myMADRE

President Obama to Ease Restrictions on US-Cuba Relations?

News has emerged lately of potential changes in US policy towards Cuba that would loosen long-standing restrictions.  According to some reports, President Obama is readying to partially undo obstacles to travel and to slightly open avenues for economic support long blocked by a decades-old embargo.

However, these proposed alterations will barely begin to approximate the real changes that have been demanded by MADRE and other social justice organizations for decades: an end to the embargo, a lifting of the travel ban and a normalization of US-Cuba relations.  Instead, the changes in the making from President Obama’s Administration would merely set back the clock to Clinton-era policies and only undo the more severe restrictions imposed by the Bush Administration.

Cuba has been the target of the longest-running embargo in US history, which has blocked access to necessities like food and medicine and undermined the well-being of Cuban women and families.  Travel restrictions hamper the ability of Cuban families to visit each other and restrict people’s freedom of movement.  Some members of the US Congress have recognized that these are failed policies and have voted HR 4645 through the House Committee on Agriculture, taking an important step towards an end to the embargo and travel ban.

President Obama is right to begin to undo these restrictions, but the job is only partially-done.  As new announcements of these incremental changes to US-Cuba policy emerge, we must continue to call for a complete end to these unpopular and harmful policies.

A Fond Farewell

I'm writing this entry with mixed feelings. After nearly three years at MADRE, I'm saying goodbye. I'm applying to graduate programs for next fall, and I've decided to use the next year as an opportunity to travel and volunteer abroad. And though I'm extremely excited about this decision and my upcoming adventures, I'm also sad to be leaving my role as MADRE's Website and Online Membership Coordinator. 

I've had an amazing few years here. I've met incredible people and learned so much about women's human rights and grassroots organizing - not to mention nonprofit development and website management. MADRE is truly an incredible organization, and I feel privileged to have been a part of such important work.

Now, as I leave my staff position, I look forward to my new role as a MADRE member and volunteer. Having heard - and written - so much about our partners, I'm excited that I'll actually have the chance to meet with some of them and see the projects in action. 

In late September, I head for Guatemala, and while I'm there, I'll be visiting MADRE's partner organizations, the Women Workers' Committee and Muixil. I'll be writing updates for MADRE's blog from Guatemala, and I'll send pictures of both projects for you to see. 

And I plan to bring a gigantic bag of flashlights and whistles with me for the women of Barcenas. However, in order to do that, I need help from MADRE's amazing membership. Donate to MADRE's Helping Hands campaign or purchase an alternative gift from the webstore. Your contribution will fill my bag, thereby enhance women's security in the Barcenas community. 

If you have a large quantity of new flashlights or whistles that you can donate, please call us at 212-627-0444.

Before I sign off, I want to quickly introduce two newbies at MADRE. Mishael Najm, MADRE's new Helping Hands Coordinator and Administrative Assistant, came on as an intern six months ago and graduated to her new staff position a few weeks back. Rachel Giuliani, the Website and Online Membership Coordinator and my very capable replacement, is extremely new to MADRE, but I can already tell she'll do well. They will both be contributing to the blog in the coming weeks/months, and I know I'm looking forward to hearing from them.

And so with that, I'll wish you all farewell for now.

Floods In Pakistan Cause Widescale Devastation and Displacement

As a result of continuous monsoon rains, a flood surge has swept south along the Indus River displacing millions and spreading devastation.

Latest data from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) estimates that the floods have led to the displacement of a population of 14 million with 1,392 deaths and 1,985 injuries. Of course, these numbers will continue to rise as efforts to provide relief have not even begun to fully address the widescale devastation caused by flooding.   

Current conditions in Pakistan demand an immediate response. MADRE is partnering with Shirkat Gah, a women's organization based in Pakistan. This organization will be supported through MADRE Emergency Disaster and Relief Fund: Pakistan. Your donations will go towards providing basic necessities such as water, food, clothing and shoes and will aid Shirkat Gah's efforts to distribute medicines and relief on the ground. 

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Millennium Development Goal 3: Gender Equality & the Empowerment of Women

The turn of the millennium saw 189 governments pledge to improve the conditions of the millions of people living in poverty around the world by the year 2015. This commitment was broken down into eight target areas, which became known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). September will see another gathering of global leaders in New York to discuss the progress made thus far and to review what still needs to be done. With only five years left until the deadline, a monumental amount of work and change is required if these goals are to have any hope of being.

The third MDG is concerned with the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, with an emphasis placed upon reducing the disparity between men and women in education. For a better and more sustainable future, education is vital. With knowledge nor skills the poverty cycle cannot be broken and the poor will remain unable to help themselves. Currently, statistics from Oxfam show that of the 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty, two thirds of them are women. Such a figure is almost impossible to comprehend but even more difficult to grasp is the fact that it is women who are working two thirds of the world’s labor hours and yet they only earn 10% of the global income.

We can see how poverty is not simply about a lack of resources but also very much linked to under-representation, missing opportunities and about a lack of power. As the Global Fund for Women notes, research has demonstrated that sending girls to school has hugely beneficial effects, not only personally but for their families, communities and society in general. Educating women helps to protect the health of children as well as making economic sense for developing economies. Recently, Ban Ki-moon the Secretary-General of the UN, was quoted as saying that women were the “glue that holds our societies and our nations together” illustrating the need to remove the current social, economic and political obstacles which many women face.

