Have you ever witnessed a “human zoo”, a place where humans, more specifically women are exhibited in lieu of just £4? I know it sounds absurd but it ain’t. Women of the Kayan tribal community in Northern Thailand come under the paraphernalia of such an exhibition, why? well because of their “Long Necks” and hence they are also termed as “Giraffe Women”.

The age old tradition - of winding coil around the neck of a girl till the adulthood is still carried out by the people which happen to become a tourist attraction - has actually sealed the fate of women which compels them not to think about education, housing, full citizenship and, above all, peace.

Burmese migrants especially the Kayan ethnic group, who entered the neighboring province Thailand so as to escape from the 58-year-long civil war that tormented the lives of the natives, discovered no solace in the new region as well. No doubt the opportunities came to them but were nothing more than a mere mirage. For instance, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and foreign governments have put pressure on the Thai authorities to allow 20 Kayan to take up the opportunity of resettlement in New Zealand and Finland but the authorities did not pay any heed to the said verdict. Rather the Thailand Government is working very hard to keep these women a tourist attraction after all, at least one Thai village head collects tens of thousands of pounds a year from tourists visiting their village to see the spectacle of the “Long Necks”.

Nearly ten thousand tourists visit the village per year to see as many as 50 long-neck women and girls who pose for photographs and sell postcards, bracelets and souvenirs. Out of this the women and their families are supplied rice, chilli and cooking oil. The refugees have no other option than to accept what is being offered to them since they are living without hope or any positive prospects coming from anywhere that could provide them with a helping hand.

What is it behind winding coil around the neck?

There are two beliefs supporting the said notion, first, it was carried because of its personification with the feminine beauty, later the coils also became symbols of wealth and status and were worn as jewels. Secondly it also hints at the society which is saturated with chauvinism where men put the rings on their women to deter slave traders.

This reminds me of the age old custom of Foot Binding which was carried out in China, can’t say whether it still persists today or not but what ever the case the maybe one thing is sure, we have never witnessed any such weird tradition, like that of body modification being carried out by men … or is there any?

Darfur women have suffered agony and humiliation for being from the land of the Janjaweed. They have been raped and physically assaulted several times to threaten them and their clan. What a pity the government is siding away from such allegations?

Women in Darfur have been subject to agony only because they are females that too from Sudan’s troubled Darfur. Their story tells the tale of torture, rape and physical abuse that they have to undergo, thanks to the government-backed Janjaweed, who have actively laid barren the claims. A UN report confirms that rape is increasingly used as a weapon of war against the locals to instill fear in them by humiliating their women.

Darfur women have been in the fire ever since the civil war began. Moreover, children of Darfur have been subject to torture and witness to the molestation, rape and sexual assault of their mothers, sisters and friends. What a shame on the part of the government of Sudan, which has closed its eyes to the reality! It is also known that the Janjaweed are actively supported by the Sudanese government against rebel forces. Also, it is the janjaweed that has been committing atrocities on the women and children of Darfur.

The conflict in Darfur has dragged into the fourth year, but the people have not found any kind of respite from anywhere. Their woes increase when even non-participants in the conflict are subject to assault. Around 200,000 people have already perished. With millions homeless, without aid, food, water, shelter, medicines, the agony doubles when they find themselves vulnerable to abductions of their children and rape of their women.

The UN report on Darfur war crimes needs to be seriously assessed and action taken report demanded from the Sudan Government. The Darfur women deserve something better amidst their poverty. Atleast now their cries be paid heed to and justice prevail.

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Via: MSNBC

Women, young girls and children are high risk targets in any conflicts and war. Their vulnerability makes them easy targets. They are scarred for life. Their suffering doesn’t end with the end of war, their lives stands totally devastated and mutilated. They are shunned by their community for being victims of rape, and often they have to fend for themselves and their young children. Plan, an international child aid agency has drafted a report, Because I am a Girl , to document atrocities and the affect war and continuing conflicts have on the girls and children.

According to the report:

a)38 countries have used girl soldiers in armed conflict in the last two decades
b)200 million girls live in countries that are at risk of, in the midst of or emerging from armed conflict
c)90 per cent of victims of modern warfare are civilian with more and more women and children
d)About 20 million girls are out of school in war zone

These figures are shocking. Stories of survivors in the report are very disturbing but they show rare courage to emerge from the shadows of their trauma. Conflicts are ruining many countries. They are ruining life of small girls, their families and the communities. These refugees of war need to be healed and rehabilitated in life.

