Venezuela
Expands Outlets for Denunciations of Violence Against Women
April 23, 2009 (Venezuelanlaysis) - Since the Law on the Right
of Women to a Life Free of Violence was passed in 2007, the
number of denunciations of violence against women has tripled
in Venezuela, as women become more aware of their rights and
have more access to the courts.
Women
and guns
April 19, 2009 - (Trinidad Express) Miles away from the red
zone, surrounded by the vibrant green of Ortinola, Maracas,
women from 17 countries hosted a regional conference of their
own last week. During the two days preceding the Fifth Summit
of the Americas, the Women's Institute for Alternative Development
(Winad), in conjunction with the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), hosted "Women Talking with Women: Crime and Violence
in the Caribbean".
Haiti:
CEDAW Shadow Report highlights gun violence
April 15, 2009 - (IANSA) Guerda Benjamin from OFAT Haiti reports
on how IANSA women are using a CEDAW Shadow Report to urge the
government to take action to reduce and prevent gun violence
against women.
Indigenous
women in Colombia caught up in conflict
April 14, 2009 - (INSTRAW) In Colombia, indigenous groups
continue to be targets in the 45-year conflict. Testimonies
from displaced Embera women tell of physical abuse and rape.
WOMEN
ON THEIR WAY UP IN COLOMBIAN ARMY
April 8, 2009 - (Colombia Reports) Women are starting to find
their place in the Colombian army. On Wednesday, 62 female cadets
finish their three-month training at Bogotá's Military
School, and they are aiming for more.
CHILE:
Progress for Women, But Still a Yawning Gap
March 6, 2009 - (IPS) With one year to go in office, women's
groups and civil society organisations report positively on
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's government policies to
promote gender equity. But there is still much to be done, they
say.
Women
politicians call for a more inclusive democracy in Latin America
February 13, 2009 - (INSTRAW) The project "Strengthening
Governance with a Gender Perspective and the Political Participation
of Women at the Local Level in Latin America", has contributed
to greater debate around the issue of women’s political
participation at the local level in the political, academic
and media fields.
RH
Reality Check: A New Dawn in Bolivia: Constitution Extends New
Protections for Women
February 11, 2009 - (AWID) Following a referendum on January
26, 2009, Bolivia has a new constitution, with initial results
suggesting that almost two-thirds of the turnout voted in favor.
Abortion
in Latin America and the Caribbean
February 3, 2009 - (AWID) Latin America is home to some of the
most restrictive abortion laws in the world and women’s
organizations have fought for the right to safe and legal abortion
for decades.
Working
together to raise money for women’s rights
January 23, 2009 - (AWID) Founded three years ago, the Latin
American Consortium of Women’s Funds consists of seven
women’s funds in the Latin American region. The Consortium
has become one of the most innovative feminist strategies for
collectively mobilizing resources. AWID interviews Emillienne
de Leon of Semillas, one of the women's funds that belong to
the Consortium.
COLOMBIA:
NEW LAW ON GUNS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
January 23, 2009 - (IANSA) A significant new law specifically
linking violence against women with firearms possession was
passed by the Colombian Congress in December 2008.
Law No. 1257 decrees that perpetrators of violence against women
will be suspended from possessing or carrying firearms –
though the duration of the suspension is not mentioned. The
law is a victory for a coalition of NGOs, government and UN
agencies working for women’s rights, including Colectivo
Dignidad Humana, a member of the IANSA Women’s Network.
2008
The
Granny Peace Brigade Campaigns to Close All US Military Bases
- in Latin America and Around the World
November 21, 2008 - (The Women’s International Perspective)
Their hats adorned with artificial flowers identify them at
many of the protests in which I participate. The Grannies also
show up on New York City's Union Square to sing their signature
anti-war lyrics to well known tunes.
Mexico:
Native women mobilise for their rights
September 1, 2008 - (AWID) - If the Mexican government
has not addressed the demands of indigenous women in the southern
state of Oaxaca by the end of the first week of September, 10,000
native women will travel to the capital to directly pressure
President Felipe Calderón. "We are fed up,"
said one of the leading activists.
