Three years ago, when the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the UN General Assembly, it received overwhelming support from the majority of member states. The Declaration marked the culmination of decades of advocacy by Indigenous Peoples for the recognition of their rights at the international level. It also addresses critical issues, such as the right to self-determination, the recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples in sustainable development, and the rights of Indigenous women.
At the time, only four countries voted against it: the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the time since that vote, both Australia and New Zealand have reversed their position and endorsed the Declaration. Last Friday, Canada officially joined them in ending its opposition. This decision was praised by the Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Carlos Mamani, who recognized it as an “important step in the right direction towards building and strengthening the relationship between Canada and indigenous peoples within Canada."
Nearly ten months after the earthquake, Haitians still live in a state of emergency. I saw this in person during my recent trip to Haiti, where I met with leaders of our sister organization KOFAVIV.
During my stay, I heard the first-hand testimonies of women who have been raped while living in the camps. As one camp resident explained, “People rape older women, younger women, and kids. We need security and lighting…but the people who are doing security don’t get paid…they are discouraged.”
KOFAVIV told us again that sexual, domestic and gang violence in the camps have increased and that both security and lighting in the camps are barely present. This is a reality that we have worked with KOFAVIV to document for months and that continues to threaten women’s lives. Indeed, just the night before my arrival a 15-year-old girl had been raped by a police officer in the camp.
I also witnessed first-hand the valuable and powerful work that KOFAVIV is doing to promote women’s health. The day that I arrived in Port-au-Prince, KOFAVIV held a training on maternal health care for women who had recently given birth or were currently pregnant as a result of rape. (Photo at left: MADRE Human Rights Advocacy Director Lisa Davis and I at the maternal health training.)
Even before the earthquake, pregnancy in Haiti was dangerous and risky. Now, with women and girls facing the threat of rape in the camps and enduring the health related consequences of the attacks, KOFAVIV is working to ensure that pregnant women get the care they need. General healthcare in the camps is already insufficient, and women receive limited prenatal care only through mobile and temporary clinics. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the recent cholera outbreak, coupled with high incidence of HIV, the shortage of clinics and experienced doctors in childbirth, and a lack of basic sanitation means that thousands of pregnant Haitian women may face pregnancy-related complications.
It was heartbreaking and infuriating to see conditions that women are forced to endure in the camps, especially when grassroots women’s groups have already identified simple solutions – such as increasing lighting and police presence in the camps, and adopting a gendered perspective to relief efforts – that can create drastic improvements.
But all the while, I was inspired by KOFAVIV’s determination to demand that these solutions be implemented and by the life-saving support that they provide. KOFAVIV is continuously and relentlessly working to improve conditions for displaced women and girls in Haiti, and we at MADRE are committed to support them in this effort.
Women and girls in Ayacucho face the additional challenge of gender discrimination. They are grossly underrepresented in local government, are victims of gender based violence, and lack access to basic health care. Like many underdeveloped regions in the world, maternal mortality remains high in Ayacucho, with 185 deaths per 100,000 live briths. Meanwhile, a major obstacle to women participating in local government, as well to receiving health care, is that many of these women speak only their native Indigenous languages, such as Quechua, Aymara, and Asháninka.
To provide these Indigenous men and women with an outlet through which to participate in their communities and exercise their rights, MADRE's sister organization in Peru, The Center for Indigenous Peoples' Cultures of Peru (CHIRAPAQ), has taken to the airways! The radio program, called Sapinchikmanta and based in Ayacucho, is broadcast in Spanish and Quechua (as well as other segments broadcast in Aymara and Asháninka). The program tackles a wide range of issues pertinent to women and Indigenous Peoples, such as malnutrition, climate change, development, domestic violence, government, education, and access to clean water. It currently reaches up to 60,000 people, who, thanks to the program, receive information on some of the most pressing issues confronting Peru's Indigenous population. With public leadership roles on the radio, Indigenous women have also begun to gain status within their homes and communities.
