Category Archives: WOMEN’S EQUALITY

India: ’Life: A Mystical Journey’- A Gathering of 500 Women Leaders To Explore Spirituality as Tool For Peace And Empowerment

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from India Education Diary

Over 500 accomplished women achievers, artists, policymakers, sportswomen among others will participate in the 8th International Women’s Conference (IWC). Titled, ‘Life: A Mystical Journey,’ the conference will be held at The Art of Living International Center, Bengaluru between February 23 and 25.


IWC has unique twin goals- individual development and collective action. It facilitates partnership-building and leadership development among women leaders globally.

Some of the speakers for this year’s conference include Arundhati Bhattacharya, former chairman, State Bank of India; Chetna Gala Sinha, Founder-Chairperson Mann Deshi Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation, Rani Mukherji , Indian Actress,  Vandana Shiva, environmentalist, and ecologist; Madhoo Shah, actress, MridulaSinha, Governor, Goa,  Adriana Marais, theoretical physicist, head of innovation at SAP Africa; Professor MaithreeWickramasinghe, founder director of Center for Gender Studies at the University of Kelaniya.

“Women are leading peacemakers. They work together towards creating a stress-free, violence-free society. The conference is a message in peace and unity,” shares BhanumathiNarasimhan, Chairperson, IWC.

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Questions for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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Increasing number of women are leading from the front in multiple fields. The IWC builds on this trend. It works with women leaders to enhance their impact and gives an impetus to the global advancement of women from all backgrounds.

The 2018 conference will explore ways to amplify the message of peace and empowerment, including spiritual tools.

“The role of women in the development of a society is of utmost importance. It is the only criterion that determines whether a society is strong and harmonious,” says Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, The Art of Living, which is one of the conference partners.

Since its inception in 2005, the conference has focused on diversity and inclusiveness. Over 375 eminent speakers and 5500 delegates from over 100 countries have participated in the conference. The IWC focuses on advancing the status of women in fragile and post-conflict states. It also worked with the World Bank Institute to develop empowerment schemes for women in vulnerable nations and expanded vocational training for widows in Iraq.

The IWC also supports The Art of Living’s Gift A Smile project. Over 58,000 students study in 435 free schools across 20 Indian states. Encouragingly, girl children comprise 48% while 90% are first-generation learners. Promoting girl child education is the underlined focus area for IWC.

This year the focus will also be to create open defecation free districts in India. In phase 1, the organization will work towards sensitization and awareness about use of toilets and increasing health and hygiene in these areas. In Phase II, 4000 toilets will be built.

IWC in the past has been associated with pivotal social initiatives like constructing homes for the under privileged, creating awareness about environment and environmental care, movement to stop violence against women, and child and women empowerment through skills training.

South Asia, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Women’s March protests across America against President Trump

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Deutsche Welle

Thousands of protesters took to the streets across the United States on Saturday for the second annual Women’s March against US President Donald Trump, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of his inauguration.

The rallies aim to translate female activism into gains in a broad swathe of state and federal elections later in the year.

The biggest demonstrations were taking place in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — but there were also marches in about 250 other cities and towns across the country. Support was also coming from abroad, with rallies in Britain, Italy and Japan among other countries.


Photo from Reuters. For other photos, see CNN coverage

“We will make our message heard at the polls this fall,” Emily Patton, a rally organizer, told thousands of demonstrators at the Reflecting Pool on Washington’s National Mall. “That is why we are urging people to register to vote today.”

Thousands of people gathered in Chicago’s Grant Park. Fawzia Mirza drew cheers from the crowd as she kicked off the event with a reference to the government shutdown, which began hours earlier.

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Questions for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

The post-election fightback for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

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“When the government shuts down, women still march,” she said, adding that the event was about channeling women’s energy and “putting that power in the polls.”

Also high on the list of complaints with the US president are multiple allegations of predatory sexual behavior at a time when there is a growing backlash against such behavior, as illustrated by the growing social media phenomena known as #MeToo and #TimesUp.

Hollywood actors Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Alfre Woodard, Scarlett Johansson, Constance Wu, Adam Scott and Rob Reiner addressed a crowd of hundreds of thousands in Los Angeles.

Longoria told marchers that their presence mattered, “especially when those in power seem to have turned their backs on reason and justice.”

Jane Fonda joined the march in Park City, Utah, where the annual Sundance Film Festival is taking place.