Major
step forward in Paraguay's investigations into sexual slavery
of girls
August 13, 2008 (AI) - Investigations into girls subjected to
sexual slavery in Paraguay during the Stroessner dictatorship
have taken a major step forward thanks to one woman's testimony.
This in turn has encouraged other women to come forward and
testify about their experiences of sexual slavery, giving greater
weight to the Truth and Justice Commission's investigation.
Argentina:
First Regional Workshop on Gender and Peacekeeping (SCR 1325)
July 2008 - (Iansa.org) From 20-22 May 2008 the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Argentina (REMUI) organised the First Regional
Workshop for the Development of a Gender Policy in the Framework
of Peacekeeping Operations, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Colombia:
Betancourt in plea to Farc rebels
July 20, 2008 (BBC News) - The recently freed French-Colombian
politician, Ingrid Betancourt, has urged her former captors,
the Marxist Farc rebels, to release all hostages.
Venezuela
must implement new law on violence against women
July 17, 2008 - (Amnesty.org) In a new report published on Wednesday
16 July, Amnesty International urged the Venezuelan authorities
to show the political will and provide the resources needed
to ensure the new law on violence against women will not just
exist on paper.
MEXICO:
Ransacking of Longtime Women's News Agency
July 8, 2008 (AWID) - The devastation and disorder of a burglary
and violent vandalism at the women’s news agency CIMAC
(Women’s Communication & Information) offices in Mexico
City last weekend suggest that it was more than a common break-in,
according to Lucía Lagunes Huerta, general director of
the organization.
Women’s
Ministries Come Together to Strengthen Gender Equality in Latin
America
July 1, 2008 (INSTRAW) - Over the past 20 years national mechanisms
for the promotion of women has been established throughout Latin
America.Currently, those responsible for these mechanisms are
building networks aimed at strengthening their political incidence
and making gender equality policies a priority for all Latin
American governments.
Justice
is Bittersweet as Killers are Sentenced for 1982 Massacre in
Guatemala
June 16, 2008 (AdvocacyNet) - Salamá, Guatemala:
The five former paramilitaries shuffled into the courtroom in
this small country town, convicted of participating in one the
most notorious massacres in Guatemala's 36-year-long civil war.
Now they awaited a sentence.
Support
for the Creation of an Observatory on Gender Equality in Latin
America and the Caribbean
June 12, 2008 (INSTRAW) - José Luis Machinea, Executive
Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC) and Carmen Moreno, Director at UN-INSTRAW
signed an agreement to support the establishment of an Observatory
on Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Colombia/Ecuador: disappearances
June 10, 2008 - (Alertnet) UNHCR is "calling for
the full and speedy resolution of the investigations into allegations
of disappearances, as well as torture, attempted rape and death
threats, against members of a Colombian refugee community in
Ecuador."
Guatemalan
Women Denounce Political Violence against Women
June 3, 2008 (INSTRAW) - Very few Guatemalan women are elected
to local government, and in addition, they face aggression and
discrimination. This was evident in the framework of the First
Interdepartmental Meeting of Women in Municipal Governments
and Women’s Commissions held in Panajachel, Solalá,
with the support of UN-INSTRAW.
COLOMBIA:
Defending Women's Defenders
June 9, 2008 - (IPS) After nearly six years of the "democratic
security" policy of the government of rightwing President
Álvaro Uribe, women activists in Colombia are as vulnerable
to human rights abuses as ever, said female rights defenders
who met recently in the Colombian capital.
Haiti:
UNICEF deplores spike in number of kidnappings of Haitian children
June 5, 2008 – (UN News Center) The United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has joined a national call across
Haiti to halt the surge this year in the number of kidnappings
of children in the impoverished country. At least 50 children
have been kidnapped already this year, compared to 31 for the
first five months of last year. More than half the victims have
been girls.
Former
nun helps Mexico 'femicide' victims recover
June 5, 2008 - (CSMonitor) Life in Anapra has never been easy.
