I'd like to thank Becky Norton Dunlop of The Heritage Foundation and Michelle Easton of the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute for inviting me to speak with you today about the U.S. government's approach to the role women can play in transitions to democracy.
As each day's tragic headlines make clear, post-Saddam Iraq is still plagued by major security issues and economic deprivation. And evidence is mounting that women's ability to fully enjoy human rights--indeed, even to demand such rights--is integrally linked to their economic empowerment.
As security continues to improve in Iraq, the country is rebuilding both its civilian and military aviation sectors. Now that all legal restrictions on women in aviation careers have been removed, Iraqi women now have opportunities to excel in this field. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will host an event to provide practical advice and encouragement for Iraqi women interested in flying.
Kurdish women are largely divided into four regions; Syria, Turkey, Iran and Kurdistan. Their problems and struggles are equally divided. Oppression towards women in these four regions varies, and the great female personalities from these regions have fought, and campaigned for different things. When speaking about Kurdish women, we have to be specific about their region.
A workshop on human rights of women in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held Wednesday.
The workshop is jointly held by the Vietnamese Research Centre for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and Canadian International Development Agency.
On the eve of World Human Rights Day, listeners to the suitcase radio broadcast on 89.2FM in Labasa were reminded that faith based organizations and men are key partners in championing the cause of non-violence:
Bahraini men who espouse the rights of women have become inspirations for their counterparts in Lebanon. Members of the ‘Bahrain Network of Men to End Violence Against Women' were present when a similar body was launched last week in Lebanon.
Their participation in such an event was part the global campaign linking the ‘World Day to End Violence Against Women', as well as to mark the World Human Rights Day.
In December 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, women died, in part, because they could not swim, because they put the needs of their children first, and most tragically of all, they drowned in their homes because they would not flee after debris had torn off their clothes.