Hillary Clinton tweeted that the marches around the US and the world were “a testament to the power and resilience of women everywhere.”

Trump tweeted later in the day that it was a “perfect day” for women to march to celebrate the “economic success and wealth creation” that’s happened during his first year in office.

Several dozen activists demonstrating in Rome in protest were joined by the Italian actress and director Asia Argento, who alleged in October she had been sexually assaulted by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in the 1990s.

Argento addressed the criticism she received once she spoke up about her abuse, saying she was there to “assess the necessity of women to speak out and change things.”

North America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Libyan activists design a peace campaign

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Relief Web

Women and men activists from Libyan civil society organizations met in Tunis from 12 to 15 December to continuing the process of preparing a campaign aimed at fostering the culture of peace, reconciliation and peaceful co-existence in Libya. The idea of the campaign came as a result of two conferences, the first held in late 2015 to develop the Libyan women peace agenda and the second held early 2017 to develop an action plan to implement the agenda. In the training, the participants learned about conflict analysis tools and why it is important to include women in the peace process for the global peace and security. They also learnt lobby and advocacy skills to present the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) to Libyan people over the course of the campaign.


A Participant talks about UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. © UNDP

During the workshop, organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the seven designated focal points for Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, Obari, Sebha, Albaida and Zawia, and their team members gained a better understanding of the UNSCR 1325 and became well versed on the best ways of communicating about it.

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Question for this article:

UN Resolution 1325, does it make a difference?

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“I am now better prepared to start the campaign in my hometown. This workshop has allowed me to develop my presentation and communication skills. It has also deepened my understanding of the objectives and means of implementing the UNSCR 1325”, said Ms. Leila Bousif from Benghazi, President of Aoun organization for Human Rights.

The participants also discussed the role of women in peaceful coexistence since the campaign, called “Peace Libya,” intends to raise women awareness of the principles of peace and community cohesion.

“Libyan women are not very active in achieving peace, but they always leaning towards it. There won’t be stability in Libya without women`s participation. Although they are paying a high price because of the war, they must play a more active and positive role to end it,” added Ms. Bousif.

“Peace Libya” campaign will be launched next year with this core message: “promotion of peaceful coexistence is the responsibility of every Libyan citizen.”

“Knowing how to transmit the messages of the campaign to local communities is a very important mater. Libya is a diverse country. At the end of the training, I felt happy because I learned new skills to communicate with people from diverse cultural background,” said Rabha Farcy.

During the training, some participants pointed out that exposing women to the UNSCR 1325 can encourage many of them to play a more active role in peace building in Libya.

“As part of the Peace Libya campaign and based on the skills I have gained in this training, I will try to explain the UNSCR 1325 to as many women as possible when I head back to Libya. Participation in the peacebuilding process is not exclusive to men. Women should also make their voices heard,” said Ms. Asia Shwihdi from Misrata.

The training was organized as part of the project ‘Advancing Libyan Women’s Participation During the Transition.’ Known as AMEL project, it aims to strengthen the role of Libyan women in the political transition.

Mideast, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Education unions join in the global call to end school-related gender-based violence

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Education International

On the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence 2017, the Global Working Group to End School-Related Gender-Based Violence, which Education International is part of, called to action for development actors, donors and governments, outlining necessary key steps towards ending this scourge.


Teachers are central to any effective response to school-related gender-based violence

The call to action is available here. Excerpts follow.

School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) is a phenomenon that affects millions of children, teachers and education personnel, as well as their families and communities. It occurs in all countries of the world. Young people have different experiences of SRGBV depending on their sex, their gender identity, their country and context. SRGBV occurs as a result of gender norms and stereotypes, and is enforced by unequal power dynamics. Inequitable gendered practices are “performed” in schools through policies, pedagogies and curriculum, and through everyday relationships between and among students and teachers that establish a ‘gender regime’.

Schools are places of learning and growth, but can also often become unsafe spaces, where students, both girls and boys, can be victims and perpetrators of violence. Too often, teachers are viewed as part of the problem with regard to violence be it for administering corporal punishment or demanding sex in exchange for grades, for example. At the same time, schools are also places of work in which teachers and education support personnel can be both victims and perpetrators of violence.

Several studies have found that teacher training establishments do not necessarily equip teachers to challenge abusive behaviour and attitudes about violence against women and children. While there is limited data on the impact of SRGBV on teachers and education personnel, anecdotal evidence indicates that female teachers are particularly vulnerable to GBV, experiencing harassment and abuse at the hands of students, fellow teachers, school management, in teacher training institutions and systems of administration.