Many of the hundreds of local women murdered in the past 15
years hail from this border town, one of the most violent and
marginalized communities in Mexico. And while international
attention on the "femicides" abates, the psychology
of fear, the cycle of poverty, and a stubborn macho culture
are now stirred by a wave of drug-trafficking violence in nearby
Ciudad Juárez.
Brazil:
Leave or be killed
May 1, 2008 (Amnesty International The Wire) - Women living
in Brazil’s shanty towns struggle to survive against a
backdrop of gang and police violence, discrimination and state
neglect. Across the country, in thousands of favelas and marginalized
communities, millions of Brazilians live under the control of
criminal gangs. The absence of the state has created a vacuum
which has allowed these gangs to dominate every aspect of life.
PARAGUAY's
elections: Indigenous Woman on Course for Senate
April 17, 2008 (IPS) - An indigenous woman has an excellent
chance of winning a seat in Congress for the first time in the
history of Paraguay, in Sunday’s general elections.
Guatemala:
Major Step to Stop Violence Against Women
April 10, 2008 (NIMD) - The
much discussed “Law Against Feminicide and Other Forms
of Violence Against Women” was approved in Congress under
loud applause from the public tribune, where representatives
of political parties and women organisations had been awaiting
the approval of the law.
CHILE:
Bachelet Unveils New Indigenous Policy
April 2, 2008 (IPS) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet
has announced a new policy for indigenous people, which includes
(...) strengthening indigenous communities’ participation
in the political and social arenas, recognition and strengthening
of their rights, improvement of the quality of life of indigenous
people living in urban areas, empowerment of women, and promoting
education and culture.
colombia:
Colombia's displaced women sexually abused and forced into early
motherhood
April 2, 2008 - (Alertnet) Wherever they are, displaced
women are easy prey to sexual exploitation and abuse - from
partners, relatives, neighbours, landlords and strangers and
many become mothers at a very young age. While 20 percent of
Colombian teenage girls have been pregnant, that figure goes
up to 30 percent for internally displaced girls.
Nicaragua:
For Nicaraguans, International Women’s Day Marks a Step
Back
March 8, 2008 (HRW) Until recently, Nicaraguan women
had something to celebrate on March 8, International Women’s
Day. Nicaraguan women have fought for years to protect women’s
rights, not to restrict them, and decades ago the government
eliminated some of the sexist laws that discriminated against
women.
GUATEMALA:
Indigenous Women Weave Incomes, Self-Confidence
February 18, 2008 - (IPS) "Before forming part of
the association, we were shut up in our houses. Now we have
overcome our fear and shame of going out and seeing new places,
and we are bringing money in for our families," says Nicolasa
Raxtun, a 30-year-old Maya Cakchiquel Indian woman.
MEXICO:
MEXICAN WOMAN FIGHTS FOR VOTING RIGHTS Eufrosina Cruz runs for
mayor, says Constitution trumps indigenous laws
February 12, 2008 (csmonitor) SANTA MARIA QUIGOLANI,
MEXICO - Women in this Indian village high in the pine-clad
mountains of Oaxaca rise each morning at 4 a.m. to gather firewood,
grind corn, prepare the day's food, care for the children, and
clean the house.
COLOMBIA:
Hostages’ Release, Seen from the Other Side
January 11, 2008 - (IPS) While the international spotlight was
shined on two women hostages released by Colombia’s FARC
guerrillas, IPS interviewed by telephone a woman who reflects
the other side of the hostage crisis.
Colombia
rebels free two hostages from jungle
January 10, 2008 - (Reuters) With tears, smiles and long hugs,
two women hostages were freed by Colombia's Marxist rebels on
Thursday after years in the jungle, raising hopes for dozens
more languishing in secret camps.
WLP
Convenes First Regional Institute in Central America
January, 2008 (WLP) Women's Learning Partnership and Fondo para
el Desarollo de la Mujer (FODEM) convened the first Central
America Regional Training of Trainers Institute for Women's
Leadership from January 28th-February 1st in Managua, Nicaragua.
The Institute brought together twenty-four participants from
seven countries in the region: Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras,
Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador.
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