women’s Day on March 7 will be one highlight of a full week of events, including meetings with members of congress, discussions with student groups, and a special event at the White House.

This is the first year the Secretary of State is presenting such an award, recognizing six honorees from separate geographic regions and an additional six recipients from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mariya is in excellent company, forming part of an elite group of only twelve women world-wide being lauded for efforts to foster equal rights for women within their own countries.

In her work, Mariya has overcome many obstacles, including intimidation, harassment, arrest, and slander. Mariya has been targeted several times by the pro-government propagandist website FactMaldives, run off the road on her motorbike by a car full of government supporters, and hurled with abuse and bags of oil.

Unfortunately, Mariya’s difficulties echo those of most Maldivian women active in politics or civil society.

In March 2006, after plainclothes policemen arrested Fathimath Shiuna from her home in the middle of the night, Mariya not only registered her outrage, she planned the first ever women’s rights rally in Maldives.

She boldly told Minivan News at that time, “If you look at all the pro-government websites and the print media, you see that once a woman enters politics and voices dissent, she is made to look like a prostitute. They don’t like women who have their own voice and as soon as a woman enters politics they shove her down.”

Mariya was unique in publicly speaking out about abuses against women and drawing national and international attention to the struggles she and many other women in the Maldives continue to face.

Several hundred women supported Mariya, participating in the women’s rights rally she organized.

It passed peacefully and permitted many women to publicly air their concerns.

Nevertheless, women continue to face numerous additional difficulties as they strive for greater freedom.

The current Maldivian constitution does not permit a woman to become president, and few women are active in the fields of politics or law.

When Maldives recently presented a report on its efforts to implement the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the UN committee responded with several suggestions for Maldives to improve the status of women.

These included recommendations that the government should appoint female Atoll Chiefs and recruit women as judges.

Another major challenge for Maldives in realizing gender equity is the lack of awareness about women’s rights.

The Maldives Human Rights Commission conducted a 2005 baseline assessment that found more women than men believe it is acceptable for men to hit their wives under certain circumstances.

An alarming percentage of women said they faced sexual harassment in their offices or in public places.

The State Department has singled out Mariya for her work in championing women’s rights under these adverse conditions.

Although her award is specifically in the field of advocating for women’s rights, Mariya sees it as directly related to the broader democratic agenda.

In an exclusive interview with Minivan News in London en route to Washington, DC, Mariya said that prior to winning this award, she often felt the international community has overlooked the Maldives’s struggle for democracy.

Now, however, she feels somewhat vindicated in her previously thankless efforts to push Maldives toward greater democratic openness.

“The greatest democracy in the world has recognized that we are trying to bring democracy to the Maldives. With America’s helping hand, we can fulfill that dream and make the Maldives one of the finest democracies in the world. We are only 300 000 people. Educating people and getting them to participate in the democratic process shouldn’t be that hard,” Mariya said.

“This award is a recognition that we have stood up to Gayoom, who maintains his position as the head of the executive, judiciary and military. It takes courage to stand up to him. America has recognized that it takes courage to stand up to a man with all the de facto and de jure power,” she added.

Many young women in Maldives see Mariya as a role model, asking her for guidance and informal mentoring.

“She has done a lot for the cause of democracy in the Maldives. She is a very brave woman,” said radio journalist Fathimath Shaheeda.

As both an opposition activist and a woman in the public eye, she has managed to demonstrate the links between human rights and women’s rights, democratic ideals and the important role of women in society.

As Mariya travels to Washington to be honoured as an International Woman of Courage, she will be well placed to draw a spotlight on the Maldives in front of some of the most powerful politicians in the world.

In doing so, she will no doubt underscore the need to build awareness of women’s rights and promote those within Maldives and throughout the world.

From Minivan News