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Click here for the version in Spanish of this article, or click here for the version in French)

Question related to this article:

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

What is the contribution of trade unions to the culture of peace?

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Educators also witness discrimination, violence and abuse, which reinforces their vulnerability at school and at home. This poses a challenge, because violence is never excusable and teachers must uphold the highest standards of ethics and care. However, knowing that teachers too may be victims and understanding how this manifests can enable educational systems to provide informed support to teachers, so that they in turn can provide the best possible support and help for students and act as agents for positive change.

Globally, teachers must be valued as the most important education resource globally, who have a crucial role to play in ending SRGBV. Initiatives addressing SRGBV necessarily must involve teachers – not only in terms of enabling them to perform their duties of providing quality education to their students and promoting values of gender equality, non- violence, child rights and equity, but also by creating safe spaces for them to work in. It is imperative, therefore, to take a broader perspective on the role of teachers – as change agents and as professionals within the education system. Skills and capacity development must be combined with efforts to create an enabling environment where teachers can fulfill their duties and exercise their rights.

In recognition of the critical role teachers play in ending School-Related Gender-Based Violence, the Global Working group to end SRGBV calls on DEVELOPMENT ACTORS, EDUCATION UNIONS, DONORS and GOVERNMENTS to:

Recognise teachers as key influencer’s in the lives of children and in preventing school-related gender-based violence.

. . . . . . .

Adopt a systems wide approach in addressing SRGBVacross the education sector, so that teachers have a supportive enabling environment.

. . . . . . .

Work with education unions and Ministries of Education to shape policies and plans to address SRGBV.

. . . . . . .

Strengthen professionalism and accountability for SRGBV in the teaching profession.

. . . . . . .

Provide teachers with the skills and tools to address SRGBV.

. . . . . . .

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

global, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

16 Days of Activism: Meet Felicity Ruby, Australia

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the Nobel Women’s Initiative

Nuclear disarmament activist. Australian activist Felicity Ruby was the first staff member and coordinator of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN). ICAN was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for “for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.” Felicity is now pursuing her Ph.D. at Sydney University.


Photo courtesy of Felicity Ruby

What did you feel when you heard ICAN had won the Nobel?

Joy and surprise. Coincidentally, I was dining with Dave Sweeney, an ICAN board member, and we were quickly joined by Dimity Hawkins, the driving force behind getting ICAN off the ground. We made so much noise! And called rooms of people in other countries to make even more noise!

How did ICAN begin?

The Medical Association for the Prevention of War, the Australian chapter of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear Warfare (IPPNW) drove ICAN’s beginnings. The idea was to reinvigorate the anti-nuclear movement, which had decades of incredible work behind it, but needed a new umbrella to unite efforts and a new approach to bring younger generations into the debate.

We secured IPPNW’s support and funding from the Poola Foundation, and began a global effort to agitate for nuclear disarmament, with new slogans, visuals, demands, alliances, audiences and strategies.

How was this new approach to disarmament different? Was it influenced by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997?

We were in many respects saying ‘lets do a landmines effort on nuclear weapons.’ How? By building a new, enduring, intelligent and strategic NGO coalition united around a simple demand: a Nuclear Weapons Convention – that is, a proposed multilateral treaty to outlaw nuclear weapons. Spearheaded by the medical professionals, who emphasized the very real impact of radiation and nuclear militarism on human health, we brought in networks, constituencies and professionals from around the globe.

How did you help build ICAN into a mass movement?

Understandably, the anti-nuclear movement had a fairly chronic humour deficiency. For me the real magic sauce was our determination to stigmatise nuclear weapons using humour, hope and horror in fairly equal quantities. We also organized global days of action, held awareness-raising events, shared the testimonies of survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and engaged in advocacy at the United Nations and in national parliaments.

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Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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It was important that ICAN was an invitation to an exciting new project, not an instruction. There was freedom for groups to use the disarmament education materials we created in their own ways. The message that change is possible was carried in the very name of the campaign, which projects the distinct and very likely possibility that human beings can eliminate nuclear war and evolve past the social behaviour, economic habit and political practice of nuclear violence.​

​You’ve spent a great deal of your professional life in a variety of disarmament efforts. What specifically drew you to this issue?

