Chai's Analysis

World Women's Wrap Up

In 2005, several women's issues were on the forefront of global news. With the disaster in Southeast Asia due to the tsunami, the South Asian earthquake relief efforts, and New Orleans flood, women's issues at these sites may not have reached the headlines, but that doesn't mean that issues did not arise.

Women's eNews did a wrap up of 2005 in their, simple, yet powerful column called "Cheers and Jeers."

(WOMENSENEWS)--Gender issues colored many of the top news stories of 2005. Behind the headlines of tsunami, earthquake and hurricane, the suffering of women displaced by disaster was hidden in plain sight. Abortion politics lurked behind every maneuver in the confirmation battles of Supreme Court justices. And women's issues became increasingly important in the elections of Asian and African countries emerging from conflicts as well as in the international focus on poverty and health.
Gender-Based Violence

Cheers

A benchmark study from the Geneva-based World Health Organization documented the levels of violence against women worldwide in November after surveying more than 24,000 women in 10 countries. Among them was Thailand, where data on gender-based violence was collected for the first time. The study added to data collected in previous years and established a framework for addressing violence as a public health issue.

The conclusions of the report were that violence against women is widespread, common and preventable. The November report, however, went further by recommending changes to laws and implementing prevention strategies in reproductive health and HIV-AIDS programs.

"Domestic violence can be prevented," said the study's coordinator, Dr. Claudia Garcia Moreno. "WHO will continue to raise awareness about violence and the important role that public health can play to address its causes and consequences."

Jeers

Gender-based violence is increasing in wars and conflicts around the world. In Sudan and in the Ivory Coast, reports of sexual and ethnic violence have increased as civil conflicts have raged. In the Darfur region of Sudan, United Nations observers have reported incidents of rapes by soldiers. Amnesty International in July cited increasing violence and kidnappings of girls and women by soldiers in Uganda. In Guatemala, the London-based human rights organization reported that the brutal killings of women continue there unabated, with 531 murders documented in the first 10 months of 2005.

In Burma, too, sanctioned rapes of women by the military regime in power continue to harm female refugees of the ongoing civil crisis. Activist groups are hoping to draw attention to mass rapes by documenting those crimes and lobbying for change. "Unless there is genuine political reform, this suffering of women will not end," Burmese activist Thin Thin Aung told Women's eNews in September. "So that's what we ask for."

So much to do in 2006. I hope that we continue to fight for the the struggle of gender equality, both on an individual and societal level. Here is to 2006!

posted by Chai at 9:00 AM