The report suggests that the focus of aid agencies should include education and rehabilitation of women, girls and children to bring them back to mainstream life. Mental scars of agony and atrocities of war will never heal. But the numbers of women are children affected are large and without proper educational aid the future of communities and the world will remain forever at risk. They’ll be forever trapped in circle of poverty, abuse, displacement, hunger, high mortality and more conflicts.

If we have the target to address the true issue of eradicating poverty this could be one of the important ways. Educating women and girls will ensure their children and families are educated, which in turn will help communities to help themselves. After all wars and conflicts snatch away a way of life and livelihood.

Survivors of conflicts show extraordinary courage. Only education can equip them with skills to overcome the trauma and tragedy and live a dignified life. Knowledge aid is the best aid.

Source: TheAge

Suzanne Swift, the then twenty one year old Army Specialist, was arrested for showing her reluctance in going back to fight in Iraq. She served in Iraq for a year but decided she won’t return and went AWOL. Not only did she feel the war lacked purpose, Swift said her superiors repeatedly sexually harassed her while serving in Iraq.

This is what Sara, mother of Suzanne exposed, in an email interview with us. Read further...

1. Please give our readers, a brief biographical sketch about you and your daughter Suzanne.

Sara: I have always been a human rights activist locally. I am passionate about people and want everyone to be treated with dignity and respect. I have three children, Suzanne is my eldest child. I was raised on a commune with my parents and in the summers I would go live with my grandparents in St. Louis. So being an activist came naturally to me. And trusting the military also was second nature to me.

Suzanne is a beautiful 23 year old woman. She is currently serving in the United States Army. When she joined the military, at the age of 19 she was immediately shipped off to Iraq where she served honorably for one year as a Military Police Officer. Her job in Iraq was as a humvee driver doing combat patrol. She was not harassed or sexually abused until the first day of her deployment and she was shocked that her married platoon Sgt. propositioned her for sex. After suffering abuse by her command she returned home after a year in Iraq only to be sexually harassed again. 11 months after her return from Iraq the military wanted to send Suzanne again and at the last minute she had a breakdown and went absent with leave and did not deploy with her unit to Iraq for the second time.

Her unit, the 54th MP Company is now, September 2007, in Iraq for its third deployment.

2. Could you please tell us what happen to Suzanne? What happened when she went to Iraq and what followed that?

Sara: When Suzanne joined the military she was told by the military recruiter that if she did not want to go into combat then she needed to sign up for the military occupational specialty of a military Police Officer. The catch was then she would have to sign up for five years instead of the normal three. I asked her if she was ready to dedicate five years of her life to the military. She said the extra two years would be worth it if she did not have to be deployed to a combat zone. Immediately after her training she was deployed to Iraq with the 66th MP Company. As she was packing I asked her about contraception and she looked at me as if she was shocked and offended. ‘No one has sex on deployments, Mom.’ and I let it go. When I was saying good bye to her before she was shipped out, I was sitting on her bunk crying. Her Platoon Sergeant came and told me, ‘Don’t worry Ma’am, we will take good care of your daughter.’ Little did we know that he had already singled Suzanne out for his potential ‘Deployment girlfriend.’ The first day in Kuwait Suzanne was heading off to shower and her platoon Sgt. was outside of her room and he said to her, ‘Swift, why you always looking at me like you want to f**** me?’ Suzanne said she was so shocked, not only by his words but that her PLATOON Sgt., someone who she was totally intimidated why would say something like that to her. She replied, ‘Sgt., I think you have lost your mind.’ Soon after this the platoon Sgt. gets Suzanne alone in a Humvee. She is driving and they have headsets on to communicate. There is one other person, but he is up above and can’t hear them. The Sgt. proceeds with his sexual advances towards to Suzanne, and she is even more scared now. He tells her that if they go through with having a sexual relationship she would have to keep it a secret and he might have to single her out for punishment so no one would know what was going on between them. Suzanne refused and told him that this was not going to happen. After that Sgt., Campbell did everything in his power to oppress her and make her look like a stupid and bad soldier.

Suzanne was very shaken by this and went and told her Equal Opportunity Officer what happened. He told her that he would talk to command and get back to her. He never did. This gave Suzanne a very clear message that she was alone and no one was going to back her up.