It’s a no brainer. The arms industry absorbs the very resources we need to address all of the world’s environmental, social and economic problems. The choice is between weapons that kill and mutilate and a decent, just society.

You’ve long advocated a specifically feminist view of disarmament.

Gender analysis provides some important tools that explain why weapons are valued, why states seek and keep them, and why leaders resort to the use of force to obtain policy objectives. Possessing and brandishing an extraordinarily destructive capacity is a form of dominance associated with masculine warriors (nuclear states are sometimes referred to as the “big boys”) and is more highly valued than feminine-associated disarmament, cooperation, and diplomacy.

The association of weapons with masculinity, power, prestige, and technical prowess has a direct effect on policy decisions. It remains a hurdle on the road to disarmament and nonproliferation – even though the idea that security can be achieved through weaponized strength clearly has not worked.

Last July, declaring that “nuclear weapons pose a constant threat to humanity and to life on Earth,” 122 nations – though not nuclear states — adopted the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Does this mean that the debate is shifting?

The UN Treaty was a real moment of triumph. A large group of countries stood up and defied the nuclear weapons states. This is especially important at a time when escalating tensions around North Korea’s nuclear weapons make the danger even more apparent. We need to turn nuclear weapons to rust before they turn the earth to dust.

When you look to the future, what gives you hope?

The enduring courage of whistleblowers and activists, the enduring courage of activists standing up and organizing keeps my hope alive. So does spending time in nature. I now work in the field of technology and I’m inspired by those creating tools to put technology in the hands of people, not vice versa. I’m also working on my PhD dissertation, which focuses on social movements and am constantly inspired by these efforts to resist injustice.

I would tell activists keep going – but look after yourself, too. Activism should be joyful, and if you’re burnt out, you’re not helping any movement grow.

I truly believe that humanity can drag itself from the pit of war, racism and discrimination. Violence is not inevitable; it is a learned behaviour, from which we can and will – and must – evolve.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

East Asia, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

16 Days of Activism: Meet Rasha Jarhum, Yemen

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Nobel Women’s Initiative

Human rights activist. Rasha Jarhum is a Yemeni activist currently based in Geneva. She is a founder of the Peace Track Initiative, established to create a space for the contributions of women, youth and civil society organizations to peace processes.

Your mother, Hooria Mashhour, is a longtime activist; after the 2011 uprising in Yemen, she became the country’s first Human Rights Minister. Is it fair to say that you were raised in the struggle?

My mother was a fierce advocate for women’s rights. She served in the Women National Committee for almost a decade, and after the uprising began was the first government official to quit her position in protest of the vicious force used against peaceful protesters. Later, she was selected as spokesperson of the revolution forces council – the first time in Yemeni history that a woman spoke for a political movement. I was privileged to have her as my mentor. Since I was a child, I joined her in workshops and campaigns – she is the reason I became an activist. We have our political disagreements, and I love that she has never tried to pressure me to change my position.

You also learned from your mother that activism can be costly.

That’s something my whole family understands. My husband’s father, who was the first to sue Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh for embezzling state money, was assassinated. In the current war, which began in 2014, we lost family members and property and were threatened and followed. My mother’s name was put on a list of wanted infidels, and armed men appeared at her office. She left to seek political asylum in Germany.

Why did you also leave Yemen?

After the 2011 uprising, when President Saleh stepped down, I believed that we would be able to build a modern civil state in Yemen. As part of the UN, I worked on a programme to mobilize people, including women, to vote. I wanted to make Yemenis taste the future of democracy.

But I’d lived through two devastating earlier wars, in 1986 in South Yemen and the 1994 war between North and South, and I had two young sons. During the uprising, we witnessed armed conflict in Sana’a, and out of fear for our children that the conflict would escalate, my husband and I began seeking opportunities outside the country. In 2012, he got a job offer in Lebanon, and we went to Beirut for five years. From there, I continued to support civil society organizations remotely, and worked with Oxfam on the Syrian Refugee Crisis and Gender Justice Programme. When the 2014 war in Yemen began, I knew it would be long and ugly.

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Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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What’s the purpose of the Peace Track Initiative?

The Initiative works towards localizing peace processes and insuring inclusiveness, with an underlying premise that those directly affected by war are those with the greatest stake in peacebuilding. It has two components: one that focuses on Yemen, and the other on the whole Middle East and North Africa region. In Yemen, I support women-led organizations at the community level and women’s groups in peacebuilding activities. So much of what these women do is invisible to the world.