For you Spanish-speakers out there, here are a few clips from the radio program. The first discusses "comiendo sano" or "eating healthy", the second is about "cambio climatico" or "climate change", and the last concerns "violencia familiar" or "domestic violence".
For more information on MADRE's 'Voices for Justice' project, click here. And for more information and audio clips from CHIRAPAQ, click here.
Hello again, blog readers! The last time I wrote, I let you know that after leaving my staff position at MADRE, I would have the opportunity to travel to visit our partners in Guatemala. And though mudslides prevented me from traveling to visit Muixil, I did have the chance to meet with our sister organization in Barcenas, the Women Workers’ Committee. The Women Workers’ Committee was founded in Barcenas, a neighborhood of Guatemala City, to fight for the human rights of women working in maquilas (sweatshops).
My first day in Barcenas, I met with Sandra Gonzalez and other program directors from the organization, and we had a chance to chat for a while. One of the young women took pictures of Sandra and me as we went through the bag of donations I had brought with me:
Sandra spoke about how important MADRE's support is to the organization. At one point, she pulled out a photo that we had sent to her of the MADRE staff, a picture taken two years ago at MADRE’s 25th anniversary celebration. I named everyone in the picture, and she was surprised to learn that mine was one of the faces pictured. It was wonderful to connect in person with someone we had only seen before in photos.
The next day, I arrived in the morning to attend a workshop organized by the Women Workers’ Committee on violence against women. Women in Guatemala have faced appallingly high levels of violence, with nearly 4,000 murdered in the past decade and with little police protection available.
Sandra started the class with a positive energy exercise, and a young woman spoke about the various types of violence that exist and how to confront them. This was followed by a discussion on roots of violence, and workshop participants shared their own ideas and experiences on the topic.
All around, I was delighted to meet Sandra – she's incredibly friendly and obviously highly motivated and committed to the work of the Women Workers’ Committee. I’m glad to have the chance to share my thoughts and my pictures and to try to paint a picture of their great work for other MADRE members.
The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank are estimating that the floods caused $9.5 billion in damage to Pakistan’s infrastructure. The floods severely damaged property, roads, buildings, irrigation systems and crops. However, the damage the floods caused in Pakistan extend far beyond structural and material losses; they have created massive human suffering. Some 20 million people have been displaced, many of whom are still residing in makeshift shelters.
Of those displaced, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that 70 percent are women, half a million of whom are now pregnant and facing giving birth in a country still recovering from the floods. While media coverage of the Pakistan floods has faded, the situation remains much the same for pregnant Pakistani women; in all likelihood these women will give birth in unsanitary conditions without the help of a skilled health professional. Their children will be born to a country where the floods have made an already existing food and water crisis even worse.
MADRE maintains our commitment to the safety of these women and their children through work with our Pakistani ally organization, Shirkat Gah. Together we are providing women with clinics, women doctors, safe spaces, family planning education and relief supplies. Pakistani women still suffer from the aftermath of the floods, and you can still support local women’s relief efforts.
To denounce this policy move, I wrote this letter to the editor to the Washington Post:
This week, the Obama administration had a choice: Stand with children exploited as soldiers or with the militaries guilty of exploiting them ["Obama grants waiver that allows U.S. aid to continue to four countries using child soldiers," news story, Oct. 28]. It opted for the latter.
Despite claims to be putting the four offending countries "on notice," the decision to waive a cut-off of military aid has exactly the opposite effect. The United States has sent a clear message to Yemen, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad that they run no serious risk of sanctions. Other governments have also gotten the message.
Take Colombia, the staunchest of U.S. allies in South America. Recently, we conducted dozens of interviews with former Colombian child soldiers, including some used as spies by the military. They told us of their long struggle to overcome the trauma of a childhood abruptly ended as they were forced into a life of violence and combat. Thanks to the waiver, the Colombian government now has even less reason to end this human rights violation.
Unless the administration reverses its position, U.S. taxpayers will continue to foot the bill for militaries that turn children into killers.
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