At the same time, Suzanne Squad leader, MLester is what I have always referred to him as, has really taken Suzanne under his wing. He has been telling her not to trust anyone. That all these soldiers just want to use her and that if anyone came onto her that she should tell him and he would take care of it. Anytime she was seen talking alone to another soldier he would question her about what they wanted and if they were trying to get into her pants. He built a real trust with her and she felt like he would be there for her. The first day when they arrived in Iraq, Sgt. MLester and Suzanne had a long talk by her barracks. He told her that his marriage was not good and disclosed many personal things to her. She reciprocated thinking he was an ally and someone she could talk to. Then abruptly he looks at her and says, ‘Swift, why have you been out here talking to me all this time?’ and Suzanne replies, ‘I thought we were just talking, Sgt.’ He grabs her by the back of the neck and shoves his tongue down her throat. Suzanne has told me that at this point she was scared to death. She thought MLester was gross and unattractive and he had been constantly showing her what happens to soldiers that do not follow orders from him: Shame, Pain and Humiliation. She thought whether she could avoid the punishment if she went along or if she just went along with it she would be safe from his harshness. She was coerced into a sexual relationship. It was a long three months of his using her. He made sure she had a room to herself and would come to her whenever he needed to. Sometimes drunk, but always violent. Suzanne did not know how to get out of it without the inevitable punishment and possible death of being alone in a combat zone. Then one night he asked her if when they got home she would be his girlfriend. She immediately replied that no she wouldn’t an she thought he was ugly and she hated him. There it was out on the table. And the table was turned upside down. He immediately stopped with the sex and started in with the punishment and humiliation that Suzanne feared. She was sabotaged, micromanaged, and written up for the slightest infraction, even those imagined by MLester. Rarely would he administer the punishments and counseling, however. He kept some distance so it would not raise suspicions. Suzanne was miserable. She recalls that every morning she would wake up saying this was the day she was going to tell, promising herself today was the day. Then each night became so disappointed in herself for not having the courage to tell.

3. Sara, why did Suzanne enlist herself in the military? Was it because of sheer adventure associated with the profession?

Sara: Suzanne had graduated from High School and was in a job she was not happy in. A military recruiter started talking to her and was really courting her to join the military. He was very smooth and convincing. He promised her college, job training, travel and if she signed up for 5 years to be a military police officer, she would not be deployed to a combat zone. We both believed him and I was at ease thinking that she would not be deployed. It never even crossed my mind that the recruiter would lie. My grandfather was a Colonel in the US Army and all I had ever known about military was integrity and honesty. I thought on some level the military would be a good experience for Suzanne.

4. You must be sorry she joined military, aren’t you?

Sara: My spiritual belief is that everything happens for a reason. I am so sorry she was hurt, that is the worst of it. I believe she joined for a higher purpose and all the reasons may not be revealed as of yet. Maybe because of what happened to her another young person will change their mind and not join the military. Hopefully the raised awareness because of Suzanne’s case will lead to some serious prevention work around military sexual assault.

5. Sara, could you please tell us something about the official punishments, which the authorities doled on her?

Sara: The official punishment was Suzanne was given a summary court-martial. AT the court martial she told her story. I was so proud of her. Despite everything she was stripped of all her rank and put into prison for 30 days. Now to some people this appeared to be a good deal. I do not agree. I do not believe that rape victims should be put in prison. What they did to Suzanne was a terrible injustice. They sent a 22 year old combat veteran who had been raped and had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder to prison. Because of this sentence, Suzanne not only missed the holidays with her family, but missed the birth of her sister’s first baby. It was an incredibly hard time for our family to try and celebrate the holidays knowing Suzanne was sitting in prison. After everything she had been through, the Army treated her in a very dehumanizing and demoralizing manner. Through it all, Suzanne did not ask for clemency for anything but her rank. She wrote a letter asking that she be able to maintain her rank as Specialist. This was denied which just furthered the humiliation of Suzanne. The Army worked hard to make an example out of Suzanne. Report sex abuse in the military, go to jail.

6. How far have you reached in gaining justice for your daughter?

Sara: There has been no justice for Suzanne. There was a huge opportunity for the US military to do the right thing and let Suzanne have a medical discharge from the Army, but instead they re-traumatized her and treated her like a criminal. The only solace we gain from this ordeal is knowing that others who were raped in the military have found their voices after watching Suzanne speak out.

7. Sara, you have experienced the most harrowing incident of your life. What according to your experience is the life of women in defense services, I mean in military?

Sara: I really hope this is the most harrowing incident of my life. It has been one of the hardest things in my life, but the hardest buy far was when Suzanne was in Iraq and I knew what was going on and not being able to help her or save her from the MLester. That drove me into a very hard depression. I think that the whole mentality of the military is archaic in which the majority see women as objects and not competent. I think this is slowly changing but if you ask women in the military, the old saying still exists today that women in the military are either sluts, bitches or dykes, (lesbians).