What are local women doing in promote peace in Yemen? Why doesn’t the international community hear more about it?

Historically, the situation for women in Yemen was bad. Women had no freedom to go to work, travel, even get married. Legislative, institutional and societal norms all hindered women. But women led the revolution in 2011, and today, Yemeni women are again on the frontlines. In besieged areas, women walk for miles to bring lifesaving items to their families, mobilize relief convoys, smuggle medicine to hospitals. It is estimated that one-third of fighters in Yemen are children, and women are addressing the issue of child recruitment. Women are working on complicated issues such as releasing detainees, combating terrorism through social cohesion work and the de-radicalization of youth. Women are working to revive the economy through collective saving groups, farming and social entrepreneurship.

When women are involved in peace processes, we focus on responsibility-sharing rather than power-sharing. The participation of women in national dialogue in 2011 led to the creation of one of the strongest rights and freedom’s packages in Yemeni history.

But the humanitarian agencies working in Yemen portray women only as passive victims. The stories of their resilience and their leadership do not get reported. Part of the problem is that local women may be working as individuals or in coalitions that are not formally registered, and thus deprived of funding opportunities. In addition, many Yemeni women do not speak English.

On December 4, former president Saleh was killed, and the situation in Yemen seems to have grown even worse.

For years, Yemen was the worst country for women to live in. With this war, our humanitarian crisis increased. We now have a million pregnant women at risk of malnutrition and around two million women and girls at risk of gender-based violence, including rape.

But when you hit rock bottom, there is only one way to move: up. I believe that a real, sustainable and inclusive peace can be achieved in Yemen. And I think the solution is really in the hands of women.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

Mideast, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

16 Days of Activism: Meet Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres, Honduras

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the Nobel Women’s Initiative

Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres, general coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras [COPINH]. COPINH fights for the environmental, cultural, social, health, economic and educational rights of Honduras’s largest indigenous group, the Lenca people. 


Photo by Mel Mencos

Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres was born to what she’s described as “a people of great dignity and strength.” She also was born into struggle. She was just a toddler when her mother, Berta Cáceres, one of Honduras’s most high-profile activists, founded COPINH to defend the land rights of the country’s Indigenous Lenca from exploitation by mining, dam-building and logging interests. (She also advocated against racism, sexual discrimination and the victimization of women.) Her mother, Zúñiga Cáceres recalled, “instilled in us from a very early age that we must continue forward defending the rights of our people.”

The fight was intense. Extractive industry companies hold concessions on more than 30 percent of Honduras’s land. With her siblings, Zúñiga Cáceres went to marches and protests – she learned young how to best avoid breathing in tear gas – read about racism, and spent time in the Indigenous communities that were her mother’s focus. The experience forever shaped her. As she put it, “To make the ancestral struggles of the communities yours, is to assume a way of seeing and being in the world.”

Zúñiga Cáceres also learned early that in Honduras speaking truth to power is a dangerous act. Her mother fought the construction of a hydroelectric project with a series of dams that would dry up the Gualcarque River, which is both sacred to Lenca communities and vital to their survival.  Death threats were constant. Later Zúñiga Cáceres acknowledged that the danger in which her family lived “was so frequent that it became normal.”

The danger also was real. At least 124 environmental and land activists have been murdered in Honduras since 2009; Global Witness calls the country the most dangerous in the world in which to defend natural resources. On March 2, 2016, one year after Berta Cáceres won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize—sometimes called the Green Nobel—and one day before her 45th birthday, gunmen pushed into her home and shot her to death.

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Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

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Zúñiga Cáceres, who is sometimes called Bertita, or Little Bertha, suspended her graduate studies and went to work on two fronts: to find and bring her mother’s killers to justice, and to continue her mother’s fight against the dam and for a more general social justice—a struggle, she’s said, that “goes beyond one person or one single individual.”

Neither has been easy.  Eight people are in custody in relation to the killing of Berta Cáceres, two with links to the company trying to build the dam, three with military ties. A recent independent investigation by five international human rights experts revealed evidence that both state agents and the hydroelectric company’s executives and employees had taken part in planning, executing and cover up the murder. But in Honduras almost no one gets punished for any murder, and the Honduran government has made it clear that going after who planned or ordered that Berta be killed is not likely.

