Saturday 27 February 2010

Appeal for Freedom and Gender Equality in Iran


We support this appeal by feminists and women's rights activists in Iran and invite everyone to sign it.





To put an end to violence, to repression, and to obtain the immediate release of all the arrested women activists, we call on the associations, the organisations for women's rights, and feminists throughout the world to show their solidarity with the struggle of Iranian women, by organising initiatives on the 8th March 2010, with the slogan "Freedom and Gener Equality in Iran" as a sign of support for the Iranian women.

For more than 30 years, the women's movement in Iran has been in the front line of the struggle for freedom and equality. Gender discrimination goes hand in hand with the other forms of subordination based on social class, ethnic group, political ideology, and religion.

The progress of democratic though is supported by the peaceful resistence of men and women in defense of gender equality in the judicial, cultural, social and economic areas. For years, Iranian women, using different individual and collective methods, have organised campaigns to change the discriminatory laws and have contributed to the diffusion of gender equality.

By doing this, we risk threats, arrests and trials - many are still in jail.

The 30th anniversary of the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) - which Iran has not signed - coincides with the anniversary of 30 years of discrimination against Iranian women and in view of the 15th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in which Iran participated, it can be seen that Iran has not committed itself to end discrimination againstwomen.

In such a delicate situation it become more than necessary to develope female solidarity at a global level with Iranian women, in particular with activists who work for equality of rights and to establish democracy in Iran.

We invite those who defend women's rights, associations, women's organisations, and international networks to show solidarity with the Iranian women and with the democracy movement in Iran.





Sign the Declaration of the Iranian Women



The following are some ways in which you can show solidarity with the Iranian women. These are only examples, don't hesitate to be creative in your expressions of solidarity.


  • Mark the 8th March, concentrating on the situation of women in Iran in publications, blogs, public meetings, demonstrations, and assembies.
  • Organise local events concentrating on the struggle underway in Iran as part of the World March of Women.
  • Use the slogan "Freedom and Gender Equality in Iran" on web sites, Op-Eds, leaflets, publicity, demonstrations and in other innovative actions adopted by activists, artists, feminists, and intellectuals.
  • Stay in contact (iran.genderequality@gmail.com) by way of our blog, Facebook group “Gender Equality” and the Twitter page, where news of the reactions to the freedom and gender equality initiative will be covered.
  • Make short films and take photos of your actions and send them to href="mailto:iran.genderequality@gmail.com">



Tuesday 16 February 2010

Not in Our Name





Israel's reaction in Gaza was just

Silvio Berlusconi



With the recent visit of Prime Minister Berlusconi to Israel, the Italian government has made our country complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian people and in the possible escalation of war in the Middle East.

Italy is officially supplying armaments, economic investment, and scientific collaboration to anIsraeli government, condemned by international institutions for the construction of the segregation wall, for war crimes in Gaza and for the colonial occupation of the Palestinian territories.


We, as Italian citizens, do not accept complicity in this policy of oppression and war.

For these reasons

  • We call for the revocation of the military, commercial, scientific and cultural agreements between the Italian and Israeli institutions.
  • We call for the ending of the Italian and European participation in the shameful embargo of the Palestinian population of Gaza who have been under siege for 4 years.

There is no lasting peace without justice.


Tuesday 9 February 2010

Make Afghan Women's Voices Heard



In the west there's the notion that Afghanistan has been liberated and the fundamentalists deposed, but it's not like that. There's an image of Afghanistan that the media provides and there's Afganistan described by Afghan women


But who will make the voices of Afghan women heard?


RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan) has been fighting for 30 years in defense of women's rights and for a secular and democratic state, free of fundamentalism.

Rawa's founder, Meena, was assassinated in 1987 by Afghan agents of the KGB. Since then, the fate democratic opponents of the regime has not changed. Today, RAWA is still forced to work clandestinely, with serious risks to the lives of activists. RAW is active in both social and political projects. Activists perform many social activities in the fields of education, health care, providing microcredits for women's craft projects, while continuing to denounce the violence and the violations of human rights, reported on the site www.rawa.org that has been created by self-taught women.

After the last 8 years of "war on terrorism" with thousands of dead - the most part civilians - the situation in Afghanistan has worsened. 80% of the population live in poverty. Social reconstruction has not happened. Production of opium has increased, and now represents 93% of world production.

Conditions have not improved for Afghan women. On the contrary, the number of abductions, rapes, selling of daughters, forced marriages, prostitution, and suicide have reached unprecedented levels.

Everything is forbidden to women (studying, employment, going out alone) in spite of the fact that the new Afghan consitution recognises equal rights for men and women since 2004.

The Italian Women in Black have been supporting the Afghan women of RAWA since 1999 with direct relations, visits, meetings, and support for funding campaigns. In 2004 the Italian Coordination in Support of Afghan Women (CISDA) was formed on the initiative of the Women in Black, womens organisations, and individual women. It promotes international cooperation projects in favour of Afghan women.

This month, CISDA organised a series of initiatives with Mehmooda, a RAWA activist, in several Italian cities. In Ravenna, the Women in Black Organised two meetings to make afghan women's voices heard
Interview with Mehmooda

In December, at the request of the Legislative Assembly of the Marche region, on the occasion of the founding of the association "Peace University", the Women in Black of Fano invitied RAWA activist Zoya to bring her testimony.

Here are some of the points of Zoya's speech that impressed us all very deeply.



















8 years ago, Afghanistan was occupied for three motives: liberation of women, establishment of a democracy, and war on terrorism. After 8 years, after troops from 42 countries have intervened militarily in Afghanistan, after billions of dollars have been spent, these three "aims" have not been realised.

Liberation for women



Domestic violence, rape, abduction - all these crimes remain unpunished, because often those who commit them are linked to those in power, including those close to the government and to the forces of law and order. In the west, it's said that we've been liberated, that the obligation to wear the burqa has been removed, that the law allows us to go to school. but many girls are attacked and acid is thrown in their faces, so they don't go to school and they put the burqa back on. The burqa has only disappeared in Kabul and only among women from the elite sectors.

Women are very poor and hungry. There are families that are forced to sell their daughters for 400 dollars. We are told that so much money is arriving, but wear has it ended up? Because of government corruption, it goes to drug traffickers. In all this, what remains for the women? Only suicide! And unfortunately, it seems to be becoming a fashion among young women.


Democracy

It's not RAWA, but the UN who have said that the elections in Afganistan were fraudulent.

There is no freedom of speech. Independent journalists have a very difficult life. Some are even killed. RAWA, for example, cannot speak openly. The democratic voices in parliament that denounced war crimes have been expelled.

War on terrorism



After 8 years and billions of dollars, 80% of Afghanistan is under Taleban control. At the beginning we were optimistic about the western intervention, but then we understood that western forces were making comprises and supporting fundamentalist groups.




Voices of Afghan women


Zoya's Story
Raising My Voice: Malalai Joya