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| Amnesty International UK |
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| Women's Action Network News March 2016 |
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| areSad | Dear Debra,
Happy International Women's Day, and welcome to the latest newsletter from Amnesty UK's Women's Action Network.
In this month's news we have:-
Information on the new Women's Action Network Committee
International Women's Day
Take Action for Women and Girls in Burkina Faso
Poems That Make Grown Women Cry book launch
The WAN committee is Justine Obiakor, Bonnie Molins, Carolina Quintero Paulsen, Alison Graham, Sheenu Das and Rachel Statham. We are a group of six volunteers who are dedicated to promoting and campaigning for women's rights, as part of Amnesty UK. There will be a WAN stall with information about our campaigns at the 2016 AGM in Nottingham; book your ticket here.
International Women's Day
Today is International Women's Day, a holiday recognised in countries as wide-ranging as Angola, Uzbekistan and Laos.
This year, the UN's theme is Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.
The first UN-organised IWD took place in 1977, after the UN's General Assembly invited its members to declare 8th March a day for women's rights and world peace. The event has continued for almost 40 years since then. It is a day dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women and girls, and reflecting on the struggle of the many women and girls around the world who have been, and still are, denied their human rights.
The UN's 2015 Progress of the World's Women report provides some food for thought. It found that 75% of women in managerial and higher professional roles in the EU had experienced some form of sexual harassment in their lifetimes. The same percentage of women's employment is informal and unprotected in developing regions. Globally, women spend on average 2.5 times more time on unpaid and domestic labour than men. Great strides have been made in the rights of women and girls, but there is still much to be done.
Stand in Solidarity with survivors of forced marriage in Burkina Faso
"It's difficult to raise the subject [of contraception] with him. He is automatically against it. When the husband speaks, we have to put up with everything… Without money, there was nothing I could do and the last child, which I did not want, was born."
- Héléne, a 25 year old mother of four children
In preparation for Amnesty UK's action for Burkina Faso on International Women's Day, a group of activists and Amnesty staff members met with Amnesty International Burkina Faso. The meeting focused on women and girls' reproductive rights in the country, and covered issues such as early forced marriage, and the lack of sexual healthcare available – a woman who has been raped must still pay for her own emergency medical healthcare.
Several Women's Action Network committee members were present, including Justine Obiakor, who said "It was uplifting to learn about the strides being taken in Burkina Faso. The sense of community and self-efficacy are the thriving forces enabling the progression of women empowerment. I especially loved how investments in youth engagement of both males and females, is slowly shifting the cultural perception of the treatment of women and other underlining social ideologies."
Defending women's and girls' rights in Burkina Faso is part of Amnesty UK's ongoing My Body My Rights campaign. It focuses on the need to protect women and girls' choices and dignity, such as their right to education, and their right to choose whether they become pregnant.
Sign the petition to protect women and girls' reproductive rights in Burkina Faso, and get information about the action.
Poems That Make Grown Women Cry
After the enormous success of Poems That Make Grown Men Cry, Amnesty UK has released a sequel, Poems That Make Grown Women Cry, in partnership with Anthony and Ben Holden. The anthology was launched on 4th March at the National Theatre, and featured readings from names such as Juliet Stevenson. 100 noteworthy women selected poems to appear in the compilation, including Yoko Ono, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Carol Ann Duffy. Read more about the project, and purchase your own copy.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us at womensnetwork@amnesty.org.uk; you can also like us on Facebook, and tweet us on Twitter .
Together we make a difference.
The WAN Committee | |
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