Zúñiga Cáceres, who assumed leadership of COPINH last summer, has called for a full and independent investigation into the assassination of her mother – or as she put it in 2016, “We want to set a precedent of justice in a country where there is none.” She also began to campaign in support of pending U.S. legislation that would suspend all military aid to Honduras until the country demonstrates that it has taken action on the unlawful killing of human rights activists.

She soon discovered the danger in her own outspokenness. Just weeks after Zúñiga Cáceres assumed leadership of COPINH, she and two colleagues survived an attack by four men who followed them home from a visit to a community in central Honduras, attacked with rocks and machetes, then tried to force their vehicle off a cliff.

Death did not silence the mother, Berta Cáceres: during her funeral procession, a crowd of thousands followed chanting “Berta vive, la lucha sigue!” COPINH’s fight, Zúñiga Cáceres has said has become “a universal struggle…a struggle that is modestly and humbly taken over by a community.” Her mother, she says, did not die, “but entered the earth, like a seed.”

Like her mother, Zúñiga Cáceres will not be silenced either. As she wrote in a column published last March, in Spain’s El País, “If I could tell my mother anything now, it would be ‘don’t worry: your fight lives on in me, in my brothers and sisters, and in our community.’”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

16 Days of Activism: Meet Anne Marie Sam, Canada

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the Nobel Women’s Initiative

Indigenous leader, councillor. Anne Marie is from Nak’azdli First Nation, in British Columbia, Canada. Anne Marie was first elected as a Councillor for her community of Nak’azdli in 2007. She is a board member of Mining Watch Canada  and a member of First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM), a group of female chiefs, councillors and former chiefs who are working to reform the mining process in BC to balance the economics of mining developments with respect for First Nations rights and culture.


Photo courtesy of Anne Marie Sam

What is your story?

I was born in to the Lusilyoo frog clan, and our clan’s responsibility is to protect the water. I was also brought in to my dad’s clan, which is the Lhts’umusyoo beaver clan. Their responsibility as a clan is as warriors for the community. I was born into this, the work to protect who we are and to protect the water. So even before I started my work, I think it was already chosen for me. I think the creator and my ancestors led me here and prepared me for this. I’m from the Nak’azdli community and I came to the work I’m doing through the guidance of my environment and through the land I grew up on. It was always instilled in me by my grandparents how important the water and land is.

Your work recently has involved a response to a new mining project in your community. What was your approach?

As a community we didn’t outright oppose economic development or the mine. I wanted to protect the headwaters and the mountain. But the community as a whole could see benefits to economic development. So once we could see that it was going to move ahead, I started learning more about the process of mining and how we could minimize negative impacts. When the project was first considered it was a very big footprint and so we looked at how we could lessen the impact on the water and wildlife, like moose, caribou and bears—and also on the lives of our people. We saw so many flaws in the approval process— it didn’t take into account the impact on the land, wildlife, or the lives of the people who lived there, so we challenged the government’s review approach in court three times. Later, we identified an approach that allows us to work together with the mining company, and my family and the community can still uphold our stewardship responsibilities through environmental monitoring of the mine.

The mining project went ahead, but there are some successes. Please tell us more.

As it was being built, every time I travelled to the mine site I felt very angry and hurt. I knew it wasn’t healthy to carry that with me. I needed a way to let go of the anger and hurt feelings. I encouraged the company and even our governance—our own community—so that we could have a ceremony at the mine site. We need to be up there to let the land know we are not forgetting or giving up on our responsibility to care for it. I bring my children up every year, and we have a ceremony with our community. We put tobacco down and we share our words. We also invite the company employees to take part. They need to provide for their families, and so we pray for the protection of all of the workers that are up there.

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Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

(Article continued from left column)

Another success that was really important is the environmental monitoring on the ground. Our people—our family—have a responsibility to care for the area. We need to track environmental impact and build capacity. The water and soil sampling shouldn’t be done only by mine workers. We have developed what we call a “guardian program” where our members are learning the skill of environmental monitoring from a western point of view, but they are also teaching the company and the workers what is important to us, what is Indigenous monitoring. 

What other impacts are you trying to mitigate?