8. What was the response from the government towards your daughter’s case?

Sara: There were many meetings with Congress people and Senators staff, they were all concerned but did nothing but make empty promises. They offered to help, but when it came down to them actually doing something, no one did anything to really help Suzanne. I cried and begged for them to intervene on Suzanne’s behalf. I called the offices in DC and the local offices and they just passed me on to someone else. In the end, they all stood by and watched her get stripped of her rank and go to prison.

9. In most of your writings, Sara, you have asserted that sexual abuse is a normal way of life in military world- you are also often critical of the war itself. What are your thoughts on the American invasion and occupation of Iraq?

Sara: I have lost faith in our government. I still love our country, but the greed and power mongering that this administration has been guilty of is horrendous. Do I believe Saddam Hussein was dangerous? Yes, I do. But I also believe that there are other ways of helping the Iraqi people other than destroying their country and killing millions of Iraqis people. I believe in peace. I think the United States was wrong to invade Iraq. I think that we should pull our troops out now and give aid to Iraq in the form of supporting the United Nations and help create the type of country and government that the Iraqi want to have. I know there is civil war there, but it is not our business.

10. Any message you’d like to give to the women across the globe?

Sara: Women are more powerful than we can comprehend. We have the most crucial role in the world, the role of the giver of life. Our gender has got to stop the war machine that are killing our children and start working on concrete ways to save our planet. There are many questions to be asked, but as women I know we have the answers to all of the world’s problems. Love, peace and compassion will save the day. Peace.

Recently, six main religions of the world have been discussed at the World Religion panel. Six panelists have discussed about different religions: Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Paganism and Hinduism. The motive of this conference was to analyze the women’s role in different religious practice. Each panelist gave her view of women’s place in the religion.
While telling about women’s role in Buddhism, Osho tells that ancient Buddhism was dominated by men but many big-time nuns and teachers in Buddhist history were women.

Deborah Core, an English professor and a Roman Catholic tells that women play very prominent role in Christian society. In Hindu religion, all the religious practices used to perform by men. Women role is to support the men. Women should proper care of household and their husbands. But a Hindu mother holds very high place in the religious hierarchy.

Rebecca Adams, former Eastern student and Paganism representative said that in Paganism, some sects of Wicca view women are more important than men. In fact, some Wicca groups are mostly composed of women.

In Jewish society the condition of women is not good. In the religious ceremony, the Jewish women have to sit behind a curtain during services because men could not look at women while they prayed. When women menstruated, they were encouraged to wear a veil and men could not touch them. And if you were raped or spoiled before marriage you will be treated as damaged goods by your family members.

The power of women varies from culture to culture and religion to religion. It is certainly true that in some of these culture women wielded more dignity, respect, and power. So many initiatives have been taken and still more efforts are needed to empower the women.

Via

She hijacked a plane to escape her tumultuous life of kidnappings, abductions, killings and massacres. The guerrilla woman belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said ‘no’ to her life as a rebel. Is it the beginning of the end of the rebellious activities of the FARC operating in the South American nation for the last 40 years?

FARC has been active in Columbia as the oldest guerilla movement, negotiating and deserting the expectations of the opposite side every time they sit on the other side of the table. The activity of this guerilla woman can be seen as a growing disenchantment in the rank and file of the FARC about its way of struggle. The violent activity unleashed by it for the last 40 years failed to bring about any substantial change in the political landscape of Columbia only because of its alleged involvement with narcotic dealers and a rigid hardcore stand on peace efforts.

Often FARC has been accused by the international human rights bodies of compulsory recruitment of people into its guerilla wings. Its alleged involvement in torturing and beheading many cadres disenchanted with its hardcore stand. Three years back, FARC executive leadership ordered for killing of more than 20 of its activists for expressing open disenchantment with its activities. The incident is an exposition that far-Left movements in Latin America are crumbling on the face of coming to power of Left inclined governments with indigenous tags.

Columbia violence continuing for the last 40 years is a sordid story of people sandwiched between the torture unleashed by paramilitary troops supported by the government and kidnappings and killings by the guerilla groups. Hope this incident will act as an eye-opener for the international community to take note of the sufferings of the people of Columbia in the hands of self-proclaimed interest seekers.

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Via: BBC

Recent U.S. report highlighted the barbaric behavior of the most notorious Congolese rebels mutilating the innocent bodies of women and raping some of the minors.

UN crisis expert Kathleen Cravero said, it is about time to be more vigilant in protecting women in all nations against the abusive acts of violence and free them from the bondage of helplessness.

Cravero, who serves as chairman of the UN Development Programme Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, led a new campaign that will help women and children who have been victims of conflicts and natural disasters to recover. But to sustain this project, Cravero said, the funding should be set to at least $10 million dollars for its global operations, particularly in depressed and remote areas.

This new campaign, she noted, aims to empower women by protecting their rights as individuals, secure them in crises, ensure that justice prevail as they are given guidance and protection from those who harmed them and give them the opportunity to be involved in all means of peace and recovery process in their community.

The UN expert said the heightening of brutality against women was caused by civil war within countries and no longer between countries. The problems of abuse springs from the households of a particular nation or even within the groups in the community, which make it difficult to solve when the victims are hesitant to be open of what are happening to them.

She emphasized sexual and physical violence against women is more prevalent after natural disasters subsided, especially to those who have become homeless and stayed in relocation sites.

Based on her observation, she found that as more people become frustrated of what life is waiting for them after being homeless. Social mores of communal living and healthy interaction are shattered causing most men to look for outlets of their anger and desperation as they rape women.

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Sexual violence, vulnerability, fear and parochial outlook is what women all over the world are experiencing, whether in their households or at workplace. The situation worsens when a woman leaves her nationality for serving in an insurgency and war afflicted area like Iraq. This situation seems reminiscent of the US women who serve in the Iraq war either as contractors or soldiers in the army. Abuses relating to women are either shoved away, negated and are usually jettisoned. And women raising voice especially against sexual abuse find themselves helpless in face of the obdurate administration of men of the higher authorities.

Such cases are frequent in Iraq war where US women are frequently becoming victims of war, facing explicit sexual exploitation and abuse. KBR Company, formerly known as Kellogg, Brown and Root, which provided logistical support to the US armed forces, has turned a deaf ear to these cases and the women employees are increasingly facing violence such as rapes and assaults. But the firm does not intend to formulate any laws and preventive actions against these crimes which have become a regular feature. Raising these issues entail a threat to the employment and bearing them becomes a crisis in turn for these women.

The main criticism signals to the Bush administrative policies in these areas which have amounted to a serious neglect of issues concerning safety and protection for women employed in Iraq. What seemed to be progressive developed nation has failed to protect its women from the clutches of exploitation and violence, and where testifying for the crimes inflicted has also become a sheer impossibility.

Source: IHT

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According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), women fall short in many of the main indicators that measure progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. Two-thirds of the 960 million illiterate adults in the world are women. Worldwide women employed in industries and services earn 78% of what men earn in the same sectors. Women’s share in decision-making positions stood at 30% in only 28 countries in the 1990s. Additional 70% of the global poor are women. If a woman’s race is taken as an additional factor then it doubles the burden of gender and racial discrimination depending on the part of the globe she belongs. For an aboriginal woman living in Australia or a Dalit woman living in India or a female asylum seeker living in UK their woes are no different.

Source: Independent
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This is the condition despite the fact that 185 UN countries had pledged to outlaw the laws favoring men by 2005. The report prepared for UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour sheds light on the fact that 70 per cent of the world’s poor population comprised of women and that women held only 1 per cent of the world’s titled land. The report compiled by Fareda Banda, the law professor at London’s school of Oriental and African studies (SOAS) says that rape within marriage is still not considered as a crime by the law in about 53 nations and is one of the major exploitations against women. The other discriminating aspects are the divorce statuses, maternity benefits and pensions where the men held an upper hand always thus leading to bias against women. Speaking on the report, Fareda Banda stressed on the fact that even subtle looking laws such as the prescribed age for marriages can bring about a big change in a girl’s life. Explaining this she said,

Many states still have different ages of marriage for young women then they have for young men, and the age for girls is always lower then the age for boys which leads to violations, for example of a girls’ right education, if she has to leave school at 14 to get married, and this impacts upon her life chances. It ends up being a life-long violation of her rights in terms of forfeiting education, having children too early, possibly being damaged her.

The explanation is apt keeping in account the harsh treatment a girl child receives when she gets married off at an early age in the form of doing the household chores and begetting children which harms her not only physically but also psychologically. To fight this, the report recommends the introduction of a new and separate mechanism as the existing UN and International Human Rights Commission are not being upheld. It also calls for a new UN expert to focus specifically on laws which damage women’s chances in life. These laws should ensure better conditions for women in all the countries bringing them at par with the rest of the world in all aspects of life.

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Via: BBC