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50.50A global debate without the female half of humanity is neither global nor democratic. With this in mind, openDemocracy is running 50.50: a series of editorial projects designed to make openDemocracy a current affairs forum which is written, read and used equally by women and men.
We believe there will not be a fairer or more peaceful world without gender equality. Women's exclusion from the global debate affects both the content of the debate and the way the dialogue is conducted.
The UN and partners have been trying to forge practical ways of addressing conflict-related sexual violence during peace-making processes.
These past days have been a
nightmare. I and my fellow Iranians have been watching the small amount of
democracy present in Iran
erased within a day. Everything we hear from Iran is heartbreaking but more than
anything, I have been anxiously watching the international media.
Mairead Maguire: "This kind of behaviour and treatment is unacceptable. They questioned
me about my nonviolent protests in USA against the Afghanistan invasion
and Iraqi war. They insisted I must tick the box in the Immigration
form admitting to criminal activities. I am not a criminal, my
nonviolent acts in the USA opposing the war on Afghanistan, and Iraqi,
are acts of conscience and together with millions of USA citizens, and
world citizens, I refuse to be criminalized for opposing such illegal
policies." Read more...
Nurgul Djanaeva writes "I expected a lot from this Nobel Women's Initiative event, because we are planning next
year to organise our own international conference on "Women and Security" in
Kyrgyzstan, and so I was not just an observer, but I came to find out what can
be achieved at such a gathering - who is
doing what about which kind of security priorities? What is the concept of
security in a wider framework of peace and democracy and how best can it be
implemented? And there have been some wonderful surprises" Read more...
We talked about the joys and challenges of building links with other
social movements and the difficulties associated with resource mobilisation,
popularisation of feminism and dealing with resistance to backlash. We went on
to examine the merits and perils of transnational organisations. We were like a
tank of water that would not fill. Read now...
Laureate Mairead Maguire spoke to Jane Gabriel about a new politic she sees arising: one in which ‘deep democracy’ is built by people, one to one, and demanding that the money be taken out of militarism. Listen now...
The experience of poor farmers in Kenya is a lesson in the need for an anti-corruption revolution
WOMEN'S STRUGGLES FOR DEMOCRACY ON THE OUTSIDE
This presentation
is based on an airplane conversation between Hope Chigudu, other sisters and a
man (fellow passenger) who introduced himself as Tino. Read more...
Every woman at the NWI gathering in Antigua had a way of redefining democracy - from writing the new Ecuadorian constitution to include the rights of nature, to fighting for a place at the negotiating table of the peace talks in Sudan. Jane Gabriel listened to three days of stories,debate and plans for the future. Listen now...
Jody Williams speaks frankly to Jane Gabriel about the impact that being a Nobel Peace Laureate has on her life - both personally and politically. Listen now...
“I
am reflecting on experiences in Sri Lanka of working with women
involved in conflict situations at a time when the situation in Sri
Lanka is perhaps the worst it has ever been in thirty years of a very
protracted and bitter civil war.”
Sunila Abeysekera is Executive Director of International Women’s Rights Action Watch
– a Sri Lankan feminist activist and human rights defender who has
worked on issues of women’s rights and human rights in the Asia Pacific
region and globally for thirty years and more. Read more...
Only by starting from common principles agreed upon by all, rather than
limiting ourselves to the principles which only we believe in, will we
make progress with human rights. Shirin Ebadi writes from the Nobel
Women’s Initiative conference. Read now...
Democracy is about competition, competition on an uneven playing field,
and if women want to win there is no substitute to building
constituencies for gender equality, matched with building women’s
economic power. Efforts to level the playing field through affirmative
action are essential but have got to be temporary if they are to avoid
damaging democracy, for they are too easily subverted or distorted by
leaders more interested in flashing their credentials as modernisers
than in supporting genuine gender equality. Read more...
I was invited to participate at the
Nobel Women's Initiative conference on behalf of Generation X
Feminists, a movement of Palestinian and Jewish feminists in Israel
working to rejuvenate feminist leadership in the Left. I am traveling
to Antigua from the USA, where I currently pursue my graduate studies,
with two immediate objectives Read more...
Mary Parker Follett defined democracy in a particularly feminist way - a definition
unlike that of any male philosopher, from the Greeks, to Rousseauists,
to Marxists and neo-liberals Read more...
As one of those fortunate enough to attend the Nobel Women’s Initiative
gathering, 'Redefining Democracy for Peace', I’m filled with hope for
how women’s leadership can help pave the way for a more peaceful and
sustainable future that is free from the prevailing ideology of
militarism. For far too long, world leaders have accepted the logic of
using military intervention or violence as the most effective way to
resolve conflict. The past century and the first decade of the 21st
century have been marked by bloody military conflicts. Read more...
This Noble Women's Initiative conference in Antigua, provides an
opportunity to benchmark and rekindle the fire for a struggle for a
peaceful and just world. For true democracy, for peace, justice and
equality to become real, the role of women cannot be ignored. Women
must look at democracy as something that holds all citizens accountable
to it and to one another. A true democracy must be that which provides
freedom of expression without fear or favour. Read more...
Elahe Amani reports on the Iranian women's organisations mobilising in support of women in Afghanistan and on the power of local resistance with global support.
On the eve of International Women's Day, 2009,
the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women has
much to tell 50.50
The pioneers of women's education in Pakistan offer hope in hard times
A democracy worth the name must have women's equality with men at its heart
It
has the 3rd highest proportion of female Members of Parliament in
the world; over 70 percent of its health sector workers are women, including 64
percent of doctors; and its Family Code obliges men to share domestic duties and child care responsibilities equally
with women.
After three years of constant debate, the Karama movement is finding a common
language with which to speak, and a ‘voice' on international platforms. Jane Gabriel spoke to Hibaaq Osman, Karama's founder. Listen now.
Domestic violence, discrimination at work, and the deep moral questioning that grips this society
Islamabad insists that its compromise with Islamists in the Swat valley will help bring peace to the region. But is the peace of sharia law what Pakistanis want?
Podcast: The reform of the Moroccan
Family Code (Mudawana) in 2004 was a watershed in the campaign for women’s
rights. The change ushered in a new era in which it was possible to talk openly
about such issues as violence against women.
But five years on the levels of
violence remains unchanged and the Women’s Action Union is now mobilising
public opinion in the battle to win more protection for women. In Casablanca recently more
than fifteen thousand signatures were collected in a day calling on the city
council to build shelters for women and children fleeing family and domestic
violence. Listen now.
From reforming mosques to challenging perceptions of their
communities, young Muslim women in Britain are stepping up to make
their voices heard. Siobhan O' Connell went to meet them. Listen Now.
A new opportunity for peacekeeping may be down to US women
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