Across the country, the impacts to women and communities when industrial activity comes into the area are clear—increases in domestic violence, drug trafficking, prostitution and sex trafficking. It’s also what I’m finding when I talk to women when I travel around the world—the story is the same. Indigenous people are bearing the brunt of impacts, especially Indigenous women. I am an Indigenous woman and my daughters are Indigenous, and we are at higher risk when industry comes to the area. Where it really came to a forefront for me was that when reviewing pipelines being proposed in our area; there were a lot of camps of workers, mostly men. As a community we had to consider developing rape crisis plans because we have to tell our women “we can’t prevent rape from happening, so this is what you do when it does happen”. It is unacceptable that we cannot protect our communities. Somewhere along the way this has to stop. I want to protect my daughters. But there are so many daughters out there, and sisters, aunts, and mothers who are impacted. We live along the Highway of Tears here in northern British Columbia. So many of our women are missing, are injured, and are found murdered. We desperately need change.

What is it like and what challenges have you faced being a woman leader?

It is tough to be an Indigenous woman leader but I also get to have the opportunity to advocate for change. I see strength in being able to live a healthy life, to show that it can be done. I am on a council that elected 50% women—for years we only had one, sometimes two women on council. I think that women bring a different perspective to the table, and I think it’s something that is needed. I ran in the recent provincial election. It was less about winning, though that would have been great, but more about honouring my grandmother and showing my girls and other young Indigenous girls what opportunities are there for them.

What is something that keeps you motivated?

The ability for me to continue our traditions and be with my family on the land keeps me going. I see the successes and opportunities that my son and daughters and nieces have in front of them and that keeps me going. And I see changes in industry and government, so I am optimistic. Looking in the eyes of our young people motivates me.

What do you hope for the future?

I hope my children and grandchildren are not fighting the same fight I am. I hope that we get beyond “us versus them” and understand that we are in this together, and need to find solutions together. I hope that in our community we move away from a place of being told to just forget what has happened. And in 5 to 10 years I hope to see healthier communities that are stronger and upholding each other. 

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

North America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

16 Days of Activism 2017: Meet Dina Meza, Honduras

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Nobel Women’s Initiative

Journalist and human rights defender. Dina Meza is a well-known independent journalist and defender of the rights to freedom of expression and information. She is also the founding President of PEN Honduras, which supports journalists at risk. Dina also publishes investigative reports on human rights violations and corruption through her online news magazine Pasos de Animal Grande. In 2007, Dina received Amnesty International UK’s special award for at-risk journalists, and in 2014, Dina received the Oxfam Novib/PEN International Freedom of Expression Award.


Photo courtesy of Daniel Cima for Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos.


Can you tell us about your work?

Although I have been a journalist since 1992, I am not able to work in mainstream media because I’m considered a dissident.  So in 2014, I created Pasos de Animal Grande, an online news magazine.  There is a lot of censorship in Honduras, but using digital media allows me to independently address profound themes such as impunity, violence against women, and violence against human rights defenders. I also work as a human rights defender, and despite the multiple threats I receive constantly, I am able to do my work thanks to the support of Peace Brigades International  which accompanies me when I do my interviews. I also accompany students at the national university when they protest, and are jailed for expressing their views.


What made you decide to do this work?

It was a family tragedy that made me focus on human rights. In 1989 my older brother was abducted by the military and taken to a clandestine location where he was tortured for five days. Thankfully he made it out alive, but the military broke his spine and he was never able to return to a normal life. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized to what extent human rights violations were plaguing Honduras. This experience taught me that no family should go through this alone, and I have committed my life to working with families as they fight for the human rights of their loved ones. I could not look my children in the eye and live with the knowledge that I didn’t do anything to help my country. I have three children, two sons and a daughter, and they are all deeply impacted by my work. They understand that this could have terrible consequences, but they also understand that it is necessary to bring the change we all long for in our country.

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Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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What kind of threats have you had to face as a result of your work?

On a daily basis, I live with the constant fear of someone breaking into my car, I am followed by cars with plates that have no numbers, and have received several threatening phone calls.  My family and I have lived with threats against us for the past 11 years. We constantly have to move houses. Armed men regularly come to our door. My daughter has received sexual threats, even on her way to school. My phone is taped every hour of the day. This is what life looks like for a human rights defender in a country like Honduras. But it has also taught us how to protect ourselves. And the support of organizations like Amnesty International, Peace Brigades International and PEN International  has been key for me to continue what I do.

Being a human rights defender in an oppressive environment can be deeply overwhelming. How do you take care of heart and spirit in such an aggressive space?