Progress has been made, especially with regard to parity in primary education in many countries of the Global South, however this positive trend has unfortunately not yet spilled over to the secondary level of schooling in the majority of cases. Bangladesh is held up as the great success story with parity at both levels of education having been accomplished in the relatively short time of ten years. Therefore, we know it is possible and so we must keep pushing for governments to do more and to commit more resources and money.

Take Action and demand that your government upholds its promise to end global poverty and make a positive difference to the lives of millions. The ‘Commit in September’ website has a petition which you can sign and to send to President Obama calling on him and congress to reaffirm his commitment to these goals.

*Photo credit: Elizabeth Rappaport

Empowerment through Prevention Alternatives: The New HIV Gel

A study published recently addressed the effectiveness of a newly developed gel meant to combat HIV. This gel, created through the efforts of the South African AIDS research program CAPRISA, is a form of anti-retroviral therapy that uses the drug tenofovir to prevent the virus from advancing into AIDS. 

The development of this new preventative treatment has serious implications on the sexual health of women. Providing females with new alternatives, the gel allows women to actively participate in safeguarding their health in ways that are otherwise limited by present methods to curtail HIV transmission, such as male condoms and circumcision.

Applied vaginally 12 hours before and then 12 hours after sexual intercourse the gel has a 39 percent success rate. Those that commit to using the gel, as directed at least 80 percent of the time, increase their rate of success to 54 percent. Additionally, the gel cuts risks of genital herpes infection by 51 percent. This too is a major benefit as women who have herpes are twice as likely to be infected with HIV.  

This gel is projected to substantially decrease future HIV transmission rates. As a researcher for the gel explained,  “Without this gel, for every 100 women we may see 10 women being infected in a year. With this gel, we would see only six women being infected.”

As for its direct impact on the rights of women Vuyiseka Dubula of South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign stated, “This is a hope we have been waiting for. When women want to engage in sex, we don’t want to spend the time negotiating safety. Even if we’re someone who does have power in our relationships, we still don’t have the tools to use.”

A Brief Video Glimpse of a KOFAVIV Gathering of Haitian Women Organizers

Since returning from Haiti a couple of weeks ago, I have been eager to share some of the video that we captured while we were there.  So as not to keep our blog readers waiting, I have pulled together this short video, providing just a very brief glimpse of the incredible work we saw our partners engaged in.

Keep an eye on this blog for more video as it becomes available!

Inadequate Sanitation Poses Risk to Kenyan Women

We all know that people have different physical needs in terms of sanitation services, whether it is due to menstruation or women's increased need for privacy.

Last month saw Amnesty International voice its concerns over the issue of Kenyan women’s access to safe and accessible sanitation services. In a report released by the organization, it was stated that women were particularly affected by the poor sanitation conditions in the slums and informal settlements. Not only are these women subjected to the indignity of inadequate provisions, which prompts many to wait till nightfall to use what facilities there are, but security in these areas is severely lacking. This means that women are at risk of gender-based violence and vulnerable to rape while trying to bathe or use the toilet. 

Presently, violence against women in these slums and settlements is unfortunately a common occurrence with the offenders rarely brought to justice. This needs to change, which is why many human rights organizations, are calling on the Kenyan government to ensure that proper facilities are provided for the people of these slums and that security measures in the form of better lighting and policing are introduced.

In such insecure situations, MADRE and our sister organizations in countries such as Haiti have helped to provide women with flashlights and whistles, which have been essential in providing security for women and girls in these communities, where there are no street lights and no reliable police protection. 

However, not only are poor sanitation conditions an issue because of the danger they present to personal security, there are also major health risks that are a consequence of these inadequate provisions. A lack of access to clean water, a basic human right, is another massive challenge facing the people of these Kenyan slums. Climate change has had a significant impact, with drought and contaminated water confounding the already difficult situation that many Kenyans are in.

Photos: Delivering Flashlights and Whistles in Haiti

As promised in my past blog entry, I'm happy to finally be able to share a few of the photos we took when we delivered a package of donations -- including medical supplies, flashlights and whistles -- to our partners in Haiti, KOFAVIV.  Using these supplies, gathered through MADRE's Helping Hands program, they have been able to create local security measures that help prevent rapes in the camps for displaced people in Haiti.  They have also been able to provide for the basic needs of women and families.

(Click each photo below to enlarge.)

The women opened up the bag with the donations and began passing out the supplies to each other, so that they could distribute them in the camps. 

I passed the FlipCam to one of the KOFAVIV members, who then turned it to one of the members who began to explain how the whistles had been used to prevent rapes and to protect women.

Access to Clean Water and Sanitation: A Fundamental Right

Recently, the General Assembly took major steps to ensure global health by declaring access to clean water and sanitation to be a fundamental human right. The resolution outlining provisions for improved quality and access also reaches out to Member States and international organizations to ensure implementation by providing, "funding, technology and other resources to help poorer countries scale up their efforts to provide clean drinking water and sanitation for everyone."

The current dismal figures illustrate that such action has been long overdue.  According to the United Nations Environment Programme 884 million people around the world presently lack access to drinkable water. Diarrhea caused by the consumption of unclean water remains a major contributor to the death of children under five years of age.

Low standards and shortages of water supplies have also been considered major links to domestic and international conflict. This is often made worse by privatization of water supplies that leads to higher water costs.

Click here to read more from MADRE about water as a human right and to learn about our efforts to provide clean water in Gaza.

*Photo credit: darkpatator.