I believe that one should never lose hope. I am a Christian, and feel like God protects me. I hear testimonies of people who suffer from extreme human rights abuses every day. I often have students crying on my shoulders after being beaten by the men in uniform for exercising their rights. Seeing the youth fighting for a better Honduras gives me strength and inspiration. It may be hard but I absolutely love my work. I love being a journalist, and I love defending human rights.

What would you say to a young activist—in Honduras or anywhere in the world—who is fighting a situation that seems hopeless?

Everything changes. No evil lasts forever, so do not despair. Hold on to hope, hold on to your motivation to change the system. Those who are harming the world are fewer than those of us who are fighting to correct them. We need to remember, and focus on that.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Honduras is a beautiful country but needs much solidarity from the world. About 12 people are controlling the wealth in the country and oppressing local communities. I would like for people to come and witness it for themselves. I run an organization for democracy and human rights; if a young person wants to come to Honduras and help, we are happy to welcome them, we take volunteers in all the time.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

16 Days of Activism 2017: Meet Marcela Fernandez, Colombia

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the Nobel Women’s Initiative

Youth peace activist. Marcela is a co-founder of PAZabordo (Peace On Board), a youth-led, grassroots peace-bus initiative that travelled around Colombia during the peace process promoting peace and linking youth in different parts of the country.


Photo courtesy of Marcela Fernandez

What inspired you to launch PAZabordo?

The war had been too long. The first week after the referendum [to accept or reject the peace agreement], people took over the streets of Bogota. I thought what we really needed was to connect the cities and rural areas—and find out who are the true peacebuilders. We wanted to find out for ourselves what people’s visions were for recovering from the war—whether they were healing their communities through hip hop, art, or agriculture.

And so you launched PAZabordo – a peace bus of sorts. Tell us about the journey.

We were a group of 40 people. We travelled around Colombia for forty days, over 7,000 km. We visited more than 50 territories, and 80 leaders. We travelled by chiva—which is not a bus, but the way local people move around towns. During the conflict, many of the chivas were not able to move around because of the violence. Now, peace has come, so using chivas was a symbolic act. They are also a symbol of joy, of parties, and happiness. So we wanted to represent all that when we entered the towns—we wanted people to see happiness come.

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Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Article continued from left column)

How did you start?

We put it on Facebook, and the project went viral very quickly. People were telling us to come and visit. We had nothing; no resources, and it cost a lot to rent the chiva. We decided to start with a crowd-funding campaign, which was difficult because Colombians were not used to them. It helped, but we didn’t reach the goal, so we financed the whole experience using a combination of a sponsor, the crowd-funding, and symbolic donations by each of the passengers, whom we called “peace-engers”.

What was the concept of the program?

We went, not with an institution, but as Colombians. We wanted to show we were united. We wanted to connect leaders from different regions who were doing different things. We had a Whatsapp group, where all the leaders were connected together. It was a tool we implemented spontaneously, to have a place where people could talk. We also had radios so we could let our families and friends know where we were, and also for security. The idea developed along the way, but the mission was always to give visibility and show it was possible to travel around the country. We wanted to map out the implementation of the post-conflict ecosystem in Colombia.

What are some of the activities you did in the towns you visited?

We realized when we arrived in the communities, people wanted to be heard, to show us what they were doing, take advantage of the visit to tell us what had happened there. We realized listening was our greatest strength. Instead of giving a big performance, which was what we had intended in the beginning, we decided to listen to them. We visited many places far apart in a very limited time, so it was really taking advantage of every minute. Sometimes it was with the municipalities, or the mayors; it would change with every new place. Sometimes they were welcoming us with signs or at the parish, or sometimes they didn’t even know we were coming.

Who were you trying to engage on the PAZabordo?

Anyone! Any way they wanted to contribute to peace was welcome. All the people in the chiva helped us create activities in town. We had an initiative in which we wrote letters from municipality to municipality cultivating peace; we signed a big Colombian flag with all the people we met. We would project movies in the chiva for kids, we had photographers making documentaries and videos about what we were seeing. It was a very holistic, talented chiva, and everyone would use their unique talent to promote peace or spread the word.

What do you hope for the future of the project?

We hope to grow the resources and visibility of the program, to have it continue. We would love to bring together local leaders within a region, to allow leaders to share experiences with others in Colombia. And we would like to grow to include international participants. Instead of just coming to Colombia and just to visiting the beach, people could come here and have a great experience learning about peace, and the situation of Colombians.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY