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Kieron Monks

2020-03-21 10:40:08

sport

sport

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/21/sport/girl-gamers-uae-spc/index.html

Middle East's first female esports team makes debut - CNN

Galaxy Racers compete in world finals of Girl Gamer festival in Dubai

sport, Middle East's first female esports team makes debut - CNN

The Middle East's first female esports team debuts at Girl Gamer 2020

CNN's series often carry sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile. However, CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports. Our sponsorship policy. (CNN)Professional gaming has been growing fast in recent years, with the global esports industry projected to pass $1 billion in revenue and reach an audience of 495 million in 2020. But while women account for around 30% of that audience, and a rapidly growing proportion of gamers - almost half in the US - they are severely under-represented in the largest and most lucrative competitions. Not a single female competitor made the 100 finalists competing for $30 million prize money at last year's Fortnite World Cup.Girl Gamer festival was established in 2017 to address this imbalance and the female-only event has made steady progress since. The fourth World Finals recently concluded in Dubai, with the cream of global talent testing their skills at "League of Legends" and "Counterstrike: Global Offensive" for prize money of $100,000. The event drew an estimated audience of 20 million online. As host nation, the United Arab Emirates was entitled to enter a team but six months before the event no Emirati team existed. At that moment, local organizing group Galaxy Racer Esports and government partners held trials to form "the Middle East's first female esports team."Read MoreThe resultant "Galaxy Racer" team was formed of five young talents ranging from age 17 to 24, each with their own signature gaming handle; Madha Naz aka "Madi XO," Arwa Hameed aka "Sylvari Flames," Reem Faisal aka "Sins," Fatima Said aka "Rose," and Amna Raad Alameri aka "iMoki."JUST WATCHEDThis deaf 13-year-old girl signed to a professional esports teamReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThis deaf 13-year-old girl signed to a professional esports team 02:55The team trained intensively in the lead-up to the tournament for up to eight hours a day under the tutelage of Portugese coach Rafael Nunes aka Dinep. "When the opportunity of Girl Gamer festival came I dropped everything," says Madha Naz, 23. "I hope this experience changes my life because it's something I quit my job for. I am really hoping this is my career from here." The team members have faith in their abilities and see opportunity in the growth of esports, but also attest to the barriers that exist for women in a male-dominated field. "There is bullying online whenever they know that I am female," says Arwa Hameed, 17. Suppressed female talent is just waiting to be unleashed, says Paul Roy, CEO of Galaxy Racer Esports."One-third of all esports viewers are women...but female representation in esports is extremely low," says Roy. "This is the only sport where men don't have a physical (advantage) but there's no platform profile for women."Most tournaments are open to both genders but women don't tend to compete in male-dominated events, he says. But Roy suggests the tide could be turning through moments such as Chinese gamer VKLiooon becoming the first female winner of the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals. "We want to get to a point eventually where tournaments like Girl Gamer no longer exist...and you have men and women playing on the same team and competing with each other," says Roy. "But as a start it made sense to give female representation a very strong platform."The CEO also says he plans to expand the Galaxy Racer squad with the best players from across the region and refine their talents in "the first dedicated high end training facility in the Middle East."

Thom Patterson, CNN

2015-11-23 13:57:30

news

living

https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/23/living/deaf-culture-all-american-family-cnn-digital-short/index.html

Deaf culture in an American deaf family - CNN

Meet the Pedersens of Pleasanton, California. They were all born deaf, except Kaleb — who at age 20, identifies more with deaf culture than hearing culture.

deafness, deaf culture, hearing, cochlear implants, Gallaudett University, California School for the Deaf, American Sign Language, deaf pride, living, Deaf culture in an American deaf family - CNN

A hearing son in deaf family: 'I'd rather be deaf'

Story highlightsKaleb Pedersen is the only person in his immediate family who's not deafHis unique status allows him to know the hearing and deaf worldsThe Pedersens believe deafness is just as rewarding as hearing (CNN)Meet the Pedersen family: parents Rod and Jamie; and the children: Zane, Jax and Kaleb. They were all born deaf, except Kaleb — who at age 20, is the oldest child. "Obviously, I didn't choose to be the only hearing one," Kaleb said on the phone from their home near San Francisco in Pleasanton, California. Thanks to his upbringing, Kaleb prefers Deaf culture over the hearing world. "There's more of a sense of belonging in the Deaf culture. They just feel closer together than how hearing people act with each other."The Pedersens are featured in CNN Films' new Digital Short titled, "All-American Family." They're among an estimated 1 million so-called "functionally deaf" people in the United States, and 70 million worldwide, according to federal and United Nations stats.Long-established deaf schools in and around places such as San Francisco, Rochester, New York; Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles have led to large pockets of deaf residents in those cities. Many hold on tight to their Deaf identity and Deaf culture. Read MoreJamie Crowley is deaf and is the mother of two deaf sons.That's "Deaf" with a capital "D." That's how the community spells it. Since childhood, Kaleb's ability to hear -- along with his command of American Sign Language -- has defined much of his role in the family. His first language was sign language -- English came later. "He's like half deaf inside and hearing on the outside," his mom Jamie Crowley wrote CNN in an e-mail. "Kaleb is naturally our ears."When the family meets at restaurants, Kaleb orders for everybody. When the doorbell rings, he answers it. When hearing people ask Kaleb annoying questions such as, "Do you ever wish your family could hear, like you?" -- he doesn't get upset. "I don't wish that they could hear, because there's nothing wrong with them," he said. "They're born that way and they can do anything that any hearing person could do. I don't see any reason for them to change." "If anything, I'd rather be deaf."Does that sound shocking? It shouldn't, say the Pedersens. If there's one thing they want you to know, it's this: They're fine just the way they are. They're not "broken" or "impaired."JUST WATCHEDSuper Bowl champion breaks down sound barriersReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHSuper Bowl champion breaks down sound barriers 06:28"The biggest threat to our community is the pathological view ... that something is wrong with us," Crowley wrote. When hearing parents find out their baby is deaf, sometimes their first response is that they "need to fix it." Crowley takes issue with some parents who let doctors implant hearing devices in their deaf children's ears in an attempt to allow them to regain partial hearing. "More and more deaf babies are undergoing cochlear implants and being deprived of learning American Sign Language," Crowley says. About 324,000 people worldwide have had these implants, according to federal stats. They've been FDA-approved for children as young as 1 since 2000.Here's how cochlear implants work: a tiny microphone worn behind the ear sends sounds to an electronic speech processor which turns them into electric impulses, directly stimulating the auditory nerve which then sends the signals to the brain.More about cochlear implantsThe power of cochlear implants went viral across social media when video surfaced of a baby hearing his mother's voice for the first time. The child's resulting smile is positively heartwarming.JUST WATCHEDDeaf child hears his mom for first timeReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHDeaf child hears his mom for first time 01:45In another case, a hearing father who had his 10-month-old deaf son outfitted with cochlear implants admitted it was a tough call. "The biggest struggle that my wife and I had was, we're making a choice for our child who at this point doesn't have a say in it," the father, Korey Bowe told Rochester, Minnesota's KAAL-TV. "You always struggle with ... is this something he or she would want?'" Crowley's teenage son Zane doesn't want it. A quarterback at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, Zane did try using a hearing aid for a while. "I loved it because I could hear different sounds," Zane says in the film. "But later on I realized that it wasn't the most popular idea. It was kind of the uncool thing to do. I've been asked [hypothetically] if I would get a cochlear implant and I always say no. I think they push it too much without respecting Deaf culture."Crowley celebrated Zane's deafness 18 years ago when he came into the world. It made her happy. "Being deaf is who I am — and now Zane is too." It's a bond no one can take away, she wrote CNN. Deafness is often passed to children from parents carrying specific genes. Other people become deaf as a result of various diseases. Born deaf to hearing parentsCrowley's parents were a hearing couple. When they learned she was deaf, they moved the family from San Francisco to the East Bay area to "mainstream" her at a public school. There, she learned to speak and read lips, instead of communicating by signing. "I hated it more than anything when people asked why I spoke differently," she recalled. She would explain her speaking voice by making up stories that she was from Sweden. She didn't learn to sign until she met a deaf person in college.  "My life changed from that day on," Crowley told CNN. "I finally felt like this is where I belong -- a place where I didn't have to pretend. I didn't have to fake that I understood what a hearing person just said. I'm not getting left out or missing any of the conversation at all." That experience solidified her realization that deaf children should be educated in separate schools. For her, it's part of defending Deaf culture. "We are working together to preserve our deaf schools," Crowley said. "This is where deaf kids grow up together. They have amazing deaf role models and access to language, everywhere."Deaf schools influence deaf cultureIn fact it was a deaf school in Washington, D.C. that proved to be the site of a watershed moment in Deaf cultural change back in 1988. Students at Gallaudet University felt like it was high time for a deaf person to lead the school. They staged protests aimed at putting a deaf administrator in charge. Protesters made international headlines when they boycotted classes, hot-wired buses and used them to block campus entrances. They shut down the school and marched to the U.S. Capitol, eventually winning their demands. JUST WATCHEDFlorida Starbucks allows sign language orderingReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHFlorida Starbucks allows sign language ordering 01:54"It's so easy for outsiders to find things wrong with being deaf," Kaleb Pedersen explained. "But for us, it's so easy to find things to be extremely proud of ... like a sense of belonging and togetherness that we find with one another. When you overcome so many hardships and obstacles put in front of you by the hearing world, how could you not be proud of yourself at that point?"Communicating by sign language is a part of the culture that Kaleb especially cherishes. "When you talk to people, you have more eye contact with them. It's more meaningful in that way. You can be a lot more blunt. Things are so much more clear -- and there are no hard feelings."Kaleb now works a couple of part-time jobs to save money for college. He's thinking about studying to be an interpreter for the deaf -- perhaps in the medical or legal fields. That path would seem perfect for the "ears" of the Pedersen family. Kaleb has already spent many years as a sort of bridge between his deaf friends and family and people who hear. Maybe someday he'll turn his life experience into a profession."I feel lucky to have both hearing and deaf sons," Crowley said. "I've learned so much from both worlds."JUST WATCHEDGirl signs songs for deaf parents ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHGirl signs songs for deaf parents 02:56

Todd Leopold, CNN

2015-11-30 14:56:07

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/world/blackface-documentary-zwarte-piet-feat/index.html

'Blackface': Dutch holiday tradition or racism? - CNN

The Dutch character of Black Peter, a goofy, singing, candy-giving Renaissance-clad figure in blackface, is the focus of the short film "Blackface."

zwarte piet, blackface, netherlands, black pete, dutch, holland, sinterklaas, holiday, st nicholas, feast of st nicholas, world, 'Blackface': Dutch holiday tradition or racism? - CNN

'Blackface': Dutch holiday tradition or racism?

Story highlightsCNN Digital's short film "Blackface" looks into Zwarte Piet, a Dutch gift-giving characterMany outside the Netherlands see character as racist caricature; many Dutch see tradition (CNN)You know the story. Every December jolly St. Nicholas visits the children of the land -- accompanied by his servant, Black Peter, a goofy, singing, candy-giving Renaissance-clad figure in blackface, giant red lips and a curly wig.What? That doesn't ring a bell?It would if you lived in the Netherlands, where the visit of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet on December 5 -- the eve of St. Nicholas' birthday -- is a longstanding tradition. But it's a tradition that's been called into question in recent years, including by Roger Ross Williams, the director of the short film "Blackface," which looks into the character and his past."It was shocking to me. The arguments of the Dutch is that it's a children's holiday and that it's a tradition," says Williams, an African-American whose short film "Music by Prudence" won an Oscar for short subject in 2010. Many don't see the racist aspects of the character, he adds.When he announced his documentary, he was insulted online, told to "eat a banana, black monkey" and other epithets. He hasn't been alone in raising hackles; his film shows one black protester being hauled away from a crowd welcoming Zwarte Piet because, in the protester's words, "I made them feel so uncomfortable that they had to get the cops." Read MoreThe issue of racism is a complex one in the famously liberal Netherlands. (Indeed, its liberalism was a huge attraction for Williams, a gay man who is married to a white Dutchman and now lives in Amsterdam.) The country profited greatly from the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries; one of the roles of the Dutch West India Co. was to transport slaves from Africa to the Americas. The Dutch didn't ban slavery in its territories until 1863, though it was illegal in the Netherlands. JUST WATCHEDDutch blackface tradition debatedReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHDutch blackface tradition debated 02:49Though the story of Zwarte Piet is said to date back hundreds of years, it was popularized in a 19th-century children's book. The character is Sinterklaas' Moorish helper, and his arrival from Spain with Sinterklaas -- who rides a white horse -- has become a yearly celebration, complete with Sinterklaas' boat pulling into a Dutch harbor and a welcoming parade. Children and adults dress up as Zwarte Piet at parties."It's just tradition. It has nothing to do with racism," says Ronald Livius, a commodities trader who grew up in the southern Netherlands and now lives in Switzerland. A former Atlanta resident, he says that the Surinamese members of the Atlanta Holland Club who played Zwarte Piet had "absolutely no issue doing so."Williams, the filmmaker, dismisses this as "Dutch innocence.""They'll say that Black Pete is not blackface, but you're literally blacking up your face ... and (adding) hoop earrings and an Afro wig," he says. "It's pretty obvious to us, but it's like a whole country in denial."There has been some reconsideration of Zwarte Piet. There's a Facebook page in opposition, and some fans have tried to recast his blackface as chimney soot.Still, resistance has been strong. A U.N. committee asked the Netherlands to get rid of the character, but the Dutch government "dismissed" its request, The New York Times reported in August. The right-wing party of Geert Wilders, one of the country's most popular politicians, proposed a "Black Peter Law" last year that would ensure the character would remain as he is. And when Emily Raboteau, an American who spent a holiday season in Amsterdam, tried to explain to locals why she had issues with Zwarte Piet, they ignored her."You're being racist," she said her Dutch neighbors told her. "We love him." "I was arguing with a wall," she wrote in an essay for Virginia Quarterly Review. For his part, Williams has been asked why he doesn't focus on race problems in America. He says he has, but that's not the point -- he lives in the Netherlands now."This is something that's upsetting and disturbing to me, and I'm not going to look the other way," he says. "I can't look the other way."

Roger Ross Williams

2015-11-30 16:41:10

news

opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/opinions/blackface-zwarte-piet-director-statement-ross-williams/index.html

Filmmaker: Why I made 'Blackface' - CNN

The first time I saw the Dutch character Black Pete, or Zwarte Piet, my heart sank.

netherlands, holland, blackface, sinterklaas, zwarte piet, black pete, racism, opinions, Filmmaker: Why I made 'Blackface' - CNN

Filmmaker: Why I made 'Blackface'

Story highlightsRoger Ross Williams says he was shocked by the Dutch Black Pete traditionEvery year, Dutch people in the notoriously liberal country put blackface on as part of the holiday riteRoger Ross Williams is an African-American filmmaker whose short film "Blackface" debuted on CNN Digital in November 2015. Williams also directed the Oscar Award-winning short documentary "Music by Prudence" and the documentary "God Loves Uganda," which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. He resides in Amsterdam with his husband. (CNN)The first time I saw the Dutch character known as Black Pete, or Zwarte Piet, my heart sank and I felt a little nauseated.For three agonizing weeks, many nonwhites (including myself) watch white Dutch people paint their faces black, their lips red, wear afro wigs, hoop earrings, and act like a bumbling and dimwitted servant who is kind to children.It's all part of a Dutch tradition that takes place during the Netherlands' most popular holiday, Sinterklaas. Roger Ross WilliamsSinterklaas arrives by steam ship from Spain around mid-November, along with his servants called Black Petes. The Black Petes give candy to the children and on December 5 -- the night before St. Nicholas Day -- go down the chimney and deliver presents before heading back to Spain. This has similarities to Christmas in the United States, but the Dutch celebrate both Sinterklaas and Christmas. The idea of the Black Petes dates back to a children's book published in the 1850s called "Sinterklaas and his Servant." Read MoreThe Dutch call it a fairy tale, but many nonwhites in the Netherlands call it a nightmare. They pull their kids out of school because they don't want them to grow up feeling that to be black in Dutch society is to be subordinate, inferior and an object of mockery.Most Dutch people do not believe that Black Pete is racist. They say he is just a fun character for the children. I know it sounds crazy, but they say he is a happy helper of Sinterklaas who loves being his servant. "They don't know what our tradition is," Jan van Wijk, chairman of the Dutch Saint Nicholas Society, says of Americans who think Black Pete is racist. "In the history, there (is) a good man -- Santa Claus -- and there is an enemy, a devil, and the devil is black." Black Pete, van Wijk explains, is transformed from an angry, black man to "a person who is friendly.""Black Pete is not racism, Black Pete is not a slave, he is the friend of everyone," he says.What they do not realize, or care to see, is that the idea of Black Pete himself is rooted in slavery. And what they fail to notice is that some of the nonwhite kids aren't laughing. Schools in the Dutch cities of Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht have begun to ban Black Pete, and the Amsterdam school system has issued an advisory against it.But, in the rest of the Netherlands, Black Pete is alive and well and some say is even having a renaissance of sort. Many Dutch have dug in their heels against a growing protest movement. There is something deeply unnerving when you see such a blatant display of racism head on -- that my appearance as a black man can actually be someone's caricatured costume. It's hard to believe that it's 2015 in the Netherlands, a country that many believe is enlightened and progressive.When I decided to make "Blackface," a short film about Black Pete, I had little knowledge of the giant cesspool of hate I was about to dive into. I didn't realize how popular and passionate many white Dutch are about a figure that they connect to fond memories from their childhood. They call it their culture, their tradition, and most are not willing to let it go. They feel passionate about it. They ignore that Black Pete is a common Western stereotype of people of African descent, just like Little Black Sambo and Al Jolson in the United States or Tintin in the Congo and in France. Those figures were used to reinforce European white supremacy fresh off the heels of slavery. This is Black Pete's legacy, and it cannot be divorced from history or from contemporary racism and xenophobia that persist in the Netherlands today, where Dutch politicians such as Geert Wilders engage in openly anti-immigrant rhetoric. Studies claim that nonwhite Dutch communities face substantial discrimination here. So, racism in the Netherlands is not just evident in the blatant face of Black Pete, but also in less visible ways. I know this firsthand because as word got out that I was making a film about Black Pete, my email, Facebook and Twitter feeds were flooded with messages claiming that I had no business interfering with their innocent children's holiday, telling me that I did not understand. They would start off saying that Black Pete is not racist and end by calling me a "stupid Black Monkey who should go back to Africa." That's when I realized that the Black Pete debate has hit a nerve in this country. It has reminded the Netherlands of the very significant role it has played in the slave trade, and of inequalities that it has benefited from. Maybe the reluctance to change is because of guilt -- but I think it's much more than that. I think that the Dutch have such deep-rooted white privilege that they actually have no way to connect to those outside of their reality. Their idea of themselves is based in centuries of brainwashing, which has told them that they are superior to the brown and black people of the world.They live in a country literally built on the backs of oppression. They cannot see the pain of their own nonwhite citizens, and they do not want to see it. The rest of the world does, and even the United Nations had to intervene and issue a statement from the committee of racial discrimination: "Considering that even a deeply rooted cultural tradition does not justify discriminatory practices and stereotypes, the Committee recommends that (the Netherlands) actively promote the elimination of those features of the character of Black Pete which reflect negative stereotypes and are experienced by many people of African descent as a vestige of slavery. The Committee recommends that the State party find a reasonable balance, such as a different portrayal of Black Pete and ensure respect of human dignity and human rights of all inhabitants of the State party." The ties to racism seem pretty clear when I open my inbox and see the word "nigger" from a pro-Black Pete Dutch person.I'm told that I should focus on the racial problems in my own country, instead of meddling in their innocent children's holiday. My answer to them is that the racism in the United States does not give them to right to ignore their own racism.All racism is wrong, and denying that it exists does not make it go away. In the Netherlands, there is a population of nonwhite people who, more and more, refuse to be treated as second-class citizens anymore.There is a change happening, and it feels like an exciting time to be here and be a part of it -- even if it is painful at times to experience.

Jessica Ravitz, CNN

2015-12-14 00:52:23

news

living

https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/13/living/gnomist-film-kansas-utah/index.html

Meet the Gnomist: A force for good - CNN

She created a magical forest in a Kansas suburb. Her artistry touched the lives of others and sparked a short film. But who is she and what's she up to now?

magic, fairy, gnome, the gnomist, short films, digital shorts, cnn films, sharon liese, inspiration, living, Meet the Gnomist: A force for good - CNN

Meet the Gnomist: A force for good

Saratoga Springs, Utah (CNN)She appreciated magic from an early age. As a small child living in Colorado, she used to sneak across the street to sit in the center of a clump of trees. She'd look up and imagine what could be, what life would look like if she could live among them.Her Aunt Marilyn saw and appreciated her fascination with discovery. She gave her gifts of tiny boxes that held hidden gems. They were little surprises like pint-sized glass mushrooms she placed along her windowsill, fueling her young imagination.Her aunt died before she was 10, but her spirit still inspired the girl. She was in her 30s when she spotted her first hollow tree, an enormous live oak on a plantation in Charleston, South Carolina. She couldn't help herself and climbed right in. She peered around in wonder and, just as she did decades earlier, dreamt what was possible. "If this was my tree," she remembers thinking, "this is what I'd do."The road to discoveryRead MoreHere's where we must hit pause. Before you read further, if you haven't already, please watch the video at the top of the article or just below. Only then will the rest of this piece make sense. And spoiler alert: If you keep reading first, you'll ruin the surprise of the video later. Don't be a gnome-hater. JUST WATCHEDAll-American Family: Deaf football captures heartsReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH (4 Videos)All-American Family: Deaf football captures heartsRaising Ryland: Parenting a transgender childUbah!: Fashion model's unlikely path to fameIs this Dutch holiday character racist?Done watching? Great. Now, let's move on. Last time we saw Robyn Frampton was June 2014. She and her sons were loaded in their white minivan, leaving behind a legacy in Overland Park, Kansas. The whimsy of the Firefly Forest they'd created along a suburban wooded trail captured the imagination of children and adults, drew strangers together in wonderment and comforted a family reeling from grief.Frampton's fairy houses and fanciful tree-hollow homes -- and the effect they had -- were chronicled in "The Gnomist," the critically acclaimed short film that was acquired by CNN Films and featured last month on "Great Big Story."By the end of the film, the evidence of their efforts -- with one exception -- had been removed. The family behind this dreamlike world, a mother and two sons still finding their way after a divorce, uprooted and drove off into the unknown.That was about a year and a half ago. We set out to find Frampton and see what happened next.'Unlike anything I've ever experienced'Saratoga Springs, Utah, is a quiet bedroom community about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City. On the morning drive there, sunlight cuts through scattered clouds and the Wasatch Range to the east, the rays twirling in an enchanted dance. The snow-capped mountains loom majestic. We step out of the cold and into the warm home and embrace of the woman we've come to visit: The Gnomist.Tears spring to Frampton's eyes easily. They come when she speaks of the overwhelming reaction to the film, which was released in the hours leading up to the November 13 Paris terrorist attacks.So far, the film has been viewed online about 2 million times. With the world steeped in hatred, filmmaker Sharon Liese says "The Gnomist" somehow has emerged as a salve, an uplifting ray of light, a reminder of humanity's goodness.Frampton can hardly believe the standing ovations she's gotten at screenings and can't bear to look up at the masses."It all comes at me," she says, her eyes welling. "It's unlike anything I've ever experienced."She recalls the strangers who've reached out, including those who've cried on her shoulder. She laughs about the band of "ninja moms" she met at the Kansas screening, a group that scoured the trail at night in search of the bandits who were stealing and breaking doors. And she opens up a big box to reveal a homemade fairy house, just sent to her by a young person in Colorado.The attention and adoration both touches and baffles her. She insists that she was only a facilitator in Overland Park. What she did, she says, was as much for herself and her children -- whom she was desperate to shield from the pain of divorce -- as it was for anyone else. Everything that transpired was thanks to others, she says, and a gift to her.Hundreds of notes gathered by the Gnomist fill several scrapbooks."I was there in chains. I felt like there was no hope for me," says Frampton, who hadn't yet finished college and couldn't find work for more than minimum wage. "The flame that burned inside me, it was taking its last dying breath."Hundreds of notes fill a scrapbook she lays out on the floor of her sunny front sitting room in Saratoga Springs. Inside are messages that make her laugh and others that choke her up.Words left for mythical fairies bolstered her, miraculously appearing at just the right times. As she struggled to believe in herself, a child scrawled in red marker, "I belive [sic] in you." When she felt particularly down, a stranger wrote, "People who take time to bless others are truly special!"On days when she felt broken or couldn't catch her breath because she was so scared, she'd spot little girls at a fairy house squealing with glee."How can that not make you smile?" she says. "To see someone delighted, delighted me."She learned to remember that she wasn't alone in feeling pain and was reminded that others have it worse."I wish I can stay sober for the rest of my life. ... 9 days clean from heroin today," wrote one person. "Please bring mom home safely," said another. And then, of course, there was the one remembering Allie "Little Owl" Fisher, who died of a rare brain cancer at age 3.Exchanging giftsReproductions of fairy and gnome doors are scattered about Frampton's bright rental home. People request them as artwork and she offers them as gifts. They line the top of a kitchen credenza and lean against the wall by the front door. There's a new one she plans to send to Greg Ruether, the director of parks services who insisted the fairy and gnome homes come down. The poor guy emerged a villain in the film and has endured ugly phone calls and the wrath of audiences. Frampton, however, knows he was working within the confines of his job. She also knows what viewers don't: He agreed to let her keep building until she left Overland Park -- and guarded her secret.The door she's made for him is black. A little window opens to reveal a painted gold heart. Written on the window's door: "To the ogre with a heart of gold."There's also a replica of the only door Frampton left behind in the forest: the turquoise one in honor of "Little Owl," a full-of-life girl gone far too soon."The door is still there," Kelly Fisher, Allie's mother, says by phone. "It's weathered. It's beautiful. It's even more beautiful because it's withstood time so well."Many of the notes the Gnomist received inspired smiles and laughter.Fisher is now a close friend of Frampton's. Fisher says she, her husband Kyle and their daughter Evie still frequent their door along the trail. It's where they go when they need to feel close to Allie. On the day when Allie should have been starting kindergarten, they went there. Sometimes they still find notes. One recently read, "Praying for you." Another said, "Hugs." And on Mother's Day, a stranger left Fisher a card."That door came into my life at my lowest time when I look back on it. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it through this grief," she says. "It continues to bring gifts to our life."The experience in Overland Park keeps giving back to Frampton, too."It helped me to never forget what I value in myself and what I value in other people," she says.She moved to Utah, where she'd lived a few times before, to be near family. Frampton is one of six kids, has two siblings in the state, and her parents -- who divorced when Frampton was 20 -- live here, too.But she also came with a mission to finish college. She's taken on a heavier-than-normal course load at Utah Valley University in nearby Orem. She's working as quickly as she can to earn her bachelor's degree in psychology and will enter her last semester in January.Frampton's overwhelmingly busy. While grateful to be around people who love and support her emotionally, she still worries about finances and what will come next. There are also days when she still feels lost and out of place. Being a divorced Mormon woman in this community, one that is so family-focused, can sometimes be unnerving. She's learned to believe, though, in the journey. She hasn't traveled the road she imagined for herself, but she trusts that she's headed to exactly where she's supposed to be.The magic that remainsFrampton remembers the first time she spotted a hollow tree and thought to herself, "That tree could use a door." It was while walking on a trail in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lived before moving to Kansas. Hollow trees are hard to come by where she lives now. So, too, are lush wooded neighborhood trails. Utah is a largely defined by desert, after all.But along a path in Dry Creek Trail Park, in nearby Lehi, the fairies and gnomes may be stirring -- this time with the approval of the parks department. A little yellow house sprung up in October atop a stump and nestled against an old tree. Painted inside the two front doors: "Let your light shine."The doors open to a tiny room with a tiny bed and a tiny bedspread. On the floor are emptied little jars labeled "pixie dust." Frampton isn't sure future buildings along this path are the way to go. It's a trial. She can't and won't allow herself to have expectations that this will take off as it did in Overland Park. That was a special time, a special place, and what needed to happen there did.Her sons have moved on. They're focused on school, friends and their own creative experiences. Parker, 16, still plays guitar and is his high school's junior class vice president. Tyler, 14, inspired by the filming of "The Gnomist," has become an amateur filmmaker himself. What transpired in Kansas hasn't left Frampton. How could it?She has teamed up with an illustrator and hopes to self-publish the book she left behind in Overland Park: "Lost and Found in Firefly Forest."And she opens up the door to her garage to reveal her latest secret venture -- one she can only work on sporadically these days. It is her happy place, where she can lose herself in whimsy.An enormous, multi-tiered fairy home, fashioned inside a stump she salvaged from a tree graveyard and hollowed out, towers above her 5-foot-8-inch frame. A green shingled roof tops it. Doors formed from an old whiskey barrel are in place, as are some pieces of furniture, an indoor fireplace and bells for the doors.In October, this fairy house sprung up along a trail in Lehi, Utah.She learned her way around tools -- axes, chainsaws, grinders -- when she was married and her husband was on the road for work. "If something needed to be done, I had to do it." She constructed forts and castles for kids. She built furniture. She finished a basement.Building, she says, has always made her happy. And when her creations make others happy, there's nothing better.She also likes to repurpose old items. Salvaged wire can be twisted to become furniture. Bins on shelves are full of wood and other scraps just waiting to be transformed."Where you come from doesn't have to determine where you're going," she says.Come spring, the big house will be installed in a memorial garden at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City and donated, with her friend Kelly Fisher's blessing, by Team Little Owl, the foundation for brain cancer research created in Allie's memory. It will include a mailbox with a special key that will be presented to young patients who will be invited to visit the house to pick up special packages. Frampton can envision a career in organizational psychology. But if she could wave a wand and create her dream job, she'd build these houses for children's hospitals across the nation.Children's hospitals are personal for Frampton, especially the one in Salt Lake City. Both of her sons, when they were much younger, had health scares that landed them there. Parker, as a 3-month-old baby, had to have surgery to separate a prematurely fused skull. And Tyler, before he was 2, was taken by life-flight to the hospital after aspirating on an almond in trail mix.Those scares changed how she looked at the world and how she interacted with other people. She thought more about what she could offer, no matter how small."The truth is we're walking around in a world of people looking down and feeling alone," she says. "Part of the human condition is finding connections, whether brief and for a moment or eternal." And on the trails we each travel, the Gnomist says, we carry our own gifts we can share.For more on CNN's Digital Shorts, check out cnn.com/shortfilms.

Meera Senthilingam, Pallabi Munsi and Vanessa Offiong, CNN

2022-01-25 05:25:18

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/25/world/as-equals-skin-whitening-global-market-explainer-intl-cmd/index.html

Skin Whitening: The global market, the risks and who makes and sells the products - CNN

Skin whitening is a multi-billion-dollar industry and predominantly targets women of color in every region of the world. Find out more about the global market, the culture of colorism promoting it, the effect these products can have on your health and the industry behind it all.

world, Skin Whitening: The global market, the risks and who makes and sells the products - CNN

Skin whitening: What is it, what are the risks and who profits?

This story is part of 'White lies', a series by CNN's As Equals investigating skin whitening practices worldwide to expose the underlying drivers of colorism, the industry that profits from it and the cost to individuals and communities. For information about how CNN As Equals is funded and more, check out our FAQs. Skin whitening is the use of cosmetic products or services to reduce the amount of melanin, or pigment, in the skin to make it appear lighter.It's a big industry and predominantly targets women of color in every region of the world, with the Asia-Pacific region being the most lucrative.The practice dates back centuries, has many names -- skin lightening, whitening, bleaching -- and has a range of cultural origins depending on the region. But the trend is ultimately rooted in colorism and the fact that in many cultures, lighter skin is associated with beauty and better prospects in terms of employment, marriage and social standing.Find out more about the global skin whitening market, the culture of colorism promoting it, the industry behind these products and the effect they can have on your health.The global skin whitening market Skin whitening: The global market The global market for skin whitening was estimated at $8 billion in 2020 -- and projected to increase by nearly half that within six years. Source: StrategyR Women account for almost 80% of sales worldwide. Source: Future Market Insights Creams dominate the market and are estimated to reach $6.6 billion by 2027. Source: Grand View Research Research and Markets The Asia-Pacific market accounted for over half of global revenue in 2018 and is expected to grow the most, with China being among the fastest growing markets globally. Source: Grand View Research StrategyR India A 2018 study in Mumbai, India, found 54% of respondents had used skin whitening products at some point, and 38% were using them at the time. Source: Frontiers in Public Health Africa Study estimates for the percentage of women that bleach their skin in four countries in Africa Source: International Journal of Women's Dermatology Middle East Estimates for the percentage of women that use skin-whitening products in Saudi Arabia and Jordan Source: International Journal of Women's Dermatology Latin America The practice of blanqueamiento, or whitening, for a better standing in society is deeply rooted across Latin America. Source: Encyclopedia Britannica Read MoreThe culture behind skin whiteningLighter skin has long been linked to wealth and status, in some regions due to manual laborers working out in the sun while the wealthy stayed indoors. In others, experts blame colonialism, slavery and globalization.Colorism and light-skin privilege have led to disparities in every region of the world, in everything from social treatment to marriageability, education, employment and even, in the US, prison sentencing. Skin whitening: The culture US Skin color preferences go back to slavery, when lighter-skinned people who were enslaved were likely to be related to their master and favored to work indoors, while darker-skinned people were sent to the fields. Source: National Conference for Community and Justice slavery US Research shows Hispanic people with darker skin tones are more likely to say they have experienced discrimination because of their race or ethnicity than those with lighter skin tones. Source: Pew Research Center discrimination Jamaica Experts suggest Jamaican society is divided by a "color-based classification of race" in which there are white, brown and black groups, which to some degree correlate with upper, middle and working class. color-based classification Asia Research shows the marketing of skin care products across Asia portrays 'good skin' as smooth and white. Source: The Association for Consumer Research 'good skin' Japan The fair-skinned ideal of beauty in Japan is illustrated in the Japanese proverb: "A white complexion is powerful enough to hide seven faults," meaning fair skin compensates for unattractive features. fair-skinned ideals Sudan In Sudan, skin bleaching is a common practice with women using homemade mixtures full of unknown and often harmful chemical ingredients. homemade mixtures Africa Because lighter skin remains desirable in South Africa, Rwanda and Ghana -- where skin whitening products are banned -- illegal, black-market sales persist. black market Toxic skin whitening ingredientsSkin whitening products often contain ingredients that are toxic when used cosmetically for long durations and without medical guidance as they have the ability not just to damage your skin but cause life-threatening ailments.The chemicals used to lighten skin vary greatly worldwide and are constantly evolving, with antioxidants such as glutathione, as well as vitamin C and collagen now available to inject -- most of which are unproven and often unsafe.However, three ingredients dominate harmful skin whitening products worldwide and are heavily regulated in most countries -- but they remain widely available, and misuse or prolonged use can be toxic to your health. Skin whitening: Toxic ingredients Steroids Hydroquinone Mercury Three ingredients dominate the harmful skin whitening products used worldwide. Steroids Hydroquinone Mercury Topical steroids are used to treat a range of skin conditions, including psoriasis and eczema, due to the drugs' anti-inflammatory effects. Skin whitening is a potential side effect, which has led to topical steroid misuse. The long-term use of steroids, or use without monitoring by a doctor, can lead to various side effects, such as rashes, pustules, hair growth on the skin, and infections. The over-the-counter sale of potent corticosteroids is banned in many countries and territories worldwide, including the US, the UK, India and Hong Kong. Hydroquinone is used to treat pigment disorders by reducing levels of melanin in the skin. Source: American Osteopathic College of Dermatology Over-the-counter sales are banned or regulated in multiple countries, including the US, South Africa, South Korea, UAE, the UK, the EU, Japan and Australia. The US FDA recognizes that hydroquinone may be a carcinogen. Potential health harms include dermatitis, darkening of the skin, neurological problems, fetal growth retardation and possibly cancer. Source: International Journal of Women's Dermatology McGill Office for Science and Society Mercury is a common ingredient found in skin whitening creams and soaps worldwide due to its bleaching effect. Mercury salts block the production of melanin, leading to a lighter skin tone. Mercury is found in both inorganic and organic forms in cosmetics. The Minamata Convention on Mercury established a limit of 1 mg/kg (1 ppm) for cosmetics, including skin whitening products. Products tested in a variety of countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America have contained up to 40,000 parts per million (ppm) of mercury. Source: Zero Mercury Group Mercury is extremely toxic and the health effects from long-term exposure include kidney and liver damage, as well as a host of neurological problems, such as depression, anxiety and early childhood developmental issues. Source: London Borough of Southwark (UK) World Health Organization The companies making skin whitening productsSkin whitening products have evolved from freckle removers and skin bleaches, to whiteners and lighteners as the culture and conversations around skin color have changed, but their production and sale have persisted as demand has not waned.Skin whiteners can be bought everywhere from small stores, supermarkets and high-end clinics, to markets, third-party websites, social media platforms and even directly from people's homes.As such, manufacturers range from large multinational corporations to community-based chemists. Read: 'Fairness mania' is fueling a dangerous drug dependence in IndiaMany multinational companies sell a range of products marketed or labeled as skin whitening products, often described as targeting dark spots or uneven skin tone. These include giants such as Procter & Gamble, Shisheido, Beiersdorf and Unilever. Many products made by these multinationals are only sold in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and not in their home markets.In the past, adverts in Asia and Africa have portrayed women getting their dream job or man by making their skin lighter. Corporations have increasingly changed their branding and marketing, responding to demands for the inclusion of all skin colors in the beauty industry.The Black Lives Matter movement forced some companies to address double standards: they sold skin whitening products while claiming to support racial justice.Johnson & Johnson agreed to stop selling Neutrogena Fine Fairness and Clean & Clear Fairness.L'Oreal and Unilever said they would remove references to "white", "fair" and "light" from their skincare products, but products are still sold on third-party sites.Unilever changed the name of its top-selling brand, Fair & Lovely, to Glow & Lovely, but the product remains available.(Scroll down to read responses from these companies)Medications containing steroids and hydroquinone are made by many of the biggest pharmaceutical companies.These have legitimate medical uses and must be obtained with a prescription in most countries.But these creams are often misused and obtained illegally in many countries where skin whitening is a popular practice due to their potential side effects, which include lightening of the skin. The majority of skin whitening creams containing harmful ingredients are made by smaller companies in a range of countries, including Pakistan, Lebanon and China.Toxic ingredients such as mercury and hydroquinone are rarely listed on their packaging, but independent testing by multiple organizations has identified them.The Zero Mercury Working Group regularly tests samples of skin-whitening creams and has found mercury concentrations of up to 40,000 parts per million (ppm).Mercury and hydroquinone have been found in hundreds of skin whitening products, including Shivanya Beauty Cream, Chandni, Faiza, and Noor which are all manufactured in Pakistan.These toxic ingredients are banned in cosmetics in Pakistan but are still used and sold in countries where they are also banned or restricted. Watch: Skin lightening is an $8.6 billion industry. This woman is trying to stop it The marketplaces for skin whitening products Commercial products manufactured by multinational corporations are widely available in stores and supermarkets worldwide, particularly in Asia.Illegal products containing toxic ingredients are smuggled across borders and sold at local sites, ranging from beauty stores and malls to local street markets.In 2018, Southwark Council in the UK seized 1129 skin-whitening products being sold in a hair and cosmetics shop in London that tested positive for hydroquinone or steroids.The Beautywell project has been able to buy products containing toxic ingredients at malls in the US and Kenya as well as local street markets in East Africa.Homemade products are often bought at the community level, particularly in rural populations, from village shops or people's homes.People buying the creams are usually unaware of the harmful ingredients they contain. Instagram and Facebook are popular marketplaces for skin whitening products.Tiktok is also a major platform where products and the practice is promoted.Commercial products and those containing toxic ingredients are easily accessible on third party sites such as Amazon and eBay.Activists have successful petitioned for the removal of skin whitening products from these sites, only for products to return later.Activists and agencies combating the sale of skin whitening products containing toxic ingredients support calls for greater liability for third-party sellers, to reduce the sale of illegal products on these platforms. What the companies making or selling skin whitening products sayCNN reached out to the multinational corporations, companies, third-party sites and social-media giants named above for response to their involvement in either the manufacture, sale or promotion of skin whitening practices and products.Corporations were asked to respond to the naming of their products and the criticism that their products promote skin whitening and white beauty ideals in general.Shisheido told CNN: "Our brightening products function by restricting the formulation of melanin which causes age spots and freckles. These products do not have the ability to whiten the skin. We do not sell whitening products, nor do we recommend whitening."Beiersdorf told CNN: "We have conducted an in-depth review to determine implications for our product offering and marketing approach, also taking extensive consumer research into account, and will cease communications that do not embrace the complexions of our diverse consumer base. These adaptations to our product communication will become more visible in the markets gradually beginning of next year [2022]."Beiersdorf also said: "An external diversity and inclusion board of experts has been appointed to advise Nivea on the best way to market products to consumers in individual markets in an inclusive manner."Unilever stated: "We have made good progress in updating our packaging and communications, although there is still some way to go. Consumers may still find previous packaging available due to factors such as stock pipelines, or previous marketing descriptions on third-party websites."Unilever also said: "We also continue to evolve our advertising to feature women of different skin tones."Procter and Gamble did not respond to multiple requests from CNN for comment. Companies making products containing mercury were asked if they had done anything since tests identified their products to contain mercury, how their products were being imported into countries where they are illegal and whether the companies are aware that high levels of mercury can significantly damage a person's health.Shivanya, Faiza, Chandni and Noor did not respond to CNN's requests for comment. Social media companies were asked whether they were aware that skin whitening creams, including ones containing toxic and often illegal ingredients, were being promoted and sold on their platforms. They were also asked to respond to criticism that enabling this promotes colorism and perpetuates white beauty ideals.Meta (for Facebook and Instagram) did not provide a statement to CNN, but informed CNN that the company dedicates substantial resources to ensuring that unsafe or illegal items are not sold via their platforms.Meta also said it works with regulators and other subject matter experts to refine its related policies and controls.TikTok also did not provide a statement to CNN, but shared information that the company uses a combination of technologies and moderation teams to identify, review and, where appropriate, remove content or accounts that violate its community guidelines.When CNN shared a link to a video of someone promoting the practice of skin whitening alongside a product to enable it, TikTok told CNN the video was organic content, not a paid-for advertisement, and did not violate its guidelines.Third-party sites were asked if they were aware that skin whitening-products containing toxic and often illegal ingredients were being sold on their platforms and whether anything is being done to monitor and stop such activity.Amazon told CNN: "Third-party sellers are independent businesses and are required to follow all applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies when listings items for sale in our store."The company added that "those who violate our policies are subject to action including potential removal of their account."Amazon removed the pages highlighted by CNN that were selling some of these products.eBay told CNN: "Only items that comply with the law are allowed to be listed on eBay and any products containing hydroquinone, steroids or mercury are banned."When both eBay and Amazon were asked in a follow up why products are slipping through their surveillance, Amazon did not respond to CNN.eBay said: "eBay continuously updates its enforcement measures to address circumvention from bad actors. Where eBay identifies bad actors, our security teams remove their listings and take strict enforcement action against them."eBay removed the listings highlighted by CNN that were selling some of these products.Read: Why CNN is launching a new series on skin whitening

Eliza Mackintosh and Nilly Kohzad, CNN Illustration by Alberto Mier, CNN

2021-12-26 09:06:01

news

asia

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/26/asia/afghanistan-kabul-young-women-whatsapp-cmd-intl/index.html

As the Taliban swept Kabul, one friend escaped. The other was trapped. They shared their anguish on WhatsApp - CNN

Young Afghan women grew up with cellphones, social media and the freedom to express themselves. Now they feel like prisoners.

asia, As the Taliban swept Kabul, one friend escaped. The other was trapped. They shared their anguish on WhatsApp - CNN

As the Taliban swept Kabul, one friend escaped. The other was trapped. They shared their anguish on WhatsApp

This story is part of As Equals, CNN's ongoing series on gender inequality. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs. In the four months since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Nilofar, a 20-year-old university student, has rarely left her small apartment in Kabul, where she lives with her older sister, brother and father.Her days, which were once punctuated by exam preparation, fitness classes at the gym, meeting friends for coffee at cafes and shopping for new clothes, are now painfully empty.She was planning to start an economics degree at Kabul University this fall. Instead, she's stayed at home, too terrified to venture further than the neighborhood grocery store. Confined to four walls, she tries to keep herself busy. She rearranges her furniture frequently, studies English textbooks, posts poetry on Instagram and practices new makeup tricks she finds on YouTube."We still try to stay alive and occupy ourselves so that we don't feel the pain and hurt," Nilofar told CNN in a recent phone call. "We don't even know what's going on outside. We simply watch the sun rise and set outside the window."Young Afghan women like Nilofar, who grew up in the shadow of the US invasion that toppled the Taliban in 2001, have lived in an increasingly open society -- one defined by cellphones, social media, reality television, pop music and the right to express themselves freely. They've endured war, persistent poverty and the threat of suicide bombings. But they came of age with an increasing sense they could break free of the patriarchal society of the past and decide their own future. Read More"I had many dreams, I wanted to continue my education, to do big things, to work alongside my friends, but all my friends left the country. I don't know if Afghanistan can return to its previous state," Nilofar said, adding that she has received a UN scholarship to attend university in Kazakhstan, but is still waiting on her visa to be approved. She says she is determined to follow friends who fled in a frenzy of evacuation flights during the withdrawal of US and NATO troops, and as Taliban militants swept into the capital on August 15.Nilofar's best friend, Florance, was among them. The 23-year-old Kabul University graduate is now living in temporary housing in a Paris suburb, where she is trying to learn French and planning to apply for her master's degree in business. She says that she was heartbroken to leave Afghanistan, but felt there was no future for her there. "I left my motherland, my home, my mother, my sister, my brothers, my beloved little nephews, my memories, my friends, with tears," she said. The last time she saw Nilofar was two weeks before the Taliban takeover, during an English language course that they'd taken together for four years with the hope of traveling abroad."We were just like sisters. We did everything together," Florance said. "We had lots of fun, but now I miss all of those things."WhatsApp messages between Nilofar and Florance — who asked that their last names not be published for their safety — provide a view into the anguish of a generation of Afghan girls that have seen their freedoms disappear overnight. Now facing a deteriorating economic crisis, many are desperate to leave. FloranceHey, I'm sorry I could not answer all your calls. I'm at the airport and it's very busy, I've entered from a different door this time by the Taliban checkpoint. I'm just sitting here. I'm sorry I couldn't let you know; my family is with me. We are here, it's very busy. I don't know if we will make it.NilofarOkay, have a safe trip. Did you make it?FloranceYes, we made itNilofarOkay, thank god you all arrived. Are you staying at a camp?FloranceNo, we are at the airport on the way to our hotel. We have to quarantine for 10 days then they will take us somewhere else.NilofarI hope you enjoy it❤️💋❤️❤FloranceYea. You tooNilofarEveryone left and now it's just me here. You left, Shabo [another friend] left, I'm all alone 😭FloranceYou will come one day too, with meNilofarAww yes. I'm glad you made it thoughSome 124,000 people escaped from Afghanistan in the massive, chaotic airlift carried out in the final days of the US occupation. But many more were left behind, and hundreds of thousands have since sought refuge in neighboring Iran and Pakistan.For the women who remain in Afghanistan, life has been stuck in a perpetual state of limbo. Despite the Taliban's promises that women and girls would continue to have access to education, many across the country haven't been allowed to return to secondary schools. Those that have resumed university classes are separated by a curtain from their male peers. Restrictive rules like a stay-at-home order, which was touted as being temporary, have dragged on. Most women still can't go back to work, having been barred from an array of jobs, including in government and entertainment television.Young women interviewed by CNN described a sense of being adrift in a waking nightmare, colored in by their mothers' stories of the Taliban's cruelty in the 1990s — when the group imposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, shut away women and meted out public punishments for those who violated the group's so-called morality code."My parents would tell us many stories about the Taliban ... so we have this strong nightmare within us," Nilofar said. "I can't believe we are living under their flag now; life has become so difficult for us ... Besides sitting at home, we cannot do anything. Our stress levels are very high."Taliban leaders in Kabul and other cities have been at pains to present a more moderate face of the group, suggesting that women can participate fully in society "within the bounds of Islamic law." But it is still unclear what that means in reality, or how a recent decree on women's rights might be enforced — though the Taliban's move to abolish the Ministry of Women's Affairs and replace it with a body aimed at promoting virtue and preventing vice may offer some clues.Rights advocates say the Taliban has done little to show their views have changed materially; their return has swiftly stifled women's lives and stirred a deep sense of grief. "For all of the terrible difficulties of the last 20 years, it felt like there was this new space that young women could create for themselves," Heather Barr, the associate director of women's rights at Human Rights Watch, told CNN. "This whole new world of opportunities was opening up for young women ... What happened for them on August 15, is that just slammed shut."The Taliban's rule in 2021 is developing differently across the diverse nation, especially in the countryside, where some of its strict rules never really receded and patriarchal traditions reign. But in Afghan cities, where daily life for women has changed radically in recent years, the Taliban's return feels like a death sentence."Life in Afghan cities for the last 20 years was like all the cities around the world, but now people feel like they're in a prison," Lima Ahmad, a P.h.D. candidate at Tufts University researching Afghan youth under 25, who account for nearly two-thirds of the total population, told CNN in a phone call. "This is alien for Gen Z. They've heard from us about it [life under the Taliban] — no TV, no music, no going to cafe, school, hanging out. For how long they can accept this reality?" "This generation, their eyes are open — they've seen the world even if they've not traveled, they've seen it through social media," Ahmad added.As their physical world has narrowed, young Afghan women have turned increasingly to social media as an outlet to share their anxieties over private voice notes, Instagram DMs and posts with friends. "Nowadays, we're only connected by WhatsApp, and we talk about memories, but mostly we talk about the situation in Afghanistan. My friends who are still in Afghanistan, they're really depressed," Florance said. She is trying to support Nilofar and other friends, who are seeking legal routes out of the country, but is often unsure how to advise them.NilofarGreat so when you are done with quarantine go and enjoy the city. Go sightseeing 💋💋💋❤️❤️❤️😪😪FloranceHaha okayNilofarGood job 🐧NilofarDid you see the Eiffel Tower?FloranceYesNilofarHow did you feel? 😂😂FloranceHahaNilofarThe first time you saw it❤️😂NilofarYou are so lucky you left. I'm glad you didFloranceYou will come too one dayNilofarI have no hope. I have no hope for life. That's a whole other thing...FloranceIt will happen. I'm sure."It's very hard to ask, 'How are they? What are they doing?' Because I know that now they don't do anything and they're not feeling good, or they get depression or anxieties and when I talk with most of them they are hopeless," said Hossnia Mohsini, 30. Before she fled to France, she worked as a youth adviser with a non-governmental organization in Afghanistan, promoting leadership and nonviolent communication skills. In an essay for Rukhshana Media — an Afghan women's news agency named after a girl who was stoned to death by the Taliban in 2015 — Mohsini wrote that some of the girls she had worked with were so distressed that they were starting to contemplate suicide. She recently held a virtual empathy circle over Zoom for some of the NGO's former youth consultants, who are mostly in their 20s, and still living in Afghanistan. Mohsini said she started with an open question: "What's alive in you right now?" She said the responses were heart-wrenching, especially from the young women, who said they were trying to keep up with their studies, but were unable to concentrate on anything and felt trapped at home.It is that sort of despair that laces the WhatsApp conversations between Nilofar and Florance, which have waned in recent weeks and months. Between the time difference and settling into their new routines, it's become more difficult to talk. Both say they hope to see each other soon, but are unsure when that might be. "We aren't talking as much as we used to. I know she is busy, she has just started taking French courses and she must become independent. That's why I don't try and bother her so much," Nilofar said. "But we stay connected, and I want to continue our friendship."NilofarI miss youFloranceReallyNilofarThe other day I passed by your houseFloranceOkayNilofarI said to myself, when I come here, I used to call flo, but now she's not here either 😔😔Florance😭😭😭 Then I will come back and deport myselfNilofarI see the photos everydayFloranceUntil there is some light in the situationNilofarIt's okay, don't worry about me. You will get sad. Haaaaa....FloranceHaaaa... crazyNilofar😁FloranceEverything is uncertain for meNilofarStill thank god you leftThe WhatsApp conversations included in this story have been translated from voice notes and written messages. They were lightly edited for clarity and length. Eliza Mackintosh wrote and reported from London. Nilly Kohzad reported from Istanbul. Development by Marco Chacon. Read more from the As Equals series.

Esha Mitra, CNN Photographs by Saumya Khandelwal for CNN

2021-11-20 05:01:46

news

asia

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/20/asia/india-child-marriage-annulment/index.html

Child marriage annulment in India and the woman who dedicates her life to helping girls leave - CNN

In India, child marriages are valid but voidable. Kriti Bharti is working tirelessly to make sure young women know the law that makes it possible for them to leave

asia, Child marriage annulment in India and the woman who dedicates her life to helping girls leave - CNN

The woman risking it all to help child brides annul their marriages

This story is part of As Equals, CNN's ongoing series on gender inequality. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs.Jodhpur, India (CNN)The Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA) of 1929 set out to "eradicate the evil of child marriage" in India. Almost a century later, the south Asian nation remains home to a third of the world's child brides. As of 2017, 223 million girls and women who were married off before their 18th birthday lived in India, according to the United Nations agency, UNICEF. Only a fraction of the children entered into child marriages are boys. Between April 2019 and March 2020, Childline India received nearly nine times more complaints about the child marriage of girls than of boys.Not only did the CMRA not eradicate child marriage, the law also failed to provide a way out for those children who had already been forced into marriage. So in 2007 the CMRA was repealed and replaced by the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), which recognized that child marriages were valid but voidable. Thanks to the PCMA, a victim of child marriage has up to two years after reaching adulthood to annul their union should they wish to -- or know to. It is difficult to say how many young women have benefited from the annulment provision of the Act. There is not publicly available information and the Ministry of Women and Child Development has not responded to CNN's multiple requests for the number of child marriage annulments. Read MoreWhat is known is that at least 43 child marriages have been annulled. And what all of those stories have in common is tenacious child rights advocate named Kriti Bharti. Married off at one Bharti helped secure India's very first child marriage annulment and told CNN she has assisted in 42 other cases since discovering the annulment provision in the PCMA.In March 2012 she met 18-year-old Laxmi Sargara. Bharti, whose surname means "India's daughter" in Hindi, was 24 at the time and had just formally registered her organization, Saarthi Trust. Both women lived, and continue to live, in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, famous for its regal history and architecture, and in 2017 was home to 15 million women and girls who were married as children.Sargara had been one of them. She'd been married off at the age of one to a 3-year-old boy in a different village, but only learned of the union many years later when her in-laws came to tell her that in a few days' time she'd be moving in with them. In Rajasthan, it is not uncommon for children as young as one to be married in traditional ceremonies such as the mausar -- where a wedding takes place on the 12th day of mourning after the death of a family member. The child continues to live with their parents until their gauna -- the ritual where they are then sent to their in-laws' home after puberty. Frightened, Sargara told her parents she was going to visit her older brother in the city of Jodhpur, an hour away from their village. With his help, they reached out to Bharti, who was a social worker then with a reputation for helping child marriage victims delay their gauna. "When Laxmi approached me, she wanted something permanent, and she didn't want a divorce for a marriage that she never consented to," Bharti recalls. "After poring over hundreds of judgments and legal documents, we finally realized that there is a provision of annulment that she could use." "We were using a law that no one had used before, that courts themselves did not know about," Bharti continues. "Today when we file a case it's much easier but back then we were setting the precedent." Santa Devi got her child marriage annulled with the help of Bharti.Confronting tradition Three years after that historic first annulment, Bharti met Santa Devi. Devi grew up in Rohicha Kallan, a village two hours from Jodhpur. People here are farmers or make handicrafts and furniture. After her uncle died, Devi was married in a mausar ceremony at just 11 months to a boy who was 10 at the time. Like Sargara, she would continue to be raised by her parents. In 2010 at 15, Devi learned she was married to the 25-year-old man who she said had been following her everywhere she went and showing up outside her school for weeks. It was only when she told her father about him that she learned of her fate. "This is what our elders have always done," Devi recalls him saying. Devastated, Devi was desperate for a way out. Her search would lead her to Bharti who she calls "didi" -- older sister. "Back then I couldn't speak up, I didn't even know Hindi, I had never even left my village. But when the groom's family pressured me to perform gauna, I knew I had to do something. We [Devi and a friend] looked everywhere for a solution and ultimately came across news articles of Kriti didi who nullifies child marriages," Devi explains. After speaking with Devi's friend, Bharti agreed to help. They had to move quickly: Devi traveled to Jodhpur to meet Bharti and fill in the paperwork just six days before her 20th birthday, the cut-off age for annulment applications for Indian women. Legally seeking to annul the marriage was one thing. Going up against rural institutions of power was quite another. Bharti, left, and Devi discuss their experiences at Devi's home in Jodhpur.When Devi told her father about her wish to have her marriage annulled, he met with Bharti and after being counselled by her, agreed to support his daughter. But when the village heard about what Devi had done, a meeting of the jati panchayat or caste council (made up of "leading men of a group [who meet] to deal with the problems that affect the group") was called and a fine of 16 lakh Rupees (about US$ 21,521) was imposed on Devi's father for breaking up a marriage. Once the jati panchayat was involved, and facing a fine and the prospect of expulsion from their village, Devi's father withdrew his support. Devi says he gave her an ultimatum: "Rip the [annulment] papers, otherwise you are not my daughter". "My case was probably the worst one that didi has had to deal with...the jati panchayats gave us a lot of trouble. They threatened to kill me. If didi had not kept me with her they definitely would have killed me," Devi says.Caste panchayats, such as the one that fined Devi's father, act as parallel systems of law enforcement, imposing penalties ranging from fines to excommunication and even so-called honor killings, a euphemism for the brutal murders of women and girls, in contravention of the country's current laws. "Courts were established later, but jati panchayats have long existed so they take decisions as per tradition," says Bharti, explaining how these institutions preserve harmful cultural practices such as child marriage. "The law has not been an answer to the problem of child marriage," says Bharti Ali, founder of HAQ Centre for Child Rights. "[Child marriage] continues despite the law being there for a long time now". Elders in the Fitkasni village in Rajasthan talk about child marriage.A 2021 study (available only in Hindi) conducted by HAQ found that of 20 cases where child marriages were broken off, in seven instances the decision was made by jati panchayats. India's traditional divorce law was applied in three cases, but on only one occasion was the child marriage annulled. In all the other cases, agreements were reached between the families involved. Bharti explains that people turn to jati panchayats not knowing the difference between an annulment and a divorce and expecting divorces to be expensive, laborious processes. The caste council is also known on occasion to allow for child marriages to end but families never anticipate having to pay the fine known as the jhagda -- a Hindi word which literally translates as "fight". "The study clearly points out that decisions are taken by the panchayats. If we want these provisions of law [such as the PCMA] to be used we will have to figure out what are the local mechanisms and how can we link them to the courts," says Ali. But Bharti is less willing to work with these traditional institutions of power, arguing that women, perceived as having a lesser status in a patriarchal system and are therefore not allowed to attend the council meetings, do not get a fair hearing. While she acknowledges that the legal framework isn't perfect, with the justice system often failing to treat child marriage victims as victims, she argues that the courts are still fairer. "When you look at [formal] courts, although I agree that there is a lack of sensitivity, at least they hear both parties. Jati panchayats listen to the one who holds greater weight in society and they promote child marriage so we don't want to create a bridge with them," she says. Ansi Bai, 57, lives in Fitkasni village in Rajasthan. She says she was married off at 1 month old, and that in those days, all the children of the house would usually get married at the same ceremony, even if one was not old enough to be married.What gives the panchayat power to make rulings as it does on child marriage is the fact that the customary practice remains "largely acceptable" as Ali puts it, in vast swathes of urban and rural India. "Everyone belongs to a certain community. They carry a social identity with them so they first look at the interests of the community and then any other cause," she adds. Even Lakshman Jandu, a father who turned to Bharti for help with an annulment only after the jati panchayat asked him to pay a 15 lakh rupees (about $ 20,124) fine, admits that if his daughter's suitor had turned out to be "a decent boy" he would not have opposed the union. "We didn't intend to get her married then but there was a lot of pressure from the community because the other family had another son that they wanted to marry off, so we said we'd get her married so long as their son completes his education," Jandu explains. "But he got into a lot of bad habits, theft, breaking into people's houses, drinking...he was completely out of his parents' control," says the 54-year-old father who earns a living as a chauffeur. "I don't see child marriage as bad but when the situation ends up like this then it is bad." Jandu's experience confirms what Bharti has seen: that despite policymakers seeing the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act as "the exit policy" for all victims of a child marriage, their families -- whose support is often essential -- only use it if there is some other problem in the marriage, and not because a girl was married off as a child. "In the beginning the parents are usually against it, they worry about what the jati panchayats and the community will say. So the first thing we do is counsel the parents," says Bharti. Lakshman Jandu supports the annulment of his daughter Pooja's marriage.'I want girls to speak up for themselves'Child marriage rates have been declining In India. In 1970, 74% of girls were married off before their 18th birthday and 42% before they turned 15. In 2015, those percentages had fallen to 27% and 7% respectively. The trend has been attributed to access to education, and "public messaging around the illegality of child marriage". Despite the decline there are still a lot of girls Bharti describes as forgotten.It is also true that in India marriage offers women security and status, so Bharti knows that the young women she works with are going to need equipping to navigate life on their own, or until they chose to remarry on their own terms. "I tell all the girls that I will only take their case if they promise to continue their education," she says. "I want them to get to a place where they are able to speak up for themselves and protest if they are ever pressured to get married again against their will." Devi, whose marriage was annulled in 2015, had to live with Bharti during the process of annulment and later at the shelter that Bharti runs. She says continuing with her education -- and Bharti's reputation -- gave her the confidence to eventually start going back to her village home. "I wanted to study and work like all girls dream of growing up and working, and I got to do exactly that," says Devi, who now works at an insurance company. "Now I go home often, because I've made something of myself. Initially, people were scared if they heard about me visiting; they thought I would call didi. Young girls often come to me if they think a child marriage is going to take place and I give them didi's number." Helping young women imagine a life for themselves after child marriage and then supporting them as they build that life has been rewarding for Bharti but it has also been risky. "I may not get breakfast, lunch or dinner on some days, but I definitely receive threats on a daily basis," says Bharti, who lives with her mother. "I have also had instances of receiving fake tips about a child marriage taking place in attempts to lure me to a certain location. Call it a gut feeling or intuition, luckily I've avoided the worst," she adds. Bharti arranges to travel to Jaipur for a court hearing.When asked if she has been to the police to report any of the threats she receives, Bharti says doing so would only make it harder for her to interact with the people she is trying to help because it would alienate her from them. She knows the risks she is taking to help girls use a little-known law to fight a long-held tradition, yet she does it anyway. "[The law had previously forgotten] about girls once they are married off, but they are the ones who need our help the most... No one is immortal, so if I can help even 10 girls along the way, I'm happy to take the risk." Read more from the As Equals seriesJUST WATCHEDSkin lightening is an $8.6 billion industry. This woman is trying to stop itReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHSkin lightening is an $8.6 billion industry. This woman is trying to stop it 06:31

Eliza Anyangwe, Editor of As Equals

2021-11-14 23:03:04

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/14/world/as-equals-white-lies-skin-whitening-launch-intl-cmd/index.html

Why CNN is launching a new series on skin whitening - CNN

In 2020, the global skin whitening market was reportedly valued at $8.6bn. This harmful beauty standard affects billions of people around the world and now, CNN As Equals is giving the issue the attention it deserves.

world, Why CNN is launching a new series on skin whitening - CNN

Why CNN is launching a new series on skin whitening

This story is part of 'White lies', a series by CNN's As Equals investigating skin whitening practices worldwide to expose the underlying drivers of colorism, the industry that profits from it and the cost to individuals and communities. For information about how CNN As Equals is funded and more, check out our FAQs. In 2020, the global skin whitening market was reportedly valued at $8.6bn. It is projected to grow to $13.7bn by 2025. If we live in a culture where market size is synonymous with societal importance, then why aren't we talking about skin whitening? In the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests around the world last year, colorism (which is defined as discrimination against skin color within a racial or ethnic group -- favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin) had something of a media moment. How much money is spent on skin whitening?The skin whitening market was estimated at $8.6 billion in 2020, according to market intelligence firm Global Industry AnalystsThe US makes up a third of the global marketThe Asia-Pacific region is the most lucrative market, according to Future Market InsightsProducts are most popular in places where beauty norms favor lighter skinMany articles were written highlighting the fact that some of the very companies that were virtue-signaling their commitment to Black and brown lives in one part of the world, were also manufacturing and marketing products associating lighter skin with prosperity and desirability in another part of the world. But skin lightening, whitening or bleaching is not just a Global South problem -- the US makes up a third of the 2020 market. Read MoreThis harmful beauty standard affects billions of people around the world and As Equals, CNN's gender inequality reporting project, is intending to give it the attention it deserves with a new series, White lies: Exposing the dangers of skin whitening. Before we could begin, we needed to understand skin whitening -- the products and practices -- in its current and varied local contexts, as well as to identify what gaps exist in how skin whitening is covered by international media and seek to understand why women were subjecting themselves to beauty routines that are ultimately damaging to their health. Over the past several months, we've gathered together dozens of people with lived experience of using skin whitening creams, healthcare professionals, regulatory agencies, researchers and academics and others who, for one reason or another, have committed time and other resources to testing products or raising awareness about this harmful practice and its root causes. Skin whitening: What is it, what are the risks and who profits?We also invited representatives from the skin whitening industry to join us in these conversations but have so far been unsuccessful in getting cosmetic companies around the table. What we learned from these conversations has convinced us that skin whitening is a global menace masquerading as a helpful solution to the "problem" of dark skin. Toxic Ingredients such as mercury and hydroquinone, that are regulated, routinely make their way into creams; and ultimately the false promise that lighter is better is so heavily marketed, so endemic and unquestioned that women (and in some cultures men, too) go to extreme lengths for "fairer" skin -- risks be damned. In the coming months, led by series editor, Meera Senthilingam, White lies aims to reveal the scale of the use of harmful skin whitening products and the misuse of prescription medication in order to lighten skin. We want to raise awareness of colorism which often underpins their use; and hold to account corporations and government agencies who manufacture, sell, or inadequately regulate these products. You can also join the global conversation on social media by using the hashtag #FightingWhitening. If you'd like to work with us, or send us tips, please email [email protected]. Read more from the series: 'Fairness mania' is fueling a dangerous drug dependency

Corinne Chin, CNN

2021-10-08 08:09:46

news

americas

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/08/americas/hawaii-sign-language-extinction-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

The fight to save Hawaii Sign Language from extinction - CNN

With the arrival of American Sign Language, HSL has all but disappeared. Its last remaining users are fighting to preserve it

americas, The fight to save Hawaii Sign Language from extinction - CNN

The fight to save Hawaii Sign Language from extinction

This story is part of As Equals, CNN's ongoing series on gender inequality. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs.Honolulu, Hawaii (CNN)Linda Yuen Lambrecht stands in front of a webcam, with the space from her head to her hips -- her signing space -- perfectly centered in the frame; a white plumeria fastened above her left ear. On screen, three women look back at her. "No American Sign Language [ASL]," Lambrecht reminds them with her hands, as the virtual class begins. "This is Hawaii Sign Language [HSL]." More than 100 students have received the same reminder from Lambrecht. Since 2018, she's offered HSL classes to the public; first in-person and, since the Covid-19 pandemic began, on Zoom. Read More Lambrecht isn't just teaching. She's fighting erasure, globalization and the cruelty of time to keep an endangered sign language -- and with it, generations of history, heritage and wisdom -- alive. But experts estimate that fluent HSL users number in the single digits. Time is running out. The race against time to save HSLJUST WATCHEDMeet the woman keeping Hawaii Sign Language aliveReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHMeet the woman keeping Hawaii Sign Language alive 09:41Lambrecht was born profoundly deaf in 1944 to a family of Chinese laborers in Honolulu. She was exposed to HSL from birth through two older deaf brothers, who had learned to sign from their deaf classmates. This was rare at the time. Most deaf children were born to hearing parents and had no access to any language, let alone HSL, until they started school. Lambrecht and her brothers attended what is today called the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind (HSDB). When it first opened in 1914, it was named The School for the Defectives. The school had adopted a teaching style called oralism, which aimed to "assimilate" deaf people into wider society by suppressing sign language use. Children could only use HSL to communicate with each other when teachers' backs were turned -- they were expected to speak English and to lipread. "Parents and professionals said that sign language was ugly, and that if kids knew sign language, they would never learn to speak," Lambrecht says. "[But] I could catch maybe one or two words." By the time Ami Tsuji-Jones enrolled at the deaf school in the 1960s, oralism was seen by critics as a failure. Teachers from the mainland were now using ASL instead. "They were haole [white]. They saw our language and said: 'What is that? I don't understand your sign. That's wrong. No, no, no. Let me teach you ASL. No, no, no. You're signing that all wrong,'" Tsuji-Jones says, her hands moving emphatically and incisively. "We were constantly being criticized ... you know, we're the children. They're the authority figures." Then her signing shifts, and her hands slow down. "It's like they were trying to take away who we are." "My heart is broken." There's evidence deaf Hawaiians had been communicating with a homegrown sign language for generations, predating the arrival of missionaries, sugar plantations and the Americans who would overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. But linguists didn't officially document the language until 2013, when research by the University of Hawaii found HSL to be a language isolate: born and bred on the Hawaiian Islands with no outside influence. More than 80 percent of its vocabulary bears no similarity to ASL. The findings launched a three-year project to document what remained of HSL, led by Lambrecht and linguistics professor James "Woody" Woodward, who has spent the last 30 years studying and documenting sign languages throughout Asia. By 2016, the team had built a video archive and developed a manuscript for an introductory HSL handbook and dictionary, featuring illustrations of Lambrecht demonstrating signs. But then, time was up: their grant from the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme had run its course. Woodward knows the research project isn't enough to keep HSL alive. "It's going to help linguists analyze the language, but it's not going to help preserve the language, unless somehow more people get to learn it," he says. "And the way more people get to learn it is when it's used naturally in the home and people pick it up, or you teach it as a second language very early to children." Lina Hou agrees that preserving a language is a vast undertaking, especially for linguists who are not members of that language community. "It's very ambitious to think that one person, or a small group of people, could rescue a hundred years of oppression or change the language shift that has led to language endangerment in a short period of time," says the linguistics professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Hou, who has worked on sign language documentation in Mexico, adds: "Saving a language [with a three- to five-year grant], I don't think that's possible." It's also not easy to get more people to use a language that's been forgotten -- or erased -- and is associated with traumatic memories of being perceived as inferior. As a child, Tsuji-Jones picked up some HSL vocabulary from kuli kupuna (deaf seniors) while they played volleyball together near the deaf school. She says: "I noticed sometimes the kupuna would be a little embarrassed, and they would say, 'Oh, I've got to try to use ASL, because HSL is not good. ASL is better.'" 82-year-old Kimiyo Nakamiyo went to school with Lambrecht, and while she respects her friend's work, she doesn't think HSL is worth revitalizing. "HSL is like broken English," she says. "I think ASL is more proper and more along the lines of formalized English." Emily Jo Noschese, a PhD candidate in linguistics at the University of Hawaii, says she's often encountered this sentiment while interviewing HSL users. But it's a misconception that sign languages are tactile versions of spoken or written languages. HSL has no linguistic relationship to Hawaiian, just as ASL and English are distinct and separate. Noschese, who is in the fourth generation of her family to be born deaf, says she's disappointed, but not surprised, that many of those who are most strongly opposed to preserving HSL are deaf former HSL users themselves. "There might be trauma associated with their memories of HSL use," she says. "It may be hard for them. They may want to forget it." So, why carry on? "There's always hope," Woodward says. "It's part of what linguists do." For Nikki Kepo'o, preserving HSL means more than saving a language. It means safeguarding a cultural identity for her younger child Caleb La'aikeakua, 9, who was born severely deaf. Kepo'o has always wanted her two kids to be grounded in their native Hawaiian roots. When Caleb was born, his older sister was already enrolled in a Hawaiian language immersion school. Kepo'o studied the language, too, and mother and daughter now speak Hawaiian at home. "I would love for that to be the same for my son," Kepo'o says. "He'll know that he is a Hawaiian and a deaf person, and there's nothing wrong with either one." Caleb is a student at HSDB, attending classes in ASL and English in the very spaces that were once filled with children secretly teaching each other HSL. Kepo'o dreams of sending Caleb to an HSL immersion school one day. She's been speaking with a teacher at her daughter's school who would like to develop an HSL immersion curriculum. "But as the generations get older, and as we have more of the American influence, I'm not too sure how many deaf Hawaiians actually are available to create the materials we need to train our children," Kepo'o says. "It scares me a lot, actually." Not Yet Satisfied: These women are making sexual pleasure a gender equality priority Lambrecht feels the urgency, too. Because of the pandemic, she hasn't been able to make progress on her goal of getting HSL classes into schools. But she hopes to do so next spring. In the meantime, she's been filming herself telling children's stories in HSL. She'd like to record more stories -- "not American stories; Hawaiian stories" -- like the legend of the demigod Māui, who used his magical fishhook to pull up the islands of Hawaii from the ocean. Hawaii means everything to her, Lambrecht says. Its culture, communities and ancestral knowledge form a core part of her identity, and a vital piece of what she wants to pass on to the coming generations through HSL, just as her brothers did for her. "I lived in the U.S. for about five years," Lambrecht says. "After I came back, I cried and I cried ... I got on my knees. I kissed the ground. I was home." The Legend of the Demigod MāuiJUST WATCHEDLinda Yuen Lambrecht signs the legend of Maui in HSLReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHLinda Yuen Lambrecht signs the legend of Maui in HSL 03:21Read more from the As Equals series Video Producer/Editor: Corinne ChinVideo Producer/Photojournalist: Jeremy MoorheadASL Interpreters: Jenny Blake and Erika PeeryDigital design: Peter Robertson

Jeevan Ravindran, CNN

2021-09-03 19:08:56

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/03/us/what-is-texas-abortion-law-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

Explainer: What is the Texas abortion ban? - CNN

On September 1, 2021, one of America's most restrictive abortion laws came into effect. What's happening and where do women's rights go from here?

us, Explainer: What is the Texas abortion ban? - CNN

Explainer: What is the Texas abortion ban and why does it matter?

This story is part of As Equals, CNN's ongoing series on gender inequality. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs. (CNN)On January 22, 1973, the US Supreme Court made the landmark decision that guaranteed women their right to terminate a pregnancy before viability, usually around the 24-week mark. The case that set the precedent, Roe v. Wade, based on a challenge to Texas laws, enshrined into law the rights of all women to an abortion.Forty-eight years later, there is now one state where that law no longer stands: Texas. How did a nation that sees itself as a champion of women's rights get here and where does it go next?What's happened in Texas?On Wednesday September 1, 2021, a law in the southern US state banning abortion providers from carrying out terminations after fetal cardiac activity is detected -- usually around six weeks into a pregnancy -- came into force after the Supreme Court declined to intervene.Read MoreThe law makes no exceptions for rape or incest, forcing women to carry a pregnancy to term even under traumatic circumstances. The only exception that allows for an abortion to be obtained after six weeks is a "if a physician believes that a medical emergency exists," according to the language of the bill. What's more, the law will not be enforced by the state government -- but rather policed by citizens, who can sue abortion providers for alleged violations. The plaintiff will receive $10,000 from the accused if their case is successful. First introduced to the Texas House of Representatives and Senate in March, the 'Heartbeat Act' -- a name that some medical professionals have said is intentionally misleading -- was signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott in May.However, it only came into force after the Supreme Court declined to rule on an emergency request to block the bill, filed by abortion providers. On Wednesday, the court's conservative majority issued a formal denial of the request, saying the law could not be blocked at this stage due to "complex" and "novel" issues -- though it acknowledged that the clinics had raised "serious questions regarding the constitutionality of the Texas law."Why is it significant? What's happened in the Lone Star State is not the first attempt by conservative policymakers to shrink the time available for abortion. In fact, at least 12 other states have passed six-week bans, but these were blocked from taking effect. Texas now has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the US -- and in the world The news has sent shockwaves around the world because it invalidates Roe v. Wade and is said to take the power away from pregnant people and give it to vigilante anti-abortion activists who, determined to catch any violations of the law, have set up websites encouraging tipoffs about alleged violations. The human cost is likely to be made even greater by the incredibly tight timeframe which has been imposed. At just six weeks, many women don't even realize they're pregnant. Dating not from conception but the beginning of the menstrual cycle, that's only enough time to have missed one period. As such, the ban is just about as close as anti-abortion activists can get to a total prohibition of abortion. It is hard to know exactly how many people will be affected. In 2020, according to Texas Health and Human Services, nearly 54,000 abortions were performed in the state. According to opponents of the law, up until the ban, 85 percent of abortions in Texas took place after six weeks.Speaking of those who would be most affected, journalist Shefali Luthra said people who sidestepped the ban by accessing abortions in other states would be "people who have the means, who are able to travel, who don't need childcare, who aren't necessarily marginalized by income, by race, by immigration status, by all these factors." Of course, criminalizing abortions doesn't stop people from seeking them. Instead, women who can't travel out of state will be forced to resort to clandestine abortions, putting their health and safety at risk. According to the World Health Organization, up to 13.2 percent of annual maternal deaths are due to unsafe abortions -- and Texas might risk adding to that statistic.How did the United States get here?Every year since Roe v. Wade in 1973, anti-abortion activists have marched on Washington D.C. on its anniversary to demand an end to abortion rights. They have worked in coordination with conservative lawmakers, providing them with templates so identical bills can be tabled across numerous states.For the most part, it has been small amendments to the law that have most limited access to abortion services. The Hyde Amendment of 1976 was the first which -- with a few hard-won exceptions -- prevents the funding of abortions through the Medicaid program. This in turn makes it difficult for women on low incomes to acess abortion services. While more recent attempts by Republicans to ban abortions have been described as "extremely aggressive" by the Center for Reproductive Rights, they are by no means a reflection of what American people themselves actually want. A 2019 poll revealed that three quarters of Americans want to keep Roe v. Wade, even though people who identified as "pro-life" and as "pro-choice" were both dissatisfied with US abortion policy. Despite this broad support, former President Donald Trump became the first US President to ever attend or speak at an anti-abortion march. Over the past decade, several Republican states have attempted to impose further restrictions on abortion. North Dakota was the first state to pass a Heartbeat Bill in 2013, but several others including Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina have followed. Though these attempts have been blocked, of the Texas ban and the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Democratic New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: "Millions of peoples' bodies, rights, and lives are sacrificed for far-right minority rule." As for the role of the Supreme Court, its rulings have often reflected the ideologies of its justices. With six conservative justices, the Supreme Court is now the most right-leaning it has been since the 1930s.What has the reaction been?President Joe Biden has fiercely criticized the Texas law, saying it "blatantly violates" a woman's constitutional right to abortion as outlined in Roe v. Wade. He further added that it was "communities of color and individuals with low incomes" that would be most affected, and that the law "outrageously deputizes private citizens" by allowing them to pursue lawsuits against clinics. Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the new rule was a "flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights." Jackie Speier, a Democratic representative from California, put it more plainly, saying the law effectively "tells a woman that she has no control of her body." In an opinion piece for CNN, journalist Frida Ghitis said the system of civil enforcement was reminiscent of "fascist regimes." And while many have surely thought it, 75-year-old Vietnam War veteran Robert L. Graham wrote to the LA Times to say: "Who are we to judge the Taliban when governments in our own country can take control of a woman's body? A world apart from Afghanistan, the United States must take a good look at itself and ask the hard question: Are we so different when it comes to how we treat women and girls?" So, where do women's rights in the United States go from here? In Texas, lawmakers are now moving to pass a bill that could also restrict "medication abortions" -- using pills -- which are still currently legal up to 10 weeks into pregnancy. The Texas Tribune reported that a bill limiting access after seven weeks is close to passing, despite Democrats' attempts to prevent it. On the six-week ban itself, it is still possible that the Supreme Court could still turn around and declare it unconstitutional -- but given that it has now gone into effect, a precedent has been set.Perhaps the most pressing question is this: what now becomes of Roe v. Wade across the nation? In the upcoming term, Supreme Court justices are set to rule on whether a Mississippi ban on all abortions after 15 weeks is constitutional. However, the state has also asked the court to overturn Roe v. Wade completely, calling it "egregiously wrong." Whether or not they will comply remains to be seen, but fierce opposition from the liberal justices and pro-choice campaigners can be expected. The data and conclusions shared in a year-old Jezebel article, newly making the rounds on social media, present an even more pressing question. Referencing a 2020 IPSOS survey, abortion rights reporter Marie Solis wrote: The majority of 18- to 34-year-olds supported expanding abortion access, but few saw it as a top priority, ranking it behind issues like climate change, Medicare for All, and student debt." She goes on: "If that poll were conducted today, in the aftermath of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, they might rank police brutality above abortion access as well." So the question from many of those watching events unfold in the US is this: will Texas' abortion ban catalyze Americans to come together across political ideology, and across other distinctive struggles, to protect a woman's right to make choices about her own body -- or without a coordinated, broad base, supported by the Supreme Court, will conservative states continue to pick away at abortion rights? Only time will tell. Read more from the As Equals series*Header image caption: Pro-choice protesters march outside the Texas State Capitol on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

Eliza Anyangwe, CNN

2021-09-03 06:35:25

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/03/africa/women-sexual-pleasure-gender-equality-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

These African women are making sexual pleasure a gender equality priority - CNN

Meet the women breaking long-standing taboos and empowering themselves and others by starting conversations about pleasure and power

africa, These African women are making sexual pleasure a gender equality priority - CNN

Not Yet Satisfied: These women are making sexual pleasure a gender equality priority

Eliza Anyangwe is the editor of As Equals. This essay accompanies the video, "Not Yet Satisfied" and follows a feature by Anyangwe, published by CNN in 2019. Read more from As Equals. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs.Accra, Ghana -- Hauwa Adam is beautiful and smart as a whip. She carries herself with the seductive ease of someone comfortable in their own skin and as she talks her left hand sometimes hangs at a right angle, palm up, neither beckoning nor rejecting. Her nails are red and match her lips and strappy mini dress. Her hair, styled in faux locs, hangs down to just below her shoulders; her big eyes glisten, and she laughs easily.So, I'm caught off-guard when this young woman tells me, as those big eyes begin to water, that she spent years hating her body, a hate stemming from all the pressure she felt to keep that body hidden away.JUST WATCHEDNot yet satisfied: Talking sex and sexuality in AfricaReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHNot yet satisfied: Talking sex and sexuality in Africa 06:58"I grew up in a Muslim home," she begins. "The typical conservative Muslim [home] in Ghana [where] you couldn't wear trousers, couldn't wear short skirts, couldn't wear tight clothes because your body is sacred and likened to toffee," she said."Your husband has to unwrap the toffee to enjoy it, but if you've already showcased everything -- the sides of your boobs, your hips, your butt --what's there for him to enjoy?"Adam, who is in her mid-twenties, recounts how she began dating only after leaving home for university. After two years together, she and her boyfriend had sex.Read More"That's when everything came running back to me," she says. "How much I hated my body. How much I couldn't feel good about what I was doing. The guilt of enjoying sex."I was in Accra in the summer of 2018, looking for other women who, like me, had grown up feeling as though their bodies didn't quite belong to them. First, because we were meant to focus on school and -- as in my case -- church, and then, once qualified, employed and a "woman of God," we were to dedicate ourselves to our husbands, our children and our community.There has unquestionably been much joy and satisfaction derived by many who live life this way, and a personal faith is by no means irreconcilable with the fight for equality among the genders. But my hunch was that besides me, there were many others deeply dissatisfied; who felt -- whether as a fully formed thought or just a gnawing sensation in their gut -- that their lives, and particularly their sex lives, were not fully their own.What's more, I'd noticed from years of covering international development and gender issues as a writer and editor, that Black, brown and poor women -- mostly the subjects of reporting and not often enough the storytellers -- had to content themselves with their bodies being described as contested geographical spaces might be.There are people, organisations and even governments fighting over whether you should access contraception or not; how many children you should have; whether you should be veiled or not; what your gender or sexual identity can be; how you should be treated if you earn your income from sex work; whether your attire or attitude makes you complicit in your sexual attack; or at what age you can be married off and at what price -- the latter, often in part, determined by whether or not you are still a virgin. Like inhabitants of a besieged territory, women -- and gender non-conforming people -- are often caught in the middle, ignored as their very bodies are being debated. "If you can't negotiate contraception in your marriage, do you really think you're going to [negotiate] that high-powered job?" Tiffany Mugo It's easy to assume in a world where gender inequality is "endemic" -- as UN head Antonio Guterres said in March -- that talking about sex is at best irrelevant, and at worst irresponsible. But, as I would learn over the course of reporting the story and making the "Not Yet Satisfied" video, talking about sex and sexuality is in fact a key component to achieving gender equality. That in many parts of the world this topic is hard to talk about freely -- and even harder to live freely -- points to a far bigger problem than prudishness."We have a long history of sexual pleasure being denied to women," says Eli Coleman, director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School."Pleasure is threatening," he says. "It challenges those who are in power. As long as the society keeps women as second-class citizens, then men are in control. So denying [women] reproductive health, contraception, safe abortions, and certainly altering their body -- taking away the sexual pleasure aspects of one's anatomy -- keeps them suppressed and patriarchy in power."Coleman was President of World Association for Sexual Health (WASH) from 1997 to 2001 and was actively involved in drafting WASH's first ever Declaration on Sexual Pleasure, published in 2019.We speak as I try to understand what, if anything, has changed in the world since Adam and other members of Accra's Young Feminist Collective spoke with me about learning to reclaim their bodies and, with it, pleasure.For the veteran sexologist, the past few years have been marked by "serious backtracking.""Sexual and reproductive health all of a sudden seemed to be a dirty word," Coleman explains. "President Trump, when he was in power, Pompeo, our Secretary of State, was [saying] that we wouldn't sign on to anything in the UN that mentioned the word 'sexual health'. In April 2019, CNN reported that the pressure from the US on the UN Security Council did result in "significant changes to a resolution on sexual violence.""And, of course, you are aware of the prohibitions of anything that had to do with safe abortions or even contraceptive services," he adds, referring to the reinstatement of the so-called Mexico City Policy in 2017.Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah whose blog, Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women, was the focus of my reporting in 2019, today also talks about Ghana "going backwards in terms of human rights"."We are actually in a really dangerous place," she says, speaking to me from Accra where she is currently promoting her new book, The Sex Lives of African Women."A few months ago, 21 activists were arrested for taking part in human rights training on LGBTQ rights. At the moment, we have eight members of parliament pushing forward a bill that will make it illegal to say you are an ally, let alone be a queer person. It's [also] trying to enforce conversion therapy, which has been debunked all around the world."Sekyiamah talks about "far-right American evangelicals partnering with far-right civil society leaders in Ghana and the political elites". An investigation by openDemocracy's 50:50 project details these links. A main target of their ire? Comprehensive sex education (CSE). Sekyiamah's influence with Adventures over the past decade has spread beyond Ghana, inspiring others to create content about sex and sexuality for audiences they recognised were completely underserved.South Africa's HOLAAfrica! is one such platform, and its founder, Tiffany Mugo, describes how the space for "sex positive" conversations has grown -- and along with it, the coordinated attempts to close it down."We're now in a world where comprehensive sex education is a multilateral, multinational-level conversation. But with the work that we do, we sometimes live in a bubble. On the other end of the scale, there are people who are ready to shut all of this down," she says.By way of example, Mugo adds: "There's essentially a neighbourhood Facebook group for the wider Joburg area, that's against CSE and it's got 100,000 people following it. Conservative groups have not come to play. They are funded and they're organized. One of the scariest things is how organized they are."When we met in Johannesburg, Mugo was producing The Wildness, which she describes as "an unedited podcast all about sex and sexuality by two queer women of color on the [African] continent. She has since written a sex guide and compiled Touch, "a collection of essays about sex, sexuality and sensuality, written by queer people."Everyone I spoke to saw their work as opening up necessary conversations about this one part of all our lives that is so important to our health and wellbeing and yet remains taboo and actively contested.She wants women to have good sex. So she started a website where they can talk about it (safely)Far from frivolous and salacious, talking about sexual pleasure -- even if the choice is to not be sexually active -- is part and parcel of reclaiming ownership of your body, and receiving tools through education so that you can make the best choices for you -- yes, in the bedroom but everywhere else too."Even as I write about having great sex, I need to know about rape culture. I need to know about abortion rights and economic rights as well, because I can't say "buy lube" without thinking about who can afford it -- and who can afford to negotiate safe sex," says Mugo."If you can't negotiate contraception in your marriage, do you really think you're going to [negotiate] that high-powered job?" she asks rhetorically."There is this great fear that if we talk about sexual pleasure, people will become more irresponsible and society will have more problems," Coleman acknowledges. "But the evidence is completely to the contrary. This is fundamental to what we know about developing societies: if you educate your citizenry, you have a greater society. But somehow when it comes to sex, we want to deny people that fundamental education.""Even the World Health Organization is moving to recognize that if they don't focus on the promotion of health in a positive way -- and including pleasure -- people are not going to listen," he says."You've got to put pleasure in!"CNN's Eliza Anyangwe reported from Ghana and South Africa during 2018 and 2019 before the global Coronavirus pandemic. This essay and the video "Not Yet Satisfied" were supported by the European Journalism Centre.*Header image by Yagazie Emezi for CNN. Read more from the As Equals series

Opinion by Jillian C. York

2021-08-19 11:38:32

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opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/19/opinions/facebook-taliban-ban-afghanistan-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

Why Facebook's continuing Taliban ban should concern us all - CNN

Facebook's policies are not determined by international standards and its rules could easily end up removing critical speech against the Taliban, writes Jillian C. York

opinions, Why Facebook's continuing Taliban ban should concern us all - CNN

Why Facebook's continuing Taliban ban should concern us all

Jillian C. York is the author of Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech Under Surveillance Capitalism. The views expressed in this commentary belong solely to the author. Read more from As Equals. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs. (CNN)Facebook confirmed this week that, despite taking control of Afghanistan, it would continue to ban the Taliban from using its platform, citing the United States' inclusion of the group on its Specially Designated Global Terrorists list, as well as the company's own policy against "dangerous organizations."The Taliban swiftly responded by criticizing Facebook, a company that for many years has claimed to promote free expression, for violating the group's right to free speech.Although it is imperative to point out that the Taliban does not respect international standards on human rights, including the right to free expression, their cynical jab at the social media giant exposes a fundamental hypocrisy in the dynamic between nation states and international technology companies.This is not the first time that a social media company has been criticized for its content policies, and from constituencies with diametrically different views. In 2008, YouTube came under fire from then-senator Joseph Lieberman, who wrote to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, imploring him to ensure that YouTube was enforcing its own community standards against terrorism.Lieberman posited that YouTube's removal of terrorist content from their platform would be a "singularly important contribution to this important national effort."Read MoreYouTube responded by saying that while their standards did indeed prohibit terrorist content, the company was not able to monitor every account and relied on a system of commercial content moderation that included users reporting things that seemed to run afoul of the rules and workers making quick decisions about where, exactly, to draw the line.Not long after that, the senator began appealing to the company to remove content purportedly coming from none other than the Afghan Taliban. "Facebook could easily end up removing critical speech against the Taliban from its platform -- silencing the very people that it purports to protect" Jillian C. York Facebook is responsible for making determinations about the speech of more than a billion of the world's citizens. While legally, as an American company, it has the right to restrict any type of expression that it sees fit, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg has for many years promoted the platform as a means of making the world "more open and connected" and famously said in a 2019 speech that "giving everyone a voice empowers the powerless and pushes society to be better over time."But Zuckerberg's actions don't always match up to his words, and his ideas about free expression seem to come more from his own cultural values than any sort of international standards. Facebook famously promotes double standards when it comes to the human body, and has come under fire for removing comments that some argue constitute clapping back at harassers. But when it comes to adjudicating terrorist and extremist content, the company's actions often have even more severe consequences.Facebook uses some combination of human moderation and machine learning technology to remove the speech of groups that run afoul of its ban on "dangerous organizations" but in doing so, often removes artistic content, satire, and documentation of human rights abuses. Even more troublingly, the company has been accused of removing counterspeech against terrorist groups—speech that comes from some of the most local and vulnerable communities.It's not hard to see how, in this current scenario, Facebook could easily end up removing critical speech against the Taliban from its platform -- silencing the very people that it purports to protect.Troll armies, 'deepfake' porn videos and violent threats. How Twitter became so toxic for India's women politiciansFacebook's own independent Oversight Board, established in late 2020, has expressed concern about the manner in which Facebook defines terrorism and applies its policy against "dangerous groups." Echoing civil society demands, the Board has stated that Facebook should be transparent about the regulatory frameworks that underpin the policy and how automation is used to moderate content in this category. It has also repeatedly urged the company to ensure that users whose content is wrongfully removed have the opportunity to appeal decisions.When it comes to the Taliban, which is sanctioned by the Treasury Department, Facebook is in a tricky position—the company could potentially face substantial financial and legal penalties for hosting its members' speech. Nevertheless, Facebook must enact the Board's baseline recommendations for transparency and accountability.Beyond the legal quandary facing the company, however, is a bigger question: When a group that some or even much of the world deems a terrorist organization takes power over the governance of a nation-state, who should have the ultimate say in whether that group has equal access to the world's most popular platform?The United States has long exerted military and diplomatic power over other nations' politics, but today, American companies like Facebook have the power not only to silence foreign leaders, but domestic ones too—as we saw in January when Facebook booted Donald Trump from its platform. The idea that an unelected "leader" like Mark Zuckerberg should hold that much power should worry all of us.This is why it is imperative that Facebook—and every other speech platform—listen to their users and global civil society and enact measures that ensure their decisions are transparent and accountable to users and the public.Read more from the As Equals series*Header image caption: Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.

Opinion by Aisha Salaudeen, CNN

2021-08-06 10:59:47

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opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/06/opinions/maiden-name-history-rebellion-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

Why is it so strange to get married and keep my surname in 2021? - CNN

Aisha Salaudeen has been getting grief -- often from strangers -- for not taking her husband's name after they got married last year. So the CNN producer set out to uncover the history of marital name change and asks why it remains such a big deal.

opinions, Why is it so strange to get married and keep my surname in 2021? - CNN

Why is it so strange to get married and keep my surname in 2021?

Aisha Salaudeen is a CNN producer based in Lagos, Nigeria. The views expressed in this commentary belong solely to the author. Read more from As Equals. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs. Lagos, Nigeria -- The women at the immigration counter thought I was crazy. "I still don't understand why you won't use your husband's name," one of them said, pointing to the section of a form where I had indicated my marital status.   "Because it is his name, not mine," I replied, completely taken aback by this unsolicited opinion.Unfazed by my blunt response, the questions about why I so stubbornly was choosing to keep my birth name continued for about 15 minutes.I should have been shocked by the topic of discussion, but I wasn't. I got married in October 2020, and as soon as the fuss from the ceremony died down, I was faced with a barrage of questions from friends and family about when I planned to adopt my husband's last name. Read MoreOn some occasions, I found myself being queried by strangers -- like the immigration officers whose sole remit was to renew my Nigerian passport.  Yes, it remains common practice for women to take on their husband's surnames when they get married, but around the world, as in Nigeria where I was born and raised, there's no law that makes it compulsory to do. It's simply the status quo -- but not one that I'm the only person frustrated with, as I learned after a tweet about my experience went viral. So, what's in a name?The reasons women adopt their partner's names of course differ. Some women don't like their birth names and can't wait to trade them in. Others, aware of the laws that make it difficult to travel with minors who don't bear your surname, make the change so they shared the same name with their children. In South Africa, for example, even when not divorced or widowed, a parent wanting to travel with a minor is required to present a slew of documents.More women still are going double-barrelled -- opting to hyphenate their last name.I chose to keep my birth name because I like it. It is the name I've had my entire life. All of my career highs and lows are associated with my name; my achievements, failures, and experiences are all contained in this name.Whatever an individual's motivations, it's important to understand the origins of this practice before citing "tradition" as the reason to insist on it continuing.I am a Yoruba woman from western Nigeria. In his 1921 history of the Yoruba "from the earliest times to the beginning of the British Protectorate", the Reverend and historian Samuel Johnson described how Yoruba people's names primarily served as a way to identify the individual, their lineage and family totem -- the latter sometimes understood to be the ancient god of the family. As Johnson put it: "a married woman cannot adopt her husband's totem, much less his name". Instead the Yoruba are named using descriptors such as the circumstances of their birth, the name given to them by grandparents or parents, or their praise name, a name, usually heroic, that expresses what a child is hoped to become. Later, a name that described the person's work may be added. It wasn't until British colonization, which began some two centuries ago, that this naming system slowly crumbled. Interestingly, surnames were themselves not common in England until the 13th century, and even then they were considered less important than "Christian names". It has been documented that at this time, "in some cases, especially in the upper classes, men took the surnames of their wives."Then, as Deborah Anthony writes in the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law: "English women underwent an extended period of decline in rights and status, with the most pronounced and abrupt shifts taking place in the early modern period," beginning about the middle of the 17th century.It was the conventions and norms of this time -- "upon marriage the identity of the wife was merged with that of her husband" -- that were introduced in all the Empire's colonies.Elsewhere, in predominantly Muslim societies such as in Malaysia or Iran, women don't usually change their names after marriage -- in line with Islamic text. Chapter 33 of the Quran mentions that it is "more equitable in the sight of Allah" for Muslims to be called by fathers' names.Keeping up appearancesResearch published at the end of 2019 by academics in the UK and Norway noted that even "in an age of women's emancipation," "marital surname change is a striking example of the survival of ... a practice emerging from patriarchal history."Its authors found two broad reasons women continue to change their names even in societies where they imagine themselves to be otherwise emancipated. These women got married. But it wasn't for love The first was because it was simply accepted that this is what you do ("taking tradition for granted") and the second: "doing and displaying family" -- the idea that carrying your husband's name was symbolic of the new family unit, and keeps any future children from becoming dejected or confused as a result of having parents with different names -- though there is no evidence to support this fear.Societies often label women like me who choose to go against the norm as disobedient or defiant. But I am not interested in being either of these things.I simply want to bear the name I've chosen without judgment. I want to continue on this journey with the name I have so far traveled; the one that has won awards and made mistakes. If the women at the immigration office see this as an act of rebellion, so be it. Read more As Equals columns from women writers

Opinion by Pallabi Munsi, CNN

2021-06-01 05:05:04

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opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/01/opinions/india-covid-ventilator-crisis-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

India's Covid-19 crisis: Why I'm grateful I lost my parents before the current surge - CNN

Indian hospitals are facing severe shortages in ventilators. But the quantity of supply isn't our only problem, writes Pallabi Munsi.

opinions, India's Covid-19 crisis: Why I'm grateful I lost my parents before the current surge - CNN

Why I'm grateful I lost my parents before India's horrific Covid-19 surge

Pallabi Munsi is a CNN reporter based in New Delhi, India. The views expressed in this commentary belong solely to the author. Read more from As Equals. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs. New Delhi, India -- On December 11, 2020, I found myself in an ambulance, rushing my father from a government hospital to a private one, in search of a state-of-the-art ventilator in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. The day before, my mother had breathed her last. I lost both my parents to the coronavirus in a span of 10 days. I am still grieving six months later but I am also grateful that Covid-19 found my family last year, and not now. Here's why. As I write this, India, where I've lived all of my life and worked as a journalist for the past decade, is experiencing one of the world's worst outbreaks of the coronavirus. It is the third country in the world -- after Brazil and the United States -- to cross 300,000 official deaths and we've set new grim records for the highest single-day figure for infections globally. Read More The health inequities that have led to India's Covid crisis developed over time. And yet, at the start of the year, at a virtual gathering at the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasted about how India had "saved humanity from a big disaster by containing corona(virus) effectively", following the first wave. In early March, our health minister Harsh Vardhan declared that the country was "in the endgame" of the pandemic. At that point, many across India let down their guard but I felt a very real, yet inexplicable fear. I was convinced the worst was yet to come. After my mother died, one of the doctors who had been treating her took me into their confidence and suggested that I move my critically-ill father to a private hospital that would have better ventilators. Cue, the scramble in an ambulance to find more suitable care. By the end of April, the doctor's concerns and my fear had both proven to not be unfounded. Amid a flurry of pre-state election rallies and huge religious gatherings, the numbers of infections and deaths began to overwhelm the nation. Hospitals ran out of basics such as oxygen, and social media became a hotline for all manner of Covid aid, with strangers responding to each other's desperate pleas for assistance. "As Modi extolled the quantities of supplies provided, the conversation about the quality of care was put on the back burner" Pallabi Munsi It's easy to see why, with doctors pleading on social media for resources to be made available, and families queuing up outside hospitals, praying for a bed -- if they're lucky, maybe one with oxygen support. But as a clear, steep shortage of resources has doubled the devastation of this second wave, the systemic failings of India's central and state governments to provide quality care is no longer just being discussed in hushed tones in hospital corridors. In a country of 1.39 billion people, prior to the pandemic, there were only 17,000 ventilators in public healthcare facilities across India. In the rush to scale up supply to meet the demand created by Covid-19, reports have emerged of state healthcare facilities in the states of Punjab, Jharkhand and Maharashtra being sent defective machines; contracts to manufacture ventilators being given to companies with no prior experience; and ventilators sitting uninstalled with some hospitals having no means to connect the gas to the machines.With a Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver likely, time to rethink global intellectual property rules To be sure, the central government, responding to these allegations, has ordered an "immediate" audit of the installation and operational status of ventilators it has provided. It remains unclear what the audit will reveal -- if anything at all: a few weeks ago, the minister for health refuted claims that any equipment was faulty, suggesting that the accusations were politically motivated. "It's appalling how even relief measures are bearing the brunt of an infodemic being fuelled by vested interests using baseless reports [and] incomplete facts," Vardhan tweeted. Even the Delhi High Court asserted last month that the healthcare infrastructure was "at the stage of imminent collapse," and yet complaints are still framed as "baseless" attacks on the government. At least what doctors in public hospitals and clinics had always known, and tried to warn me of, is being discussed publicly. And not a moment too soon because Covid-19 is not just an urban problem. The virus is spreading fast in India's rural areas where the vast majority of its population lives, and where there are even fewer hospitals, doctors and ventilators. I tried my best to get the best possible care for my parents, but all Indians need the same access to life-saving equipment. Faced with a deadly, fast-spreading virus, the quality of care we receive is a matter of life and death, and as the High Court in Bombay puts it, if a ventilator supplied through government schemes isn't "worthy of medical use" then "it's just a box". And boxes cannot save lives.Read more from the As Equals series*Header image caption: Health workers wearing protective gear place a defunct ventilator machine in the corridor of a hospital in Amritsar on May 14, 2021.

Opinion by Ruth L. Okediji

2021-05-07 09:59:31

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opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/07/opinions/covid-vaccine-patent-waiver-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

With a Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver likely, time to rethink global intellectual property rules - CNN

Governments in rich countries need to show moral courage and political will to redesign global intellectual property rules. A Covid-19 vaccine waiver is just the start, writes Ruth L. Okediji.

opinions, With a Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver likely, time to rethink global intellectual property rules - CNN

With a Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver likely, time to rethink global intellectual property rules

Ruth L. Okediji is the Jeremiah Smith Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. The views expressed in this commentary belong solely to the author. Read more from As Equals. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs. On Wednesday May 5, the US moved to back a Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver that was being debated at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The proposal, first put forward by South Africa and India in October 2020, seeks to temporarily lift certain intellectual property rights that belong to pharmaceutical companies so that other nations can develop generic versions of the drugs. As awareness of vaccine inequality has grown, patents and other types of intellectual property have become central to how the world emerges from the pandemic.Read More Ironically, the patent system was supposed to improve public welfare. Here's how the rationale goes: in return for disclosing her invention -- i.e. by seeking a patent -- an inventor would be able to, among other things, exclusively make, use, and sell that patented product for 20 years. This would -- as the US Constitution puts it -- "promote the progress of science and the useful arts" by incentivizing the creation and dissemination of lifesaving products.In practice however, the global patent system has enabled the creation of drugs that pharmaceutical companies can sell at high prices, to the patients who can afford them and largely for diseases prevalent in wealthy countries. Pharmaceutical companies argue that these high prices are necessary to recoup substantial research and development (R&D) expenditures, but patent rules also prevent poor countries from producing medicines locally to meet domestic needs. "We worried that when the [TRIPS Agreement] was signed, we were simultaneously signing the death warrant for thousands of those in developing countries who would be deprived of life-saving drugs. Our worries turned out to be real" Joseph E. Stiglitz In 1995, in response to growing competition from the burgeoning generic drug industries in countries such as India and Brazil, multinational pharmaceutical companies in the developed countries urged negotiation of a new multilateral Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights -- the TRIPS Agreement -- which is administered by the WTO. This required countries to offer patent protection in all fields of technology. Prior to the TRIPS Agreement, some developing countries restricted patent rights on pharmaceutical products. Many wealthy countries, such as Japan, had themselves done this, even as recently as the 1980s.But as knowledge-based goods became an important source of national wealth for industrialized nations, multinational companies sought more stringent protection for intellectual property (IP) globally. This led to TRIPS' unprecedented merger of trade and patent law, along with an unparalleled expansion of rights over pharmaceutical products. As the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote in his book, Making Globalization Work: "We worried that when the [TRIPS Agreement] was signed, we were simultaneously signing the death warrant for thousands of those in developing countries who would be deprived of life-saving drugs. Our worries turned out to be real." What now? We need new models to incentivize innovation Given the gap between the intended societal benefits from innovation and lack of access to medicines, and taking into account that patents are an important source of economic return for the risks involved in innovation, a rudimentary question to ask is this: is a different model of funding at least some pharmaceutical innovation feasible? The answer is yes. Not only is a different model feasible, it has already been used in the US -- at the onset of the pandemic. On March 30, 2020, The US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) began Operation Warp Speed (OWS), intended to expedite the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. According to one analysis, OWS "fundamentally changed how pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies assess the risk of conducting large-scale clinical trials on a brand-new vaccine." The US government built the requisite infrastructure and guaranteed the manufacturing of any successful vaccine candidates. Writing in BioSpace, Will Brothers adds: "They also purchased allotments of the vaccines prior to knowing whether any of the OWS-funded companies would be successful ... [T]he HHS making the decision to substantially de-risk this process in order to expedite the development of candidate vaccines proved to be a game-changer. As many people were preoccupied with bearing the brunt of the first wave in North America, Covid-19 vaccine development quickly began." "Governments have been talking about "building back better". To do so, they must have the moral courage and political will to redesign global intellectual property rules" Ruth L. Okediji That government-funded Initiatives such as OWS substantially subsidize drug development and reduce the risk of innovation undermines arguments for strong global enforcement of pharmaceutical patents, and for high prices to reward investment.Campaigns such as the People's Vaccine are calling for the vaccine to be made "available to all, everywhere, free of charge." The People's Vaccine echoes longstanding concerns about the patent system in global markets and point to one of the factors that could help the world find a way forward in this pandemic: waiving the patent rules so that vaccines can be made around the world, in a rapid and efficient way, to meet the demand.Shola Mos-Shogbamimu: To fight injustice, focus on the power you have But access to patents alone does not translate into optimal short or long-term ease of access to medicines. So, what else is needed? There is a need for technology transfer related to the vaccine patents. My colleagues and I have argued that in the short-term, collaborative licenses between patentee/innovators and individual potential manufacturers, brokered by the US government (or an international organization), could more quickly advance vaccine production in time to save hundreds of thousands of lives especially if a TRIPS waiver proves intractable as seems to be the case. (The European Union and Switzerland are yet to support a patent waiver for Covid-19 vaccines and other related products.)Governments who have funded vaccine development hold important leverage over private pharmaceutical firms, and they could wield that leverage to bring patentees to the table to issue licenses to qualifying generic firms. Local production of pharmaceuticals is also key. A recent paper I co-authored notes that for the foreseeable future, healthcare nationalism will continue to drive scarce products first to developed countries. Only after national needs are met will the needs of poor regions become a consideration. Africa, for example, is far behind all other continents in terms of vaccines administered, and large parts of Africa are unlikely to be vaccinated before 2023. To make matters worse, countries that depend on Indian vaccine manufacturers are experiencing delays as supplies have been disrupted. In the medium to long-term, important adjustments must be made to enable developing countries -- ideally operating through regional economic communities -- to engage in local pharmaceutical production as an essential pathway to health independence. Local production could also reduce the widespread distribution of fake or substandard medicines and vaccines. "The prospect of surviving the next pandemic shouldn't be dependent on the color of one's skin, socio-economic status, or the country in which you were born" Ruth L. Okediji Of course, patents on pharmaceutical products are not the sole culprits behind the vaccine gap between rich and poor countries. Nor are they the only reason people living in poverty don't have access to lifesaving medicines.Know-how to produce complex products such as vaccines is needed, and there is work to be done to improve and simplify supply chains in low-and-middle-income countries; removing the intermediaries in the market so as to reduce shortages. However, the role of patents in creating a barrier to accessing medicines and vaccines is clear. To fight the pandemic, people need access not just to vaccines but also to ventilation drugs or drugs that treat Covid-19 comorbidities. For all of these, a fundamental restructuring of the global rules around patents is essential. Governments have been talking about "building back better". To do so, countries must exercise the moral courage and political will to invest in a redesign of global intellectual property rules such that market price is not the primary determinant of the creation or access to new medicines. The value of human lives, and the prospect of surviving the next pandemic, shouldn't be dependent on the color of one's skin, socio-economic status, or the community or country in which you were born. Read more from the As Equals series Header image caption: People in Mumbai, India, stand near the gate of a closed vaccination center with a notice which reads "vaccine is over, closed for the day" on May 3, 2021.

Adie Vanessa Offiong, CNN

2021-05-03 10:04:40

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/03/world/women-journalists-face-rising-violence-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

They've been beaten, trolled, threatened with sexual violence but refuse to be silenced - CNN

This World Press Freedom Day, a new report finds that online violence and disinformation against women journalists is on the rise

world, They've been beaten, trolled, threatened with sexual violence but refuse to be silenced - CNN

They've been beaten, trolled, threatened with sexual violence but refuse to be silenced

This story is part of As Equals, CNN's ongoing series on gender inequality. Read more from As Equals here and read our FAQs for information about how the series is funded and more. Abuja, Nigeria -- On September 22, 2020 while out filming, Indigenous Guatemalan journalist Andrea Ixchíu Hernández was attacked shortly after she had reported illegal loggers operating in the Totonicapán forest. "One of them hit me on the head, the other one on my chest and on my knee," she tells CNN, recounting the incident from her home in Totonicapán in Guatemala's western highlands. "Luckily, as one of these attackers was trying to hit me with her machete, one of the rangers managed to push her away and that was how I escaped. Basically, he saved my life." Read MoreIxchíu Hernández's ribs were broken and she was bed bound for two months. She also sustained injuries to her spine. "I am still recovering from that. It was really awful and really violent," she says, her voice strained as she recounts the incident. "As I am speaking about it, I am realising again how dangerous it was." The physical attack she suffered that day may have not been premeditated but it was also not unimaginable. Ixchíu Hernández had already been the victim of years of online threats -- attempts to humiliate and silence her."I have been facing this since 2012. I have a long record of different ways and different times in Guatemala where I have faced digital threats," she says before explaining further: "I faced situations where people were attacking me on Twitter and Facebook, [and sharing] misinformation [about me] on Whatsapp. Once, in my hometown, one of these men printed a meme with rumours against me and my family and propagated it in the public square and in the local market." Ixchíu Hernández is one of the lucky ones, shaken by the violence but still alive. Daphne Caruana Galizia wasn't so lucky. The Maltese investigative journalist had risen to international prominence for her reporting that revealed her island's elites were benefiting from offshore tax havens as part of the Panama Papers leaks. On October 17, 2017 just half an hour after she'd published a blogpost about alleging corruption at the core of the Maltese government, the 53-year-old was killed by a car bomb in a small town called Bidnija. The year after she died, Caruana Galizia's son, Andrew Caruana Galizia, addressed the UN Human Rights Council saying: "Because of her work exposing corruption at the highest levels, my mother was dehumanized in the media and by politicians and branded a witch." "In the early years, she received threats by phone; later this became a concerted campaign of offline and online harassment. My father and my brothers and I were targeted in an attempt to silence her. Our pet dogs were killed, our home was set alight ... Unprotected by Malta's institutions, including the police force and the courts, killing her was not only desirable but it became conceivable." Unfortunately, both women's stories -- of online harassment that culminates in offline violence -- are not exceptional. In fact, as a new report published in April by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and the United Nations' agency UNESCO reveals: "Online attacks on women journalists appear to be increasing significantly, as this study demonstrates, particularly in the context of the 'shadow pandemic' of violence against women during COVID-19. The pandemic has changed journalists' working conditions, making them yet more dependent on digital communications services and social media channels." The report which is based on a global survey of 901 journalists in 125 countries, a further 173 interviews and two big data case studies that analyse 2.5 million Facebook and Twitter posts, concludes that "women journalists are both the primary targets of online violence and the first responders to it." In addition, a journalist's race, sexual orientation and religion, exposes her to "even more frequent and vitriolic attacks". Referring to its respondents, compared to 64% of white women journalists, 81% of women journalists identifying as Black, 86% identifying as Indigenous, and 88% of Jewish- identifying women journalists reported experiencing online violence, which the report defines as "misogynistic harassment, abuse and threats; digital privacy and security breaches that increase physical risks associated with online violence; and coordinated disinformation campaigns leveraging misogyny and other forms of hate speech". The authors add: "A similar pattern can be seen when analysing the survey data through a sexual orientation lens: while 72% of heterosexual women indicated they had been targeted in online attacks, the rates of exposure for those identifying as lesbian and bisexual women were much higher - standing at 88% and 85% respectively." On the individual level, the violence takes not just a physical toll but also a psychological and emotional one. Beyond questions of individual safety, the ICFJ and UNESCO study finds that attacks on women journalists reveal an enduring misogyny that trickles down from the most powerful in society -- political leaders -- and which threatens democracy itself. Again from the report: "Another major issue in evidence is the role of political actors - including presidents and elected representatives, party officials and members - in instigating and fuelling online violence campaigns against women journalists.""Online violence against women journalists is designed to: belittle, humiliate, and shame; induce fear, silence, and retreat; discredit them professionally, undermining accountability journalism and trust in facts; and chill their active participation...in public debate. This amounts to an attack on democratic deliberation and media freedom... It cannot afford to be normalised or tolerated as an inevitable aspect of online discourse." So, what does recourse look like? At the individual level, Sherry Ricchiardi-Folwell, who was the director of the now-ended DART Center for Journalism and Trauma Affiliate Program at Indiana University, and has worked as a media trainer from Pakistan to Ethiopia, talks about the need to create spaces for women journalists to talk about their experiences. Ricchiardi-Folwell explains that because of the often-sexualised nature of the attacks, women remain silent about their harassment, which leads them to believe they are alone. Talking helps counter the sense of isolation. Then there is a role for media employers in making sure their journalists are safe on their platforms and recognising how exposure to online or offline attacks may affect a woman's confidence. Folajaiye Kareem, a clinical psychologist in Abuja, Nigeria, points out that feeling ostracised and fearful of further attacks, women journalists may avoid reporting on the very stories they deem important and be apprehensive about taking up leadership positions. "If you look at this, it is synonymous with traumatic responses, such that they are anxious and anticipate that they will be harassed over a story. This may cause them to let go in defence of themselves," he says. The ICFJ/UNESCO report presents 28 recommendations in total, including, "make social media companies more clearly accountable for combating online violence against women journalists," and "recognise and work to counter the role of officials active in facilitating and orchestrating large-scale and continuous online attacks on women journalists." For Ixchíu Hernández, support networks have been invaluable to her recovery and resilience as she continues to report on the destruction of biodiversity in Guatemala. "The care of my family, the support of my neighbours and the indigenous authorities of my community gives me the strength to continue," she says. "But editors should understand that women make great explorers, researchers and interviewers precisely because most of those who have lots of power still tend to be male -- who better than women to understand and find out what these men are really up to?" she asks. "We are less likely to excuse them precisely because we are not in the traditional old boys' clubs." Read more from the As Equals series If you've been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this story or the audio testimonies, seek help - you are not alone. A directory of resources and international hotlines is provided by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. You can also turn to Befrienders Worldwide.Edited by Eliza Anyangwe. Audio files edited by Corinne Chin. Design and development by Peter Robertson and Byron Manley. Header image credits, from top left: Aida Alami/Ferial Haffajee/Jessikka Aro by Laura Pohjavirta, Finnish Broadcasting Company/Maria Ressa by Franz Lopez, Rappler. From bottom left: Andrea Ixchíu/Natalia Żaba/Nana Ama Agyemang Asante/Zaina Erhaim.

Opinion by Shola Mos-Shogbamimu Illustration by Gabrielle Smith, CNN

2021-04-21 08:53:51

news

opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/21/opinions/shola-mos-shogbamimu-activism-as-equals-opinion-intl/index.html

Shola Mos-Shogbamimu: Lessons learned from a lifetime of activism - CNN

When we learn about injustice anywhere in the world, don't think about you cannot do, find out what you can, writes the author, lawyer and activist

opinions, Shola Mos-Shogbamimu: Lessons learned from a lifetime of activism - CNN

Shola Mos-Shogbamimu: To fight injustice, focus on the power you have

Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is a lawyer, political and women's rights activist, and the author of This is Why I Resist. Follow @sholamos1 on Twitter. The views expressed in this commentary belong solely to the author. Read more from As Equals here and read our FAQs for information about how the series is funded and more. Every time I learn about unjust acts of inhumanity, it triggers an intense and overpowering sense of rage followed swiftly by an equally intense and overwhelming sense of powerlessness as my instinct to help is challenged by the question: "But, what can I do?"Examples of injustice and inequalities, whether it be the 2012 Delhi bus rape and murder; the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar; the use of deadly force at anti-police protests in Nigeria; the countless incidents of racial bias that led to many more Black people being fatally shot by the police in the US; the horrifying scenes of bodies washing up on Europe's beaches and the response to it that has been described as "brutal"; or the humanitarian crises in Yemen, Sudan, Syria, to name but a few -- all make my blood boil.My entire life is a protest against injustice. As a lawyer, political and women's rights activist, I have been unapologetically vocal and visible both publicly and privately. But I too have felt a deep helplessness at what seems to be increasing atrocities and man-made humanitarian disasters. It can be frustrating at best, and completely destabilizing at worst, to think that the injustice you have just witnessed, read about or heard of is beyond your power of influence or outside of your control to stop.Like me, many of us tend to think first of what we cannot do before taking a deep breath to consider what if any action we can realistically take. "If only I had the money, means, influence, power and control to do something," I think to myself.Read MoreBut over the years I've learnt to silence this voice of self-doubt because an invaluable lesson from my activism and advocacy journey, is that fixating on what I can't do denies me the ability to see what it is I can do with the means, influence, money and/or control I have right now. I have come to understand that I need to change the way I define taking action. The situation in TigrayOn March 20 2021, I watched CNN's ground breaking report into the genocide of Tigrayans and the use of rape as a weapon of war against Tigrayan women. The war felt so far away, beyond my control, yet the pain and suffering of Tigrayan refugee women, raped and sexually violated, felt so close. No words can describe my rage and the deafening helplessness I felt at what was happening under the world's nose, on our watch and in our time.But a few hours later, a friend -- Naomi Campbell -- who had watched the same report messaged me, asking that all important question: "What can we do to stop this?" Her words helped me clear the cobwebs from my head and shift my focus from what I couldn't do to what I could.Then things started moving quickly. I remember saying I knew the CNN reporter, Nima Elbagir, and I'd reach out to her. Within a couple of days of speaking with Nima, she'd introduced me to and I'd spoken with Dr Tedros, the incredible doctor helping the Tigrayan survivors of rape and sexual violence, about what real-time, on the ground support was needed to help these women at the refugee camps on the border of Sudan. "Anything that threatens the possibility of an equal quality of life and choice for some inevitably denies humanity to all" Shola Mos-Shogbamimu Fast forward a week or so, and we have organized a fundraiser to set-up and maintain a psychosocial peer support clinic for the survivors; to acquire medical and other supplies; and to launch a business start-up fund for rape/sexual abuse survivors looking to start a business.In addition to this, I had reached out to Members of Parliament to seek their assistance in raising this as an important issue, so that the UK government can put pressure on the Ethiopian government to end the genocide of Tigrayans. None of this could I have imagined when I was stuck in the numbness of what I can't do.Ordinary people, doing extraordinary thingsIf we accept that we are all global citizens co-existing with an ever-increasing global crisis of stark inequality, inhumanity and suffering, then we must acknowledge that real solutions can only come by active global citizenship. It means we can't treat injustice and atrocities as local or national issues but as global issues without borders. It means our ability to take action should not be limited to or defined by where we live, our ethnicity, nationality, wealth, physical ability or faith. It should be determined by who we are, the conviction for our cause and the courage to take action even when we are unsure we'll succeed. In the words of Barack Obama: "A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things".She's on the frontline of a rape epidemic. The pandemic has made her work more dangerous Experience has taught me that 'extraordinary' means different things for different people and that's a good thing. From writing letters to the authorities; picking up a phone to make calls; taking a stand or refusing to be silent; donating time and/or money, or using your voice, skills and influence --all of these actions are extraordinary when one is intentional and resolute. But here's another important lesson I've learned: understand that you cannot do everything for everyone. I am a work in progress, learning to channel my rage in the direction where I can have most impact. Many times, this is behind the scenes because being visible is not as important as being impactful. So, I pick my battles -- even in the face of other people's expectations that I should do more. The arbiter of what I can or can't do should always, ultimately, be me. I have learnt to recognise the signs of burnout: being desensitised from the constant exposure to ongoing atrocities and the numbness of helplessness. Whenever I feel this way, I know it is time for self-care so I stop, process what I am experiencing, take the time I need to care for my own heart and, as a woman of faith, I pray. It also helps me to talk through what I'm processing with loved ones because I need balance. Self-care helps me process how to give an outlet to my rage through action.Anything that threatens the possibility of an equal quality of life and choice for some inevitably denies humanity to all. We must snap out of our complacency and wilful ignorance; end our lazy media consumption and choose not to believe whatever you have been told -- or tell yourself -- that you cannot do. Instead, we must have the courage of our convictions to fight for the changes we want -- however small that change is. All the while remembering: there are no saviours here, just ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Read more from the As Equals series

Kara Fox and Ana Schlimovich, CNN Illustrations and graphics by Gabrielle Smith, CNN

2021-04-06 11:17:04

news

americas

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/americas/chile-asequals-birth-control-intl/index.html

Chile's government distributed faulty birth control pills. Now more than 150 people are pregnant. - CNN

In Chile, over 150 people say they have gotten pregnant while talking contraceptive pills manufactured by subsidiaries of a German pharmaceutical company.

americas, Chile's government distributed faulty birth control pills. Now more than 150 people are pregnant. - CNN

Chile's government distributed faulty birth control pills. Now more than 150 people are pregnant.

This story is part of As Equals, CNN's ongoing series on gender inequality. Find out more about it here. Leer en españolSantiago, Chile -- In Chile's arid Atacama desert, Tabita Daza Rojas is trying to scrape together enough money to finish construction on her home before her baby, due anyday, arrives. Eight hundred kilometers to the south, in La Pintana, a suburb of the capital Santiago, Cynthia González is nursing her 2-month-old boy. But she needs to buy milk to supplement her body's supply, and is worried about how she'll afford it.Rojas and González come from different backgrounds, have different lives and ambitions. Yet they -- and at least 170 other women at the time of writing -- share a common reality: they all claim to have fallen pregnant while taking Anulette CD, an oral contraceptive pill manufactured by Silesia, a subsidiary of the German pharmaceutical company, Grünenthal.Without the option to legally terminate their pregnancies, if they wanted to, or any real accountability from the government or the drug companies, the women, represented by the Chilean sexual and reproductive rights group Corporación Miles, are preparing to file a class action lawsuit in the civil courts. Read MoreIn a region where barriers to women's reproductive rights are the norm, CNN has identified a government health agency quick to shift the blame to these women, as well as a history of poor production quality and previous issues relating to oral contraceptives in Grünenthal's Chilean factory -- its gateway to Latin America. Tabita Rojas' story In March 2020, after discovering an ovarian cyst her physician worried could have been caused by her contraceptive implant, Rojas's doctor at her local health clinic advised she take the pill instead, prescribing Anulette CD. Rojas didn't give the switch much thought; she had taken oral contraceptives before and agreed it made sense for her health.Plus, after giving up her place on a forensic criminology program at 17 because she'd gotten pregnant, the now 29-year-old was once again excited about her future. "I had to put all that aside and dedicate myself to my son," said Rojas, who had a second child two years later, and provides for her family by doing seasonal work at a grape packing plant.By early 2020, however, things were changing. Her children -- boys now aged 11 and 9 years old, both with learning difficulties -- were more independent, and were spending more time with their father. As part of a government urbanization in her hometown Copiapó, Rojas had been given a small piece of land on which to build a house. She had been saving up money and planned to move out of the home she and her children had been sharing with three other family members.And, she was in love. Early on in the relationship, Rojas and her boyfriend had decided not to have children together. "It was going to be impossible to provide for someone else," she said.But in September 2020, just five months after Rojas began taking Anulette, she found out she was pregnant again. She would later learn, after seeing it posted on Facebook, that her tablets were from a batch that had been recalled by Chile's public health authority, the Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile (ISP) the month before. "I was about to finish the second [box of three prescribed] when I found out about the problem," she said. By then she was already six weeks pregnant. On February 21, 2021, Chile's health authority wrote Tabita Rojas in response to her questions about the Anulette CD controversy. (R) The ISP's August 24, 2020 alert recalling the first batch of defective Anulette pills. Source: Tabita Rojas, ISP Rojas' neo-natal ultrasound in September 2020 revealed she was approximately 6 weeks pregnant. Source: Tabita Rojas The blister packs of the Anulette CD birth control pills Rojas had taken for nearly three months before finding out they had been recalled in August 2020. Source: Tabita Rojas 'I was never happy with this pregnancy'The details may differ but similar scenarios have been playing out across Chile.A mother of four, González, who had been on Anulette for eight months, got pregnant for the fifth time in May 2020. She tells CNN that she took her contraceptive "religiously every morning," before adding: "Because we women set an alarm for those kinds of pills." The news devastated her. Her personal life was complicated and her finances extremely limited after she lost the market stall where she sold second-hand clothes."I was never happy with this pregnancy," González said. "If you only knew all the nights I spent crying thinking that I didn't want to [have the baby]. I had no options."Alluding to Chile's strict abortion laws that forbid a woman from terminating a pregnancy except for three reasons (if the pregnancy is a result of rape, if the fetus is incompatible with life outside the womb, or if a woman's life is at risk), González spoke about her upset and how she tried to conceal her growing tummy. "I hid the pregnancy for a long time, so that they wouldn't ask me: 'Hey, another child, and whose is it, because you are no longer with your husband' -- and having to explain that we were separated. It was already a complicated situation for me, let alone to go around telling everyone."Anulette CD is a 28-day combined oral contraceptive -- one of the most common forms of birth control.It contains synthetic versions of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which are produced naturally by the ovaries. The hormones work to prevent ovulation -- meaning no egg is released by the ovaries -- as well as thicken the lining of the cervix to make it harder for sperm to pass through. The pill also makes the lining of the uterus thinner so that if an egg is fertilized it cannot implant and begin to grow. Pill regimens typically involve taking 21 "active" pills that contain the hormones and seven "non-active" or "placebo" pills, to maintain a daily routine, during which time a person bleeds. How the contraceptive pill works The menstrual cycle is the process by which the body prepares for pregnancy every month. Controlled by multiple hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, it is the time between the first day of a period and the day before the next period begins. On average the cycle lasts 28 days, but this can vary. The cycle involves ovulation, where an egg is released from one of the ovaries. Pregnancy happens when sperm enters a vagina, travels through the cervix and uterus (womb) to the fallopian tubes and fertilizes a released egg. Once fertilized, the egg starts to grow, traveling to and implanting itself into the lining of the uterus. When an egg isn't fertilised and pregnancy doesn't happen, the egg is reabsorbed into the body and the thickened lining of the uterus sheds and exits the vagina as a period. Birth control pills work by controlling the menstrual cycle, to prevent pregnancy. There are many different types of birth control pill but one of the most common is the 28-day combined oral contraceptive. With these, you take one pill every day, at the same time, for 28 days. The first 21 pills are active, as they contain artificial versions of estrogen and progesterone. The remaining seven pills in the packet are inactive pills that contain no hormones, often referred to as "sugar pills" or "placebos." The 21 active pills prevent ovulation, meaning that no egg will be released from the ovaries. They also help to prevent pregnancy by thickening the mucus around the entrance to the womb, making it harder for sperm to enter and reach an egg, and by making the lining of the uterus thinner, so if an egg is fertilised there is less chance of it implanting into the women and being able to grow. In the case of the women in Chile - the pills that they were provided were defective according to the ISP. In one batch, the placebo (a blue pill) had been found where the active pills (a yellow pill) should have been, and vice versa. In another batch there were missing and crushed pills. Users say these instances resulted in unwanted pregnancies. Source: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Healthline, Planned Parenthood, UK National Health Service (NHS) The first batch -- 139,160 packs of Anulette pills, according to its manufacturer -- were recalled on August 24, 2020 after healthcare workers at a rural healthcare clinic complained that they had identified 6 packets of defective pills. In them -- based on information from the ISP -- the placebo (a blue pill) had been found where the active pills (a yellow pill) should have been, and vice versa.In its online notice, published on August 29, the ISP said that the makers of Anulette CD, a company called Laboratorios Silesia S.A. (Silesia), had been made aware and were withdrawing the defective lot. The ISP then advised health centers to quarantine any packets they had from the affected batches. Then, a tweet was sent from the ISP account alerting its followers to the recall. But without a nationwide campaign to more directly inform the public, the recall went largely unnoticed.A week after the first recall, on September 3, the same error was detected in 6 packets from a different batch at a clinic in Santiago. Here, tablets were also missing, but others were crushed, according to the ISP. By the time the problems were flagged, Silesia said it had already distributed 137,730 packs to health centers.This time the ISP said it would be suspending Silesia's registration until the laboratory was able to improve its quality and production processes. But it was too little, too late. In total, according to the manufacturer's own accounts, 276,890 packets of Anulette CD from the two defective lots -- all with a January 2022 expiry date -- had been distributed to family planning centers across Chile. Surprisingly, on September 8, less than a week after Silesia's suspension, the ISP issued another document reversing its earlier decision. In the memo, which was uploaded to its website, the health authority said Anulette CD could once again be distributed. It claimed that the flaws in the packaging could be easily detected, and passed the responsibility of doing so, and of informing users of the service, onto healthcare workers.The Ministry of Health told CNN in an emailed statement that they informed the public health service "to inform users of this situation and take pertinent actions," and said that they provided support and counseling for reproductive health workers to support "women who may have been affected by problems in the quality of contraceptives."But Rojas said she was only informed by her local clinic about the defective pills after she went in for a prenatal checkup. And Rodriguez told CNN no one has contacted her.ISP director Heriberto Garcia defended the decision to put Anulette back on the market, saying in a video interview with CNN: "Just because it [one pack] belongs to the batch doesn't mean it was bad." "We expect that there are many more women with this problem, especially because the State has not claimed any responsibility." Laura Dragnic, legal coordinator at Corporación Miles So, it was left to Chilean civil society to raise the alarm. The sexual and reproductive rights group, Miles, ran a social media campaign and used its networks to get the word out. "It was after [posting on Instagram] when we started receiving emails from people saying that they were already pregnant because they were consuming Anulette," said Miles' legal coordinator Laura Dragnic.By October 2020, some 40 women had gotten in touch. According to Miles, following multiple media appearances by its staff, another 70 women came forward. The number now stands at 170, but Dragnic expects it to grow as rural women or those without access to the internet or television are still to be reached."We expect that there are many more women with this problem," she said, "especially because the State has not claimed any responsibility and has not made any statements or any serious compromises [to the abortion rules] for the affected women." Seven days after Dragnic spoke to CNN, and six months after the first recall, the health authorities announced that Anulette's manufacturers had been charged a series of fines totalling approximately 66.5m Chilean pesos (approximately USD $92,000). Miles and their partners are calling for the government to pay financial reparations to the affected women, and to provide access to safe and legal abortions for those who wish to terminate their pregnancy.Multiple recalls at Grünenthal's Santiago factoryGrünenthal, in whose Santiago factory Anulette CD is manufactured, began operating in Chile in 1979. The privately-owned German pharmaceutical company, which reported a €340 million (US $405 million) profit in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, is best known for its product tramadol, an opiate pain killer, classified as a controlled substance in numerous countries.In 2017, the company increased its Chilean investments by opening what it called "Latin America's most modern women's health products plant" -- a US $14.5m facility. While only a small part of Grünenthal's portfolio, the investment was enough to place it among "the three biggest pharmaceutical companies in Chile."But CNN has uncovered that production issues began soon after the factory opened, and have affected a range of oral contraceptives marketed not just by Silesia S.A. but also Grünenthal's other Chilean subsidiary, Andrómaco.16 and trying not to get pregnantIn 2018, Tinelle, a contraceptive pill from Silesia's portfolio, was voluntarily taken off the market after a decision to switch the sequence of the active and placebo tablets (keeping the same numbers of each but placing them in a different order) which -- by the Grunenthal spokesperson, Florian Dieckmann's admission -- "confused [patients] about the new sequence of the pills." Dieckmann said that the pills were put back on the market after Silesia "further clarified the instruction on the aluminium foil on how to follow the right sequence of tablets."Two further oral contraceptives, Minigest 15 and 20, manufactured by Andrómaco at the Grünenthal Chilean plant, were recalled in October 2020 after the public health authority, the ISP, said that they were found during stability testing to contain an insufficient amount of the active ingredient: the hormones.Grunenthal's spokesperson said that at the time of packaging, the tablets had "the correct amount of active ingredient" in them, adding that the "tablets are exposed to excessive temperatures and humidity over the products entire shelf life under laboratory conditions" and that it is "unlikely that the tablets are exposed to these conditions for a long time in real world circumstances.Based on a Freedom of Information request by Miles, which CNN then followed up on, the production of Anulette CD has had the most problems, according to the ISP's own records.Between August 6 and November 18, 2020, health clinics across Chile reported a wide range of issues with the pills including small holes found in the tablets; pills that had orange and black spots; wet and crushed tablets; and packaging that wouldn't release the entire pill effectively, leaving trace amounts of the pill stuck inside. In total, the ISP received 26 different complaints about 15 different batches of Anulette pills, yet only 2 batches were recalled."It is important to clarify that not all complaints of the products end in market recalls," the ISP explained. "Those that are withdrawn...are those in which critical defects are detected and this was the case of the recalled batches." Aside from publishing details of the above recalls on its website, the ISP allegedly did little else to notify women, and despite its apparent challenges, Grünenthal remains the Chilean government's leading provider of oral contraceptives. According to the ISP, 382,871 women are prescribed Anulette CD, and between May 2019 and January 2020, Grünenthal secured at least US $2.2 million in contracts that CNN has seen. The Ministry of Health did not answer CNN's written questions and declined an invitation to be interviewed. The blame gameWhile no one is denying the production problems, Grünenthal, its Chilean subsidiaries and government representatives, all seem intent on shifting some of the blame away from the faulty packets of the pill and onto each other. Dieckmann explained that the company discovered that the problems stemmed from an issue on the production line issue which caused some pills to move during the packaging process. That led to some packages with "empty cavities, some tablets misplaced or crushed tablets," he said but stressed that the efficacy of the contraceptive had not been compromised. The spokesperson also pointed out that combined oral contraceptives are not 100% effective. According to the World Health Organization, the combined oral contraceptive pill every year results in less than 1 pregnancy in every 100, "with consistent and correct use.""So I think it's important background, right?" Dieckmann said, noting that those statistics rise when the pill isn't taken consistently or correctly.In Lesotho, women say they're finding their abortions on Facebook"I'm not trying to say that it's the woman's fault," Dieckmann said, before adding that correct and consistent use was a "factor that I think we have to look at here.""Women say, 'I was on the pill, I still became pregnant -- why is that?' That's what's happened," he said, referencing the statistics.The Grünenthal spokesperson told CNN that the company could not speak to their individual cases, as it has not been directly contacted by any of the affected women.Addressing the controversy on the Chilean public broadcaster in December 2020, Silesia's medical director, Leonardo Lourtau, said in addition to the company being responsible for visually checking the packaging, health officials should have also done so and, "obviously, the people who take the medicine as well."And Garcia of the ISP suggested it was important to look at how birth control efficacy might change when interacting in the body with other products, such as antibiotics, tobacco or alcohol. "I am not saying that she has drunk a lot of alcohol or that she is a smoker, but I am telling you the background." Despite Garcia's assertions, most reproductive health experts widely agree that there is no evidence to suggest that smoking diminishes the effectiveness of the pill; that alcohol will only do so if a person throws up soon after taking it; and that only one type of antibiotic, those based on rifampicin, can affect oral contraceptives.'Systemic failures'Drug recalls are not unusual, but it is hard for those campaigning on behalf of the women not to perceive an injustice here: Grünenthal continues to see its factory as the key to reaching 168 million women in Latin America, while the women who take its products have to remain vigilant or risk pregnancy. The risk is heightened, reproductive rights groups say, by the fact that these women, already poor and marginalized, can't count on the robust support of the government should the undesired happen.Paula Avila Guillen, Executive Director at the New York Women's Equality Center, a not-for-profit that advocates for and monitors reproductive rights in Latin America, told CNN that if the recall was about bad meat, the entire country would have known immediately, and the product immediately taken off the market. "But when it comes to women and reproductive health, they just don't care," she lamented.And so, Miles and its partners, writing to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and to the United Nations, have called the situation "a clear situation of systemic discrimination against women." Meanwhile, back in Copiapó, at 38 weeks pregnant, Rojas has now accepted her fate. She will once again have to put aside her dreams for the future of her child, another baby boy. They'll name him Fernando. Read more from the As Equals series Edited by Eliza Anyangwe. Additional editing by Meera Senthilingam and Henrik Pettersson. Animation by Melody Shih and Jeffrey Hsu Web, and development by Marco Chacon.

Rebecca Wright, CNN and Salman Saeed, for CNN

2020-05-26 22:25:34

news

asia

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/asia/daulatdia-bangladesh-brothel-as-equals-intl/index.html

Daulatdia: She was tricked as a teen into prostitution. A decade on, she has no work and faces starvation - CNN

Nodi was 14 years old when she says she was sold into one of the world's biggest brothels. A decade later and with Bangladesh under coronavirus lockdown, she now is facing a new problem: hunger.

asia, Daulatdia: She was tricked as a teen into prostitution. A decade on, she has no work and faces starvation - CNN

She was tricked as a teen into prostitution. A decade on, she has no work and faces starvation

Daulatdia, Bangladesh — Nodi was 14 years old when she says she was deceived and sold into one of the world's biggest brothels.Already married with a young baby, she had gone to look for her husband, who was known to gamble in the area in eastern Bangladesh. Nodi says she met a driver who offered to help, but he turned out to be a broker, who sold her to a madam in the Daulatdia brothel complex. "I was tricked," said Nodi, who only wants to be identified by the first name that she uses with clients. "Then I got trapped here." Once her husband and family found out what had happened, she says they refused to rescue her, due to the shame associated with the brothel.More than a decade after she was sold and abandoned -- and with Bangladesh under lockdown to prevent spread of the Covid-19 virus -- the 25-year-old is facing a new problem: hunger.Read MoreThere are approximately 1,500 women in the Daulatdia brothel, who get paid as little as $2 for sex by the 3,000 male customers who usually visit every day."Because of this coronavirus pandemic, we are now in trouble," said Nodi. "We have no work." In late March, Bangladesh imposed a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which has infected more than 36,000 people in the country, including more than 520 who died, John Hopkins University figures show. As businesses and transport networks were shut down across Bangladesh, government-sanctioned brothels were also closed, with no clients allowed to enter. Since 2000, prostitution has been legal in Bangladesh, but it is regarded by many as immoral."Our brothel has been locked down," said Morjina Begum, executive director of Bangladeshi charity Mukti Mohila Samity ('Free Woman Union' in English). "We do not allow any outside customers. Now sex workers do not have any income."Begum, who is a former sex worker from the brothel, added that the government, police and local NGOs including her organization are supplying relief to the women.But several women in the brothel told CNN that the aid is not nearly enough.Nearly 1,500 women and girls are packed inside the 12-acre site, which resembles an overcrowded slum, with densely packed alleyways lined with corrugated iron shacks, small shops and open sewers. Many of the women have given birth to children inside the brothel, and researchers say there are currently 500 children in there, including 300 under the age of six. "We are not getting any (food)," Nodi said. "If it continues, children will die from starvation. We pray that the virus will go away."Some women send their children to live with family members or at charity shelters outside the brothel, because they don't want them to be part of this life. Nodi says she has no contact with her son, now 11, who is growing up with her former in-laws in Dhaka. It's better that way, she says."We want our children to be away from us so that they can become good human beings," Nodi said.Usually, around 3,000 men visit the brothel every day, many of them truck drivers or day laborers who stop off at Daulatdia due to its prime location next to a train station and a ferry terminal on the Padma River, a major channel running from the Ganges. "If it continues, children will die from starvation. We pray that the virus will go away." Nodi From late afternoon onwards, the women and girls stand around in the narrow lanes as the men walk through. Once a negotiation is complete, the clients enter one of the small rooms, which usually consist of a brightly-colored bed, and a small cupboard or wardrobe. The men pay as little as $2 for sex, and around $20 for an overnight stay."Earlier I could have earned ($60) per day. Some days it could be ($20) and some days I would earn nothing," Nodi said. "Now, everything is dependent on God." Each sex worker in the brothel has to pay daily rent to the madams, who act as a go-between for more than a dozen landlords which own this area of land. When the girls arrive via a broker, often for a sum of around $200-300, they are forced to pay off this debt to the madams.A 2018 study conducted by the non-profit research organization, the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), found that around 80% of the 135 sex workers surveyed said they had been trafficked or tricked into going to a brothel, said Philip Gain, the SEHD director."The conditions in the brothel are so horrible," said Gain, the director of SEHD. "No-one would come unless they had been tortured or abused."Gain said there is a country-wide network of traffickers who find girls for the brothels, who are often persuaded with promises of well-paid work in a factory, or brought by force."Once a girl is sold into a brothel, she is trapped, it is very hard to get out," Gain added.More than 200 girls have arrived in Daulatdia in the past five or six years after being trafficked by a broker, says Sipra Goswami, coordinator for the charity BLAST, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, which helps to rescue underage girls from the brothels. The organization also offers the girls legal aid and accommodation in shelters, or helps them to reintegrate with their families. Most of the underage girls they rescue are aged 12-16, Goswami adds.Women queue up to receive an aid delivery at the Daulatdia brothel in Bangladesh on May 14."They are socially excluded and vulnerable," Goswami said. "Nowadays their condition is (at the) very worst (because of Covid-19). The after effects will be awful for them."Local police chief Ashiqur Rahman denied there are any underage sex workers in the brothel.Rahman said that since he took the post in January, there have been three trafficking cases reported, adding that he tries to personally interview the women that arrive to make sure they were not forced.Bangladesh's Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, said via text message "the law of the land prohibits trafficking in persons and there are severe penalties for the culprits. Our law enforcement agencies are vigilant and they act immediately on any such culpable crimes. Even during these extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic, we are in full alert."During a charity aid delivery at the brothel on May 14, hundreds of women jostled in the rain as they tried to secure one of the bags of rice being handed out; their desperation occasionally turning to frustration as tempers frayed in the crowd. While there are no reported Covid-19 cases in Daulatdia, there was no social distancing during the distribution, although many of the women wore masks.There are around 500 children in the brothel, most of them fathered by the men who visit the complex. This woman, who did not want to give a name, says she is eight months pregnant.The local government also made an aid delivery to the brothel on March 28, which included 10kg of rice, hand sanitizer and other items for more than 1,300 women, according to Rubayet Hayat, executive officer of the local sub-district of Goalanda. He added that the country's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, also arranged for 200 of the poorest women to receive a $30 cash handout via mobile payment transfer.The local police force -- which is guarding the brothel's entrance to stop customers entering during the lockdown -- has also made multiple deliveries of rice in the past few months, according to Rahman. "Firstly, we need to save their lives from the Covid," he added. "Then, we try to help with the other things."We support them as much as possible, but this is not sufficient I think," Rahman said. "They are in a critical situation."Nodi says the relief is sometimes unfairly distributed, meaning some women are left hungry."Now we are facing a lot of problems here, with the relief, some of us are getting it, and others are not," she said. "If everyone gets relief, everyone will be happy."Shurovi, 22, was born in Daulatdia to a mother who worked there.She was raised in a nearby safe home run by a charity, and received a good education before getting married and moving to Dhaka. But after four years, the couple separated when her husband found another wife.Shurovi, who only wants to be identified by her first name she uses with clients, had been doing some part-time work as an actress in Bangladeshi TV soaps -- a "dream job," she said. But when the work ran out, and she was left homeless after the separation, her economic situation deteriorated and she reluctantly returned to Daulatdia, a place she thought she had escaped.Shurovi, 22, was born in the Daulatdia brothel to a sex worker mother. She was brought up outside by a charity, but ended up returning after her marriage fell apart and she was left homeless.She came back with a target: to be out of there within two years with enough money to buy some land.But that aim started fading after she got pregnant with her son, fathered by a client. She also had to take out a large loan to pay for an emergency C-section during the birth. And now, her exit strategy is looking more out of reach, as she spends what little she has put aside just to survive."I am facing a financial crisis which threatens our survival," Shurovi said. "If I do not have any income, I cannot support my child. I cannot manage to feed myself as well as my family."Shurovi says she can no longer afford diapers or baby milk, which is more than $7 for a carton."The support we are getting from the government is not enough," she said. "They are not providing anything for children or any cash for our family." "If I do not have any income, I cannot support my child. I cannot manage to feed myself as well as my family." Shurovi Shurovi's son is 10 months old, and he lives most of the time with her mother in another room within the brothel complex."People who are born in these brothels, it is not their choice, they should always get a chance to live normally in society," Shurovi said. But the key to getting out -- and staying out -- is opportunity and support, she adds."It seems like we have died before death," Shurovi said. "If the government does not think about us, we will be in great trouble."Salman Saeed reported from Daulatdia, Bangladesh and Rebecca Wright wrote from Hong Kong. Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Louise Donovan Illustration by Gabrielle Smith, CNN

2020-05-15 10:30:45

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/15/africa/uganda-domestic-violence-as-equals-intl/index.html

A transport ban in Uganda means women are trapped at home with their abusers - CNN

While businesses have reopened, the ban on transport remains intact. This means, critics say, many women will continue not only to be trapped at home with a potential perpetrator, but they remain unable to travel to seek medical treatment or refuge.

africa, A transport ban in Uganda means women are trapped at home with their abusers - CNN

A transport ban in Uganda means women are trapped at home with their abusers

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This report is a collaboration between CNN and The Fuller Project. It is part of As Equals, an ongoing series. Seconds after Veronica opened her eyes in the hospital, she knew who had put her there. Her body ached; her head throbbed.The night before, the 25-year-old mother-of-five was busy buying medication for her children in Moroto, a town in northeast Uganda. When Veronica (whose surname we're not using to protect her identity) returned home, her husband picked up a sharp object and stabbed her in the right eye. He then beat her, and when she blacked out, he fled, she said.Two legal volunteers from the Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-U), an organization that provides legal aid and access to essential services for women, were already working on the ground in the community. They heard Veronica's screams and decided to investigate. After finding her lying unconscious on the floor, they called their colleague Jacob Lokuda, a front-line legal clerk who responds rapidly to violent incidents, and who recounted what happened."She had lost a lot of blood," said 25-year-old Lokuda, "it was very nasty."The three men carried her to Moroto hospital, roughly four miles away. By car, the journey is a 20-minute drive; by foot, it took over one hour. Veronica drifted in and out of consciousness, mumbling that she thought she was already dead. "He had gone beyond reason" Veronica Read MoreOn May 4, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni began to loosen the country's strict anti-coronavirus restrictions after more than six weeks in lockdown. While businesses including hardware shops and wholesale stores have now reopened, the existing ban on all public and private transport remains intact.This means, critics say, that many women will continue not only to be trapped at home with a potential perpetrator, but they remain unable to travel to seek medical treatment, refuge or help.The country currently has 160 confirmed Covid-19 cases and no fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.Many women, like Veronica, have found themselves forced to spend more time with partners who were already abusive. Economic worry is an added tension. More than 80% of Ugandans work in the informal sector and many have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 restrictions."We stopped a lot to catch our breath," says Lokuda, who had already jogged 40 minutes to Veronica's village from his own home. "We didn't have any protective gear, such as gloves, but she needed medical attention," he adds."He had gone beyond reason," Veronica said over the phone. In late March, Museveni indicated that domestic violence is not life threatening and should not be considered so during the Covid-19 pandemic."We're just dealing with a few things [that are] life-threatening. Childbirth, snakebite, heart attack -- finish. What else is there? We're not dealing with all problems. Somebody is drunk and has beaten his wife? No, no, no," he said.He has since addressed the issue and said he is devising a "comprehensive plan" on how best to handle the situation. While ambulances have been given travel permits, the number of vehicles is low and many citizens live in villages with a patchy phone signal.Those working in essential services such as health care are allowed on the roads, yet legal aid providers were not deemed essential until last week. Now, 30 lawyers working for the Uganda Law Society are permitted to provide urgent legal services."This is a positive step," says Irene Ekonga, FIDA-U's director of programs, "but it's a drop in the ocean."Movement is an issue, agrees Rose Nalubega, acting commissioner for the national police's Sexual and Children Offences department in Kampala, the bustling Ugandan capital."Response is our greatest challenge," she said in an interview. "We're operating in the normal way but [Covid-19] has escalated the problem. We were not prepared, but we try."Ugandans can apply for a special travel permit from the resident district commissioner, but locals have complained their offices are often empty. For organizations like FIDA-U, time is of the essence -- and applying for a permit waiver can take hours."In these emergency situations, the first response is what really counts," says Lokuda. "I put everything down because we have to move fast, but there are lots of delays."Those found driving without permission can be arrested or have their vehicle impounded.Several weeks ago, Lokuda received an 8 a.m. call about an alleged rape. As it was still early, and the young woman's village was a little further out, he decided to seek permission for transport. After negotiations, he didn't arrive until 2 p.m."It was too late," he sighs. "The perpetrator had already run away but at least we managed to bring her for a medical examination."Police were called and they took her to a station before Lokuda brought her to the hospital in the car he'd been given approval to travel in. "Violence against women is accepted here" Josephine Aparo, Senior Coordinator at International Justice Mission In one month, police noted a surge in gender-based violence cases, with an estimated 3,280 recorded between March 30 and April 28, according to Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development.In 2019, an average of 1,137 domestic violence cases were reported monthly.FIDA-U say they witnessed a 522% increase in the number of cases reported by phone (from nine on average to 56 calls per week) since the lockdown was first introduced, though they believe many more domestic violence cases are going unrecorded.Violence against children has also soared: the Uganda Child Helpline dealt with 881 cases since the lockdown began in late March (the average is 248).The surge in domestic abuse is set against a backdrop of already high levels in the country. Forty-six percent of ever-married women say they are afraid of their current or most recent spouse or partner compared to 23% of ever-married men, according to figures published by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics in 2016."Violence against women is accepted here," says Josephine Aparo, Senior Coordinator at International Justice Mission (IJM) Uganda, who work with police and prosecutors to bring perpetrators to court.After a 14-day period, the President will announce the next phase of reopening on 19 May. Yet experts are concerned the existing problems will continue."[Once the transport ban lifts], women in close proximity with abusive partners might be able to report and seek refuge elsewhere," says Ekonga."Issues like economic difficulties are still likely to persist, as well as dependence on male partners for financial support. Cases might drop slightly but by and large, I think they will remain higher than the rates before the lockdown."Veronica had been with her husband for 12 years before this assault, which she reported to police in a local station. She had previously reported him some years ago because, she says, he wasn't taking care of the children properly. He didn't have a job, and Veronica's work as a street vendor selling meat dried up due to Covid-19 restrictions. They had little money for food or rent. While her case is being followed up by the Ugandan police, several rights organizations say the police have been unable to adequately respond to incidents or make arrests."The police are usually under-resourced," explains Tina Musuya, executive director of the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention. "During an emergency like this? Violence against women is a forgotten territory."Amid the pandemic, police vehicles were reallocated to the Covid-19 response, which left a shortage elsewhere. Several organizations who supported law enforcement with cars before the transport ban have since been given permission to do so again. IJM, for example, is providing cars to assist police investigations into gender-based violence crimes.Many women and children flee their abusers with nowhere to go: all domestic violence shelters have closed across the country, bar one, though this may change as the lockdown gradually lifts. The police have recently opened a new temporary shelter in Kampala, and launched a toll-free line in a bid to handle the increasing number of cases."It's astonishing," says Asia Russell of Health GAP, a HIV advocacy organization with staff in Uganda. "The mode of implementation of the Covid-19 response has killed people," she adds, referring to vulnerable groups such as women experiencing violence, with chronic illnesses and those who are pregnant."Where is the infrastructure for communities who are experiencing increased terror? Don't they matter?" Russell says.Weeks after Veronica was released from hospital, her eye is still painful.She and her husband haven't spoken since that "fateful night," she says, before adding firmly: "I'm not going to have contact with him again."She still has difficulty sleeping, but she feels safe and, for now, that will do.Louise Donovan is a Nairobi-based correspondent with The Fuller Project, a journalism nonprofit reporting on global issues impacting women.Top image: Shutterstock/CNN Photo Illustration by Gabrielle Smith

Alice McCool, for CNN Illustrations by Charity Atukunda, for CNN

2020-02-13 08:14:22

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/13/africa/uganda-bery-glaser-asequals-intl/index.html

They were sent to a shelter for safety. Instead, these women say they were sexually abused - CNN

Five women in their late teens and early twenties interviewed by CNN allege that Bernhard "Bery" Glaser sexually and emotionally abused them at Bery's Place, a children's home in Uganda.

africa, They were sent to a shelter for safety. Instead, these women say they were sexually abused - CNN

They were sent to a shelter for safety. Instead, these women say they were sexually abused

This article contains sexually explicit language.Kampala, Uganda -- When Patricia was picked up by police at the age of 11, she felt relieved.Sold by an uncle to her teacher, she was raped and abandoned in Kalangala, a district of islands on Lake Victoria, in Uganda.Patricia thought her luck had changed when police officers from a local station told her there was a man nearby who helped survivors of sexual abuse like her."A big, fat, old muzungu [foreigner or white person] came for me. They said he is taking care of girls in your situation," Patricia, who is identified using a pseudonym, told CNN.Read More"They said Bery is a good person and he will take you. I was a bit afraid, but I said OK since there are other girls there too."Bernhard "Bery" Glaser, a German national who describes himself as a "retired health professional," founded Bery's Place, a children's home in Kalangala, with his wife in 2006. According to his website, Glaser has provided a home for dozens of girls, some of whom have survived "physical, sexual, emotional or psychological abuse and violence," or been "trafficked, abandoned -- or rejected -- by their legal guardians." "For my kids, I'm the mommy, I'm the daddy, I'm everything," Glaser says in a promotional video. An undated photo of Bernhard "Bery" Glaser.But five women in their late teens and early twenties interviewed by CNN, including Patricia, allege that Glaser sexually and emotionally abused them at Bery's Place. Survivors names have been changed to protect their identities. The young women say that Glaser subjected them to repeated "vaginal examinations" involving sexual touching and forced them to sleep in his bed, where he allegedly sexually assaulted them. When the girls objected, they say Glaser would threaten to cast them out on the streets. Survivors say this kept many of the girls -- some of whom had previously been abused, or suffered other traumatic experiences -- from speaking out.Bery's Place is one of hundreds of homes for vulnerable children purported to be operating illegally in Uganda -- children's homes must be registered with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development under Ugandan law. In 2018, the Ugandan government announced plans to close over 500 unregistered homes in the country. A lack of government oversight combined with an open-door policy for foreign investors and volunteers has left girls like Patricia vulnerable to abuse.After more than a decade running Bery's Place, Glaser was detained last February, when he turned himself in, then formally charged and arrested in April with 19 counts of human trafficking, seven counts of aggravated defilement, one count of indecent assault and one count of operating an unauthorized children's home. Thirteen girls were found at Bery's Place when police raided the home in February, while others were reportedly at school, according to lawyers supporting the prosecution.Almost a year on, Glaser's trial has been postponed at least eight times because of requests made by his legal team, including claims he is unfit to stand trial due to an ongoing cancer battle.Glaser is currently at the Uganda Cancer Institute, awaiting a hearing on his bail application. In a statement sent by WhatsApp to CNN, a lawyer representing Glaser denied that he had committed the alleged crimes, and emphasized the seriousness of his deteriorating health."Mr. Glaser maintains that he has never defiled or trafficked any one and shall prove his innocence in the Court of law in Uganda and has more than enough evidence and witnesses to disprove all the false allegations against him," his lawyer, Kaganzi Lester, said.'Medical exams' and 'sleeping timetables'Young women and girls who stayed at Bery's Place told CNN that they went through a so-called "medical examination" upon arrival and frequent "vaginal exams" during their time living there.Girls as young as five were told to strip naked so that Glaser could examine them and insert candida medicine -- used to treat yeast infections -- into their vaginas, survivors allege, adding that the "exams" often took place in a shower.Some survivors say Glaser introduced himself as a doctor, but lawyers supporting the prosecution told CNN that he is a physiotherapist -- not a qualified physician. "I said to him after a few times I can do it myself," said Patricia, now a 20-year-old university student, adding that he continued to insert medicine and a douche into her vagina after her complaints."He said I had a small STI, but I don't believe I had any infection," she said, explaining that the police had given Glaser the results of her STI tests when she was placed in his care. In a 2017 email CNN has seen that sought to explain the controversy to supporters of Bery's Place, Glaser said that the testing was in line with "professional standards." "The only time I touch(ed) my girls in an intimate way, is when I apply medicine, and this in an appropriate way to professional standards, with their personal approval, part of the sexual health services we provide often in cooperation with professional third parties, doctors, nurses, midwives," he wrote.The first time I slept in his room he started massaging me in the middle of the night, touching my breasts, kissing my lips.SharonBut some survivors say these "medical examinations" were just a precursor to more abusive patterns of behavior."One time I walked into Bery's room and found some younger children massaging him while he was half naked," remembers Sharon, now 17, who was 12 when she was taken to Bery's Place. She says that Glaser asked her to join in, claiming that he needed to be massaged because of his cancer and diabetes. Sharon, and several other survivors, said that Glaser asked them to create a "sleeping timetable" for the girls to spend the night in his bed on a rotating schedule. "He told us not to put that timetable in the living room, because visitors might come and start asking what it's for," Sharon said."The first time I slept in his room he started massaging me in the middle of the night, touching my breasts, kissing my lips," Sharon said. Other girls interviewed by CNN described Glaser penetrating them with his fingers and forcing them to perform oral sex on him, saying it was "normal in his culture."The age of consent is 18 in Uganda and, according to the country's Children Act Amendment of 2016, "every child has a right to be protected against all forms of violence including sexual abuse."Sharon said that when she threatened to report Glaser, he told her she could "go back to the bush where you came from." After that, she was fearful to speak out. With nowhere else to turn, she says she stayed at Bery's Place for five years, sleeping in Glaser's room once a week. Survivors who spoke with CNN said the threat of instability -- being left homeless, without money for food or school fees -- was what kept them quiet for so long and even resulted in some of them defending Glaser when he was first arrested in 2013.A system that perpetuates abuseTo cover up the alleged abuse, Glaser bribed local officials and used his network of allies in Kalangala to threaten those who spoke out against him, according to survivors and a police officer formerly based in the district, who spoke with CNN. Glaser's lawyer said he denied the bribery allegations.Child advocates and social workers say that it's not difficult for men like Glaser to abuse Ugandan girls with impunity, given the power dynamics that perpetuate the country's unregulated and lucrative orphanage industry."When you see a white person here you think they're coming with the biggest opportunities, so people like Bery Glaser are able to use their privilege to oppress and exploit our people," says Olivia Alaso, co-founder of No White Saviors, which has helped provide safe accommodation and psychosocial support for girls who lived at Bery's Place."The government should be doing thorough and proper checks on their backgrounds at home [before granting visas], and also the work these people are doing in our communities."Alaso added that the red flags in this case were glaring: "How can a man live in a shelter with all these girls at a minor age and no one does a thing?"While regulation of the orphanage industry by Uganda's government has improved over the past five years, only certain parts of the country have seen a change.When you see a white person here you think they're coming with the biggest opportunities, so people like Bery Glaser are able to use their privilege to oppress and exploit our people.Olivia Alaso, No White Saviors co-founderCaroline Bankusha, a child protection expert and former probation officer, says that part of the issue is a lack of alternative care options in Uganda. "In Bery's case, was it really necessary for the parents to hand over their girls to the care of a stranger? If they had to be separated from their parents, was Bery's orphanage the most suitable for the care of the girls, or were there other options?"Lawyers supporting the prosecution told CNN that they understood Glaser used "legal guardianship orders" to gain custody of some of the girls -- a now banned loophole which, until 2016, was often used by foreign nationals to adopt Ugandan children quickly and easily, without fostering them in-country for the then three years required by law.Glaser's lawyer would not comment on the use of legal guardianship orders, saying it was "one of the issues to be resolved in court."Another obstacle is a culture where sexual abuse often goes unreported -- by survivors and others -- despite policies and structures in place, Bankusha says. According to the Uganda Violence Against Children Survey 2018, one in three girls ages 18 to 24 reported experiencing sexual violence during childhood, including 11% of girls experiencing pressured or forced sex.Andy Wilkes, a British builder who spent a month volunteering at Bery's Place in 2017, told CNN that he had suspected abuse was taking place after seeing young girls sleeping in Glaser's bed, but was not sure who to report it to. Wilkes says a young woman later confirmed his suspicions, alleging to Wilkes that Glaser had abused her using "toys, vibrators, fingers, masturbation, blow jobs," since she was 12.Wilkes contacted a local Ugandan social worker with connections to Bery's Place, Asia Namusoke Mbajja, who went on to report Glaser to the child protection unit of Kampala Police in 2018.Since Glaser's arrest last year, Mbajja has received a barrage of intimidating calls, texts and messages on social media so virulent that she opened a case of offensive communication and threatening violence with police.According to a preliminary police report, seen by CNN, one of the five phone numbers used to threaten to "injure or harm" Mbajja is registered in the name of Glaser's wife, Ingrid Dilen. Dilen was arrested for questioning by police last February during a police raid at Bery's Place, and later released. She is now in Belgium.CNN has reached out to Dilen for comment.Survivors who have spoken out against Glaser, and their relatives, say they have also been subjected to intimidation, as well as a smear campaign, coordinated on a Facebook page titled Justice For Bery.Patricia said that her mother received what she says was a threatening call from one of Glaser's friends, demanding that she stop her daughter from standing as a witness. According to Patricia, he warned her mother that she, and the rest of her family, could die "as a result of [her] stupidity."Waiting for justiceIt is not the first time that girls in Glaser's care have been dragged through this ordeal.A spokesperson for Uganda Police, Charles Mansio Twiine, told CNN that in 2013 the police received reports that Glaser was running an illegal children's home in Kalangala and allegedly abusing the children, the majority of which were between 8- and 11-years-old at the time. Twiine said the girls were interviewed and found to have contraceptive implants: "Can you imagine from the age of 8, 9, 10, to be having an implant?" Twiine said Glaser told police at the time he had given the girls implants to prevent them from getting pregnant by local boys. The Director of Public Prosecutions continued to gather evidence and ultimately launched a case against Glaser, but when the time came for the girls and their parents to testify, they did not appear in court."It devastated us," Twiine said, adding that the judge had to dismiss the case as a result. "We were worried and disappointed but at the time there wasn't anything we could do."While Glaser was detained, police took Patricia back to the same uncle who had trafficked her when she was 11 years old. With nowhere else to go, she returned to Bery's Place after Glaser's release, where she said "things got even worse." When she warned Glaser he would get arrested again, she says he replied: "Who has the proof?"Still, she is determined to testify in court, saying that she hopes to get justice for herself and the other girls who say they suffered for years at Bery's Place.Each time Glaser's court date has been rescheduled, Patricia, Sharon and other witnesses have traveled to Masaka High Court, missing school and preparing to give painful testimonies, only to be told proceedings would not happen that day.Glaser's legal team have used a range of tactics to try to ensure his release, including applying for a plea bargain deal, which would have seen Glaser deported back to Belgium, lawyers supporting the prosecution and a police source told CNN. The sources allege that Glaser's defense have also sought to prevent, or delay, his hearing by demanding proceedings be conducted in Flemish, despite Glaser's demonstrated English proficiency, and suggesting that he was unfit to stand trial due to a battle with cancer. The head of the Uganda Cancer Institute, who previously declared that Glaser's condition was manageable in Uganda, recently signed a letter recommending he urgently travel abroad for treatment. There is a developing trend regarding the sexual exploitation of children in Africa where paedophiles, especially from Western countries, take advantage of under-resourced child protection systems.Anita Nyanjong, Equality Now lawyerGlaser's lawyer told CNN that the "lies being peddled about the plea bargain are a crude attempt at circumventing the burden to prove Mr. Glaser's guilt in court," and denied that demands for a Flemish translator were attempts to delay the proceedings.If granted bail, CNN understands that Glaser will travel to Belgium for treatment, but lawyers supporting the prosecution say it is unclear whether he would return to stand trial. In an email sent in error to CNN, German Ambassador to Uganda Albrecht Conze said he had been personally involved in trying to accelerate court proceedings over the past nine months, with the implied aim of ensuring Glaser's travel to Belgium. In a subsequent statement to CNN, Conze said the German Embassy had "never taken a stance on the substance of the case" and that "whether or not he [Glaser] is guilty of the charges he is accused of is for the Ugandan judiciary to determine."Glaser previously traveled to Belgium for cancer treatment while on bail in connection with the 2013 case, according to the Germany Embassy and his legal team, who say this demonstrates his willingness to return to Uganda to face the court. "Glaser has always been and still is very determined to and shall prove his innocence in the court of law in Uganda," his lawyer, Kaganzi Lester, said in a statement to CNN.Equality Now, an NGO fighting to protect the human rights of women and girls globally, told CNN that it was following the developments in Glaser's case closely, along with its NGO partners in Uganda, including Joy for Children, Raising Teenagers Uganda, and PINA Uganda, "to ensure that there is accountability for the crimes committed and that the victims are able to access justice.""There is a developing trend regarding the sexual exploitation of children in Africa where pedophiles, especially from Western countries, take advantage of under-resourced child protection systems, and weaknesses in law enforcement and judicial systems. The Glaser case is just one example of this deeply concerning phenomenon," Anita Nyanjong, a lawyer and programme officer in Equality Now's End Sex Trafficking team, said."The Ugandan government now has a significant opportunity to send a message to would-be perpetrators of child sexual exploitation and child trafficking that they cannot exploit with impunity and will be held fully accountable for their crimes."In the meantime, Patricia and other girls wait to hear what will become of Glaser. But for now, at least, they say they're beginning to enjoy their lives outside of Bery's Place."The first time I spoke about it was when I was called to the police station in 2019. After I made the statement I went to the washroom, cried and dried my eyes," remembers Patricia."I felt like something heavy had been put off my head.""I felt free." Edited by Eliza Mackintosh, CNN. Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that the statement from Glaser's lawyer was sent by WhatsApp.Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Exclusive by Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Illustrations by Gabrielle Smith, CNN

2020-07-28 06:40:44

news

middleeast

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/28/middleeast/beirut-kenya-as-equals-intl/index.html

How a consulate in Lebanon became feared by the women it was meant to help - CNN

Multiple women tell CNN they faced abuse and exploitation while seeking help at an African consulate in Lebanon.

middleeast, How a consulate in Lebanon became feared by the women it was meant to help - CNN

How the Kenyan consulate in Lebanon became feared by the women it was meant to help

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series. Beirut, Lebanon — A deep sense of fear descended over Gloria as she stepped off the bustling street into her country's consulate. Weeks earlier, she said, she paid the honorary consul $1,500 saved up over five years laboring as a domestic worker to help her return to Kenya. He was asking for more money, she said, and she braced herself to confront him. "Good morning, sir," she said. "I've come to take back my money."A slap across the face is what Gloria said she received in response. Followed by a struggle. Between her and the consul. "They started pushing me and beating me and I also pushed them," Gloria told her cousin in the immediate aftermath. "They called me a whore. They cursed my sister and they told me to eat sh*t." A glass door panel shattered from the impact of her body hitting it and her face was soaked after the consul poured water from a plastic cup on her, she told CNN. Read MoreCNN compiled the details of Gloria's alleged assault from interviews with her, testimony from a source with knowledge of the consulate, voice memos she sent shortly after as well as an account from a family member she confided in following the confrontation at the consulate in November 2019. Gloria, an undocumented migrant worker, is one of seven women who say they were exploited or physically assaulted by Kenya's Honorary Consul in Lebanon, Sayed Chalouhi, and his assistant Kassem Jaber, both Lebanese nationals.Another domestic worker, Linda, told CNN that Chalouhi suggested she do sex work to save up for her repatriation fees -- and that when she instead turned to cleaning his office for money, he refused to pay her. Georgina said she was repeatedly pressured by the consul to pursue sex work -- and that she was exploited for cash.Melinda, who also alleged physical abuse at the consulate, said she spent three years saving up over $1,000 in fees, only to have the funds withheld from her. When Tracy asked the consulate to facilitate her repatriation, they inflated the cost by $550 and refused to begin the process until she covered the payment. Two other domestic workers, Elizabeth and Lisa, also said they were overcharged. Throughout this report, Kenyan women have been identified by pseudonyms for their security. CNN has also seen details of other Kenyan domestic workers' cases compiled as part of an investigation by a Beirut-based migrant rights group, the Anti-Racism Movement, which allege exploitation at the consulate. Two local recruitment agents -- who work with domestic workers in the city -- told CNN they were aware of overcharging. One of them alleged that Chalouhi was "running the consulate like a business." The accounts paint a picture of a Kenyan consulate in Lebanon that grossly neglects its country's largely female group of expats, regularly overcharging them for essential consular fees and acting with impunity as they physically and verbally punish women who try to call out their abuses of power. "(Kenyan women) are afraid from the consulate and I don't know why." Assistant consul Kassem Jaber Jaber, the assistant consul, denied all allegations of wrongdoing at the consulate. "We never overcharge any girl," Jaber told CNN by phone, insisting that the consulate had helped hundreds of vulnerable Kenyan women in Lebanon. "...everything is monitored by the consul himself so that no one will harm or insult any Kenyan girl, because we have a very good reputation here in Lebanon. No one will try to spoil our name," he said, adding that there were security cameras in the consulate, though he indicated that he did not have the tapes for the November 2019 incident. He also sent CNN a number of videos by WhatsApp -- filmed on a cell phone -- of unidentified Kenyan women thanking him, Chalouhi and the consulate for helping them, as well as some screenshotted conversations of women expressing their gratitude by text message. "(Kenyan women) are afraid from the consulate and I don't know why," he said. "When they reach the consulate, we can protect them. We are here to help them. We are not asking anything in return. We are ready to do whatever it takes to help them."Chalouhi did not respond to CNN's requests for comment.Chalouhi is Kenya's official representative in Lebanon, though he is not a Kenyan citizen, nor a career diplomat. A Lebanese lawyer, he was appointed by Nairobi to lead the country's diplomatic mission. The consulate is tasked with the protection of over 1,000 Kenyan domestic workers -- mostly women -- sponsored to be in the country under the controversial Kefala system, a form of indentured servitude which ties the woman's immigration/residency status to a live-in work contract. An exterior view of the Kenyan consulate in Beirut.Abuse is common in live-in contractual domestic work. Nearly every month, reports of a domestic worker's sexual assault, torture and sometimes suspected murder surface on Lebanon's social media and international media. Abusive employers are almost never punished and women who opt to exit work contracts join the ranks of tens of thousands of "illegal" migrants, fending for themselves in an underground existence, rife with harassment and violence, rights group say. These women rely heavily on their countries' diplomatic missions for protection from imprisonment and to open a path for them to return home. Many of these missions -- largely African and East and South Asian -- fall short.In a studio apartment on the outskirts of Beirut, five Kenyan women gather around a plastic table. The rumble of an adjacent motorway reverberates through the room. Temperatures in the city have been boosted by a heatwave. Inside the 9 by 9 ft room, it's blisteringly hot. "My phone rings 24/7 with calls from Kenyan women," said Linda, a Kenyan domestic worker community organizer. "They need food. They need answers.""I tell you we are passing through hell here," said another Kenyan woman, Beth, in a deadpan voice. She holds up a medical mask smudged with lipstick. "I've been wearing this for days because I can't afford to buy another one." Linda can't offer her friends food -- she doesn't have any to give -- so they fill up glasses at the water dispenser every few minutes. The women say they are becoming accustomed to pangs of hunger. "On the outside, I look healthy, but on the inside I'm burning slowly," said Linda. "All I want is tea, but I can't afford milk." Since October 2019, Lebanon has been in the throes of one of the worst economic meltdowns in its history. Food prices have soared and unemployment has ballooned. Poverty rates have risen to over 50%Many Lebanese families have deserted their live-in domestic workers, leaving them homeless and hungry. Related: Thousands of women are trapped in Lebanon. They risk jail time to leaveThose domestic workers who continue to be employed struggle to send money to their families back home because the country's currency has tanked, losing most of its value. Covid-19 has compounded the effects of the crisis.Plummeting earnings have prompted migrant workers -- many of whom previously endured abuse in order to financially support their families with remittances -- to seek repatriation in droves.Diplomatic missions act as key intermediaries in this process by clearing legal hurdles for the women with the country's main security agency. It's a position the consulate of Kenya is accused of exploiting, exacerbating the Kenyan community's hardship by inflating payments made to clear legal hurdles on their path to return. Rights group ARM said it has been told about alleged exploitation at the consulate by at least 50 Kenyans."For many years, we've received reports from Kenyan women about their experiences in facing exploitation from the consul and the consulate," said a caseworker leading the probe into the consulate at ARM. "I have not seen such systemic reports of exploitation, of cajoling people to do sex work and of physical abuse at this level," added the caseworker, who did not want to be named for security reasons. "He told me you can get money. You can find a man." Gloria Gloria -- who confronted the honorary consul -- alleges that during her encounter with him and amid a barrage of insults, the consul suggested she "go outside and find money ... find a man." "He told me, if you are saying you don't have money, you are a woman, you can go outside and find money," Gloria said. "He told me you can get money. You can find a man." "I say what? You are a lawyer ... why are you telling me this?" Gloria recalled. "I said or maybe he's joking. And no, he wasn't joking." CNN has spoken to four other women who say they witnessed Chalouhi encourage Kenyan women to pursue sex in order to cover their repatriation expenses.Those expenses, which cover flight fees and the Lebanese penalties incurred during time spent as undocumented workers, appear to be systematically inflated, according to evidence and testimony seen by ARM and CNN. Commenting on Gloria's case, the Beirut assistant consul Jaber claimed that the Kenyan domestic worker was "screaming" in the consulate after being denied a refund for money which had already paid at the country's immigration services, allowing for her repatriation. In denying allegations of overcharging women for their repatriation, Jaber said that the consulate adheres to Lebanon's standard repatriation procedures. The diplomatic mission, he said, receives money from Kenyan women while the women and Kenyan diplomats are at Lebanon's immigration services, giving the sums directly to the country's authorities. Immigration officials receive money for a migrant worker's penalties only after they have cleared legal hurdles for her repatriation. This normally happens days before the migrant departs to their country.That process, Jaber said, meant that the women could not have been overcharged by the consulate. However, CNN has seen receipts in the names of Kenyan women for money they say was paid to the consulate. Gloria's $1,500 sum was paid in two installments in September 2019, according to the receipts, two months before the confrontation at the consulate. Kenya's Honorary Consul Sayed Chalouhi.Jaber said that Kenyan women sometimes "ask the consul to keep the money in the consulate." "They come and they have their salaries and they don't want to send it back home so ask the consul to keep the money in the consulate," said Jaber. "When they want to travel or they want to send it back to Kenya, they will come and they will withdraw it from the consulate.""But for repatriation now, no one has even paid a penny. No one," said Jaber. The testimony CNN has heard paints a different picture. More than ten women CNN spoke to said the consulate regularly refused to begin a woman's repatriation process until the consulate had received a fee. Consulate officials say the fees cover legal penalties and flight expenses.They allege that payments to the consulate have been withheld and are based on incorrect calculations. The consulate fees significantly delay Kenyan women's repatriations to their home country, sometimes by years, because of the excess money allegedly sought.Kenyan women rarely report the alleged overcharging to police, fearing harassment or arrest because of their undocumented status. Like Gloria, Kenyan domestic worker Melinda said she was abused at the consulate. Melinda told CNN that assistant consul Jaber physically pushed her out of the consulate office suite onto the building's corridor on one visit in January when she accused him of withholding over $1,000 which she had paid in repatriation fees. Jaber denies ever physically assaulting a Kenyan woman at the consulate. Melinda said she had been saving the money for three years. She remains in Lebanon at the time of writing, earning less than $15 a week. "(Jaber) pushed me by the neck to the door," Melinda told CNN. "Every time I went to the office he fought with me. Now I don't go to the office because I'm afraid of him."This April, a group of Kenyan migrants wrote a letter to the country's embassy in Kuwait accusing the honorary consul of abuse, gross neglect and coercion to perform sex work and overcharging for consular services. "Over the past ten years, Honorary Consul Mr. Sayed El Chalouhi has encouraged a culture of exploitation and extortion at the Kenyan consulate in Lebanon," the letter stated."We call for ... the removal of Honorary Consul Mr. Sayed El Chalouhi from his post and replacement with a diplomatic representative who will honestly, effectively, and respectfully represent the needs of Kenyans in Lebanon, specifically migrant domestic workers." In its response to the letter, dated May 18 and seen by CNN, Kenya's embassy in Kuwait said the complaints "have been noted and propose that as the (coronavirus) lockdown is lifted and airports resume operations, the Ambassador and her team will visit Lebanon and hold a meeting with the Kenya community to resolve some of the issues." In a statement to CNN, Kenya's Ambassador to Kuwait, Halima Mohamud said: "The Embassy is in constant communication with the Consulate in Beirut as well as Kenyans in Lebanon. The two institutions work committedly and tirelessly to enhance the welfare of Kenyans in Lebanon."Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns have affected economies including job losses. I am aware that some Kenyans in Beirut have lost their livelihoods but the Embassy and the Consulate, within their operational mandate, are doing their best to assist."The Honorary Consul diligently attends to a variety of consular matters related to Kenyans in Beirut."For nearly all of Lebanon's migrant communities, the path to repatriation is difficult. Many of these communities also claim to suffer neglect from their consulates. This month, scores of Ethiopian migrant women camped outside the Ethiopian consulate after they said they were deserted by employers who refused to pay their salaries or pay for their flight back home. For weeks, the Ethiopian consulate refused to let them through their doors. The consulate came under pressure from activists and media attention and eventually registered hundreds for repatriation.The Ethiopian consulate has not responded to CNN's request for comment. Meanwhile, rights groups are piling pressure on diplomatic missions and their home countries."Countries of origin must place oversight on their embassies and consulates to make sure their citizens aren't treated as cash cows for remittance, but are treated as human beings," said ARM's caseworker. "With the exception of a few countries, they're seen as cash cows." Gloria's confrontation at the consulate eventually led to her being detained. Gloria said Chalouhi called law enforcement to arrest her which Jaber denied. "(The police) came to the consulate and unfortunately we couldn't do anything," Jaber told CNN. "(The police) found out that she's illegal and she was accused for prostitution and she has two cases against her, one was a runaway (from her employer) case and the other was stealing." However, a police source who reviewed Gloria's case file told CNN that the Kenyan woman did not face prostitution, theft or runaway charges. They said she was transferred to an immigration detention center because of her undocumented status and later deported.It is also unlikely that police would have entered the consulate without the consul's permission. According to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, state authorities cannot enter a consulate or embassy unless the head of the diplomatic mission has given them permission to do so. "For sure the police cannot go into a consulate without the agreement of the consul. We have no right to do so," said the police source. "Of course we did not force ourselves in (to the Kenyan consulate). What was it, a terrorist act?" "We don't want to cause an international problem," said the source. International law considers consular premises "inviolable." Gloria had spent years saving money to avoid jail-time, but after her alleged assault, she felt none of the suffering that captivity had in store could compare to the abuse she already endured. "I just want to go to prison and then go home," she said, her voice choked with tears in the voice memos she sent her cousin before she was jailed. "I don't want to go back to the consulate or go outside and start suffering again." "I'm tired of Lebanon."She was deported from Lebanon after three weeks in detention. Since then, Gloria has secured another job in an Arab Gulf country. But she said she still thinks about the altercation at the embassy. "I was thinking about it too much when I left Lebanon," Gloria said. "I thought, what happened to me? What happened to this man?""He is our consul. He should help us when we go there." CNN's Bethlehem Feleke in Nairobi and Blathnaid Healy contributed to this report. Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Eliza Mackintosh and Swati Gupta, CNN Video by Vijay Bedi and Edward Scott-Clarke, CNN Illustrations by Gabrielle Smith, CNN

2020-01-22 18:33:11

news

india

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/22/india/india-women-politicians-trolling-amnesty-asequals-intl/index.html

Troll armies, 'deepfake' porn videos and violent threats. How Twitter became so toxic for India's women politicians - CNN

Women politicians in India face high levels of harassment, including sexist abuse from organized "troll armies," discouraging their political participation, new Amnesty International study finds.

india, Troll armies, 'deepfake' porn videos and violent threats. How Twitter became so toxic for India's women politicians - CNN

Troll armies, 'deepfake' porn videos and violent threats. How Twitter became so toxic for India's women politicians

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series. New Delhi, India — Sitting on a wicker chair in her East Delhi office, Kavita Krishnan readjusts her glasses and scrolls through Twitter, surveying the latest slew of abusive messages. In a nearby room, her cat purrs.The politician and activist, a powerful voice for women's rights in India, says she receives near "nonstop" harassment -- anywhere from 50 to 100 abusive messages a day on Twitter -- for being an outspoken critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Waving her free hand as she clutches her phone with the other, Krishnan reads a collection of offensive tweets she's compiled, categorized by the type of trolling."These trolls ... they are going after me regularly, routinely, for my skin color, for my looks, telling me I'm not worth raping, what kind of torture and rape I should be subjected to, telling me what kind of men I should be sleeping with ... and on and on and on, more and more," Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association and a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, tells CNN."There is an organized army of far-right trolls on Indian social media, which belong to the ruling party, they are basically trained to target you for anything," she adds.Read MoreCNN has made multiple attempts to reach the BJP's social media spokesperson for comment on these claims.Kavita KrishnanTrolling has become embedded in the fabric of political life globally, but perhaps nowhere more than in India, home to the world's biggest democracy. Modi, second only to President Donald Trump as the most followed world leader on Twitter, has been slammed by members of the public and opposition politicians for following trolls from his personal account. And his party has frequently been accused of operating a "troll army," which critics say targets Modi's opponents -- especially prominent female figures -- with sexual harassment and abuse. The head of the BJP's IT cell, Amit Malviya, has said that the criticism of Modi is contorted, that he follows "normal people" and has never blocked or unfriended anyone."Mr. Modi is possibly the only leader in the world, who actually follows handles which give rape threats, death threats, actually put out incitement videos, peddle fake news," Swati Chaturvedi, the author of, "I Am a Troll: Inside the Secret World of the BJP's Digital Army.""The BJP has this ecosystem where everything is geared towards attacking people, particularly sexually ... they share defamatory slurs, sexual slurs on women, journalists, activists, women politicians, who they essentially don't agree with."Against this backdrop, prominent women politicians routinely find themselves subject to manipulated online posts, a worrying trend in a country where fake news has led to violence.But while there is anecdotal evidence that trolling is an endemic problem for women in India, there has been limited research into its effect on their political lives.In an effort to close that gap, Amnesty International tracked the Twitter mentions of 95 female politicians (including Krishnan) in the run up to, during and after the country's general election last year.According to their findings, first seen by CNN, about one in seven tweets sent to the women were abusive or problematic. The study suggests that women politicians in India face high levels of harassment, including hateful, sexist abuse which could result in discouraging their political participation. That poses a particularly pressing problem for India, where women are already significantly under-represented in politics. While last year's vote saw a record-setting 78 women elected to the Lok Sabha, India's lower house, that's still only 14% of the house's representatives. A bill pushing for a third of parliamentary seats to be reserved for women -- backed by the BJP and main opposition Congress Party (INC) in the last election cycle -- is still in limbo, more than a decade after it was introduced.At a time when female lawmakers are quitting over cyber bullying elsewhere -- including in the US and UK -- women's rights advocates say the scale of trolling in India could be an additional barrier to improving gender parity in politics there.According to Amnesty, women politicians in India receive nearly twice the amount of trolling experienced by their female counterparts in the United States and United Kingdom.The silencing effectWith the release of the "Troll Patrol India" report, conducted using a combination of crowdsourcing and machine learning, Amnesty has attempted to shed light on how harassment and abuse might deter female politicians from freely posting their views on the platform, or even contesting elections altogether.More than 1,900 volunteers from 82 countries analyzed tweets sent to 95 women politicians during the general elections, from March to May of 2019.The volunteers were trained to spot abusive content -- tweets that promote violence against or threaten people based on their identification with a group, like race, gender or religion, which violates Twitter's own rules -- and problematic tweets, which Amnesty defines as "hurtful or hostile content," but does not necessarily meet the threshold of abuse. Amnesty estimated that, of the 7.1 million tweets mentioning the women, nearly 1 million were abusive or problematic.That's 113 problematic or abusive tweets per woman per day, on average."Online abuse on Twitter demeans women, it invalidates their voice, it belittles them, it intimidates them, and it can silence them," Nazia Erum, head of media and advocacy for Amnesty International India, told CNN. "The study has found that the more prominent you are, the more abused you will get, which effectively means that a lot of women move back from the amount of engagement that they do on Twitter, they self-censor, or they quit."Given the sheer scale and nature of online abuse revealed in the report, Amnesty has called on Twitter "to do more to meet its business and human rights obligations and responsibilities," Erum said.A Twitter spokesperson told CNN that, while it had not seen a copy of the report or data ahead of its publication, abuse and harassment had "no place" on the platform. The spokesperson added that Twitter had taken "strong steps" to address these issues, including during the Indian general election in 2019.'Trolling is not a crime'Alka Lamba remembers the horror she felt when she logged onto Facebook to see a fake news article circulating with her photographs. The story claimed that she was the ringleader of a prostitution ring, which was broken up in a police raid on her home."They say that the truth cannot be hidden and that the truth will always be revealed, but by the time the truth does come out, the lies have gone on for so long and the damage is done," Lamba, an INC party politician and until recently a member of the New Delhi legislative assembly, told CNN.Alka LambaFaced with an overwhelming swarm of accounts spreading the disinformation about her, Lamba says she considered getting off social media entirely. But, in the end, Lamba decided she didn't want the trolls to feel they had succeeded in silencing her. Instead of leaving the platforms, she filed a complaint to India's Cyber Crime Investigation Unit. Six months after first reporting the disinformation, and working to track down the trolls, Lamba asked the unit what progress they had made."I was shown the profile pictures of all the men against whom I had filed the complaint. They showed me that all of them were standing next to the Prime Minister in their profile pictures and they are all being followed by the PM," she recalled. "They said that, 'to tell you the truth, nothing is going to happen, and this is just a waste of time.'" Anyesh Roy, deputy commissioner of police, Cyber Crime Unit, told CNN he was not aware of the complaint filed by Lamba, but that if "criminal offense is seen, then appropriate legal action is taken." A news report from the time did indicate that charges were filed in the matter; it's unclear how the case was disposed."Trolling is not defined as a crime. It all depends on the nature of the content. According to that, we ask the host to take the content down," Roy said.Seeking cyber justiceThere aren't many legal avenues for women to take when confronted with online abuse. India doesn't have any uniform law to specifically address alleged digital crimes targeting women. Response from authorities to online threats of gender-based violence is often insufficient or reactive, and reporting mechanisms are in need of re-evaluation, Dr. Debarati Halder, managing director of the Center For Cyber Victim Counseling and co-author of Cyber Crimes Against Women in India, says. "We do not have any focused law to prohibit and penalize online bullying, trolling, including gender bullying and ... doxing [publishing a target's personal details online]," Halder told CNN.Those who do report cyber harassment to police, or take cases to court, often get "victim blamed," she says, adding that, as a result, online abuse is often under-reported by women. Halder, whose research has looked at the trolling and abuse of women politicians, journalists, celebrities and activists, says that India's patriarchal social structure has taken on a new dimension online, where men vandalize women's internet profiles, use filthy language to describe their sex appeal, publish intimate images without their consent or share doctored imagery -- known as "deepfakes" -- depicting them in pornography.India's youngest parliamentarian, Chandrani Murmu, was subjected to such a "deepfake," with her face superimposed onto an obscene video, before she was elected last year.'I did not sign up to politics to be abused'Though Amnesty's research has not linked abuse on Twitter as originating from specific political parties, it did show that women politicians from the BJP were less likely to be trolled than their peers. But Shazia Ilmi, Delhi BJP vice president and spokeswoman, challenged the suggestion that her party is to blame for the toxic atmosphere female politicians face online, saying it was "completely false."Ilmi, who is Muslim, says she too has been on the receiving end of harassment on social media.Shazia IlmiIlmi has been the subject of a torrent of sexual harassment on Twitter, including threats of gang rape, and has blocked almost 200 accounts as a way to cope. On Facebook, she recalled a case in which a troll shared images of "skimpily clad" women with her face morphed onto them, claiming to her friends and family that she ran a brothel. A Facebook spokesperson told CNN that the company had developed "clear policies against behaviors that disproportionately affect women," and that it continues to work closely with women's safety experts in India "to make sure we're doing everything we can to keep women safe on our services -- whether they are private individuals or in the public eye.""Anybody can pick up any porn movie, put your face on one of the characters and send it to everyone you know. And you know who all read it, they are my mamus and my khalas -- my uncles and aunts -- they are there, they see it. You know how embarrassing it is?" Ilmi said."I signed up to be in politics, but I did not sign up to be abused and have sexually explicit comments made at me ad nauseum." Ilmi said she also reported her harassment to India's Cyber Crime Investigation Unit, which wrote back to her after two years to say they had been in touch with Twitter, but could do nothing else. The deputy commissioner of police for the Cyber Crime Unit said he was unaware of Ilmi's case.Misogyny on social mediaFemale politicians, women's rights activists and experts say the volume of abuse online reflects the cultural realities in India, where patriarchy is deeply rooted and gender inequality rife. Social media platforms, like Twitter, have become a double-edged sword: offering women a platform to speak their minds freely, and yet another sphere to be harassed.One in every five tweets sent to the group of female politicians and flagged as abusive or problematic was identified as sexist or misogynistic, according to the Amnesty study."You have to recognize that this kind of political violence exists both offline, as well as online, and it works to try and intimidate women, not just women in politics but women who are stepping out of line socially anyway," Krishnan said emphatically, gesturing to the street outside.The headquarters for her political party is in a busy part of India's capital city, a crush of crowded six-story buildings, where many young people and professionals stay in cheap guest accommodations so that they can work or study. It's not a place many women might feel particularly safe after dark.Krishnan, who was heavily involved in protests over the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old Delhi student in 2012, says the atmosphere for women -- both online and off -- has worsened in recent years as mob violence has become normalized in Indian politics."The violence is there to intimidate and dissuade us and it is far worse than ever before in our country today, because we have a fascist, far-right politics that is trying to push back the gains of several centuries of women's struggles," Krishnan said."I believe that we all either have to be in it or all of us lose." Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Alice McCool, for CNN

2020-05-22 10:26:58

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/africa/uganda-bery-glaser-follow-as-equals-intl/index.html

An alleged child abuser died before his trial. His accusers are now being blamed - CNN

Bernhard "Bery" Glaser is alleged to have sexually abused vulnerable girls who were living in his care at Bery's Place, a children's home in Uganda. He died in early May.

africa, An alleged child abuser died before his trial. His accusers are now being blamed - CNN

An alleged child abuser died before his trial. His accusers are now being blamed

Kampala, Uganda -- When she heard the news of her abuser's death, Hope said that she felt like her heart had stopped beating for a few seconds. "I didn't know how to respond. I was broken, I shivered. I didn't know whether to believe it or not, to cry or not," she wrote to CNN.Hope is one of the young women and girls who for the past year have been traveling to Ugandan courts ready to testify against German national Bernhard "Bery" Glaser, who is alleged to have sexually abused vulnerable girls like her, who were living in his care."I credit him for the good deeds he did but no one is perfect, there is also a dark side of him and that's what people have failed to understand," said Hope, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.Bernhard "Bery" Glaser.Glaser died in early May at Murchison Bay Hospital, a facility treating inmates of Luzira Prison in Kampala, Uganda. The day before his death, he had been granted bail, including international leave for medical treatment for stage four skin cancer.He had been detained since last February, when he turned himself in, and charged with 19 counts of human trafficking, then formally charged and arrested in April with 19 counts of human trafficking, seven counts of aggravated defilement, one count of indecent assault and one count of operating an unauthorized children's home, known as 'Bery's Place.' He was first arrested in 2013, but the case was dismissed when survivors and their parents did not appear in court to testify.Read More"Obviously, Bery's condition was serious and we feel for his family during this time. But, we also feel saddened for the victims in this case, and there are many," said Rachel W. Bikhole, Uganda's Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, who described the evidence against the accused as "overwhelming."Bikhole told CNN that when a search of 'Bery's Place' was carried out in February 2019, Glaser's laptop was recovered and subjected to examination, during which naked videos and photos of the victims -- some as young as five years old -- were found on it. When questioned, Bikhole said Glaser claimed the material was used for fundraising purposes. "These girls and young women will not see the day that Bery was held accountable for his crimes." Rachel W. Bikhole, Uganda's Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Investigators also found email and Facebook messages on Glaser's computer from him to a key witness in the 2013 case offering her money not to testify, according to Bikhole. CNN has reached out to his lawyer for response. "These girls and young women will not see the day that Bery was held accountable for his crimes," added Bikhole. "They will not get to tell of the terrible sexual abuse they endured for so many years and the lasting impact it has had and will have on them for the rest of their lives."Lawyers supporting the prosecution and a police source told CNN earlier this year that Glaser's trial was postponed due to delaying tactics by the defense such as applying for a plea bargain deal and requesting a Flemish interpreter despite his demonstrated English proficiency. As a result, he did not make a plea before his death. Glaser's lawyers have denied attempting to delay proceedings. In a February statement sent by WhatsApp to CNN, a lawyer representing Glaser denied that he had committed the alleged crimes.Patricia, another survivor whose name has also been changed, told CNN that she had "never missed a court session," traveling to testify in Kampala and Masaka eight times -- only to be told again and again that the case would again be adjourned. "We ended up performing poorly due to the trauma and endless journeys to court, resulting in us missing out on exams," said Patricia, 20, who says she was abused from the age of 11 and is now at university.Hope described the past year as a "very difficult year of abuse and accusations." After speaking out about their experiences, survivors like Hope and Patricia have been victim-blamed and had their testimonies called into question, including in some Ugandan media reports and social media.Before they had time to process the news of Glaser's death, Hope said she and other witnesses started to receive calls and messages with threats and curses, labeling them "murderers."As reported in a CNN investigation into the case in February, Asia Namusoke Mbajja -- a social worker with connections to Bery's Place who eventually reported Glaser -- has opened a police case of offensive communication and threatening violence following similar interactions.They were sent to a shelter for safety. Instead, these women say they were sexually abusedThe case is ongoing, with five phone numbers used to threaten to "injure or harm" Mbajja under investigation -- including one registered in the name of Glaser's wife, Ingrid Dilen, according to a preliminary police report see by CNN. Dilen told CNN she has not threatened anyone.Mbajja too has received a fresh barrage of threats following Glaser's death, and government prosecutor Bikhole also told CNN she has been "attacked a lot" and received threats on social media."I want to hide, I want to run, run far away so that no one will ever find me," wrote Hope. "But is this the right thing? I'm just a witness," she said, adding that even "a simple thing from him just to say sorry to us" would have meant so much. Hope also told CNN that she is struggling to support the other survivors, many younger than her, who she is currently living with at a shelter. "I can't lend them a shoulder to cry because I also need one to cry on," she wrote."We will continue to find ways to help these victims," said Bikhole. "And we will continue to fight against trafficking in persons in Uganda as there are still many cases and victims that require our attention." Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Sheena McKenzie Video by Edward Kiernan

2019-06-18 05:03:59

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/world/bacha-posh-afghanistan-as-equals-intl/index.html

They wanted a son so much they made their daughter live as a boy - CNN

In Afghanistan's deeply patriarchal society, sons are highly valued over daughters -- to the point where some parents dress their girls as boys in a centuries-old practice called "bacha posh."

world, They wanted a son so much they made their daughter live as a boy - CNN

They wanted a son so much they made their daughter live as a boy

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series Sanjoor, Afghanistan — At first glance, 13-year-old Mangal Karimy could be any boy living in a small village in western Afghanistan, hauling firewood and feeding cattle on his father's farm.Silently he hurries between chores -- a slight figure in luminous white trainers, lugging jerry cans of water across barren fields.Until the age of two, Mangal was Madina, one of seven daughters chosen by her parents to live as a boy under an Afghan tradition called "bacha posh," a Dari term that translates to "dressed as a boy."For as long as Mangal can remember, he tucks his long hair under a woolen cap, pulls on his jacket and trousers and helps his father tend their wheat and dairy farm in the snow-capped village of Sanjoor, in Herat province.In Afghanistan's deeply patriarchal society, sons are highly valued over daughters -- to the point where a family is deemed "incomplete" without a boy, says Nadia Hashimi, an Afghan-American pediatrician and author of the best-selling 2014 bacha posh novel "The Pearl That Broke Its Shell."Bacha Posh child Mangal Karimi and her familyRead MoreGirls are brought up believing they are a burden on the family, said Sodaba Ehrari, Chief Editor of the Afghanistan Women News Agency (AWNA), who has interviewed several parents of bacha posh children. Women "cannot earn money to support their families, they cannot live alone -- and so many reasons (like this) lead them in this patriarchal society to practice bacha posh," she said.The centuries-old tradition says much about the discrimination faced by Afghan girls quite literally from the moment they're born. After all, "no one who has only sons is transforming them into a daughter," Hashimi says.The transition is temporary, and bacha posh children are expected to shed their male identities once they hit puberty and return to living as girls -- something that doesn't always come easily.Underpinning the custom is the superstition that a bacha posh child will "turn the hand of fate, so that the next child born into the family will be a boy," Hashimi says.Mangal's father, Khoda Bakhsh Karimy, told CNN that should the family have a son, the child would return to living as a girl. Until then or the point when Mangal hits puberty, Khoda and his wife Amena Karimy were "happy" with Mangal and the responsibilities he carries out, like "welcoming guests to our home and offering them tea or food." 'I made my daughter like a boy'After having two girls, Mangal's parents longed for a son. "We made her like a son to help her father," said mother Amena. "I made my daughter like a boy to serve me food and water when I am working in the desert," father Khoda said.In the Dari language there are no gender pronouns "he" and "she." But Mangal told CNN he preferred being referred to by his male identity -- and the English equivalent "he." His parents meanwhile, believe that Mangal's gender at birth -- female -- remains unchanged. The English translation of their conversation uses the pronoun "she." Mangal is a cherished extra pair of hands for the family of nine who earn around 6,000 Afghani (around $80) per month -- meager even by Afghanistan's standards.Bacha Posh child Mangal Karimi and her family "I love all my daughters but I love Madina more as I ask her to do work like 'go take care of the cattle' or 'bring something to a neighbor,'" says Khoda. "Otherwise there is no difference between them." Author Hashimi says that Afghanistan's love for its sons has practical roots. In this agricultural economy it's the boys who chop wood, plow the field, travel independently and work outside the home, she says. And when they marry, their wives -- and the next generation of children -- are absorbed into the family.For girls, it's a very different story. A daughter is expected to be "demure" and "help with domestic chores," says Hashimi. Outside the home, a girl "haggling in the market" or "looking adults in the eye" would come as a shock for some people, she adds.For parents without a son, bacha posh is a workaround to these obstacles that cuts across socioeconomic lines. Data on the practice is scarce, but Hashimi says almost every Afghan she interviewed for her book knew of a bacha posh child -- regardless of region or class.'People kind of go along with it'Sitting beside his father in their simple mudbrick home, softly spoken Mangal keeps his answers brief. With a shy, quick smile, he says that "yes" he likes being a boy and prefers being referred to by the English pronoun "he."But, he adds: "I would like to go back to being a girl when I grow up."When not helping on the farm, Mangal says, he likes to play football with other boys in the village, where he is the only bacha posh child.His father, Khoda, says neighbors have been accepting of Mangal, only telling him that the child "should wear girl's clothes when she grows up."To which Khoda replied: "Of course."Even when people realize a child is, in fact, a girl dressed as a boy, "they kind of go along with it," explains Hashimi."There's this understanding that the family is using this loophole to get around this void, to try and right their family, and have a source of honor and pride," she says.Bacha Posh child Mangal Karimi and her familyMangal occupies a blurred space between daughter and son. When not working on the farm, he attends a girls' school along with four of his sisters. But he does so dressed as a boy and known by his male name."No, I don't consider him like a son," says Khoda. "We know she is a girl, in the future she must wear girl's clothes and marry someone."Each family has their own take on bacha posh. Journalist Ehrari said some parents told her they were "trying to hide or don't want to show others that they have daughter." A son is a source of pride, whereas "having a daughter is a shame," they said. Other parents said they desperately wanted their daughters to "have achievements." But in a society where "everything is just for men," bacha posh was the only way "their daughters could live in freedom," said Ehrari. Their clothes might be different, but the inequality remains, said Ehrari. "This is an injustice against women, that they can't be themselves and live like a woman freely." 'There were so many advantages and disadvantages'Making the transition back to living as a girl -- particularly after a brief glimpse of male freedoms -- can be a painful process.Shazia, who did not want her last name published, was nine years old and living in Kabul in 1990 when her parents decided to transition her to bacha posh for five years.With civil war raging, Shazia's parents had already sent her two older brothers away to Russia to avoid them being drafted. But when her father -- a middle-class businessman dealing in imports and exports -- lost his leg in an accident, her mother and the remaining six daughters were left without a breadwinner."That's when my family decided for me to dress up as a boy," says Shazia, who, as the third daughter, was deemed old enough to help her mother outside the home -- but still young enough to pass for a boy."I had to play the role of a son," says Shazia, who went by the male name Mirwas and was made to cut her hair and wear boys' clothes.The simple home where Mangal Karimy lives.Practically overnight Shazia's daily chores changed dramatically -- from "cleaning and feeding the chickens" to "accompanying my mum at the local market." Sometimes Shazia would even get groceries alone, something she described as a "huge undertaking, especially for a young girl.""There were so many advantages and disadvantages to being bacha posh," says Shazia, today a 37-year-old mother of three daughters, working for a women's NGO in the United States.As "Mirwas" she could "fly kites, play soccer with neighborhood kids, ride my dad's bicycle -- all of which were not ordinary activities for a girl in Afghanistan," Shazia told CNN by phone from her New York home.But she was also bullied by her sister and cousin for wearing boys' clothes and tasked with the most grueling chores. "During the harsh winter I would have to stand in a line and receive bread to feed my family," Shazia says. "I was jealous of my sisters in the house, warm." 'I was stuck between being a girl and boy'While the immediate family knew Shazia's true identity, the wider neighbourhood was unaware, and she describes the torment of "playing two different roles in society.""I felt particularly insecure about my facial features, my clothes, my stature compared to boys my age," she says. "This imposed lifestyle was not my choice. I was stuck between being a girl and boy."Hashimi says this transition between genders is "essentially imposing an identity crisis on a young psyche." She says that the bacha posh tradition could induce a "gender dysphoria" where children are "simply not content with their biological gender and feel like they belong in a different world."Shazia's return to girlhood came at 13 when one of her older sisters intervened, telling the family "this is enough.""My sister was really, really tough," says Shazia. "She beat me up, she threw out all my male clothes, she said 'you have to become a girl.'"Shazia's parents agreed and gradually she emerged into the world as a girl again, at first fearful of going "outside because my neighbors would see me" and "wearing a big scarf until I had grown my hair long enough."A few months later, the family moved to Pakistan and Shazia was able to fully embrace her female identity. But years of boyhood, or having a masculine identity, "left me confused about my identity," she says.Bittersweet return to girlhoodFor many bacha posh children, becoming a girl again can be bittersweet says Hashimi. "It's an experience of what it's like to be on the other side, in a country where those two sides are remarkably different." In extreme cases, she says, they may even refuse to return to living as women at all.With so little data available, it's hard to say whether the practice is dwindling or growing. But Hashimi believes bacha posh will ultimately "die out as Afghan society continues to advance the place of women in society."In recent years the Taliban has strengthened its grip over Afghanistan -- between 60% and 70% of the country is now contested or under its control. As the Islamist militant group gains ground, gender inequality -- and the need for bacha posh -- will continue, said Hashimi.Each year, the advocacy group Women for Afghan Women assists at least two bacha posh cases at its women's shelters across the country. The girls, aged between 14 and 18, "are not in a stable emotional, mental and financial state," said the group's executive director, Najia Nasim.Many are referred to the shelters by police. The girls are usually "friends with boys and have more freedom," said Nasim. She added that they "often end up being abused" by people making them "dance, drink and (take part in) sexual activities."Such girls might end up in a "special prison for children under 18 called a rehabilitation center," Nasim said. With the help of mediators and mental health services they could also be re-integrated into their families, she added. CNN contacted the Afghan government for comment on its position on bacha posh but did not receive a reply.Bacha Posh child Mangal Karimi and her familyBut the Afghanistan Women News Agency's Ehrari said that the government has traditionally not spoken out against bacha posh, because it believed the practice "comes from the Afghan culture and was a custom which couldn't be changed."Through family connections, Shazia was married at 18 to an Afghan man living in New York. While her husband is "fully supportive" of her bacha posh past, the couple have never discussed it at length, she says. Instead, it was her 17-year-old daughter who encouraged Shazia to share her story publicly for the first time."I have three girls. And people would tell me 'oh you should really have boys, try to have boys.' I said 'No, there's nothing boys can do that girls can't,'" Shazia says."Girls are not a burden. They are really a blessing."Meanwhile back in Sanjoor, Mangal continues with his daily chores, diligently shoveling soil alongside his father in the winter chill.A group of younger neighborhood boys watch from a short distance. Mangal's sisters remain inside the home, hidden from view.A freelance journalist contributed to this report from Sanjoor, Afghanistan, while CNN's Ehsan Popalzai contributed from Kabul. Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Eliza Anyangwe for CNN Photos by Yagazie Emezi for CNN

2019-06-12 04:05:56

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/12/africa/ghana-sex-positivity-as-equals-intl/index.html

She wants women to have good sex. So she started a website where they can talk about it (safely) - CNN

Sex isn't hidden from view in Ghana. But it mostly plays to men's desires and insecurities. Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah and others are trying to change that.

africa, She wants women to have good sex. So she started a website where they can talk about it (safely) - CNN

She wants women to have good sex. So she started a website where they can talk about it (safely)

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series. Accra, Ghana -- "What are your sex and relationship goals for 2019?"That was the question put to women in a blog post published earlier this year in a country that is deeply religious."I want to give myself the opportunity to feel like a woman and not just someone's mother," one reader, Laquo, responded in a blog post."Long story short, I'm looking forward to some excitingly toe-curling and back-arching orgasmic sexual experiences this year."It's the kind of response that would surely please Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, the Ghanaian writer who posted the call-out on Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women, the blog she started 10 years ago with a friend, Malaka Grant.Read MoreSekyiamah's interest in sex is less about being salacious (though it's hard not to blush when reading some of the posts on the site) and more about health, empowerment and community.Sekyiamah's office at her home in Accra.In the East Legon neighborhood of Ghana's seaside capital, Sekyiamah's spacious bungalow sits between much grander properties. Surrounded by family photos, art and literature, she runs her website and works as director of communications for the Association for Women's Rights in Development, an organization that supports feminist movements worldwide.Sitting down with freshly made smoothies, Sekyiamah, who is in her early 40s, explains that it took her until the age of 30 to feel safe speaking about sex and sexuality with other women. A vacation a decade ago with five other women -- where the conversation kept coming back to sex -- prompted Sekyiamah to set up Adventures, as she refers to the blog. Its goal is clear, to provide "a safe space where African women can openly discuss a variety of sex and sexuality issues."Top posts include: an anthology of queer erotic writing; a blog exploring how to send nudes safely (spoiler: there is no foolproof method to avoid your image being used in unintended ways); and the 2011 evergreen post which reveals just how much of a mystery female pleasure can seem: "How can you tell when a woman orgasms?" Sekyiamah displays some of her toys and erotic novels.Sex isn't hidden from view in Accra. It's everywhere. But it mostly plays to men's desires and insecurities.Advertisements played on the radio and signs plastered onto electricity poles and concrete walls offer men remedies to cure "sexual weakness." In one ad, the man depicted takes herbal medication, returns to peak performance and when asked by his wife what he'd like for dinner, he replies hungrily: "You of course!"Some of the country's languages and traditions, however, reveal an older, more generous understanding of sex and sexuality. The word supi, for example, refers to an intimate friendship between two girls, which may or may not be sexual. While women from Ghana's largest ethnic group, the Akan, are said to have grounds for divorce if they are not sexually satisfied by their husband.There are also many programs run by the government and international charities that focus on sexual and reproductive health, but according to Sekyiamah, those programs tend to ignore pleasure."Within the international development discourse, whenever African women's sexual and reproductive health is mentioned, they are spoken about as vectors of disease, or the conversation is about needing to control the fertility of African women," she says."This discourse leaves out so much, specifically, the importance of African women controlling their own bodies. Pleasure is connected to well-being and so comprehensive sex education is essential to a woman's full development. If you don't have control over your body, what can you really have control over?"Kobby Ankomah-Graham has been part of the Adventures community since the blog launched, and he has spoken on discussion panels alongside Sekyiamah, focusing on the role of men and boys.Born to Ghanaian parents and raised partly in the UK but settled in Ghana, Ankomah-Graham lectures at the Accra campus of American higher education institution, Webster University. He's also written about how much gender roles are changing and how young Ghanaian men seem unprepared for a new, more equal reality.Kobby Ankomah-Graham shares an intimate moment with his partner, Shari, and their young child."When you're privileged and that privilege is taken away, you count that (as) oppression," he says."Boys feel hard done by gender equality. Divorce rates are rising in Ghana and one of the reasons is the intransigence of men."Ankomah-Graham draws on his own personal experience to act as a role model, or at least a conversation starter."I have a father who has had an interesting life when it comes to women: 12 kids, eight women and four wives. But I'm also the child of a women's rights activist (anti-female genital mutilation campaigner Efua Dorkenoo OBE)," he says."I definitely identify as a feminist so boys can see this as possible. I try to explain to them that we have such a long way to go, that they should be thinking about the fact that they are going to compete with women in the working world. They need to be ready for that in ways their fathers weren't."Maame Akua Kyerewaa Marfo is the kind of woman Ankomah-Graham is preparing his male students to meet."I'm seen as this feminist loud-mouth but I have the most boring sex life," she says with a laugh. "I'm a virgin.""It's not for religious reasons," Marfo adds quickly.Singer Maame Akua Kyerewaa Marfo sits for a portrait.After struggling with low self-esteem, the singer, who is also one of the organizers of Accra's Young Feminist Collective, explains that open conversations about sex and sexuality helped her on a journey to self-love and now she's wary of who she shares intimate space with."I've always been this black plus-size, dark-skinned girl, told 'you could be so beautiful' since I was 13 or 14. The amount of self-loathing that that can put into a body is an astronomical," she says."For me, sex positivity was thinking about how can I take this body back from everyone and make it something that I understand as desirable. I've spent a lot of time becoming at home in my body, and I feel comfortable inviting other people into that home, but I don't want to leave my politics at the door."Given that, according to Sekyiamah, there were no online or offline forums for conversations about sex and sexuality 10 years ago, the Young Feminist Collective, which meets monthly, is evidence of just how much has changed since Adventures went live.Marfo describes the collective as a space for young women, regardless of sexual orientation, to understand that they belong to themselves."Their bodies are theirs, their sexual pleasure is theirs, and they can share it with whomever they deem they should share it with," she says.It's hard not to wonder what it cost women like Sekyiamah and Marfo to be so visible and vocal about women's sexual pleasure in a religious country and one where homosexuality is a crime. Marfo says she gets trolled "all the time" on Twitter and admits she's learning to pick her online battles."Christian fundamentalism is on the rise," Sekyiamah says, "and there are dangers for physical safety. Queer women in Ghana have to gather privately and quietly and hope that no one tells the wrong person. Sometimes you need to have security at events."Sekyiamah hosts a gathering of friends in her home to discuss various topics around sexuality.There is evidence to support Sekyiamah's observations and the inclination towards caution and secrecy among queer women. At the release of a report by Human Rights Watch in January 2018, researcher Wendy Isaack said: "Homophobic statements by local and national government officials, traditional elders and senior religious leaders foment discrimination and in some cases, incite violence."But in the decade since Adventures began, the success of groups such as Drama Queens -- a theater company whose plays address, among other things, rape, consent and same-sex relationships -- is proof, says Sekyiamah, that change is happening.The work of debunking myths and influencing culture, one blog post at a time, is slow but Sekyiamah wouldn't have it any other way. She tells a story of a young woman who came up to her at a literary festival in Nigeria to thank her, saying that Adventures, as far as spaces to learn about sex go, had been "like her mother, her sister, her aunty.""This is the kind of impact I'm interested in having," Sekyiamah says gleefully. "It's always been a fear that people would think about Adventures as a site for titillation, and that wasn't my intention. Of course in reading about sex and sexuality it's natural to get turned on, and of course we write stories that are sexy, but for me that wasn't the point. The point is women need to know they have a right to sexual pleasure."It seems at least Laquo got the message.This story is part of Not Yet Satisfied funded by the European Journalism Centre. Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Bukola Adebayo, CNN

2019-05-25 07:40:42

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/25/africa/nigerian-girls-child-marriage-campaign-intl/index.html

The Nigerian schoolgirls fighting against child marriage - CNN

In a plush living room of a home in a wealthy suburb of Lagos, three teenagers are huddled around a computer. Kudirat Abiola, 15, Temitayo Asuni, 15 and Susan Ubogu, 16, are working out their plan on how to end child marriage in Nigeria.

africa, The Nigerian schoolgirls fighting against child marriage - CNN

These schoolgirls want an end to child marriage. So they're fighting to change their country's constitution

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series. Lagos, Nigeria — In a plush living room of a home in a wealthy suburb of Lagos, three teenagers are huddled around a computer.Kudirat Abiola, 15, Temitayo Asuni, 15 and Susan Ubogu, 16, want to change the law on child marriage in Nigeria and they're deep in discussion, even ignoring calls to break for a hearty Sunday lunch of jollof rice and southern fried chicken.More than a third of girls in Nigeria end up in child marriages, and with 22 million married before the age of 18, the nation has among the highest number of child brides in Africa, according to a 2018 UNICEF report.The girls are checking an online petition they've started. They know it's a tall order to get lawmakers to close the legal loopholes that currently enable men to enter marriages with girls under 18. But they are unfazed by things others their age might be.Kudirat AbiolaAbiola, who aspires to be a children's rights activist, says it's a very emotional issue for the three of them."How do you give a young girl such a responsibility and have her education, friends, and family taken away from her?" she asks.Read MoreCampaigning for human rights is second nature to Abiola, who comes from a family of prominent activists.Abiola's grandmother, also called Kudirat, fought for Nigeria's democracy before she was assassinated in 1996. It came three years after the military jailed Moshood Kola Abiola, the apparent victor of the annulled 1993 presidential elections and the teenage activist's grandfather. Abiola is also inspired by her aunt, Hafsat Abiola, a prominent civil rights activist."Those are my role models," the 15-year-old says. "They have broken the stereotype that girls cannot achieve what boys can."Susan UboguUbogu taught herself to code at age 10 after taking lessons on the internet and already has a software company with two games in the Google Play store."I was bored with my math class... So I decided to get into programming," Ubogu says as she types on her laptop. "I love challenges."The math geek says no girl should be denied her education because of marriage."At the age of 11, most girls should be getting an education — in the classroom, not the kitchen. Times are changing, and no one should think a woman's role is limited to the kitchen," Ubogu told CNN.Asuni says she has been reading newspaper articles of young girls being married off to men old enough to be their fathers since elementary school.The 15-year-old says she felt helpless about it until she met Ubogu and Abiola at a workshop in December organized by local NGO to educate students about the UN Sustainable Development Goals."As we got talking, we realized we needed to start with a change in our constitution," Asuni told CNN.The girls'campaign NeverYourFault specifically takes aim at a clause in Section 29 of the Nigerian constitution they say backs underage marriage.While Nigeria's 2003 Child Rights Act says children under the age of 18 cannot get married, a sub-section of the country's constitution tackling citizenship says "any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age."Abiola, Asuni, and Ubogu want the second part of that section to be expunged.Read More: The 11-year-old girl divorcing her 38-year-old husbandEfforts to remove this loophole, which rights groups argue could be used to justify child marriage was met with stiff opposition at Nigeria's Senate in 2013."If you are 11 and you are married, you are deemed to be a woman. This is a serious problem because we follow the constitution," Abiola told CNN.Their online petition asks lawmakers to raise the age of consent from 11 to 18 years, a change they believe would criminalize child marriage in Nigeria.To date over 130,000 people have signed the change.org petition which is addressed to the Federal Government of Nigeria.Aside from the petition, the three are organizing workshops on gender equality, partnering with Nigerian celebrities to rally support to their campaign. Global child rights group Plan International gave its support to their cause earlier this year.Not everyone is thrilled with their advocacy, and the teens are constantly battling online trolls.Temitayo Asuni"We've been getting a lot of hate comments and opposition because people don't agree with what we're doing. Everyone has their opinion and beliefs," Asuni told CNN. Although peer-led campaigns from teenagers like Abiola, Asuni, and Ubogu are exceptionally rare in Nigeria, grassroots initiatives against child marriage have been tried before. In 2010, the #ChildNotBride hashtag trended on social media after the lavish wedding of a Nigerian lawmaker to a girl widely believed to be 13 years old. Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima, 58, who was previously a governor, said at the time that he had not violated the law and that his marriage was in line with Islamic shariah laws. Yerima has denied the bride was 13. Separately, in December 2018, news of a purported wedding between a 70-year-old man and a teenage girl in December triggered widespread debate among Nigerians about early child marriage.The groom denied that he was in his 70s and also claimed the bride was not underage.Photos from the wedding showing the bride covered in a blue scarf with her head bowed while the elderly groom grinned at the camera and despite the denial are still being circulated on social media. When Nigeria signed the Child Rights Act in 2003 setting the marriage age at 18, many child rights groups heaved a sigh of relief hoping it would outlaw the practice across the West African nation.But a decade and a half after the law was signed, many northern states, where child marriage is rife, are yet to ratify it.Plan International's Country Director in Nigeria Hussaini Abdu says it is challenging to end child marriage in the absence of laws that forbid the practice.Girls are already marginalized in Nigeria, Abdu says and forcing them to marry at a young age further silences their voices."Disgracefully, in Nigeria, there is no minimum age of marriage... 43% of girls are married off before their 18th birthday, condemning them to a life they never wanted," he said."The government of Nigeria must do more to combat this practice, to protect girls and to enable them to live their lives freely, as equals to boys and men."Child bride turned scholar: Education is the road out of povertyClose to 30% of women in their early 20s from low-income were married in their childhood compared to 10% of girls from wealthy homes in Nigeria, according to a UNICEF 2018 report.The Nigerian government has not responded to CNN's requests for comment on child marriage in the country or to the teenagers' petition.Child marriage remains a problem in many other parts of the world, but the practice is more widespread in West and Central Africa. Three countries Niger, Chad, and the Central African Republic account for the highest prevalence of child marriages in the world, according to the 2018 UNICEF report.Worried by the extent of the problem, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January called on member states to adopt policies that will keep girls in school, as an alternative to child marriage.ECOWAS said the framework will also help girls who are already trapped in early marriages strive for a better future. And in February, Pope Francis spoke out about ending child marriage, saying the Catholic Church would raise the age of consent from 14 to 16.Some Catholic communities already have this law in place for boys and girls within the church, but Pope Francis promised to make it a universal Catholic Church law and urged countries still allowing child marriage to follow.Abiola, Asuni, and Ubogu say their advocacy will not end with the proposed change in the laws.Their larger goal is to reach those that are trapped in early marriage. "We're going to go to the victims," Asuni told CNN."We have said before that this campaign goes beyond changing the constitution. It may have started with an online petition, but the people it affects don't have access to the internet. So we want to educate them." Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Nima Elbagir, Sheena McKenzie, Abdulgader Bashir, Salah Nasir and Salma Abdalaziz

2019-05-17 10:32:04

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/africa/sudan-protests-asequals-intl/index.html

They tried to use rape to silence women protesters. It didn't work - CNN

Weeks into the protests that eventually toppled Sudan's dictator, the regime's top brass sent a chilling message to officers on the ground: "Break the girls, because if you break the girls, you break the men."

africa, They tried to use rape to silence women protesters. It didn't work - CNN

They tried to use rape to silence women protesters. It didn't work

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series Khartoum, Sudan — Weeks into the protests that would eventually topple Sudan's dictator, the government realized it had an unprecedented problem on its hands: the number of women in the streets calling for change far outnumbered the men. So the regime's top brass sent a chilling message down to its officers on the ground: "Break the girls, because if you break the girls, you break the men."What followed, several officials told CNN, was a systematic attempt to target the women at the heart of the biggest anti-government protests in decades.In the early months of the uprising, soldiers began to arrest women on the front lines in the capital Khartoum and, activists say, take them to secret detention sites, where they were photographed naked and threatened with sexual violence. But as Omar al-Bashir's 30-year grip on power began to slip, soldiers began to make good on their threats. Some women were beaten senseless by police in public. Others were dragged into the vehicles of security forces and raped, the activists said.Read MoreThe orders from the regime were clear, according to one intelligence officer. "We all know what it means to break a girl," he told CNN.The assaults set off a ripple-effect of abuse -- husbands began to divorce their wives out of shame, and fathers beat their daughters into submission, in an attempt to keep them at home.But time and time again, the women returned to the streets, throwing tear gas canisters back at the military, climbing atop car roofs to urge the protesters on, and manning food and drink stalls to help in any way they could.A woman paints an image of a female fighter near a protest site in Khartoum on May 2.While their fearlessness and sheer numbers -- by some estimates women accounted for up to 70% of demonstrators -- made them a target, they were beaten, but not broken.Bashir was finally forced out last month, but the military-led transitional council that replaced him is refusing to hand over power to civilians. The protests haven't stopped and the fight for democracy is far from over, but the women who played a key role in the dictator's downfall have already paid a heavy price for their bravery.The Sudanese government has not responded to multiple requests for comment.The recent wave of anti-government demonstrations in Sudan began late last year over the rising cost of living, but quickly escalated into nationwide calls for Bashir's removal.In the early days of the protests in Khartoum, security forces attempted to intimidate female activists by threatening to ruin their reputations.Officers warned them that their whole neighborhood would know they were "loose" when they were being dropped off in police cars late at night, according to protester Wifaq Quraishi.Before long, the verbal insults turned into psychological abuse, with officers forcing women into compromising positions and then documenting it. Quraishi told CNN she was "subjected to many detentions" during her three-month involvement in the uprising, each of them different.A detention could involve "blackmail," "taking photographs of you naked," or "the threat of rape," she said.Quraishi said during body searches she was made to strip naked in front of a camera. "Photographs were taken of me when I was getting undressed -- I was told that it was a search over which I had no authority," the 27-year-old added. Quraishi had "no idea" where the photos would end up, but said she heard stories of women being threatened by the compromising images."In reality these pictures may not even exist," she said. "But that is blackmail."As the protests escalated, so did the violence. One day, Quraishi said she was attacked by a security official at Khartoum University, her alma mater and a place she'd previously considered safe. The man hit her with the butt of his rifle so hard that he "dislocated my jaw, and my eye was full of blood."Another protester, Rifga Abdelrahman, said her friends were "beaten up, their hair shaved off, insulted, treated in a way that no Sudanese girl should be treated."This week, during a resurgence of violence in the capital, activist Nidal Ahmed was filming security forces firing on protesters when she was set upon by a group of soldiers. They hit her with batons and sticks as they attempted to take her camera, which captured the incident."As soon as I could gain my strength and stand, they beat me on my backside and said 'run!' This happened to all the girls -- they hit them and told them to run," she said. "This was a very painful thing."The last scene of Ahmed's footage shows a soldier leaning over her body on the ground, his outstretched palm covering the camera lens.Nahed Jabrallah, founder of SEEMA, a Sudanese charity tackling child marriage and violence against women. In some cases, the abuse went even further. At least 15 women have reported being raped during the uprising, according to Nahed Jabrallah, one of the demonstrators and the founder of SEEMA, a charity tackling violence against women and child marriage. Some of the assaults involved "raping the victim anally or vaginally," and some of them took place in the "presence of more than one person," Jabrallah said. Given the stigma associated with sexual abuse in Sudan, the true number is likely to be much higher. Quraishi didn't see or tell her family about the incident at the university for a month for fear of repercussions "worse than being beaten up by police." And despite her family's attempts to prevent her from protesting, she was back on the streets within days."We have a saying," Quraishi said. "The oppression is what moves you, meaning that it motivates you."We are oppressed at home, oppressed on the street, at university, at work, on public transport," she said. "All of these things made the girls go out to demonstrate on the street."Khartoum became the epicenter of the protests, and by the spring, mass rallies and sit-ins outside the presidential compound and army headquarters were held almost daily. Abdelrahman was arrested five times, managing to escape detention each time so that she could "go back on the street again and throw back tear gas grenades.""I wasn't intimidated by their threats or by the way they treated us," said the 18-year-old.The bravery of the female protesters took their male counterparts by surprise. During one rally in Khartoum, the men attempted to surround the women to protect them from the police truncheons and tear gas. But the women broke free and insisted on standing on the front line, Quraishi said."In their minds they thought that women didn't run, and it wasn't a very good thing," she explained. But "we stood firmly in the square, so that they had to as well."In rally after rally, demonstrators sang "rise up, the revolution is a woman." During one sit-in in April, a young woman clad in a white robe and wearing gold earrings clambered up onto the roof of a car to address the crowd. Images of the scene quickly came to symbolize the energy of the protests, and women's role in them.The woman, 22-year-old journalist and activist Alaa Salah, told CNN that she "wanted to speak on behalf of the youth ... I wanted to come out and say that Sudan is for all."Images of Alaa Salah at an April protest quickly went viral. Salah's outfit was a nod to the proud history of female activists in Sudan, long before Islamists took power. The thobe, as it is called in Sudan, is a throwback to "the clothing worn by our mothers and grandmothers in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s" while demonstrating against previous military dictatorships, said Sudanese social commentator Hind Makki.People across the country began referring to female protesters as "Kandaka" -- the title given to the "Nubian queens of ancient Sudan, whose gift to their descendants is a legacy of empowered women who fight hard for their country and their rights," Makki said.In early April, when security forces attempted to break up a sit-in outside the presidential compound in Khartoum, some soldiers stepped in to defend them. It was a sign that Bashir's days were numbered.Several army officers told CNN that the abuse of women protesters was what ultimately changed their minds about defending the regime. Some stayed home to avoid following orders, while others sided with the protesters."I didn't join the army to become that kind of man," said one.Another former regime officer expressed shame over the conduct of the military during the uprising. "You have to understand we were told to make it stop," he said. "These girls were out there every day, provoking us, chanting that they weren't afraid."Bashir was deposed by his own generals on April 11 and has since been charged over the deaths of protesters, dozens of whom were killed during the uprising. He is now being held in the maximum-security Kober prison, notorious for holding political prisoners during his 30-year dictatorship.But the fight is far from over. The military, which dissolved the government after Bashir's removal, has said it will remain in power for up to two years, despite continuing protests against their rule."Although Bashir has resigned, the roots of his regime are still in place. The old regime, the old government, the old system of violence, of beating people and provocation, is still in place," Rifga Abdelrahman said."We want a system that belongs to us," she added. Qusay Abdullah and Oscar Featherstone contributed to this report. Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Faith Karimi, CNN

2019-01-30 10:17:51

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/africa/samburu-umoja-village-intl-asequals-africa/index.html

She grew up in a village where women rule and men are banned - CNN

Teenager Rosalina Learpoora lives in an all-women village in Kenya that offers refuge for women fleeing abusive marriages, FGM, rape and assault.

africa, She grew up in a village where women rule and men are banned - CNN

She grew up in a community where women rule and men are banned

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series. Umoja Village, Samburu County, Kenya — Rosalina Learpoora has always been surrounded by women. At age 18, she lives in an all-women village in northern Kenya, where she spends her evenings doing homework, fetching firewood or beading colorful jewelry. Learpoora has called Umoja home since she was 3. There, a group of 48 women live with their children in huts protected by thorny brush to keep away intruders. When a man trespasses, they notify the local police, who either issue a warning or arrest the culprit -- depending on the number of offenses. The village was started in 1990 by 15 women who became stigmatized in their communities after they were raped by British soldiers from a base at nearby Archer's Post, a trading center bordering Samburu and Isiolo. Some of the rape survivors say their husbands accused them of bringing dishonor to their families and kicked them out. They found a piece of land, moved there and named it Umoja -- Swahili for unity. It has since grown into a refuge, welcoming women escaping abusive marriages, female genital mutilation, rape and other forms of assault. Even some women whose husbands died have found solace and a home there. Rosalina Learpoora, 18, has lived in Umoja village since she was 3. Umoja is the Swahili word for unity.Read MoreShe fled there to escape genital mutilation Learpoora never met her father -- she was told he died when she was 3. Terrified that her extended family would force her to undergo female genital mutilation, her mother strapped her to her back and fled to Umoja, where they've lived as part of the sisterhood for 15 years. The women of Umoja are all of the Samburu culture, an extremely patriarchal society that practices female genital mutilation and believes in polygamy.Umoja women span generations, with the oldest resident at the village aged 98 and the youngest six months old. Women of all ages flee there, some with newborn babies in tow. When the boys who live there with their mothers reach 18, they have to move out of the village, Learpoora says. "I grew up surrounded by so many women," Learpoora says of the Umoja women, shown here on a recent afternoon.At the village, traditional Samburu huts known as manyattas dot the landscape. The sounds of cackling chicken and giggling children fill the air. Like the other women in the village, Learpoora lives with her mother in a small manyatta made of wood, twigs and cow dung. Inside, the only light is from the glowing embers of a fire anchored by three large rocks. In the evening, the tiny, modular structures are full of life, with chattering women sitting around the fire to talk about their day as beans and corn simmer in large pots."I grew up surrounded by so many women," Learpoora says. "It's like having different mothers all around you."They make beaded necklaces and pool the moneyOutside the huts, women sit on mats to watch children play. Sometimes, they sing and dance to traditional Samburu songs, their brightly colored ornaments and wraps moving with the beat. Other times, they quietly make the the round beaded necklaces that are a trademark among Samburu women, which they sell to make money for the community. "Once they sell the necklaces, they give the money to the village's matriarch, who then allocates the amount for food to each family based on the number of children per homestead," Learpoora says. "Some of that money is also set aside to go toward education, especially for the young girls."In addition to selling jewelry, the women get income by operating a campsite for tourists going on safari to the nearby Samburu National Reserve. They also receive donations from well-wishers worldwide who've read about the village. The women make brightly-colored beaded jewelry to sell to tourists who come to visit the village. She goes to a mixed-sex school and wants to be a teacherIn a culture that does not believe in educating women, Learpoora is one of the village's role models. She's in the 11th grade at a nearby high school, and hopes to become a teacher. "If I had not come here, I don't know what my life would be," she says. "I probably would have undergone female genital mutilation and gotten married off as a second or third wife to an older man. These women raised me, allowed me to have an education and defied all those traditions."Under Samburu culture, young women are forced to marry older men as second or third wives in exchange for a dowry, which is paid to their parents. "Wife inheritance and polygamy are culturally accepted practices and the society is patriarchal, hence women have no say and are less empowered," the Kenyan government's National Aids Control Council says. Under the Samburu culture, it's not unusual to see girls "as young as 9 or 10" getting pregnant, it says. While times are changing and some of those practices are slowly dying out, Samburu remains one of Kenya's most patriarchal and traditional cultures, which makes the village more of an anomaly.Learpoora says when she grows up, she wants to be a teacher and help women fight back against that mindset."I want to teach girls that education is important. That you don't have to undergo FGM. That just because it's tradition does not mean that it is the way it should be," she says. She says growing up at Umoja allowed her to thrive without the threat of female genital mutilation and forced marriages. And she wants to play a role in ensuring other girls get an education, giving them the power of choice. At least 73% of the Samburu community is illiterate, a majority of them girls, the NACC says. Learpoora attends a mixed high school, where she says she's learning to interact with young men. She wants to get married in future, she says. "But her future husband will have to meet her many mothers and promise them he will not be abusive," chimes in Jane Lengope, 45, one of the women of Umoja. Learpoora's mother was out of town and unavailable. The husbands come looking for their wivesWhile the village has empowered some women in the community, it also has its critics. Some of the residents in nearby communities describe the women as too radical and capitalistic. Lawas Lemoro, 25, says he does not believe the women live in a single-sex society. "They sneak off in the middle of the night to meet men or bring them into the village," he says. "Either that or they're using the story as a way to make money." When asked whether men come into the village, Learpoora and the women say no. The only men who try to come are husbands looking for their wives, she says, and they're promptly kicked out.Residents in the village live in traditional manyattas made of wood, twigs and cow dung.Some say a more comprehensive solution is needed Faith Mwangi-Powell, global director of The Girl Generation in Nairobi, says while she applauds the women for becoming champions of change, their approach does not address the issue in the broader community."I think the women are very brave and we need more brave women and that's the only way FGM will end -- so the Umoja village must be congratulated," she says. "But we need to figure out how this change can cascade to the entire community so that the girls growing up in the village remain safe when they leave the village."Mwangi-Powell says without a comprehensive change, the village only provides a temporary relief. "What happens to them when they go back to those communities? Do they prepare those girls for the outside world? We have seen girls rescued from FGM at an early age and when they get married [in] to communities that practice FGM, they are forced to undergo FGM and this then counteracts that rescue and protection," she says."Change needs to be holistic where there is total abandonment across communities through social change so that everyone is safe regardless of where they are." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Kara Fox, CNN Video by Edward Kiernan, CNN

2018-12-06 16:25:42

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/africa/rwanda-diane-rwigara-verdict-asequals-intl/index.html

Diane Rwigara, Rwandan opposition leader, and her mother cleared of all charges - CNN

Diane Rwigara, the 37-year-old human rights activist who had once hoped to run for the Rwandan presidency, has been acquitted of all charges in Kigali's High Court on Thursday. Her mother, Adeline, who was also in court facing charges of inciting insurrection and divisionism was also acquitted of all charges.

africa, Diane Rwigara, Rwandan opposition leader, and her mother cleared of all charges - CNN

Rwandan court acquits prominent opposition leader of forgery, incitement

CNN -- Diane Rwigara, the 37-year-old human rights activist who had once hoped to run for the Rwandan presidency, has been acquitted of charges of fraud and inciting insurrection. The verdict was delivered in Kigali's High Court on Thursday. Rwigara's mother, Adeline, who was also in court facing charges of inciting insurrection and sectarian practices, was also acquitted of all charges. "We find that the prosecution charges do not have a basis and find Diane Rwigara and Adeline Rwigara not guilty on all charges," the three-judge verdict read, according to local news website The East African.The Rwigaras were greeted by excited family members and supporters who rushed to embrace with songs and cheers inside the courtroom.Read MoreIn the lead up to the verdict, Rwigara told CNN that she hoped she would be acquitted of the "fabricated charges" but that she was prepared for any outcome. "All I know is that I am innocent," she said Tuesday.Read: She wanted to be president, but ended up in jailInternational pressure to "Free the Rwigaras" had been building ahead of Thursday's hearing, including calls to drop the charges from a group of US congress members.In a statement posted to the Rwanda Ministry of Justice website Thursday, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General said: "The Government respects the court's verdict on the case of Diane Rwigara and Adeline Rwigara and will carefully study its implications. We condemn all attempts by external actors to inappropriately influence judicial processes in Rwanda. We will continue to vigorously enforce our laws on electoral integrity, public safety, and respect for the judiciary."Diane Rwigara leaves Kigali's High Court after her acquittal on December 6.Diane Rwigara said Tuesday that she was "thankful for the support I have received from both within and outside Rwanda," adding that she was "encouraged to see that the injustice happening in my country does not go unnoticed."Following the verdict, Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International's regional director, said in a statement that the Rwigaras "should never have faced charges for expressing their views," and she called on Rwandan authorities "to build on this judgment and work toward developing greater tolerance and acceptance of alternative and critical views." "The judgment must be a first step in reversing the ongoing trend of repression in Rwanda," Nyanyuki said.'Beyond a single election'Rwigara was the sole female challenger in last year's presidential election, which the incumbent, Paul Kagame, won with almost 99% of the vote.She launched her election bid three months ahead of the August 2017 vote. Just days after she announced her plan to run for office, nude photos -- allegedly of her -- were posted online. Rwigara says the images were digitally altered and used by the government to discredit her. A spokesman for Kagame's party at the time denied to CNN having anything to do with the photos.Rwandan opposition leader stands by her innocence at long-awaited trial Rwigara was eventually disqualified by electoral authorities who said she falsified signatures that she needed for her bid to qualify and accused her of submitting the names of dead people. On Thursday, the court said that while the documents presented to electoral authorities showed indications of forged signatures, the prosecution hadn't proved that Rwigara had personally intended to forge them, according to the East African. Shortly after her disqualification, Rwigara launched an activist group called the People Salvation Movement to "encourage Rwandans to hold their government accountable," but was soon arrested on charges of inciting insurrection against the government and fraud. Rwigara was facing a 22-year sentence if found guilty. Her mother, Adeline, was also arrested on charges of sectarian practices and inciting insurrection, based on WhatsApp messages between herself and her sister, who lives outside Rwanda and had been charged in absentia, along with three others. Rwanda's "genocide ideology" and "sectarianism" laws were introduced to restrict hate speech following the 1994 genocide, however critics say they have also been used to gag dissenting voices, especially those from the opposition.President Kagame's office has not responded to CNN's repeated requests for comment.The court ruled Thursday that those messages were private conversations between individuals, according to news website Rwanda Today. The East African reported that all the other people on trial were also acquitted.Diane Rwigara announces her plans to run as a presidential candidate at a press conference in Kigali in May 2017. The Rwigaras spent a year in a Kigali prison before they were released on bail in October. Their case had alarmed human rights activists, who argued that all the charges were politically motivated and highlighted a lack of political and social freedom under Kagame, who has been president since 2000 and long an influential figure in Rwanda's modern history. A former military strongman praised for turning Rwanda around after the social and economic destruction from the 1994 genocide, Kagame enjoys huge popularity in the country, which has seen strong economic growth in recent years and improved standards of living.But his critics argue the successes of Kagame's tenure have come at a high cost to civil society.At a US congressional human rights committee briefing Tuesday, Adotei Akwei, deputy director for advocacy and government relations at Amnesty International USA, said that the "way governments engage with critics and voices of dissent, how they interact with civil society and treat human rights defenders are critical indicators that go beyond a single election," and called the Rwigara case a "chilling expose on the culture of fear and repression that exist in Rwanda."Akwei also said that the "vague wording" of laws to prohibit hate speech have been "misused to stifle legitimate freedom of expression and criminalize criticism of the government." Kate Barth, the legal director of Freedom Now, an organization that represents political prisoners before international human rights courts, said at the congressional briefing that it is "time for Rwanda to allow peaceful dissent." Freed Rwandan opposition leader: 'If you have other opinions, they put you in jail'"If President Kagame really does want to show the world a nation of remarkable recovery, or peace and prosperity and, perhaps most importantly, of respect for its citizens' human rights, a terrific place to start would be to release all of the political prisoners and commit the country to ensuring that anyone may speak freely without fear that the inside of a prison cell awaits him or her."Phil Clark, a political scientist at SOAS University of London, who has studied Rwanda for nearly 20 years, told CNN Thursday that the acquittal "highlights the independence" of the Rwandan judiciary, which has become "increasingly effective and courageous" since 2003. "Rwanda's critics have consistently claimed that the country's courts simply take orders from President Kagame and other powerful political actors," he added, citing a string of court decisions that have challenged this assumption over the past few years."Already some international activists are trying to take credit for the Rwigara acquittal, claiming that it stems solely from foreign pressure. This view displays a white savior complex -- believing positive on-the-ground developments can only come from foreigners. What this perspective misses is the skill of Rwandan lawyers and the independence and courage of Rwandan judges operating in a febrile political environment," he added.

Kara Fox, CNN Video by Edward Kiernan, CNN

2018-10-09 20:52:43

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/09/africa/rwanda-diane-rwigara-interview-asequals-intl/index.html

Diane Rwigara: Awaiting trial, Rwandan opposition leader says she's determined to hold government accountable - CNN

Diane Rwigara, a critic of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, spent more than a year in prison before she was released on bail Friday. Now, as she awaits trial, the 37-year-old activist says she is more determined than ever to make her voice heard.

africa, Diane Rwigara: Awaiting trial, Rwandan opposition leader says she's determined to hold government accountable - CNN

Awaiting trial, Rwandan opposition leader says she's determined to hold government accountable

CNN -- Diane Rwigara, a leading critic of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, spent more than a year in prison before she was released on bail Friday. Now, as she awaits her trial in Kigali next month for incitement and election fraud, the 37-year-old human rights activist says she is more determined than ever to make her voice heard."(Jail) has not squashed my political ambitions at all," Rwigara told CNN in an interview. "On the contrary, it has given me more determination because I just don't see myself and everyone else I know keeping on living in fear."The fear that Rwigara is speaking about is one that she and her supporters say envelops a large part of Rwandan society, a society she wants to see change. Diane Rwigara, at her home in Kigali on Tuesday. Last year, Rwigara was poised to be the Kagame's sole female challenger in the August 2017 presidential election. But days after she announced her plan to run, someone posted nude photos -- allegedly of her -- online. Read MoreRwigara says the images were digitally altered as a tactic used by the government to discredit her as both a female and oppositional voice. A spokesman for Kagame's party at the time denied to CNN having anything to do with the photos. "With the photos, it was because I was a woman. But overall, anybody who dares to challenge the government is viciously attacked -- whether you're a man or a woman," Rwigara said. Rwigara was eventually disqualified from contesting the election by electoral authorities who claimed she falsified the number of signatures needed to qualify and accused her of submitting the names of dead people. She denies it all. Determined to "encourage Rwandans to hold their government accountable," Rwigara then launched the activist group, the People Salvation Movement (Itabaza). Shortly after, she was arrested on charges of incitement and fraud. Her mother, Adeline was also arrested on charges of discrimination and sectarian practices and inciting insurrection, based on WhatsApp messages exchanged between her and her sister, who lives outside Rwanda. Read more: She wanted to become president, but ended up jailed instead"Those were trumped-up charges, made-up charges," Rwigara said. "I know the Rwandan government is scared of the movement -- it's scared because they know I'm speaking the truth and they do not want to be exposed," she added. "That is the main fear that they have -- the fear of being exposed." Rwanda's National Police, Office of the President and its ruling political party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) have not responded to CNN's repeated requests for comment. 'They try to demonize you'Kagame, who won the 2017 presidential election with almost 99% of the vote, has been president since 2000 and a longtime, instrumental leader in Rwanda's modern history. The Rwandan leader is seen as the architect of the nation's remarkable turnaround following the social and economic destruction from the 1994 genocide, where an estimated 800,000 people -- mainly from the Tutsi group -- were killed over the course of 100 days. Kagame's commitment to gender parity, which includes a constitutional law requiring at least 30% of all parliamentary seats to be occupied by women, has led the country to be often quoted as the best place for women in politics. (Today Rwanda far surpasses that quota, with 61.3% of its parliament made up of female lawmakers.) But Rwigara says that say that quota is just window dressing for the ruling party's agenda. "I think the only women who are welcome are the women who speak the language of the RPF (Kagame's ruling party). They are the only women they want. If you dare to speak a different language, you are no longer part of society. They try to demonize you, they attack you in any way that they can," she said. Kagame's fiscal and social policies also are widely cited as a blueprint for success in the region -- but endemic poverty remains an issue nationwide, with nearly half of the population living under the international poverty line, according to the World Bank. "I've talked about, and I am still talking about poverty and unemployment," Rwigara said of her movement's mission, which she hopes to reinvigorate now that she's been released. Diane Rwigara and her mother Adeline Rwigara inside Kigali's High Court on September 24, 2018. "Kigali is full of nice buildings, but the people live in poverty. The focus of our government has been things, buildings. But they have not been able to build up people's lives. They (Kagame's government) are more interested in impressing the outside -- the West -- than impressing their own people, the Rwandan people," she said."The fact that Kigali is clean and nice-looking does not mean that our government cares about its own people. People are harassed, people disappear, people get killed, and all those things our government doesn't want us to expose." A difficult journeyThis summer, CNN traveled to Kigali and spoke with Rwigara's family and her supporters, who allege harassment, censorship and threats of violence by the government. Rwigara is aware of those cases, but says it has not deterred her to encourage her fellow Rwandans to find their voice. "It has not been an easy journey... but that does not stop us from going forward because I see this movement as the main channel for our voices to be heard," she said. Still, she is appealing to the government to allow her family and supporters to live in peace. "It's one thing to punish me for my beliefs, but it's another thing to punish everyone around me," she said, noting the charges against her mother and the Rwanda Revenue Authority's auction of her family's business. But it is not just Rwigara's supporters who allege violence or the threat of violence at the hands of the Rwandan state. Kagame's regime has been long criticized by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for its attacks on the political opposition, human rights defenders and the press. Several high-profile cases, including the imprisonment of another opposition party leader, Victoire Ingabire, the mysterious death of a former Rwandan intelligence chief and the recent disappearance of another opposition leader from jail, have shined a harsh light on Kagame's regime. Related: 'If you have other opinions they put you in jail'For bringing some of these issues to the forefront of the national conversation, Rwigara says she was placed in jail. "I criticized the government and this is what happens in Rwanda when you criticize the government -- you are punished for it. The punishment for me was prison," she said. Rwigara says she's not fearful of what might happen to her and her mother in their trial, scheduled for November 7. Both have proclaimed their innocence. Ultimately, she believes it is up to Kagame, noting the president's overarching influence. "I don't know what will happen," she said when asked about her trial. "You will have to ask the president."Rwanda's National Police, Office of the President and its ruling political party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) have not responded to CNN's immediate request for comment.For now, Rwigara says she will continue to work with members of her movement to encourage Rwandans that they "have the power to change things." "It's for us to dare to speak out -- because all Rwandans see what's going on, they see what's happening, but they've been pushed to silence," she said. "The Rwandan people should be the first to get out and speak out and force our government to be accountable, because our government isn't accountable to anyone."

Kara Fox and Stephanie Busari, CNN Video by Edward Kiernan, CNN

2018-10-05 11:41:47

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/05/africa/rwanda-diane-rwigara-bail-asequals-intl/index.html

Diane Rwigara: Rwandan opposition leader freed on bail - CNN

Government critic Diane Rwigara and her mother Adeline Rwigara have been freed on bail, according to her family.

africa, Diane Rwigara: Rwandan opposition leader freed on bail - CNN

Rwandan opposition leader Diane Rwigara and mother freed on bail

CNN -- Rwanda's fierce government critic Diane Rwigara and her mother Adeline Rwigara have been freed on bail, according to her family. Rwigara appeared in court Friday facing charges of incitement and fraud. Her mother, who was also in court, was being held on charges of discrimination and sectarian practices and inciting insurrection.But three High Court judges ruled that the prosecution did not give credible reasons why they should be detained during their trial, according to local media The East African. They ordered mother and daughter, who have been in jail since September 2017, to be freed on bail. The court erupted in shouts as excited family members rushed to hug the pair on hearing the news.Read MoreThere was pandemonium as Prison warders tried to separate excited friends & relatives from freed Diane @ShimaRwigara & her mother Adeline Rwigara after the High Court ruling granting the duo bail. pic.twitter.com/2ZJFwZV3KC— Rwanda Today (@RwandaToday) October 5, 2018 Her brother Arioste Rwigara told CNN: "We are overjoyed by this great news! We had faith this day would come soon. We thank God for it, and we are forever grateful to family, friends and all the other people who remained close to us during this hard time and showed us support."Arioste added that while Friday's result was a positive step, the future remains uncertain. Asked whether Friday's outcome could signal a dropping of charges, he said: "Nothing is certain at this point. But we hope they will be, because they never should have been charged with anything in the first place, let alone imprisoned."Diane Rwigara was the sole female challenger in last year's election that President Paul Kagame won with almost 99% of the vote. The 37-year-old accountant launched her election bid three months ahead of the August 2017 presidential vote.Shortly after she began her campaign, Rwigara was disqualified by electoral authorities. They said that she exaggerated the number of signatures needed to qualify and accused her of submitting the names of dead people, charges Rwigara denies. Her supporters say all the charges are politically motivated and highlight a lack of political and social freedoms under Kagame. Kagame shocked many in his country and around the world in September when he granted more than 2,000 prisoners an unexpected pardon. Among the 2,410 prisoners released was Victoire Ingabire, the 49-year-old leader of the opposition FDU-Inkingi party. She had served eight years of her 15-year sentence.Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire leaves Nyarugenge prison on early release on September 15, 2018. She was one of 2,140 prisoners released the same day on a presidential pardon.Ingabire has long said her sentence was a result of her work as a prominent government critic and that the charges effectively criminalized her freedom of expression. International organizations such as Amnesty International and a 2017 African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights ruling have supported those views. Kagame won the 2010 election with 93% of the vote. By the time the next presidential election came around in 2017, Rwigara had entered the political scene seeking to run as an independent candidate after she was disqualified as a candidate. Rwigara launched the People Salvation Movement (Itabaza), an activist group to "encourage Rwandans to hold their government accountable." Shortly after its inception, she was arrested on charges of incitement and fraud. Read: She wanted to be president, but ended up jailed insteadIngabire shared a jail cell with Diane Rwigara at the end of her imprisonment and was present at the Rwigaras' hearing. Ingabire told CNN on Friday she was "glad" to hear the news and called it a "good step" in the "good direction," but stressed that many other political prisoners are still imprisoned awaiting trial, including nine members of her own opposition party, and she called for their release."The Kagame government should not (just) release the opposition and think that is enough. It is a step but they should understand that what our country needs is a society with room for critical voices to speak freely and peacefully," Ingabire said."We have to end the cycle of political violence in Rwanda and build it into a reconciled nation, hopeful of durable peace and prosperity," she added. Although Rwigara was unconnected with any political party or Ingabire herself, the parallels between the two women's cases are clear, according to Phil Clark, a political scientist at SOAS University of London who has studied Rwanda for nearly 20 years."Really we're seeing the exact same thing with Rwigara as we saw with Ingabire in terms of the targeting of a woman political opponent," he told CNN."The government will often lock up political opponents at the height of their powers and then strategically release them once they feel that they or their party has been neutralized," Clark said. Clark said that the High Court's decision to release the Rwigaras on bail Friday reflects an evolving dynamic within the judicial system."I see this more in terms in an increasingly independent Rwandan judiciary... a trend in the Rwandan High Court and Supreme Court to hand down decisions that aren't entirely in line with the executive wishes."He cautioned against reading too much into the Rwigaras' temporary release, explaining that the pair could still be found guilty of their charges once evidence is heard in court. But what Friday's result does demonstrate, Clark says, is that the Rwanda's High Court "won't simply follow the expected script in this case."

Lameck Masina for CNN

2018-09-26 08:59:12

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/26/health/malawi-abortion-law-as-equals-africa-intl/index.html

Women are dying from backstreet abortions. But reforms to Malawi's 157-year-old laws are stuck - CNN

Hundreds of women who die every year in Malawi as a result of the government's restrictive abortion law, which only permits the procedure in cases where the woman's life is at risk.

health, Women are dying from backstreet abortions. But reforms to Malawi's 157-year-old laws are stuck - CNN

Women are dying from backstreet abortions. But reforms to Malawi's 157-year-old laws are stuck

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Blantyre, Malawi — David Minyatso holds the voter registration card of his late wife, Selina.The last time he saw her, she had just found out she was pregnant with their fourth child."She told me she was feeling symptoms of pregnancy. She left for her home village two days later to visit her parents," 36-year-old Minyatso said, standing in the doorway of their thatched-roof home in Kaseleka village, his daughters playing in the dirt yard outside."I was later told that she went to a traditional healer to seek abortion-induced drugs which killed her." Selina Black is among hundreds of women who die every year in Malawi as a result of the government's restrictive abortion law, which only permits the procedure in cases where the woman's life is at risk. Obtaining an abortion for any other reason is punishable by seven to 14 years in prison; while people supplying drugs or instruments to procure abortion can face three years in jail.Read MoreIn Malawi, home to one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, unsafe abortion is estimated to account for 6%-18% of all maternal deaths, according to research conducted by Guttmacher Institute, a US-based reproductive rights think tank, and the Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Malawi College of Medicine. Entrance to maternity ward at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.But a draft "Termination of Pregnancy" bill is seeking to loosen the country's 157-year-old law. If approved, the bill would allow an abortion when the pregnancy threatens the physical or mental health of the woman, fetal abnormalities affect the life of the baby, or in cases of rape, incest and defilement.The bill, which is currently being scrutinized by Cabinet ministers before it moves to Parliament for debate, has faced strong resistance from influential religious bodies in the country. About 81% of Malawi's population is Christian, according to a 2014 national survey.In the three years that have passed since the draft bill was first introduced thousands more women have resorted to risky clandestine abortions -- 141,000 in 2015 alone, according to the Guttmacher report.Minyatso says he was devastated when he heard that Selina was dead. The couple were still contemplating whether they would keep the baby, and he believes Selina's decision to go ahead with the abortion was influenced by other family members. Minyatso with his children at their home in Kaseleka."I don't have any plan to marry again," Minyatso, who struggles to work as a farmer and tend to his young family, said. "I will never find a woman who will take care of the children as Selina did."Chrispine Sibande, a human rights lawyer and former coordinator for the Coalition for Prevention of Unsafe Abortion (an abortion rights body comprising 45 health rights organizations lobbying for liberalized laws), says the draft abortion bill would allow women like Selina Black to access legal abortion safely."The 1861 law, under section 243 of the penal code, says abortion can only be performed by a skilled person through operation. Now you and me would ask 'who is this skilled person'? So the new law clarifies that," he said, underlining that while the current law allows abortion to save the life of the mother, the language is unclear.In the absence of legal routes, many women seeking abortion in Malawi, like Selina Black, turn to traditional healers.A traditional healer shows some of the abortion-inducing concoctions.A healer, who asked not to be identified for fear of being arrested, said he has been providing abortion services to women since he started his trade a decade ago."I assist these women because they are currently desperate," he said, adding that doing so is against the constitution of the International Traditional Medicine Council of Malawi, a group of accredited traditional healers of which he is member.He gives the women a concoction of what he calls "abortion-inducing" herbs."But still I advise my clients to immediately seek medical help if they notice any serious complications," he explains. Chisale Mhango an obstetrician at Malawi's largest referral health facility, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, says he receives between 20 and 30 patients with post-abortion complications every day."The complications include injury to reproductive health organs because some of them use sticks to poke [the fetus] so that they can cause an abortion. And through that, they get infection which is a serious problem that would lead to things like surgery that may require removing the womb. And there is hemorrhage," he said.Mhango says the post abortion care is also costly for the national health system. "In 2015, the studies suggested that we were spending more than $2 million just to manage complications of unsafe abortion and yet the Ministry of Health budget is not increasing," he said. One recent report estimated that the Malawi government spends closer to $1 million annually on post-abortion care. Gynecologist Dr. Mhango in his office at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.Margret Kawala, the head of Kawala village, about an hour drive from the capital Lilongwe, says she lost her uterus after taking a concoction given to her by a traditional healer for an abortion."I was rushed to the hospital," Kawala, a 46-year-old single mother of of three, said. "There, the doctors said I was losing a lot of blood because my uterus had burst and they had to remove it."A year after she lost her uterus, her husband left her."He said he wanted a wife who could give him another child. He left for good, and now, he has married another woman," Kawala said.Margret Kawala preparing porridge at her home.Though she struggles to feed her three children, and wishes she had the help of a partner, Kawala says she still feels lucky. Many other women in her area have died as a result of unsafe abortions."I have nothing to hide. That's why I speak openly about my situation. I want government authorities to know the gravity of harm that restrictive abortion laws have caused to women," Kawala said.Still, parliamentarians are noncommittal about their position on the draft bill, and refer to their religion when discussing its merits.Aisha Mambo of Mangochi-Nkungulu Constituency said she wouldn't comment until she had scrutinized the final bill: "And I will base my position on what my religion says about abortion because I can't act against the teachings of my religion." Back in Malawi's largest referral health facility, Mhango says the issue has nothing to do with religion."The debate is not about whether abortion is good or not," Mhango said, adding that the law needs to change if it can't be properly enforced. "The debate is women are dying in increasing numbers in spite of the fact that there is a law in this country specifically to prevent women dying from unsafe abortion when their lives are in danger." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Kara Fox, CNN Video by Edward Kiernan, CNN

2018-09-24 18:38:33

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/24/africa/rwanda-diane-rwigara-trial-postponed-asequals-intl/index.html

Diane Rwigara: Trial of Rwandan imprisoned opposition leader postponed - CNN

The trial of jailed Rwandan opposition leader Diane Rwigara and her mother Adeline was postponed at Kigali's High Court on Monday.

africa, Diane Rwigara: Trial of Rwandan imprisoned opposition leader postponed - CNN

Diane Rwigara: trial of Rwandan imprisoned opposition leader postponed

CNN -- The trial of the jailed Rwandan opposition leader Diane Rwigara and her mother was postponed at Kigali's High Court on Monday.The Rwigaras' lawyers have petitioned the court to provisionally release the pair. They want a judge removed from the case who was involved in the pretrial detention hearing, according to the family's representative, Anne Rwigara, who is Diane Rwigara's sister.The pair, who have been imprisoned for over a year, now await a decision and a new trial date. Diane Rwigara, 37, was the sole female challenger in last year's election that Rwandan President Paul Kagame won with almost 99% of the vote. The outspoken Kagame critic was arrested shortly after she was disqualified from contesting the August 2017 presidential race. Diane Rwigara at her home in Kigali, prior to her September 2017 arrest. Read MoreRwigara launched her campaign to run three months ahead of the election, but electoral authorities disqualified her, saying that she exaggerated the number of signatures needed to qualify and accusing her of submitting the names of dead people. Rwigara denies all charges. After she was disqualified, Rwigara launched the People Salvation Movement (Itabaza), an activist group to "encourage Rwandans to hold their government accountable." Read: She wanted to be president, but ended up jailed insteadShortly after its inception, she was arrested on charges of incitement and fraud. Family and supporters say the charges are politically motivated. Rwigara's mother, Adeline, was also arrested on charges of discrimination and sectarian practices and inciting insurrection. Some of Rwigara's supporters remain skeptical about a fair trial, alleging harassment, censorship and threats of violence for their continued support of the pair. Rwanda's Office of the President, National Police and the RPF have not responded to CNN's repeated requests for comment."We are looking forward to the next court date and strongly hope the president Paul Kagame will make the right decision and release our mother and sister," Anne Rwigara added.On Monday morning the courtroom was packed, and international diplomats and journalists were among family, friends and supporters.Notably in attendance was another female opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire, who on September 15 was granted an unexpected presidential pardon after serving eight years of her 15-year prison sentence.Immediately after she was freed, Ingabire, 49, urged the Rwandan government to open the country's political landscape and asked them to free all other political prisoners, including Rwigara. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Kara Fox, CNN Video by Edward Kiernan, CNN

2018-09-22 14:51:23

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/22/africa/rwanda-diane-rwigara-victoire-ingabire-asequals-intl/index.html

Diane Rwigara: Trial of Rwandan imprisoned opposition leader to begin - CNN

While former Rwandan presidential hopeful Diane Rwigara awaits her fate in court on Monday, another jailed female opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire, is getting her first taste of freedom.

africa, Diane Rwigara: Trial of Rwandan imprisoned opposition leader to begin - CNN

Rwandan imprisoned opposition leader to go on trial as another walks free -- for now

CNN -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame shocked many in his country and around the world last week when he granted more than 2,000 prisoners an unexpected pardon. But while the President was announcing the move in parliament to "rehabilitate our citizens," Diane Rwigara, the sole female challenger in last year's election that Kagame won with almost 99% of the vote, languished in jail, awaiting her fate in court.Rwigara, a 37-year-old accountant and fierce critic of Kagame, launched her election bid three months ahead of the August 2017 presidential vote.Shortly after she began her presidential campaign, Rwigara was disqualified by electoral authorities. They claimed she exaggerated the number of signatures needed to qualify and accused her of submitting the names of dead people, charges Rwigara denies. Her supporters say all the charges are politically motivated and highlight a lack of political and social freedoms under Kagame. Read MoreAs Rwigara prepares to hear her fate in court on Monday, veteran watchers of Rwandan politics say she could follow in the footsteps of a previous opposition politician who dared to challenge Kagame.Arrest after exileVictoire Ingabire, the 49-year-old leader of the opposition FDU-Inkingi party, was one of the 2,140 prisoners released last Saturday after serving eight years of her 15-year sentence.In 2010 Ingabire returned to Rwanda from the Netherlands, where she was living in exile, to contest the presidential election. But she soon ran into problems with the government over comments she made in relation to the country's 1994 genocide and was arrested on charges that included collaborating with a terrorist organization and "genocide ideology." She was initially handed an eight-year prison sentence that was later extended to 15 years. Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire leaves Nyarugenge prison on early release on September 15, 2018. She was one of 2,140 prisoners released the same day on a presidential pardon.Ingabire has long said her sentence was a result of her work as a prominent government critic and that the charges effectively criminalized her freedom of expression. International organizations such as Amnesty International and a 2017 African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights ruling have supported those views. Kagame won the 2010 election with 93% of the vote. By the time the next presidential election came around in 2017, Rwigara had entered the political scene seeking to run as an independent candidate after she was disqualified as a candidate. Rwigara launched the People Salvation Movement (Itabaza), an activist group to "encourage Rwandans to hold their government accountable." Shortly after its inception, she was arrested on charges of incitement and fraud. Rwigara's mother Adeline was also arrested on charges of discrimination and sectarian practices and inciting insurrection.Read: She wanted to be president, but ended up jailed insteadAlthough Rwigara was unconnected with any political party or Ingabire herself, the parallels between the two women's cases are clear, according to Phil Clark, a political scientist at SOAS University of London who has studied Rwanda for nearly 20 years."Really we're seeing the exact same thing with Rwigara as we saw with Ingabire in terms of the targeting of a women political opponent," he told CNN."The government will often lock up political opponents at the height of their powers and then strategically release them once they feel that they or their party has been neutralized," Clark said. Fears of retributionThis summer, CNN traveled to Kigali and spoke with Rwigara's family and supporters who allege harassment, censorship and threats of violence. A handful of Rwigara's supporters CNN spoke to said they stopped visiting Rwigara and her mother in prison earlier this year, fearful of violent retribution. Safety remains some supporters' primary concern, with some taking the added measure of moving from house to house each night to avoid surveillance, according to two supporters.Inside a Kigali safehouse where two of Rwigara's supporters share their stories.Rwanda's Office of the President, National Police and the RPF have not responded to CNN's repeated requests for comment.Some of Rwigara's supporters said this week that their situation continues to deteriorate and their lives remain in danger.One of those supporters, Honore -- whose name has been changed for his safety -- says he hasn't visited the Rwigaras since his phone and laptop were confiscated by authorities who, he said, beat him and told him: "I will kill you if you continue to do this."Honore fled Rwanda in June, fearful of imprisonment or lethal violence. However, he recently returned to the capital Kigali, where he is slowly continuing to drum up support for Rwigara's People Salvation Movement from the shadows. He worries continuously about his security and says he struggles to support himself and his young family. Although he hopes the Rwigaras will be freed following their trial -- noting the unexpected release of Ingabire last week -- he feels the balance is tipped in favor of the government."It is not a fair trial, it is the government's game," Honore told CNN via text message on Friday."The government needs their property only, it doesn't need judgment," referring to the Rwanda's Revenue Authority's seizure of the Rwigara family's assets, estimated at more than 1.7 billion Rwandan francs (approximately $1.9 million). "I think that when you want to be president in Rwanda, he (Kagame) considers you to be as the enemy -- he doesn't want anyone else to become president when he is alive," Honore added of the lack of political freedom.Even if the Rwigaras are released from jail, they won't be afforded true freedom, Honore said, again pointing to Ingabire. Immediately after she was freed from jail, Ingabire urged the Rwandan government to open the country's political landscape and asked them to free all other political prisoners, including nine members of her own political party.Most notably, she called for Rwigara's release. Ominous warningIngabire's freedom of movement -- and speech -- could be short lived.On Wednesday, in his address to the incoming parliament, Kagame warned that his presidential pardon should not be misinterpreted as giving into international pressure to free political prisoners, but rather a decision to "enable them to contribute to our country.""Just recently when we pardoned many people, including the so-called politicians who are more popular outside the country than they are here, it was in the same spirit. It is not the first time we have done this," Kagame said, referencing Ingabire by all but name. "Then you see people saying 'I did not ask for mercy, they released us because of pressure.' Pressure here? If you continue believing that, don't be shocked if you go back to jail," Kagame warned. The Rwandan President was referring to an interview Ingabire gave to the BBC Gahuzamiryango service, also posted to her official Facebook page. Ingabire said she did not ask to be released for crimes she maintained she hadn't committed.Rwandan President Paul Kagame campaigns during the 2017 presidential election.Kagame has sent a clear message to Ingabire, according to Phil Clark: keep your head down."I think the government's view is, 'we can let her out but she effectively needs to stop being any kind of serious political actor ... but if she tries to re energize her political campaign, or call for political changes like she has in the past, then she might again face some government sanction.'"As Ingabire faces some tough choices in her new-found "freedom," Diana Rwigara and her mother will stand trial on Monday, hoping for the best. While some supporters remain skeptical that the Rwigaras will be given a fair trial, Clark believes that changes seen in Rwanda over the last year could signal that the outcome of the case is uncertain.Diane Rwigara at her home in Kigali, prior to her September 2017 arrest. "There's a default expectation in the international community that Rwandan courts will just toe the political line and give the government everything that it wants in high-profile cases," Clark said. Although "everything in Rwigara's case up until now has suggested that the courts aren't going to rattle the political establishment," the courts have been displaying an "important degree of independence from the ruling party even in the last year," Clark said. One example: The Supreme Court's admission of a 2015 challenge to a constitutional amendment, which allowed Kagame to run for a third term. The Court eventually ruled that Kagame could run for a third term, clearing the way for him to potentially stay in power until 2034. And this year, in a high profile case, the court dropped nearly all of the charges against a man charged with genocide who had been extradited from the US. How that judicial independence will play out with the Rwigaras' case will be seen on Monday. But regardless of the trial's outcome, their future, like many Rwandans, still appears to rest in Kagame's hands.

Denise Hruby for CNN Photos by Hannah Reyes Morales

2018-08-03 09:07:08

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/africa/south-sudan-firewood-rape-asequals-intl/index.html

A mother's impossible choice: risk rape to feed your family, or starve - CNN

As a tactic of war, South Sudanese soldiers rape women who must leave UN protection every day to ensure their families' survival.

africa, A mother's impossible choice: risk rape to feed your family, or starve - CNN

A mother's impossible choice: risk rape to feed your family, or starve

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Juba, South Sudan — On a dirt path dotted with bright-red bougainvillea, women in ankle-length dresses gather in groups of five or more before venturing into the forest. Right outside the largest refugee camp in Juba, South Sudan's capital, sickles readied in their hands to cut firewood, the women say banding together offers a tiny sense of security, a little protection and the reassurance that if something happens to them inside the forest one of them might escape to tell someone. In four or five hours, they'll be back at the camp, one of them says. "If God is willing," another adds.In the five years of South Sudan's civil war, 1.9 million have fled to camps within the country, where the UN provides physical protection as well as food rations amidst an ongoing famine. Read MoreSouth Sudanese women wait for others to join on the way to the forest to get firewood. To cook the food rations, firewood must be collected -- a task that falls to the women. "If you're in the forest to collect firewood and the soldiers see you, they will rape you," Nykeer Mut, the women's leader of one of the camp's zones, said. "But what are we supposed to do?" The women know of the dangers, she said. They've heard of those who, far from the protection of the camp's razor wire and UN soldiers, were raped, tortured and kidnapped. Or they have experienced it themselves.Based on interviews, the UN estimates that 70% of women living in camps have been raped. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2013, South Sudanese army soldiers have been accused of using rape and other forms of sexual violence as a tactic of war, aimed at systematically traumatizing and humiliating entire ethnic groups. Outside the refugee camp, when the women get to the forest, soldiers are often already waiting for them, hiding behind tall grass and tree trunks, Mut said. The day soldiers raped Mut, she recounted that the grass was high and everyone in her group was focused on the task at hand, hoping to return to the camp as quickly as possible. Nobody had seen the soldiers coming, she said. Nykeer Mut, a women's leader of one of the camp's zones, says she was raped on her way to get firewood. When the soldiers jumped out of the grass, the women screamed to alert others. They ran for their lives, but the grown soldiers' steps easily outpaced those of Mut's 10-year-old daughter, who had come to the forest to help. The soldiers grabbed the girl. Mut turned around. "I couldn't leave my daughter," she said. As they tied Mut's hands behind her back, they talked about how young the girl looked, Mut said. "They said: 'Let's just rape the mother.'" One soldier pushed Mut to the ground. Two others pinned down the girl, forcing her to watch.The government has not replied to requests for comment, but a government spokesman told Al Jazeera last September that soldiers who rape are punished. The same spokesman also questioned survivors' claims. Mut's daughter, who witnessed the rape, photographed in their home at the camp.Four other residents of the camp said that they too had been attacked in the forest, and several more said that rape and assault are common. Christine Ayoo, the head of an International Rescue Committee center where rape cases are recorded at the camp, says that such attacks happen every day. "It's not just rape, we even have kidnappings and killings," she said. A few months ago, a search party was looking for a small group of women who had disappeared in the forest. They found remains hanging from ropes on a tree -- six in total. The number didn't match the missing group, suggesting that they had found another group. "But we couldn't identify them anymore," Ayoo said.Women return home to the camp after collecting firewood.The solution, Mut, Ayoo and others suggest, could be simple: If each family was provided charcoal or firewood, nobody would have to venture outside anymore.South Sudan's civilians face many dire challenges. An ongoing famine is currently threatening the lives of some 5.7 million people, and humanitarian organizations are scrambling to get emergency relief to the starving. This year alone, 20,000 have fled insecurity and hunger to neighboring Ethiopia. A peace deal is currently being discussed, but such agreements have been made in the past, and the hope for real resolution is low. So far, the UN has received only about one-fifth of the funding it has appealed for. "We are in a totally resource-poor environment where we are really just trying to save lives," said Andrea Cullinan, the gender-based violence coordinator for the United Nations Population Fund in South Sudan. Angeline, a South Sudanese woman, photographed making a fire in her kitchen. If there was sufficient funding, Cullinan said, NGOs could look into alternatives, such as teaching people how to make briquettes from animal manure or grass. Such initiatives would mitigate risks, however, and not address the root cause of the rape epidemic: Gender inequality. Civil war, a breakdown of rule of law and impunity for perpetrators has worsened the situation, Cullinan said, "but if it didn't have patriarchal norms that place traditional expectations on women, then you wouldn't have gender-based violence." A center for girls inside the camp, where -- among other things -- they learn what to do if a man tries to rape one of them while collecting firewood.With South Sudan's entrenched patriarchy, the chance for girls to obtain an education is harder than anywhere else in the world -- so hard, in fact, that they are more likely to have been married as teenagers than to have gone to primary school.Their role is that of obedient daughters, sisters and wives, their domains restricted to childcare and cooking. That's also why only women are seen heading into the forest. That men are more likely to be killed than raped plays a role, but even if it were safe, women in South Sudan say societal norms dictate that they fetch firewood.A woman photographed carrying firewood home from the forest. And the burden to prevent incidents of sexual violence stays with women and girls who are instructed to protect themselves. They're told: Be careful how you act, mind your environment. And if you can, don't venture out of the camp.But none of that had protected Mut, or other women like her.In the afternoon, the women trickle back into the camp from the forest, balancing bundles of firewood as heavy as 60 kilos on their heads. The physical weight doesn't bother them -- they are used to it, they said, and it doesn't compare to the psychological burden of having to go into the forest. A young girl runs inside the camp, the largest in the capital city.Mut isn't among them anymore. She hasn't returned to the forest since the attack, and is now living off her meager savings, buying firewood off those who are still taking the risk. What happens when she runs out of money? She stared at the blank wall of her mud house and sat upright, her turquoise rosary swinging from her neck. She only knows that neither her nor her daughters will ever venture into the forest again. "I'd rather starve," she said. Hruby and Reyes Morales were 2018 International Women's Media Foundation fellows. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Nima Elbagir and Eliza Mackintosh, CNN

2018-07-12 13:26:11

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/12/africa/noura-hussein-sudan-teen-appeal-asequals-intl/index.html

Noura Hussein: Facing public threats of revenge, Sudanese teen continues her fight for freedom - CNN

Her family threatened, their house burned, Sudanese teenager Noura Hussein, who killed her husband as he tried to rape her, has appealed for her sentence to be overturned.

africa, Noura Hussein: Facing public threats of revenge, Sudanese teen continues her fight for freedom - CNN

Facing public threats of revenge, Sudanese teen Noura Hussein continues her fight for freedom

The legal team representing Sudanese teenager Noura Hussein, who killed her 35-year-old husband as he tried to rape her in what she says was self-defense, filed an appeal to Sudan's Supreme Court on Thursday to have her sentence overturned.Hussein was on death row for fatally stabbing Abdulrahman Mohamed Hammad until two weeks ago, when an appeals court in Sudan reduced her sentence to five years in jail following an international outcry over her case. The court ordered her family to pay 337,000 Sudanese pounds (about $18,600) in "blood money" to the man's family. Her lawyers have also appealed the payment.Hussein's story has put a spotlight on forced marriage and marital rape in Sudan, where the legal age to enter into marriage is 10 and marital rape is not a crime. And her initial conviction and sentence -- death by hanging -- triggered global outrage, capturing the attention of human-rights groups and celebrities like model Naomi Campbell, actress Emma Watson and singer Jidenna. Related: There are millions of Nouras across the worldRead More"We are looking for justice," Nahid Jabralla, director of Khartoum-based human rights group SEEMA, which is supporting Hussein, told CNN. "The appeal will look for her to be cleared totally of the charges."But she cautioned that it won't be without a fight. Hammad's family denies Hussein's allegations and continues to contest her case. The family is expected to file its own appeal calling to reinstate the death penalty. Noura in her own words: Teen who killed rapist husband shares her storyHussein's parents forced her to marry Hammad when she was just 15, but allowed her to finish school. Three years later, after a formal public wedding, Hussein alleges that Hammad raped her as his family held her down. One day later, Hussein said, he tried to rape her again, and she stabbed him to death. When she went to her parents for support, they turned her over to the police.The court's decision to commute Hussein's sentence on June 26 was based on her version of events. Key to their decision was accepting that she had found a knife under her pillow before stabbing her husband, and did not take it from the kitchen, as prosecutors originally alleged.As Hussein fights this reduced sentence, advocacy groups supporting her say they're fearful for her safety. Prison authorities are only allowing visits from her legal team because of concerns over reprisals. Read more: In Sudan, the #JusticeForNoura campaign gave a voice to the voicelessHussein's family has been repeatedly threatened and intimidated since she killed her husband in 2017. Shortly after the incident, her parents' home was burned down. And recently, in an interview with a Sudanese newspaper, Hammad's father threatened further revenge if Hussein was pardoned, saying he would seek the life of one of her male relatives.The 11-year-old girl divorcing her 38-year-old husband"If this international push for so-called forgiveness for Noura is successful then we will seek our vengeance from within Noura's family, and we will take in the place of her life the life of a man, because that was taken from us," he told Sudanese newspaper al-Tayar.SEEMA, and other supporting groups, are looking into options for Hussein's protection after her possible release.And they're continuing to campaign for other "Nouras."SEEMA plans to launch a hashtag alongside Hussein's appeal: #wearemany. According to SEEMA program manager Afaf Doleeb, their hope is to use the hashtag to highlight the stories of other girls fighting against child marriage in Sudan, where more than one in three girls get married before they reach 18. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Nima Elbagir and Angela Dewan, CNN

2018-06-26 15:20:02

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/26/africa/sudan-death-sentence-noura-hussein-asequals-intl/index.html

Sudan overturns death sentence for teen who killed her husband after he raped her - CNN

A Sudanese court has overturned the death sentence for teenager Noura Hussein, who killed her husband after he raped her, in a case that has put a spotlight on forced child marriage and marital rape in the African nation.

africa, Sudan overturns death sentence for teen who killed her husband after he raped her - CNN

Sudan overturns death sentence for teen who killed her husband after he raped her

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. A Sudanese court has overturned the death sentence for teenager Noura Hussein, who killed her husband after he raped her, in a case that has put a spotlight on forced child marriage and marital rape in the African nation.Her legal team told CNN on Tuesday that Hussein, now 19, has been given a five-year jail term for killing the 35-year-old man. The court ordered her family to pay 337,000 Sudanese pounds ($18,700) in "blood money" to the man's family. Her lawyers say they plan to appeal both the jail term and the payment.Last week, CNN obtained a first-hand account from the teenager as she awaited retrial in an Omdurman prison cell after appealing her death sentence.An illustration used in the Change.org campaign for Noura Hussein.In her account, Hussein said her family had forced her to get married at 15, but allowed her to finish school. Three years later, after a public wedding, her husband tried to consummate the marriage. After refusing to have sex with him on their "honeymoon," she says he raped her as members of his family held her down.Read MoreA day later her husband tried to rape her again, and she stabbed him to death. When she went to her parents for support, they turned her over to the police.In her account, Hussein shared her experience of being forced to live with the man, and how she refused to eat or leave her room in her first days with him.Related: The 11-year-old girl divorcing her 38-year-old husbandNoura in her own words: Teen who killed rapist husband shares her story"On the ninth day his relatives came, his uncle told me to go to the bedroom. I said no so he dragged me by my arm into the bedroom and his cousin slapped me. All of them tore at my clothing. His uncle held me down by my legs and each of the other two held down my arms. He stripped and had me while I wept and screamed. Finally, they left the room. I was bleeding, I slept naked," she said. "The next day he grabbed me, threw me on the bed and tried to climb on top of me. I was fighting back and my hand found a knife under the pillow. We began grappling over the knife. He cut my hand and bit down on my shoulder."Read more: In Sudan, the #JusticeForNoura campaign gave a voice to the voicelessThe court made its decision after accepting Hussein's version of events. Key to their decision was accepting that she had found a knife under her pillow before stabbing her husband, and did not take it from the kitchen, as prosecutors originally alleged.The case has sparked international outrage and several petitions worldwide had called for her sentence to be dropped. The legal age to enter into marriage in Sudan is 10 and marital rape is not a crime.In a statement, Amnesty International said that Hussein's case must be a "catalyst for change" in Sudan."While the quashing of this death sentence is hugely welcome news, it must now lead to a legal review to ensure that Noura Hussein is the last person to go through this ordeal," said Seif Magango, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes."Noura Hussein was the victim of a brutal attack by her husband and five years' imprisonment for acting in self-defense is a disproportionate punishment. "The Sudanese authorities must take this opportunity to start reforming the laws around child marriage, forced marriage and marital rape, so that victims are not the ones who are penalized." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Sara Elhassan for CNN Illustration by Jordan Andrew Carter

2018-06-21 07:08:32

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opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/21/opinions/noura-hussein-social-media-campaign-elhassan-asequals-intl/index.html

Sudan: How the #JusticeForNoura Instagram campaign gave a voice to the voiceless - CNN

Sara Elhassan, a 33-year-old Sudanese-American, explains how her Instagram story helped spark the #JusticeForNoura campaign.

opinions, Sudan: How the #JusticeForNoura Instagram campaign gave a voice to the voiceless - CNN

Sara Elhassan: In Sudan, the #JusticeForNoura campaign gave a voice to the voiceless

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Sara Elhassan is a 33-year-old Sudanese-American freelance writer and editor based between Phoenix, Arizona and Khartoum, Sudan. Her Instagram story on Noura Hussein helped spark the #JusticeForNoura campaign. The views expressed in this commentary her own.On May 1, I turned on my phone, opened my Instagram account and shared Noura Hussein's story.While her case was just starting to spread on WhatsApp groups among the Sudanese diaspora, it was the first time that many of my friends, family and followers had ever heard about Noura, the Sudanese teenager on death row for killing her husband, who she says raped her after their forced marriage.But in the weeks since, her case has sparked international outrage, human rights campaigns and several hashtags, including #JusticeforNoura.Read more: Teen who killed rapist husband shares her storyRead MoreWhen I found out about Noura's case through WhatsApp, it had been almost a year since her arrest, and a day since she was convicted of premeditated murder.What made Noura's story so unusual was that she had killed her attacker.Sharing Noura's story on Instagram was a reflex, a coping mechanism to deal with the intense frustration I felt -- not only at the great injustice that this young woman had faced at the hands of her family and the Sudanese justice system, but also that such a major case had flown under our collective radarWhat made Noura's story so unusual was that she had killed her attacker.But the circumstances that led to this chain of events -- child marriage, forced marriage, marital rape -- are neither new nor uncommon in Sudan, where more than a third of girls are married before their 18th birthday, according to UNICEF.Discussing Noura's case with people thousands of miles away was a way for me to engage with an issue I felt was in need of immediate attention. It was also a way to acknowledge the countless number of women across Sudan and the diaspora, those I knew personally and those I didn't, who had suffered similar fates and to whom society had turned a blind eye. As with most of the Instagram stories I create, I had hoped that this would prompt people to engage with their friends and families on this issue. But the reach it garnered, the outpouring of support and the flood of messages I received defied my expectations.Read more: The 11-year-old girl divorcing her 38-year-old husbandWhat began as just an Instagram story grew into a veritable movement that has captured worldwide attention.Her story has inadvertently created a space for people to engage in a wider discussion about gender-based violence in Sudanese society — an issue that is both pervasive and taboo. I have watched in awe as individuals have mobilized around Noura's case -- not only on the ground, but across the diaspora and the globe. Among their kind acts have been countless letters written in support of Noura, to keep her morale up.Her story has inadvertently created a space for people to engage in a wider discussion about gender-based violence in Sudanese society — an issue that is both pervasive and taboo. One Twitter thread inspired by #JusticeForNoura captured stories from Sudanese women and men who shared their experiences of sexual assault and violence.As with the #MeToo movement, the #JusticeForNoura campaign has not only given Noura a voice, but survivors too, empowering them to fight the taboo culture that forces them into silence. It is tangible proof of the power of social media for providing a platform for women's voices.Today, as we anxiously await the judge's ruling on Noura's appeal, it is comforting to know that it is not only the Sudanese people who stand with her, but the world. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Nima Elbagir and Eliza Mackintosh, CNN Illustrations by Ignacio Osorio

2018-06-21 07:01:12

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/21/africa/sudan-child-marriage-asequals-intl/index.html

Sudan child marriage: The 11-year-old girl divorcing her 38-year-old husband - CNN

In Sudan, child marriage has been woven into the fabric of the country's culture. More than a third of girls there are married before their 18th birthday.

africa, Sudan child marriage: The 11-year-old girl divorcing her 38-year-old husband - CNN

The 11-year-old girl divorcing her 38-year-old husband

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Khartoum, Sudan — Amal is 11 years old and seeking a divorce. The young Sudanese girl was in elementary school when a 38-year-old man asked for her hand in marriage. Her father accepted the proposal, and Amal (not her real name) was immediately wed.In Sudan, child marriage has been woven into the fabric of the country's culture, driven by tradition and poverty. More than a third of girls there are married before their 18th birthday, according to a 2017 UNICEF report, and 12% are wed before they reach 15. Under the country's 1991 Personal Status Law of Muslims, children can marry when they reach "maturity," which is only 10 years old. It's the lowest legal age of marriage in Africa.Noura in her own words: Teen who killed rapist husband shares her storyRead MoreThe recent case of Sudanese teenager Noura Hussein, sentenced to death earlier this year for killing her husband as he tried to rape her, has focused attention on child marriage in Sudan. Now 19, Noura was just 15 when she was forced to marry a man more than twice her age.An illustration of a man in a doorway.Pre-teen bride Amal says she was repeatedly abused at the hands of her husband, who smoked cigarettes as he beat her. In an interview in Khartoum, her father sitting beside her, Amal told CNN that her husband had another wife who lived in the same house with them.After the abuse, Amal said that she went to her father for help, but he kept sending her back. Eventually she escaped with the aid of her husband's first wife."He treated me horribly," Amal said of her husband. "Then when the beatings became every day, I went to the police station." A doctor who evaluated Amal's injuries at the station found evidence that she'd been tied up and assaulted. Though he had heard her story before, Amal's father wept while his daughter talked to us."Twice, she came to my home, twice, and was terrified and frightened. I sent her back," he told CNN. "I am regretful."Amal's father, who works as a tinsmith laborer in the street, is raising six daughters on his own. When he described why he married Amal off -- despite her young age -- he cited tradition and honor."When I let him marry my daughter, it was on trust, on the basis that he would look after her, let her continue with her education and honor her as agreed," he said. "But I found that this was not happening. It was all beating, humiliation and provocation."Many Sudanese parents marry off their daughters in hopes of avoiding poverty, violence or family shame. Unmarried women are often stigmatized as agir, "infertile," or bayra, "not demanded for marriage." But, in reality, child brides are more likely to face sexual, physical and psychological violence, according to UNICEF. "I didn't know that getting married at a young age could have such consequences," Amal's father added.Despite what happened to Amal, he says it won't stop him from marrying off his younger daughters. An illustration of a woman's hand with henna, a Sudanese wedding tradition.In December 2015, the Sudanese government joined the African Union campaign to end child marriage on the continent. One year later, Sudan received recommendations from the United Nations with the same goal. In the intervening years, Sudan's National Council for Child Welfare (NCCW) formulated a strategy for abandoning the practice, but the reform sparked counter-mobilization by conservative religious groups in the country and little has been done to implement it. The SEEMA Center, a nongovernmental organization working with victims and survivors of gender-based violence in Khartoum, is among civil-society groups working to change that.Nahid Jabralla, director of SEEMA, has been campaigning in support of Amal, Noura and other young women and girls with stories like theirs. "Many of the cases brought to SEEMA Center are related to forced marriage, child marriage or domestic violence, including marital rape and cases to do with injustice," Jabralla told CNN. "However, what is brought to SEEMA Center is a very small portion of the cases of the violations that women and children are subjected to in the Sudan."Read more: In Sudan, the #JusticeForNoura campaign gave a voice to the voicelessThe Sudanese government has not responded to CNN's requests for comment on child marriage in the country, or Noura's case. While official statistics show that 34% of girls in Sudan get married before they reach 18, this varies significantly across the country. In Sudan's East Darfur State, for example, 57% of women marry before the age of 18, according to a 2014 UNICEF health survey.Sudan is full of Nouras and few have seen justice, Jabralla says.Despite these odds, young girls like Amal are still fighting for a different future.The 11-year-old, who likes to play with dolls and has filled countless notebooks with poetry, is adamant on having her divorce finalized.As soon as it is, she wants to get back to school, to be reunited with her friends. Asked what advice she would give other young girls fighting early marriage, Amal looked down at her hands."Be brave," she said."I wish I was braver." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

A first-hand account obtained by CNN

2018-06-21 07:08:50

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africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/21/africa/noura-hussein-asequals-intl/index.html

Noura Hussein in her own words: Teen who killed rapist husband shares her story - CNN

Sudanese teenager Noura Hussein is on death row for killing her 35-year-old husband. CNN obtained a first-hand account from the 19-year-old, who has appealed her sentence.

africa, Noura Hussein in her own words: Teen who killed rapist husband shares her story - CNN

Noura in her own words: Teen who killed rapist husband shares her story

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Sudanese teenager Noura Hussein, who is on death row for killing her 35-year-old husband, in a case that has sparked international outrage, has spoken out for the first time about her forced marriage, and the rape and struggle that happened when she stabbed him.CNN obtained a first-hand account from the 19-year-old, who is currently awaiting retrial in an Omdurman prison cell after appealing her death sentence.The teenager's story has put a spotlight on forced marriage and marital rape in Sudan, where the legal age to enter into marriage is 10 and marital rape is not a crime.Noura's family made her get married at 15, but allowed her to finish school. Three years later, after a public marriage ceremony, her husband tried to consummate the marriage. After refusing to have sex with him on their "honeymoon," she says he raped her as members of his family held her down. A day later her husband tried to rape her again, and she stabbed him to death. When she went to her parents for support, they turned her over to the police.The Sudanese government has not responded to CNN's requests for comment on the case.Read MoreNoura's first-hand account was obtained by CNN. It has been translated, and lightly edited for clarity and length.————————————Noura Hussein: He told my parents that he wanted to marry me when I was in the 8th grade. They fooled me after I sat the secondary school exams at the end of that year.And the first time I even saw him was a week after he proposed the marriage to my uncle. And from the first time they told me I refused. I told them I don't want to marry, I want to study.I spoke to him directly and said, "I don't want to marry you."I fled to Sinnar to my aunt's house, but two days later they brought me back and the religious ceremony took place, two weeks after he first proposed, in our house.Afterwards I had no communication with him. If he visited the house I left. I told him, I don't want you.The wedding ceremony was three years later after I sat my school leaver exam. They did all the usual rituals for the wedding, his family are well off, but in all that time I didn't take anything from him -- not a single penny.I was overwhelmed with anger, I didn't want this man. I sat in the hairdressers contemplating suicide. I cried sitting next to him. In the car he kept coming closer to me and I kept moving away. We arrived at the honeymoon flat, I locked myself inside one of the rooms and lay down fully clothed.This went on -- I refused to eat, I refused to leave my room. On the third day he told me it's time you open the door so I don't break in. I refused but while he slept I crept out and found the door to the flat was locked. On the ninth day his relatives came, his uncle told me to go to the bedroom. I said no so he dragged me by my arm into the bedroom and his cousin slapped me. All of them tore at my clothing. His uncle held me down by my legs and each of the other two held down my arms. He stripped and had me while I wept and screamed. Finally, they left the room. I was bleeding, I slept naked.The next day he grabbed me, threw me on the bed and tried to climb on top of me. I was fighting back and my hand found a knife under the pillow. We began grappling over the knife. He cut my hand and bit down on my shoulder.I ran to my parent's house. I had no idea how I got there. I was still carrying the knife.I was hoping to finish studying law and then marry, my dream is to be a judge.Read more on Hussein's case and forced marriage in Sudan. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Nick Paton Walsh, Barbara Arvintidis and Julia Gavarrete Video by Christian Streib

2018-06-14 07:27:11

news

americas

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/14/americas/el-salvador-gangs-women-intl/index.html

Gangs in El Salvador use women's bodies for 'revenge and control' - CNN

Women in El Salvador's brutal gang culture are forced to act as drug mules, carers for abandoned children, and subjected to violent gang initiations such as rape.

americas, Gangs in El Salvador use women's bodies for 'revenge and control' - CNN

Gangs in El Salvador are using women's bodies for 'revenge and control'

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. San Salvador, El Salvador -- From afar, it looked like a breakdown. A few cars gathered at the side of a highway on a Tuesday morning. But this gathering, made up of police patrolmen and photographers, disguised a ghastly but all too common fact of daily life in El Salvador -- the murder of a young woman.In this tiny Latin American country, women bear the brunt of a brutal gang culture. They are the drug mules and forced foster parents of children of gang members who are either in jail or dead.Sometimes women are forced into the gangs themselves, subjected to violent initiations that can comprise rape, beatings and murder.That morning, on the side of a highway in Apopa, a district north of the capital San Salvador, lay the body of 22-year-old Jennifer Landaverde, her exposed painted red toenails poking out from a white sheet. Read MoreNeighbors say Landaverde was "in trouble" with the local gang, Barrio 18. She had left home at dawn to walk to her job at market stalls in the city. Her mother heard the gunshots and then found the body. The scene at the side of a highway where Jennifer Landaverde, 22, was found dead. Landaverde had been shot eight times. Police say there was no sign of the sexual assault that blights many communities in El Salvador. But pictures of her body, snapped by news photographers at the scene, showed her clothes around her ankles. Officers dragged Landaverde into the back of a police pickup. The dead woman's shoes were handed to her mother, who wept as she received them.At the wake the next day, in a tiny village in Apopa where a few years ago the gangs would never have bothered extending their tentacles, little more was said about how Landaverde came to be there. Landaverde's wake in the village of Apopa. A woman is murdered in El Salvador every 19 hours; a murder -- more generally -- occurs every two hours.Yet this slight statistical advantage does not lessen the brutality women face in a society where 10% of people are, according to one government estimate, said to be in a gang or under the influence of one. The United Nations' special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Agnes Callamard, told CNN that women's "bodies are treated as a territory for revenge and control. Gangs are male-dominated and girls and women parts of the territories they control." Callamard also noted that about one in 10 murders of women results in convictions. "I also received troubling information of increased numbers of enforced disappearances of women and men alike, which may indicate even higher numbers of killings," she said."It is of concern that this number may be underreported due to lack of complaints being lodged because of fear of reprisals," added Callamard.Gangs are not exclusively male however, and female members convicted of crimes end up in prisons such as Centro de Readaptación para Mujeres, in Ilopango, central El Salvador.The women's prison is a large, sprawling series of compounds, littered with laundry, and -- oddly -- the constant buzz of light aircraft that appeared to swoop from the sky throughout our visit.Aerobics. Haircuts. More laundry. The courtyard bustled with activity, the women keen to get out of their tiny dormitories.There was a time here when the gang members were kept apart from the normal prisoners. Now they are mixed together. Back then, Roxana was the de-facto head of the women's gang section. Roxana, photographed wearing a blue bandana, said she has retired from gang culture.Roxana, who was wearing a bright blue bandana on her head and matching eyeliner, said her father died when she was young and her alcoholic mother left her to care for her five siblings. She ended up on the streets, easy prey to the gangs. "I thought it was a game but... in the end it was... Sometimes you're forced to walk the streets and you are being discriminated for being what you are, so you're forced to rob or kill people... and sometimes things happen because of the alcohol and drugs," she said from behind a wire fence."We're drunk and drugged and did many things that I now regret having done," she added.Roxana recalled the moment when she committed the murder that left her incarcerated for the rest of her life. "It was a rival gang and if I didn't do what they asked me to do there were consequences for me," she said. "So, I was obliged to do it in that moment. What I did to him he wanted to do it to me," she added of the man she killed. "So, I had to defend myself. Yes, I had to defend myself."Since she has been in jail, Roxana has lost not only her mother, but also her son, Rafael. Rafael spent some time in jail, and was murdered shortly after he got out, four months ago to the day before we talked with his mother. His name is tattooed on the inside of Roxana's right upper arm. "It was very painful for me because I didn't want him to follow my very same path but, before I realized, he had become a gang member already and I wasn't able to do anything for him," she said.When I started in the gang I didn't have children and thought everything was pink and sweet. I was just a teenager.RoxanaRoxana said she was initiated into the infamous gang Barrio 18 through an 18-second beating -- in keeping with the obsession gangs have with inflicting punishments that honor their name. "Eighteen seconds... I got kicked out and hit, that was necessary to be part of it. There are women that go through worse," she said. "Sometimes they're raped, beaten up, mistreated."Roxana said she has now retired from the gang culture. "When I started in the gang I didn't have children and thought everything was pink and sweet. I was just a teenager," she added."But as time passed I realized this wasn't just a hobby -- with the killings and murders," she said. "By the time I wanted to leave the gang I couldn't, my life was in danger. Maybe I should be thanking God to have brought me to this place." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Nima Elbagir, Lillian Leposo, and Eliza Mackintosh Video by Alex Platt and Fabien Muhire Graphics by Kara Fox and Henrik Pettersson

2018-05-24 09:54:10

health

health

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/24/health/trump-mexico-city-policy-abortion-ban-kenya-asequals-intl/index.html

Trump's ban on global abortion funding has led to more abortions - CNN

US President Donald Trump's international abortion funding ban has had an unintended consequence. More abortions.

health, Trump's ban on global abortion funding has led to more abortions - CNN

Trump's ban on global abortion funding has led to more abortions

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Nairobi, Kenya — Health worker Elizabeth Wanjiru was walking through the narrow streets of Kenya's largest slum earlier this year when she came across two schoolboys pointing at something in a muddy ditch. As she drew closer she saw it was the remains of an aborted fetus. Dumped elsewhere in Kibera, the fetus had washed up in a narrow alleyway after a night of rainfall. It's something Wanjiru hasn't seen for years. Wanjiru and other health workers in Kenya told CNN that the number of backstreet abortions have increased since the United States cut aid to family planning programs that provide abortion services, in addition to contraception, in the world's least developed countries. Ushered in by President Donald Trump's administration, the Mexico City policy, or global gag rule, was supposed to reduce the number of abortions, but healthcare workers in Kenya say it's doing the opposite. The cuts, which left thousands of women in Kenya without contraception, have forced many to resort to risky, backstreet abortions as a form of birth control.Trump is also eyeing funding changes in the US. Last week, his administration proposed a new rule that would bar abortions or advice on abortion at facilities receiving federal family planning funds. While there are already laws in place that prevent federal money from directly funding abortions, the new rule would mean family planning programs would have to perform abortion services or provide abortion counseling and referrals in a different place, and by different employees, for the facility to continue receiving federal family planning dollars. It's been described as a domestic version of the global gag policy by abortion rights activists.Read MoreKhadijah Dija lost access to free injectable contraceptives after Trump's Mexico City policy went into effect.Reliant on international donors for support, communities like Kibera are where the Mexico City policy has been felt the most and, so far, the national government says it has been unable to make up the shortfall.For five years Khadijah Dija visited a family health clinic in the slum every three months to get a free contraceptive injection until Trump's funding cuts came into effect.The single mother-of-two says she relied on the family-planning method to avoid having another child she couldn't afford. Her daily earnings from selling porridge, equivalent to 50 cents, are barely enough to buy food for her family, or pay rent on their one-room house.When the nongovernmental organization Family Health Options Kenya (FHOK) informed Dija last August that it no longer had funds to provide her with free contraception she said she was devastated.The three-month injectable contraceptives she had previously received for free would now cost her $4, according to FHOK.Sitting on the bottom bunk of her children's bed, their toys scattered around her, Dija told CNN that she had considered getting injections from a local pharmacy, where they sell for about $2 to $3. But she said they're often expired, or unsafe, and she couldn't afford them anyway. Injectables are the most commonly used form of contraception for women in Africa. Invisible to partners, they reduce the risk of backlash and are easy to use.Africa already has the lowest percentage of women using birth control, and the highest unmet demand for contraceptives in the world. Read more: US foreign aid cuts could be a 'death sentence' to women in MalawiAnd because many African countries rely on US Agency for International Development (USAID) money to fill gaps in women's health services, the Trump funding cuts are hitting women like Dija particularly hard. Without access to contraception, Dija became pregnant with her third child last October. She went to a backstreet clinic in Kibera and got abortion pills illegally. To pay for the pills, which cost about $10, Dija had to dip into precious savings she had made from her work at a women's group in the slum."I couldn't give birth because my husband is not supporting or helping me, so I decided to terminate the pregnancy. I thought that was the best option," she said. When CNN interviewed Dija in her home, she said it had been a month since taking the abortion pills, and she was still bleeding.Asked what she will do if the bleeding doesn't stop, Dija said: "I hope it will."Abortion is illegal in Kenya, except for when the life or health of the mother is at risk, but it is on the rise in Kibera, where most residents live in extreme poverty -- earning less than $1 per day.Wilson Bunde stands outside the FHOK clinic in Kibera, where women once received free contraceptives.Wilson Bunde, who works with FHOK, said women like Dija, who were coming to the Kibera clinic for free contraceptives, are returning to be treated for botched abortions instead.Organizations like Bunde's are supported by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), a global provider of sexual and reproductive health services, which stands to lose up to $100 million in USAID after refusing to sign up to the terms of Trump's policy. The cuts meant FHOK stopped offering subsidized contraception in Kibera, closed a clinic and cut a community outreach program.Without access to that program, Bunde estimated, 36,000 women went without family planning last year. In February 2018, the US State Department released an initial review of Trump's expanded policy, rebranded Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA). The State Department said it was still "too early to assess the full range of benefits and challenges of the PLGHA policy." But it did include one comment of support from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which praised PLGHA as "one of the most significant policy initiatives on abortion ever taken by the United States in an area of foreign assistance."It's not the first time that a US president has imposed changes to USAID for organizations administering family planning in the world's least developed countries.First introduced by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, the global gag rule was rescinded by Democrats and then reinstated by Republicans (under George W. Bush), but never before to this extent. Women sell bananas, baby diapers, and other items on a street in Kibera, Africa's biggest slum.Trump's policy slashes an estimated $8.8 billion in US global health assistance -- funding that applies not only to family planning, as it has previously, but extends to prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, infectious diseases, and even hygiene programs.In 2001, the Bush administration cut about $600 million in foreign aid. One year later, induced abortions spiked.The correlation was identified in a 2011 Stanford University study, which analyzed abortion rates in 20 sub-Saharan African countries receiving USAID for family planning and women's health over 14 years. The researchers found that when the Mexico City policy was in place, women were up to 2.73 times more likely to get abortions than women in countries where the policy was not applied. In Kibera, women are turning to untrained abortion providers as a last resort. One practitioner, who asked that CNN not use her real name due to fear of prosecution, said she often treats women who are between six and seven months pregnant.She performs the procedure with a knitting needle, puncturing the pregnant woman's amniotic sac, which forces the fetus out of the uterus.Read more: In Lesotho, women say they're finding their abortions on FacebookThe practitioner, who told CNN that she was a trained midwife, said she sees mostly young schoolgirls and unmarried women. She carries out the abortions in her small home. On a twin bed covered by a thin clear plastic sheet, sat a bag with surgical gloves, a jar of petroleum jelly, cotton wool, some pain killers and the needle, attached to a long, thin tube, which is used to drain the fluid into a bucket on the floor.Two men stand chatting on the balcony of a community arts center in the heart Kibera.Botched abortions cost Kenya about $6.3 million in 2016, according to a recent report published by Africa Health Population Research in partnership with Kenya's Ministry Of Health. And experts say that number is expected to rise in the wake of Trump's cuts.Kibera health worker Elizabeth Wanjiru, says that when she first became involved in family planning outreach programs she had hoped it would bring an end to the backstreet abortions.When she saw the fetus in the ditch in Kibera, she said: "It touched me, and it made me remember what I did."Health worker Elizabeth Wanjiru told CNN that women in Kibera are "crying," asking her for free family planning.Wanjiru once had a backstreet abortion herself, and she doesn't want women to have to go through what she experienced.But she says that it's become much more difficult to stop women from turning to backstreet abortions, now that contraceptives are unaffordable for most. "This is why you will find babies aborted, due to lack of access to family planning."— Florence Obondo contributed to this report from Nairobi. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN

2018-03-08 10:02:46

news

middleeast

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/08/middleeast/hajj-sexual-abuse-asequals-iwd-intl/index.html

'I never told anyone': 5 women's stories of sexual abuse at the Hajj - CNN

Five women talk to CNN about their experiences of sexual abuse and harassment while participating in the pilgrimage.

middleeast, 'I never told anyone': 5 women's stories of sexual abuse at the Hajj - CNN

'I never told anyone': 5 women's stories of sexual abuse at the Hajj

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.Hundreds of thousands of Muslim women descend on Mecca in Saudi Arabia each year to take part in the Hajj, but in recent weeks some female worshipers have told CNN they experienced incidents of sexual abuse or harassment while participating in the five-day pilgrimage.Five women told CNN they were compelled to share their stories after a Pakistani woman's account of being sexually abused at the Hajj went viral on Facebook last month. That post (since deleted) prompted an outpouring of similar stories from female pilgrims on social media.The Hajj is a spiritual pinnacle for Muslims around the world, with up to three million pilgrims traveling to Mecca to participate each year. In 2016, almost 42% of all worshipers were women. Every Muslim who is physically and financially able to, is required to do the pilgrimage once in their lifetime. As one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world, crowd control poses a major challenge. Most of the incidents of sexual abuse and harassment reported to CNN happened during the tawaf ritual, a counter-clockwise procession around the Kaaba shrine. Only some of the women who shared their stories with CNN reported the incidents to police in Saudi Arabia but those who did said their complaints were ignored. Read MoreResponding to CNN, an unnamed Saudi official familiar with Hajj affairs said the Kingdom does not tolerate this kind of behavior anywhere, especially at holy sites and added that allegations made by the women were being taken very seriously by authorities. "Anyone found guilty of committing these acts faces serious consequences including imprisonment and caning," the Saudi official said. "By Royal Order, female police officers and investigators are now being added to the police force and security services including the Public Prosecution Department, so there will be a greater female security and police presence within the country and at the Holy sites to handle any issues that may arise."Saudi Arabia already issued a royal decree in September 2017 to outlaw sexual harassment. A new law is currently being drafted.Below are the five women's stories. They have been edited for clarity and length. Some women requested to remain anonymous because they fear a backlash within their communities.Asra Nadeem, a Pakistani woman living in the US I was 21 years old in 2006 when I did the Hajj for the first time.First, I got stuck in the 2006 stampede during the Stoning of the Devil in Mina and that itself was very traumatic. It was horrible.But a few days later I went back to Mecca to perform Umrah (a shorter form of the Hajj pilgrimage that can be performed at any time of the year). During that time, I was on my own, doing tawaf around the Kaaba. The closer you get to the Kaaba, the more crowded it gets. Everybody wants to touch the Kaaba. I wanted to get closer to touch it, and in the last circle the crowd was moving really slowly.I was next to the Kaaba and somebody grabbed my bum. I thought it was just the crowd; everyone was pushing. But then, when I moved up, somebody grabbed my boobs. I turned my head and I saw this guy just smirking at me. I couldn't do anything, and he was still holding my breast. So, I yelled at him, and then people started pushing me forward, shouting "yalla" ("hurry up").I reported the incident to the first two guards that I saw but both of them did not speak English and told me to move along.I've met a few people who messaged me the same experience but in 2006 you didn't want to talk about it, before Facebook or anything. Hajj is a spiritual experience -- you're in a different state of mind. You're praying for things, it's very Zen-like. Your first instinct is that it cannot possibly be happening, but it's there, in your faceI didn't go back to do Hajj. It was very traumatic, first the stampede and then the harassment. Anonymous British woman, now living in AsiaI had never been sexually assaulted before I went to Mecca, in 2007 when I was 32. The first time it happened I was heading into the Grand Mosque to perform tawaf. A man was heading out, towards the courtyard, and as he approached me he outstretched his arm and grabbed my breast. It wasn't a clumsy brush. It was a grab. It was forceful and it hurt. He didn't let go immediately. He squeezed and was looking at me the whole time. The second time I was in the courtyard of the Grand Mosque and I felt something pressing into my lower spine. It was crowded and lots of people were bumping into each other. But the pressing continued. I turned around and saw it was a man and realized he was pressing his erection into me. He was pushing against me so hard he was almost driving me forward. He too was looking at me and holding my gaze. I ran off and found a policeman and told him (in English) what had happened. He shooed me away. He had no interest in listening to me. I even pointed out the man in the crowd and the policeman still ignored me. The third time I was in a side street looking at Hajj-related merchandise. I felt a sharp jab from behind. An old man had put his hand between my buttocks with such force that his fingers were almost inside me. It happened really fast and I cried out in shock. He looked at me and smiled and said "Alhamdulillah" ["Praise to God"]. The person at the stall had his back turned and didn't see anything.I was assaulted each time in broad daylight with thousands of people around me. I was amazed at the audacity of the three men and I was angry that there was no recourse. I was told before I left that I might get touched inappropriately. But it didn't prepare me for the shock. I think assault happens a lot more at the Hajj than people -- Muslims -- would like to believe. It is the holiest place in Islam, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Talking about sexual assault is difficult enough and talking about it in connection with the Hajj, which is a pillar of Islam, is even harder because it is sacred. I did return to the Hajj a few years later...but I was militant about my personal space. I would almost run to where I needed to be so nobody could touch me and did a lot of my work late at night or early in the morning when it was quieter outside. I didn't perform tawaf and I would zip through the courtyard of the Grand Mosque. It was my second visit so I knew all the tunnels and shortcuts.Anonymous woman, Indonesia I am from Indonesia and I was going to Mecca for Umrah in 2011, when I was 17First, I got catcalled. I was waiting in the hotel's lobby for my room and there were two males that started to stare at me and laughed. I ignored them and they started to call me "cantik" (Indonesian for "beauty"), with smirks on their faces. When I did tawaf around the Kaaba, another pilgrim walked behind me and stuck his erect penis into my back. I felt angry and unsafe. I could not complain about it to anyone because of the situation and everyone thinks "it is the holy city -- who would do that?" I haven't come back for Umrah/Hajj. I am not sure that I would. Even after it happened I could not focus on my prayer and worship, just counting down when would I leave Mecca.It's a terrible situation when you are in a mosque, in front of the Kaaba, where you should feel the closest to God and the worst thing happens.I've told no one about this one until today. I don't know, maybe I didn't want to remember the situation or I didn't like that people would be asking "Why are you walking alone?" or "Why you are not using a black abaya?"Anonymous woman, EgyptI was harassed two times, one verbally and the other time physically.The verbal was while I was walking with my sisters and mom during Umrah. Heading back to the hotel after prayers, a shop clerk said something with the implication of "come over here, pretty girl." Mind you, I was 13, I never forgot it. I was very confused and disgusted with myself.The second time was during Hajj, at the Stoning of the Devil area in Mina, just east of Mecca. In the midst of the crowd, I felt someone grab my boobs, I looked back and it was a man with his wife next to him. He didn't respect his wife nor the holy city so he won't respect me either.Again, I was confused and disgusted with myself and I was just 17. For years after I've always said it might've been by mistake or unintentional since it's the holy city and Hajj -- but Twitter made me realize I'm not the only one.Anooshe Mushtaq, a Pakistani woman living in AustraliaWhen I was 10 years old my family was posted to Libya. My father was in the Pakistani air force and was posted there for four years. In 1980, my parents decided to perform Hajj.I remember I was very excited as performing Hajj is a privilege. My parents traveled to Saudi Arabia with their two daughters. My sister and I were looking forward to going to Mecca and seeing the Kaaba for the first time.When we entered the Kaaba it was very crowded. Suddenly a young man groped me from behind. I felt extremely uncomfortable. I grabbed my mother's hand and moved in front of her. I didn't know if I should tell my mum or not so I just kept quiet. During Hajj we were supposed to travel on a bus from Mecca to Medina. As we sat in the bus my sister and I sat next to each other and our parents sat in the seats behind each us.The bus conductor was checking tickets. The bus conductor stood beside my seat and acted like he wanted to fix something on the inside of my seat. He moved his hand on my chest and groped my upper leg and he would not leave it. I felt angry and disgusted but didn't know what to do. He then reached out as if he was fixing the curtains while thrusting his groin in my face.I didn't tell anyone due to shame and honor of my family and I kept quiet. I never told anyone what happened during Hajj until I recently saw the sexual assault post.If I get a chance I will perform Hajj a second time in the future.— Tamara Qiblawi contributed to this report. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Hannah Ritchie, CNN

2018-03-06 09:53:58

news

middleeast

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/06/middleeast/iran-women-protest-hijab-online-asequals-intl/index.html

Threatened with 'acid, rape, abuse': Protesting Iran's compulsory hijab law - CNN

These women are speaking out against Iran's strict Islamic dress code on social media, despite the consequences.

middleeast, Threatened with 'acid, rape, abuse': Protesting Iran's compulsory hijab law - CNN

Threatened with 'acid, rape, abuse': Protesting Iran's compulsory hijab law

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.A young woman stands on top of a utility box, holding a white headscarf aloft in front of a crowd of one-eyed monsters, her medusa-like hair cascading over her shoulders. The scene comes from an animated video created by Samin, a 32-year-old motion graphics animator from Tehran, with the help of her boyfriend, an illustrator. Together the couple have been protesting Iran's compulsory hijab rule with their art."Since we are artists, our language is our form of protest. We are hopeful that our videos can provide a voice for Iranian women," Samin told CNN. Her name has been changed to protect her identity.For Samin, sharing her art on social media is the safest way to show her solidarity with the movement against Iran's mandatory headscarf law — part of an Islamic dress code that was enforced after the 1979 revolution against the Shah's secular regime.Read MoreAt least 33 people have been arrested for taking part in protests since late December, when a wave of anti-government demonstrations gave way to a public outcry over gender inequality. People in the country turned to Telegram and Instagram to share information about the protests and voice their support. In response, Iranian officials reportedly restricted access to the social-media and messaging services in an attempt to quell the unrest. "The government says, 'You are Muslim — you must wear a hijab,' but it's like you censor yourself when you put it on. I think 90% of people don't want the hijab. Young people would never choose it," Samin said.It's not clear how widespread support for the movement is in Iran, which is still considered freer for women than many of its Islamic neighbors. Iranian women can drive, vote, hold most jobs, and are among the most highly educated in the Middle East.With the sudden release of a three-year-old report in early February, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani seemed to signal that the country was still split on the issue. The report suggested that 49.2% of Iranians considered the veil to be a private matter and were opposed to the government dictating what women should wear. Samin's story underlines a generational divide on the issue. She doesn't tell her traditional parents how she feels about the hijab, or about her boyfriend, for that matter."In Iran, girls are forced to be liars. You must hide everything. I must hide my work, my emotions, my love, all because of the culture here," Samin told CNN.The threat of arrest keeps her from voicing her views in the streets, but, behind the anonymity of social media, she continues speaking out."Sometimes I want to go protest like Vida, but then I think about my life and going to prison for I don't know how long, and it's scary," Samin said, referring to Vida Movahedi, a 31-year-old mother who was arrested for protesting without her headscarf in a busy Tehran street. "The government says, 'You are Muslim — you must wear a hijab,' but it's like you censor yourself when you put it on," Samin said.A video of Movahedi standing on a utility box and waving her veil like a flag — which inspired Samin's animation — went viral on social media in late December, in part because it was shared by an Iranian woman living in exile in the United States.Masih Alinejad, an activist behind the "White Wednesday" social-media campaign against compulsory hijabs, shares videos and photos of protesters on her social media accounts, which have a combined following of over 2.3 million. Alinejad has provided a platform for Iranian women to share their discontent with the world, and some are now taking the campaign into their own hands, posting images of themselves without hijabs on their own accounts.Shaparak Shajarizadeh, an active member of the White Wednesday movement, was arrested in late February after she removed her headscarf in a public protest against Movahedi's arrest. She shared a video of herself on social media, mirroring Movahedi's now iconic demonstration — waving her white veil from a stick, her long hair uncovered.Shajarizadeh, a 42-year-old mother who lives in Tehran with her husband and 9-year-old son, spoke with CNN before she was detained on February 21.She told CNN that after Movahedi disappeared she couldn't stop thinking about her: "I couldn't even sleep — I was thinking all the time, what happened to that girl? And I thought ... it's not right to forget about her. I just felt an obligation to support this girl."But her actions have come at a personal cost. When Shajarizadeh's photographs began to circulate in international reports, her parents were terrified."First they started calling me and asking me to stop, then they started to call my husband. When that didn't work it got ugly, and they started talking to my son. I didn't want him to be scared or worried ... so I cut them out of my life," Shajarizadeh said, adding that her parents, while not that religious, are afraid of challenging the status quo."Of course I am sad, but ... this is my life. They censored me all my life, and now I just want to have a voice."She has lost touch with her parents and many friends, but Shajarizadeh said her husband has been by her side throughout the campaign. "That's more than enough for me," Shajarizadeh said.But finding the words to explain to her son why she is protesting has been difficult at times. "He is worried when people talk in front of him about jail and arresting and those sort of things. But he is a brave kid.""They censored me all my life, and now I just want to have a voice," Shaparak Shajarizadeh said.According to accounts from her family, and her lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, Shajarizadeh was beaten while being held in Vozara detention center in Tehran. After being transferred to Gharchak prison, she went on a hunger strike. CNN reached out to Iranian authorities for comment, but did not receive a response.Shajarizadeh was released from custody on February 28, and faces trial for "inciting corruption and prostitution" — a charge being used by Iranian police to prosecute women protesting the mandatory hijab. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison.Shajarizadeh is not alone; 35-year-old Manijeh Tafaghod Rezaei from western Tehran, has become another recognizable face of the women's movement through her posts on social media.Rezaei, who was born with achondroplasia, or dwarfism, works as a model — illegal in the Islamic Republic of Iran. She's been cautioned and detained after sharing videos of herself without a veil online."I was summoned and forced to say I wouldn't continue, but I kept on showing my dissatisfaction and protesting on social media," Rezaei told CNN.Rezaei, who has not made attempts to hide her identity, receives repeated threats in person and online."After posting videos without my hijab, I was threatened on social media and in the real world, too. I was even threatened with acid spraying, rape and abuse.""Many people ask me whether I have been arrested or not. I just tell them no, because I don't want society to be afraid and to stop women from protesting."Rezaei fled to the Netherlands in late February, fearful for her life.She is currently living in limbo, unsure if she will ever be able to return home. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Alexandra Field and Kathy Quiano, CNN

2018-03-06 02:35:39

health

health

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/05/health/philippines-teen-pregnancy-asequals/index.html

16 and trying not to get pregnant - CNN

A new report signals a shift in the Philippines' soaring teen pregnancy rates, but in a deeply devout country where abortion is illegal, progress is slow.

health, 16 and trying not to get pregnant - CNN

16 and trying not to get pregnant

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.Manila, Philippines — Breastfeeding her three-month-old daughter, Hazel Encarnacion, 16, walks through the narrow alleyways of Tondo, one of Manila's poorest and most crowded neighborhoods.The fiercely proud new mother says she wants to wait five years before having another baby.That's easier said than done in the Philippines, a deeply devout country where abortion is illegal, and a lack of knowledge about modern family planning methods means that birth control isn't widely used. Historically, teen pregnancy rates have held steady in the Philippines while declining elsewhere in Asia, according to the United Nations Population Fund. But newly released official figures point to a slight change in this trend. According to the Philippines' National Demographic and Health Survey for 2017, 9% of Filipino women age 15-19 had begun childbearing, down from 10% in 2013.Read MoreThose numbers are still high, considering the global teen pregnancy rate was 4.7% in 2015, according to the World Health Organization.Encarnacion is a beneficiary of new legislation and efforts by NGOs that seek to make contraception more widely available in the Philippines.She points to the spot on her left arm where a contraceptive implant has been inserted under her skin free of charge by the NGO, Likhaan."I want to be able to take good care of my children," Hazel Encarnacion, 16, says. It could help her delay pregnancy for up to three years, allowing Encarnacion and her husband, who earns fewer than $5 a day working as a delivery man at a market, to conceive a second child when the couple feel they can afford it. "It was my decision so we could control it. I just want two children," she says.Before she became pregnant with her daughter, Encarnacion says she thought birth control could only be used by women who already had children.According to the 2017 national survey, 28% of young married women in the Philippines said they aren't getting the birth control they need. For unmarried sexually active women, almost half say they don't have access to contraception. 'What adolescents ask their parents?'In neighborhoods like Tondo, it's not unusual to find women who have had more than 10 children.In the absence of accessible contraception, many women here have had to resort to abortion as a means of birth control. Illegal abortion is performed in a climate of fear and shame resulting from strict legal and religious prohibitions, according to the UN. The Philippines is deeply religious, with Roman Catholics accounting for 80% of its population. But in 2012, after a 14-year battle with the Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups, the Philippines passed a reproductive health law that mandated universal access to birth control and more reproductive health education, with a goal of reducing the country's birth rate. Legal challenges slowed the law's full implementation until late in 2017, when the country's Food and Drug Administration lifted a temporary Supreme Court court order banning 51 types of contraceptives by ruling that they did not induce abortion.Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has also pushed for more birth control to be made available for the poor, and last year signed an executive order calling for extra funds and support. One month later, in a public address, he suggested that women should use pills and injections instead of condoms, because: "they are not pleasurable." Though his press secretary defended his remarks, Duterte's critics say his "jokes" promote violence and discrimination against women.A woman stands in an alley in Tondo, a child clutching her leg. But because of Duterte's recent efforts, contraceptive implants like the one given free of charge to Encarnacion, will be more accessible to women. The implementation of his executive order is seen as key to helping the country reach a goal of reducing poverty by 13% by 2022.Healthcare worker Magdalena Bacalando, who distributes birth control and information about reproductive health on the streets of Tondo, says the new law still doesn't fully allow health care workers to reach some of the women in greatest need: teens. By law, parental consent is needed for adolescents who want to use birth control, she says.Most of the girls in the community where Bacalando works get pregnant at 15 or 16 years old — in the Philippines the age of sexual consent is just 12. "They're already sexually active," says Bacalando, who works for Likhaan."They're not asking their parents. What adolescents ask their parents?"'I feared God but I had no other choice'But older women say the situation in the Philippines is much better today than in the past.The birth rate is beginning to decline, with the average fertility rate for women there standing at 2.7 children in 2017, down from three children in 2013, according to official figures. The 2017 data also suggests that the number of teen pregnancies is falling, with 3.7% of 16-year-olds starting families compared with 5% in 2013.A young girl looks on a bustling street in Manila's Tondo neighborhood.A 52-year-old mother of 11 children, who asked that CNN not use her name, says she ended three pregnancies with low cost and risky procedures. In one case, she paid 1,200 pesos ($23) for a procedure that involved a rubber catheter that damaged her uterus causing her to bleed profusely.When she arrived at a hospital, unable to control the bleeding, she says she was threatened with the possibility of prosecution for the crime of ending her pregnancy. Under the Philippine Penal Code, a woman performing an abortion on herself, or anyone who intentionally causes an abortion with consent of the pregnant woman, is subject to six months to six years in prison."I was scared. I feared God but I had no other choice because life was so hard. My husband didn't have a regular job," she says.To end another pregnancy, she says she took black market abortion pills and visited a local healer who performed a $3 "massage." "She just kept pushing hard on my belly. Whenever the baby moved, she just pushed it down harder, so that, so it could be like, crushed. It was quite painful but I had to bear it."The woman said she hopes greater access to contraception will spare her nine daughters the painful choices she said she had to make."I'm in favor of family planning. My friends, cousins, all of them, even my daughters-in-law, they use contraceptives because they don't want to get pregnant again."— CNN's Katie Hunt contributed to this report from Hong Kong. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Photos by Benedicte Kurzen

2018-01-08 23:43:17

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/world/haiti-portraits-asequals/index.html

'An homage to resilience': Portraits of Haiti's rape survivors - CNN

This photographer collaborated with survivors of rape in Haiti to capture intimate portraits that overcome stigma and victimization.

world, 'An homage to resilience': Portraits of Haiti's rape survivors - CNN

'An homage to resilience': Portraits of Haiti's rape survivors

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.In 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti killing hundreds of thousands of people. It left thousands more Haitians displaced from their homes. In the months and years that followed another crisis unfolded. Reports emerged that women and children living in the sprawling displacement camps or "tent cities" were being raped and sexually assaulted.Photojournalist Benedicte Kurzen interviewed and photographed several survivors of rape in 2016, capturing a series of portraits she described as "more an homage to their resilience than about rape itself."Kurzen says her portraits have helped each woman reframe herself and her story.Read More"In general when we speak about rape I usually have this feeling that we as media have a tendency to portray women as rape survivors and that's all they are," Kurzen said. "We put them in a box and reinforce some kind of stigma. We don't explore their imagination."Below, Kurzen shares her thoughts on the portrait series, as well as excerpts from her interviews with survivors. Their names have been changed to protect their identities."This work is the result of a collaboration with MSF (the nonprofit group Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders). They identified women and young girls who had been raped a year ago. It wasn't fresh. It was important not to victimize them a second time.""Every photograph was taken after a very long interview. I spent a really long time explaining to them what it was about and why we wanted to do this.""We talked about how they wanted to be pictured. It was very collaborative. All the pictures are inspired by elements of their story that they shared with me or by their own desire."Gisele, 20: "He took me to an isolated place and asked me to get naked. He touched me and raped me.""I told my family what happened. I want justice to be done."Viviane, 22: "My best friend found the MSF clinic on the social network. I came straight away. The boy was a friend from school. He took me to his home to give me one of his books. I kept asking if his dad was there. He said yes. When I arrived the house was empty. He took me to his room and forced me."Stephanie, 52: "I had a boyfriend but we were separated. He had a lot of other girlfriends and also children. I even look after one of his boys and also one of his daughters now. She is like my own. One night, he came to my place and we fought. He threw me on the floor and raped me so brutally that I started to bleed. My daughters and children don't know what happened. I did not tell them anything."Marie, 21: "I met this guy on the street. We started to chat. After a while I told him I was looking for a job. He immediately said that one of his friends was precisely looking for someone like me. He said that he needed to go to his place to pick up some documents. When we got there he pulled out his gun. This is when it happened." Marie asked to be photographed in the water, doing laundry while in traditional dress.Mother of Sarah, 13: "He is someone we knew. He lived in the same area as us in the camp. Now he is nowhere to be found. Our tent was broken and had a big hole in it. He came through it. He raped Sarah. She was on her own. Sarah wants to dance; she loves it but I don't want her to. I feel she is too visible when she dances."CNN first published these photographs in December 2016. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Rossalyn Warren, for CNN

2018-01-09 01:55:00

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/africa/malawi-cycle-of-shame-asequals/index.html

Cycle of shame: Harassed in the street, then again on social media - CNN

Harassed in public, then again online. Social platforms are a double-edged sword for women in Malawi.

africa, Cycle of shame: Harassed in the street, then again on social media - CNN

Cycle of shame: Harassed in the street, then again on social media

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.Lilongwe, Malawi — In a grainy mobile phone video that went viral last year, three women are seen stripping another woman naked, pulling her hair, dragging her to the ground and smashing a flower pot over her head.The video of the assault, filmed by one of the women, spread among closed WhatsApp groups before circulating on Facebook in Malawi. It gripped the country, sparking a national conversation about gender-based violence.A few days later, an image of the same three women surfaced online. They were pictured topless, sitting on the cement floor of a police station.While social networks have helped to advance women's rights in Malawi, they've also become an amplifier for an existing culture of abuse.Read MoreThese are three stories of how women in Malawi have been sexually harassed in public, humiliated online, and subjected to a cycle of shame. Each involves a photograph taken without the women's consent; in two, the women are naked or partially clothed. To highlight the issue at the heart of the story, CNN has chosen to republish the photographs. In order to not further fuel the cycle of shame that the women described, we have removed them from the images.They attacked a woman, before being stripped themselvesIn the original image, which circulated on WhatsApp, the three women were pictured naked in a police cell. Violence against women in Malawi has long been an issue. According to the 2015-16 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey, 20% of respondents said they had endured sexual violence and 34% reported they had suffered physical violence. Patriarchal values only add to the problem. The same survey found that 20.7% of women aged 15-19 agree a husband is justified in hitting his wife for reasons such as refusing to have sex or burning his food.Flora Chinguwo, 26, believed her husband was cheating with the woman she attacked. Now Chinguwo is in jail alongside Nora Chatsika, 30, and Gertrude Banda, 28, who helped her carry out the assault. As both victims and perpetrators, the women reveal how deeply embedded attitudes toward gender-based violence are in Malawi. "We're going through a lot," Chinguwo told CNN, "our families and children are on the outside, and we miss them." The women say they were rejected by a number of lawyers, who deemed the case too controversial, before Ishmail Wadi, a prominent local lawyer based in the capital Lilongwe, decided to represent them.When Wadi first met the women, they told him they were assaulted and abused by officers in Kawale police station. They claim they were stripped naked and photographed, abused until 3 a.m. when a senior officer intervened."One of the women was in tears, crying, when she explained to me that they had been taking pictures of them," Wadi explained. "Other male detainees were present and invited to watch. They were stripped off and made to sleep in a toilet, and were only given their clothes back when a senior officer came on scene."Wadi says the women provided evidence about who assaulted them in a disciplinary hearing."Other male detainees were present and invited to watch," Ishmail Wadi said. "They were stripped off and made to sleep in a toilet, and were only given their clothes back when a senior officer came on scene."Malawi's National Police Spokesperson James Kadadzera confirmed the police were conducting an internal investigation into the incident to identify who from law enforcement was involved.Although social media helped document the mistreatment the women endured, their viral video of the crime also heavily influenced the public's view, Wadi says.Many members of the public attended their hearing after seeing the video on social media, jeering and shouting abuse at the women in the court, even trying to attack them, said Wadi. He decided to remove the women from the courtroom, bringing them back in the afternoon when the crowd had dispersed. "The reaction from the public was horrific," Wadi said. "We did not have a fair trial because of social media.""The public response has been especially hostile because we're women and we attacked a woman," Chinguwo said. "Emotion played a big role in how people saw us."In early December, the women pleaded guilty to charges of "grievous bodily harm" and "insulting the modesty of women," for their attack on the woman. They were sentenced to four years in prison. They intend to appeal their sentence. The woman 'paraded' naked in the streetThis image, which circulated on Facebook, pictured a naked woman being led away by a police officer. On the afternoon of March 17, 2017, social media in Malawi was in uproar about a young woman photographed naked in a market.One image showed a female police officer walking the woman away from the market, as a group of men photographed her.Some people on Facebook commented that she was being "paraded" in the streets of Limbe in the south of the country. But other accounts also swirled online. Some said she had taken off her own clothes, encouraged by male street vendors who offered her a fee. Others suggested that vendors stripped her after she was caught stealing.In a statement, the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare condemned the police conduct as "deeply concerning," urging the public to call law enforcement rather than taking action themselves, according to local news site Nyasa Times. Martha Chizuma Mwangonde, Malawi's ombudsman, represented the woman, a 20-year-old with mental-health issues from the remote area of Zomba, north of Limbe. The office of ombudsman is appointed to investigate public institutions in Malawi."My main objective was to ensure that the victim's rights were well protected," Mwangonde said.The ombudsman showed CNN her report into the incident, for which she met with the victim at the police station in Limbe, and at a mental hospital in Zomba, the former capital, to assess her well-being. The woman has lived with bipolar disorder and other mental-health issues since 2010, her doctor told Mwangonde.Referring to the way the woman was allegedly paraded, police told the ombudsman that there was nothing to cover the woman with at the time. Still, activists and human-rights lawyers in Malawi slammed the police for their handling of the case."Social media has unleashed a new wave of violence here against women," Habiba Osman says. Malawi's National Police Spokesperson James Kadadzera said that although the woman was removed from the scene, she was not charged with any crime. He said she was brought to a "safer place" and was later clothed. Police conducted an investigation into the incident, and later, following public outcry, took 17 vendors believed to have undressed her in for questioning. Only four men were held. One of those men was charged with "insulting the modesty of a woman," while the remaining three were charged with indecent assault."The police missed an opportunity to arrest the suspects right at the time of the incident," Mwangonde said, adding that they only took action after a public outcry. Social networks and messaging apps have become hubs for sharing news, as well as spreading gossip and rumors in Malawi. As a result, local human rights defenders say they have helped enable a "new wave" of gender-based violence. It's even something that the country's president has addressed. In a speech last year, Malawi President Arthur Peter Mutharika warned individuals using social media against abusing others, saying the law would catch up with them. WhatsApp is one of the most widely used social platforms in the country. The company does not take responsibility for information individuals share on its app, according to its privacy policy. However, if specific abuse or users on the app are flagged, the company says it can take action.WhatsApp declined to comment about any of the cases in this article. Habiba Osman, a human rights lawyer in Lilongwe who works extensively on issues concerning women's rights, says that sexual harassment of women in Malawi -- by their peers, the public and police -- is ingrained in the country's culture, and has been inflamed in recent years online."The patriarchal nature of our society means that women [are] not in control of their own body," Osman says. "How do you punish a woman? By exposing them.""Social media has unleashed a new wave of violence here against women," Osman says. "It has allowed these types of new crimes to harm women more than ever before, and has shown us how vulnerable women can be on social media. We haven't educated people properly on the real consequences of social media yet."Cases where women's private photos are shared without their consent are becoming increasingly common, according to Osman."Sexualized harassment is one of the highest forms of degradation against women here," Osman says. "The patriarchal nature of our society means that women [are] not in control of their own body. How do you punish a woman? By exposing them."She adds that the internet is a double-edged sword for women in Malawi -- it can harm them by amplifying harassment, but can also be used as a tool for their rights."Social media has done a great thing for us, especially activists, as it's where we build and get our support, and build up our own networks. It's easy for us to pick up our phones and expose the injustices we face, and amplify what we need to say."The woman has since been released from hospital. Chizuma continues to monitor her situation.She held a sign at a rally, then she was arrestedThis image, which circulated on Facebook, pictured an activist at a protest.Last September, hundreds of women wearing black gathered in Lilongwe to protest against gender-based violence. Beatrice Mateyo, a human-rights defender and gender activist, was among the crowd. During the rally she held a sign that read: "Having a vagina is not a sin. My pussy, my pride." As she marched through the streets, her photograph was snapped and shared online. By the end of the protest, it had gone viral mostly through closed WhatsApp groups. "People were angry with me, they said the sign was too graphic. But as an activist, you want to get a strong message across." During the global Women's March last January, Mateyo recalled seeing women in the US Capitol, Washington, D.C., holding signs with similar messages. She didn't consider that hers would prompt such a huge outcry.Before the protest even wrapped up, police had identified her from social media, and arrested her. "It was all fast moving. They didn't have a charge at first, and they kept me detained for hours. They were flipping through their books, trying to find something they could charge me with."Three hours later, she was charged with "insulting the decency of women." The charge -- which is commonly used in Malawi -- targets anyone who "utters any word, makes any sound or gesture or exhibits any object" intending to "intrude upon the privacy" of women.Mateyo was detained for three hours, charged, and then released on bail, but authorities have not pursued the case further. She has since sued the police and the Attorney General for her arrest, arguing that her human rights were violated. Mateyo contends that the offense she was charged under is being used too broadly by authorities."I'll continue to speak out," Beatrice Mateyo says. "And one day soon, we should be able to protest with a 'pussy sign' without fear of being arrested." "I do not understand how holding a placard to protest against gender-based violence would be interpreted as insulting the modesty of a woman," Mateyo said in a statement to the High Court in Lilongwe, Blantyre-based newspaper The Nation reported. The High Court granted Mateyo permission to seek judicial review, and the case is now with the courts.The Attorney General did not respond to CNN's request for comment. It was a "wake-up call" for women's freedom in Malawi, Mateyo told CNN.Much like Chinguwo, Chatsika, and Banda's case, the public anger against Mateyo intensified on social media."No one came to the station to support me, or wrote me messages of support on social media. They said I had gone too far with the sign."Mateo contrasts her treatment with that of Malawian men, who a year ago, protested half naked against the killings of albino people in the capital Lilongwe. "No one said they were insulting the decency of a man," Mateyo said, half laughing.Still, change for women is happening -- and it's being led by women like Mateyo, Osman, and others, advocating for the enforcement of the Gender Equality Act in courtrooms and with police prosecutions, and educating young women in schools about their rights. Mateyo is hopeful for the future. "I will personally continue fighting for women's rights, and so will other women here," she says. "When things go wrong for us, I'll continue to speak out and take necessary actions.""And one day soon," she added, "we should be able to protest with a 'pussy sign' without fear of being arrested." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Marta Martinez and Carmen Vidal for CNN

2019-05-04 04:36:46

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/04/africa/tanzania-women-marriage-intl/index.html

These women got married. But it wasn't for love - CNN

After leaving her husband, Boke Chaha, 25, married a widow. But it wasn't for love.

africa, These women got married. But it wasn't for love - CNN

These women got married. But it wasn't for love

Kitawasi, Tanzania — After leaving her husband, Boke Chaha, 25, married a widow. But it wasn't for love."I was over men," said Chaha, a member of the Kuria tribe who lives in the Tanzanian village of Kitawasi, near the border of Kenya. "I chose to come stay with this woman, to help each other."She wed 64-year-old Christina Wambura five years ago, under the Kuria tradition of nyumba ntobhu, or "house of women." The practice allows an older woman without male descendants to marry a younger woman -- who has sons or may have them in the future -- ensuring her legacy won't get lost. But it also offers women something else: safety.Over 78% of women in the Mara region, where the Kuria tribe makes up the majority of the population, have been physically, sexually or psychologically abused by their husbands, according to government data. It is the highest domestic violence rate in all of Tanzania. For an increasing number of Kuria women, nyumba ntobhu has provided an exit strategy.Boke Chaha, 25, and her son at their home in Kitawasi.The unions have become increasingly popular within the Kuria tribe. In Tarime district, where Chaha and Wambura are from, these female marriages now represent over 20% of households, according to the local NGO Centre for Widows and Children Assistance.Read MoreWhile not romantic or sexual, the relationships serve as a stark contrast to how Tanzanian law treats same-sex couples. Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania, and women who do love each other cannot show it in public. Members of the LGBTQ community have become increasingly persecuted, and some in other parts of the country say they fear for their lives because of a crackdown orchestrated by a controversial governor.Inside their modest home, Chaha and Wambura have created an oasis. Colorful strips of fabric are arranged in a fringe-like rainbow across the ceiling. Orange, purple and yellow cloth circles paper the walls. One of their young children patters in and out of the doorway, stopping to sit with Wambura as she prepares lunch.A strand of fabric decorating Chaha and Wambura's home."Life here is much better. There is no one beating me up. No one is fighting with me. It is a partnership in finding food for the kids and us," Chaha said, sitting outside in the afternoon sun. Chaha says she felt threatened by her husband, who she married at 15. She wanted a safer environment for her son, so she left him.Chaha went back to her parents' home, but she still had to repay the dowry he had given her family -- nine cows. Each cow is worth about 500,000 Tanzanian shillings (about $216 dollars).Soon after Wambura asked for Chaha's hand, she offered to cover the costs of her dowry."Christina came and asked my father if I could live with her," Chaha explains. "The dowry she gave my father was used to refund my ex-husband. So, I am officially her family now."Wambura says she had also experienced a volatile first marriage. She wed when she was 11 years old and lived on the other side of Kitawasi with her husband. After her son died at birth, she couldn't get pregnant again. Christina Wambura, 64, sitting in the doorway of her home."That was the beginning of our fights," Wambura said. "He would kick me out of his house day after day saying, 'you are barren, leave my home, you are barren, leave my home.'"So she did.Wambura spent 11 years in Mwanza, a small city by Victoria lake, working at a fish factory and as a maid. Then she went back to Kitawasi.Wambura's younger brother bought her a small plot of land where she now lives with Chaha. He also helped buy the cows to pay for Chaha's dowry.Wambura says her life has improved since Chaha came into it. "The benefit is having a companion," she said.She has reveled in getting another chance at motherhood. Parsing through the silver dried fish with her youngest son on her lap, Wambura teaches him with a soft, loving voice how to get rid of the ones that have gone bad. The cheerful woman seizes any opportunity to hold the children in her arms and to educate them."Right now, we have two kids in school," she says proudly.Christina Wambura, 64, and her son parsing dried fish in their backyard.Chaha has given birth to three boys since she moved in with Wambura. Their relationship means she's free to pick her own sexual partners, without any strings attached."After getting pregnant, I leave the man," Chaha explains. "Once the baby stops breastfeeding, I go and look for another baby."Chaha says she is happier with such arrangements: "I do not have a man. I am living free."Despite the loophole it provides for women seeking to escape abusive relationships, nyumba ntobhu has been criticized by some NGOs and academics for replicating some of the same negative aspects of tribal life. Women in the Kuria tribe, a deeply patriarchal community, also face customs like female genital mutilation (FGM) and polygamy."It denies the [younger] woman who marries her fellow woman any rights to inherit property, making her useless later," says lawyer Emmanuel Clevers from the Centre for Widows and Children Assistance in the Mara region. As in many other societies in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond, women are not allowed to own or inherit any property in the Kuria tribe. A group of women and girls fetching water in Kitawasi.According to Tanzanian law, both men and women have equal rights to own property, but that does not translate to the reality of rural communities influenced by centuries-old traditions. Only 20% of Tanzanian women own land in their own names, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and Thomson Reuters Foundation.Clevers is also critical of the fact that the children belong to the older woman in the marriage, stripping the biological mother of her rights.Even so, both Chaha and Wambura say it's better than the alternative. "Now I am at peace," Wambura said. "No one is insulting me, telling me I am like a cow and barren cows are better off dead.""No more beatings. No insults," she added.Even though she has only had male children so far, Chaha knows exactly what she would do if she ever gave birth to a daughter: "If I get a girl, I won't make plans to marry her. Instead, I will work hard to educate her."This story was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the Innovation in Development Reporting grants' program, a media-funding project operated by the European Journalism Center, and the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), African Great Lakes Reporting Initiative.

Kara Fox, CNN Video by Edward Kiernan, CNN

2018-08-14 02:09:27

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/13/africa/rwanda-mamas-asequals-intl/index.html

Her world ended when her kids were murdered. Raising dozens of orphans saved her life - CNN

Marie Amurere Goretti lost three of her children in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. At a youth village in rural Rwanda, she's embraced a new experience of motherhood.

africa, Her world ended when her kids were murdered. Raising dozens of orphans saved her life - CNN

Her world ended when her kids were murdered. Raising dozens of orphans saved her life

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Rubona, Rwanda — As a cacophony of birdsong greets the rising sun, Mama Marie Goretti Amurere corrals her daughters from their beds and out the door of their single-story home.By 6am, Goretti, 60, walks the path from her house to the canteen, flanked by her girls and a lush perimeter of banana trees extending to a horizon of hills.Inside the cafeteria, she pours rounds of igikoma, a millet porridge, into small plastic cups; it's eaten with fluffy white bread rolls that pass along the communal table. As her bleary-eyed teenagers eat their breakfast, Goretti watches the clock. School starts at 7 a.m. and it's a ten-minute walk up the hill.It's a morning routine familiar to mothers around the world, but these aren't Goretti's biological children.Goretti's husband and three of her five children were among 800,000 people killed over the course of 100 days during Rwanda's 1994 genocide.Read MoreWhen the genocide ended, she felt her life was over, but more than 20 years on and with dozens of children calling her "Mama," she says she has a reason to live.Mama Marie Goretti Amurere, outside her home in the village. Goretti is one of 28 "Mamas" who live and work at the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV), a holistic, educational oasis in Rwanda's lush Rwamagana district, 50 kilometers east of the capital, Kigali.The village is expansive, with 30 family homes, extracurricular buildings and guest houses laid out in a series of concentric circles across 144 acres."I felt it was an honor for me to hear these children call me mom," Goretti, now in her eighth year at ASYV, says. Derived from a mix of the local Kinyarwanda language and Hebrew, its name translates as "a peaceful place where tears are dried."The village is modeled after an Israeli youth village -- a family-structured center established after World War II for children orphaned during the Holocaust. In 2008, ASYV opened its gates to its first group of children, some of the country's most vulnerable orphans. Goretti walks with her teenage daughters to breakfast. The high school sits at the pinnacle of the village. More than 520 orphaned and disadvantaged teenagers live and study there. Structured around the family unit, groups of 16 to 24 children live among each other as "siblings" in a home headed by a "Mama."Most of the Mamas are widows and have lost at least one child as a direct or indirect result of the genocide.Goretti's path to the village wasn't an easy one. Taking on a job that held a title with so much meaning dredged up memories from the darkest moments of her life, which she had tried to bury.In the April of 1994, Goretti received a chilling phone call after returning home from the post office where she was working as a clerk. The man on the line told her: "They are coming for you, they're going to kill you. You're going to die tonight."Over the next three months as the genocide unfolded, Goretti saw one daughter killed in front of her and her eldest son beaten within a breath of his life. She hid out in cornfields as she prayed for the children she had been separated from.Each night through the stalks of maize, the genocidaires, or killers, would announce who they had killed. When Goretti learned that her son and another daughter, her eldest, had been murdered, she emerged from her hideout, ready to die."I came out of hiding... but they refused to kill me. They started piercing me with spears all over my head -- they were wanting me to have an emotional reaction, but I wouldn't give it to them. I just stood still," Goretti recalls. Goretti's biological daughter Fifi, who was killed in 1994. Wildflowers dot a village path. They remind Goretti of her daughter Fifi. Goretti eventually returned to her hiding place until the violence ended in July 1994."We were happy to feel saved even though we had nothing really -- we were really tired and we were looking forward to dying. We were just tired of being in this life," Goretti says.That sentiment shifted when she learned her two youngest children had survived. They were found in a refugee camp in neighboring Burundi and eventually returned to live with her.Goretti decided to foster orphans into her home, including those whose parents had been perpetrators of the genocide. It was her duty, she says."I felt an obligation to care for them the same way other people would have cared for our own children had we died," Goretti explains.She provided for some 25 children -- in addition to her two youngest children who survived the genocide -- until 2010."The gift I could give to my family that died was raising other children, any child that would come to me," Goretti says.When the youngest of those orphans was ready to live on their own, she joined ASYV. It was there that she began to heal herself, she says.The Mamas live with the children throughout their four-year tenure and are the backbone of the village. They provide emotional and logistical support to their children. After school, one of Mama Goretti's daughters greets her with a hug. The girls are encouraged to share at nightly "family time" sessions. After classes are done for the day, Goretti gathers with her girls in the living room of her house for an hour of "family time," a nightly session where families share moments from their day and talk through problems.There's ample time for song, prayer and dance. Ed Sheeran's ballad "Perfect" has become a sing-along staple in the village.Goretti says her work is not a job.She doesn't clock in or out. And her shift doesn't end when the kids fall asleep."It is a calling. If you come here just for a job, you would simply quit, because it's very difficult to raise children who are not your own, especially when they come from traumatic circumstances. If it wasn't a calling, you would not be able to cope," Goretti says.When ASYV first opened its doors, the children there had all been orphaned by the genocide. They carried the trauma and pain of a nation. Others were born as a result of rape. An estimated 250,000-500,000 women were raped during the genocide, with some 20,000 children born as a result of that systematic sexual violence, according to the British charity Survivors' Fund.It's been 24 years since the genocide -- and like Rwanda, the student body continues to evolve. The village now sees children from disparate backgrounds, but they all share an understanding of loss.Some of the village's current students have been orphaned from retaliatory violence that occurred after the gacaca process -- village tribunals set up to prosecute suspects of the genocide. Other children come from single parent homes who can't afford to send them to school, one indication of the poverty that continues to plague more than 51% of Rwanda's population, according to the World Bank's 2018 projections.Goretti believes Mamas like herself -- women who have harnessed an inner strength from tragedy -- hold the key to Rwanda's future generation. Mama Thaciana Mukaserekere, 48 Mama Annociata Mukamusoni, 58 Mama Marie Claire Mukamitali, 60: "I have a mission to take care of all Rwandan children, so that the genocide never happens again." In the wake of the genocide, the demographics of the nation dramatically changed. Losing a generation of men skewed the population to 70 percent female and more than 95,000 children were left orphaned."Women are heroes... men would have never been able to care for the children as we did. We took it upon our responsibility to take all the kids who had survived to bring them into us," Goretti says.She says she has now has found self-healing in those relationships. Connecting with children with "the same wounds" of loss has helped her to move past trauma and reshaped her role as a mother. Titui Martine, 17, one of her Goretti's village daughters, says her Mama is a "gift from god," and that her story has helped her to move past her own trauma."She's showed me how we have to live our life now -- not focusing on the past," Martine says. "It's just the past and it won't come back. Her life was really hard so I had to really understand that."Inside Mama Goretti's house the remnants of the past are never far. She keeps a photo of her eldest daughter in her purse. "Outside people believe I am strong, but that's not true. It would be a lie if I told you I have overcome the loss of my children," she says.But she also chooses to focus on the future, pointing to a mug gifted to her by her girls. When the mug is filled with water, her picture appears."They make me forget my own suffering, for a short while. I think that's what makes me happy." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Ivana Kottasová, CNN

2020-01-25 00:19:17

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/24/africa/tanzania-pregnant-girls-world-bank-loan-asequals-intl/index.html

World Bank to consider giving Tanzania $500 million education loan despite ban on pregnant schoolgirls - CNN

A multi-million dollar World Bank education loan to Tanzania is back on the table for possible approval next week after it was pulled over a year ago amid concerns about the country's policy of banning pregnant girls and young mothers from attending state school.

africa, World Bank to consider giving Tanzania $500 million education loan despite ban on pregnant schoolgirls - CNN

World Bank to consider giving Tanzania $500 million education loan despite ban on pregnant schoolgirls

(CNN)A multi-million dollar World Bank education loan to Tanzania is back on the table for possible approval next week after it was pulled over a year ago amid concerns about the country's policy of banning pregnant girls and young mothers from attending state school. The revamped $500 million loan pledges to provide pregnant girls and new mothers with "Alternative Education Pathways" but falls short of calling for a reversal of the ban. They failed mandatory pregnancy tests at school. Then they were expelledThe meeting of the executive board to consider the loan will take place on Tuesday. Bella Bird, the World Bank's Country Director for Tanzania, Burundi, Malawi and Somalia, is set to step down on Friday, according to a source at the bank.Tanzanian activists have written a letter, seen by CNN, to the executive board urging them to stop the loan until the country passes a law that guarantees the rights of pregnant girls to attend regular secondary schools and ends mandatory pregnancy tests. CNN visited three Tanzanian schools in 2018 where girls from grades eight and up were given compulsory pregnancy tests.Tanzania uses a morality clause in a 2002 education law to give schools the legal framework needed to expel pregnant students -- the practice originally dates back to the 1960s. The law has been more widely applied since President John Pombe Magufuli took office in 2015.Read MoreA $300 million educational loan to Tanzania was withdrawn in 2018 over concerns about expelling pregnant girls and the introduction of a law that made it a crime to question official statistics.The Tanzanian government amended the statistics law last year, but stopped short of any formal changes to the way it treats pregnant girls.Tanzanian court upholds a law banning child marriageA World Bank spokesman for Tanzania said that since 2018 the bank has worked with the Tanzanian government to find a solution. He said the purpose of the reworked loan program was to "enhance the quality and provision of education.""The program has been redesigned ... to ensure girls and boys who drop out, including pregnant girls, have alternate education options for themselves."Asked why the bank didn't require a guarantee that girls who get pregnant would be allowed to continue in state school if they wish to, the spokesman repeated the current solution was a result of an agreement between the World Bank and Magufuli.The Tanzanian government declined to comment to CNN. According to a World Bank document outlining the loan, about 5,500 girls were not able to continue their secondary education due to adolescent pregnancy and young motherhood in 2017.Around a quarter of Tanzanian girls aged between 15 and 19 are mothers or pregnant. According to the United Nations Population Fund, the percentage of teenage girls who have given birth or who were pregnant increased to 27% in 2016 from 23% in 2010.Child marriage, as young as 15, which has been barred since 2016, remains an issue -- 36% of women aged 25-49 have been married before they turned 18, according to official data from 2016, the latest available. These women got married. But it wasn't for love Opposition leader Zitto Kabwe told CNN that the new loan would enable the stigma around pregnant girls in Tanzania to continue."The way the loan is been structured [means] the young girls who get pregnant for whatever reason will be put in separate schools," he told CNN. "This is not right. I am wondering how can the World Bank allow this."Kabwe also sent the World Bank a letter about the loan, highlighting the worsening human and gender rights situation in the country. Kabwe asked the bank to suspend lending to the government "until basic checks and balances are restored in Tanzania."Elin Martínez, senior researcher at the Children's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, called the reworked program a "workaround." "The government has not fulfilled the promises and the conditions that were set last year," she said. "We thought that the World Bank was not going to proceed with that loan until the government adopted a policy where it actually explicitly said 'we will end the discrimination against girls.'""That has not happened. [The government] will not remove the discriminatory ban, that's quite clear now."

Ivana Kottasová, CNN Video by Jenny Marc, CNN

2018-10-11 04:17:38

health

health

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/11/health/tanzania-pregnancy-test-asequals-intl/index.html

They failed mandatory pregnancy tests at school. Then they were expelled - CNN

It happens twice a year at Arusha Secondary School. Each of the school's 800 female students are accompanied into a toilet and told to pee in a jar. Outside the cubicle, a teacher waits to make sure the samples are not swapped.

health, They failed mandatory pregnancy tests at school. Then they were expelled - CNN

They failed mandatory pregnancy tests at school. Then they were expelled

Arusha, Tanzania — It happens twice a year at Arusha Secondary School. Each one of the school's 800 female students is accompanied into a toilet and told to pee in a jar. Outside the cubicle, a teacher waits to make sure the samples are not swapped. The girls are taking compulsory pregnancy tests. And if they come back positive, the student is expelled immediately.The tests have been happening at this school, for students from grades eight and up, for three years.CNN visited two other schools in the Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions where similar testing took place; three more schools confirmed the tests in phone interviews.Elifuraha, who CNN is referring to by her first name, finds it difficult to talk about the shame she felt when teachers at the Moshono Secondary School in Arusha, summoned her for a mandatory pregnancy test.Elifuraha was 16 years old when she got pregnant. She tried to conceal her morning sickness at school, blaming it on malaria. Read More"All the students were called in a room and the female teachers started to inspect us... they were touching our stomachs," the 19-year-old mother told CNN, as a tear rolled down her cheek.She knew she was pregnant, but was trying hard to hide her growing stomach. After admitting her pregnancy, she was immediately expelled.Tanzania uses a morality clause in a 2002 education law to give schools the legal framework needed to expel students -- the practice originally dates back to the 1960s. The law has been more widely applied since President John Pombe Magufuli took office in 2015.Last June, Magufuli, dubbed "The Bulldozer," went a step further, announcing that pregnant students would not be allowed to return to school after giving birth."In my administration as the President no pregnant girl will go back to school... she has chosen that of kind life, let her take care of the child," he said at a public rally in 2017. His speech removed any discretion schools had over how they enforced the morality rule. There are no official statistics on how many pregnant girls have been expelled from Tanzanian schools. The US-based Center for Reproductive Rights, an international advocacy group, estimated in 2013 that over 8,000 pregnant girls were being expelled or dropped out from Tanzanian schools every year.The Presidential decree last year goes directly against the previous government's efforts to introduce a school re-entry policy for teenage mothers.Anna Ulimboka, a nurse who oversees the pregnancy testing in Arusha Secondary School, says the tests are a good thing. And many of her students agree.Several girls told CNN they believe the tests are in place to protect them and they view them as a normal part of their school experience.Students attend class at Arusha Secondary School."Before we started testing them, so many girls used to get pregnant, while they were in school, but after seeing that they were being tested before and after going for their holidays, it makes them avoid relationships with boys," Ulimboka said. CNN visited the school accompanied by officials from Tanzania's Ministry of Health, and the regional government office. Speaking in the presence of the officials, Ulimboka said the tests and the policy of expelling pregnant students were necessary. "(A pregnant girl) is a bad example to other students," she said. "The others will learn that even if we mess up, we shall be allowed back to school."Girls gather between lessons at Arusha Secondary School. At least once a semester, after coming back from holidays, the girls are rounded up in the dining hall for a mandatory pregnancy test.However, Ulimboka said she felt bad for girls who had been expelled."I always advise them that even if they get pregnant that's not the end, and that they should not give up."Shilinde Ngalula, a lawyer with Legal and Human Rights Centre in Tanzania, said forcing pregnant girls out of school violates Tanzania's constitution, which includes the right to education.Related: Give girls choices, not lives already decided for them"Because of the order of the President, you expel them...you are punishing them without even considering how she got pregnant," he said."There are many instances of rape...a girl might find herself pregnant because of rape, because of assault or forced marriages, it is not her fault."NGOs have been forced to abandon campaigning on the issue with the Legal and Human Rights Centre one of the last in Tanzania still speaking out against Magufuli's platform.Young women dressed in uniform walk their children to daycare before attending trades courses at the Faraja Center, a shelter for vulnerable women.In July 2017, opposition MP Halima Mdee was arrested for denouncing the President for the ban on pregnant schoolgirls, which she also claims is contrary to the constitution. Her case was highlighted by the US State Department's report into human rights in Tanzania as one of the examples of a crackdown on Magufuli's critics."If you speak against the government order, and especially against the order of the president, you are in trouble...it is really easy for an NGO to be deregistered, it's a threat," Ngalula said.Alongside Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone also deny pregnant girls and adolescent mothers the right to study in public schools, which advocates say goes against the human rights treaties that all three countries have signed."It squarely falls within the definition of a violation of not just the right to education but also other rights of girls," said Elin Martinez, children's rights expert at Human Rights Watch. Elifuraha's son watches, pencil in hand, as she flips through her notes from a tailoring class at the Faraja Center.All three countries have repeatedly found themselves under international pressure to repeal the policy. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international organizations appealed to the Tanzanian government to change the rules. Several human rights organizations have also recently launched a court case against Sierra Leone over its policy.CNN has reached out to the Tanzanian government for comment, but has not yet received reply. The governments of Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea have also not responded to requests for comment.Related: 16 and trying not to get pregnantIn Tanzania, while pregnancy testing remains a regular part of school life, Magufuli's administration has also launched a crackdown on family planning.At a public rally in September, the President urged women to stop using contraception to increase Tanzania's population and called those using birth control "lazy." A few weeks later, the government ordered the suspension of family planning advertisements on TV and radio stations in the country.Because standalone sex education is not on the national curriculum in Tanzania, many girls don't learn that having sex can lead to becoming pregnant.Eighteen-year-old Lilian was one of them. She got pregnant when she was 16.Lilian holds her daughter Favor at the Faraja Center. Lilian is learning tailoring and hair braiding in the hopes of getting a job when she leaves the shelter. "There are [some women] who get to be educated and understand that sex before marriage has consequences...yet others don't have a clue. In my case I had no knowledge and that is why I got pregnant."Around a quarter of Tanzanian girls aged between 15 and 19 are mothers or pregnant. Child marriage is still prevalent in the country -- 37% of women aged 20 to 24 having been married before they turned 18, according to official data from 2010, the latest available. More than a quarter of girls married before the age of 19 have husbands who are 10 or more years older, according to the same survey.The ban on pregnant students is one of the ways Magufuli wants to tackle the teenage pregnancy problem.Related: I'm beautiful, but I'm dangerousMagufuli says that pregnant girls and young mothers would set a bad example for other pupils.Boys and men who impregnate school girls face prison sentences of up to 30 years. Local media and NGOs have reported arrests of pregnant girls who were not willing to disclose the identity of the men who impregnated them. In Ghona School near Moshi in the north-east of the country, students are reminded of the harsh realities every day.Calendars depicting a crying pregnant girl in a school uniform can be found in almost every classroom. In the scene, the girl is being turned away from school, her parents, her community and the government.School calendars warn against the consequences of pregnancy, and trading sex for rides with "boda boda" (motorcycle taxi) drivers. Lilian was already expecting her baby when President Magufuli made his landmark speech on expelling pregnant students.She liked studying chemistry, biology and geography and knowing she wouldn't be allowed back into school was devastating."I wanted to achieve my goals, but I was forced to cut them short, stay at home and wait for another opportunity," she said.Lilian and her daughter Favor now live at the Faraja Center, a shelter for vulnerable women and young mothers, many of whom have been kicked out of school as a result of their pregnancy.Like the rest of the shelter's residents, Lilian is learning tailoring and hair braiding. It's a far cry from studying science, but it will help her get a job after she leaves the shelter.Lilian sits on the edge of her bed after getting her daughter Favor ready for the day.And she hasn't completely given up on her dreams just yet. She has kept her physics notebook, wrapped in plain brown paper. She is hoping she will, one day, be allowed to return to school and retake the class.No public school is allowed to re-admit Lilian and tuition at the few private schools that could still accept her cost around $800 a year. Her only option is to find a sponsor, or get a place in one of the handful of NGO-funded schools in the country.Like Lilian, Elifuraha also had big plans that she put aside when she became pregnant.Elifuraha dreamed of joining the Tanzanian army, but didn't complete enough schooling to meet the requirements before she was expelled."If things were not the way they are, I would love to go back to school," she said. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Jidenna for CNN

2018-07-12 04:43:24

news

opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/12/opinions/jidenna-noura-hussein-child-marriage-asequals-opinion-intl/index.html

Jidenna: There are millions of Nouras across the world - CNN

For Grammy-nominated recording artist and producer Jidenna, Noura Hussein's story hit close to home. So he decided to do something about it.

opinions, Jidenna: There are millions of Nouras across the world - CNN

Jidenna: There are millions of Nouras across the world

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Jidenna is a Grammy-nominated recording artist and producer. The views expressed in this commentary are his own.Noura Hussein's story is a disturbingly familiar one. It affects more than Sudan, more than Africa.While I may initially be perceived as an outsider because I am not Sudanese, I am not an outsider when it comes to the issue of child brides and child sexual assault.I was born in the United States, but I spent much of my childhood in Nigeria — another country in which child marriage and sexual assault against young girls is all too common. In the course of my life, I've heard countless stories from my friends, family and partners who have been deeply traumatized by child marriage and sexual assault.Sadly, child brides and child sexual assault are pandemic. According to the United Nations Population Fund, one in five girls is married or in a union before age 18. Noura's courageous story has the potential to change the lives of girls around the world who are enduring legalized pedophilia and legalized rape. Read MoreIn Sub-Saharan Africa, 38% of girls are married before they're 18. Right here in my backyard, child marriages persist in the US because about half of the states have no legal minimum age for girls to be married. It's 2018, and 15 million girls become child brides every year. That's one girl every 2 seconds. Noura's courageous story has the potential to change the lives of girls around the world who are enduring legalized pedophilia and legalized rape.For those unfamiliar, Noura Hussein, now 19, was just 15 years old when she was forced by her parents to marry a man more than twice her age. After refusing to have sex with her husband on their "honeymoon," she says he raped her as his relatives restrained her. She says that a day later, when he tried to rape her again, she stabbed him to death. Despite medical evidence of Hussein's struggle submitted by her lawyers, including bite marks on her shoulder, cuts on her hand and a broken bed, the man's family has denied the rape allegation. When she went to her parents for support, they turned her in to the police, and Noura was subsequently sentenced to death.Read more: Noura in her own words: Teen who killed rapist husband shares her storyHowever her legal team appealed — and it was at that point that I began strategizing with advocates that were working to bring both justice and light to Noura's case, given that her struggle was far from over.When the appellate court repealed her death sentence, I was thrilled, but only temporarily. I knew that Noura still faced five years in prison, a hefty fine and threats to her safety if she were to be released. With the victory of the death penalty appeal, I became concerned that Noura's story may evaporate in the media, and I knew then that I needed to publicly advocate for her and the millions of Nouras across the world who don't have a spotlight on them.These are not exclusively women's issues; these are our issues and they will only be resolved once we stand in support of women who have supported us since the beginning of time.I am now working with SEEMA — a non-governmental organization based in Khartoum that assists victims of gender-based violence — to raise additional funds for Noura.SEEMA is also currently working to reduce Noura's charge to self-defense, as well as advocate on behalf of other Sudanese women struggling in abusive relationships.This is not a battle that Noura's team, nor the organizations working on the ground, can wage alone. And so I am encouraging people across the globe to look up the laws for marriage in your country, state or province.If you don't like what you see, reach out to a local or national program working on this issue or to international organizations such as Women's World Wide Web, a platform dedicated to girl's empowerment and education, or Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of 900 organizations devoted to ending child marriage. Your support can put an end to this in our lifetime.Our girls — regardless of ethnicity, religion or socio-economic class — deserve a chance to be educated, to gain independence and to pursue their dreams.Over the next few months, I'll be working to increase awareness of the prevalence of child marriage and assault, spread advocacy messages across social media and fight for the legal age of marriage to be 18 in every country.Furthermore, I will continue to emphasize to men around the world that these are not exclusively women's issues; these are our issues and they will only be resolved once we stand in support of women who have supported us since the beginning of time. Our girls — regardless of ethnicity, religion or socio-economic class — deserve a chance to be educated, to gain independence and to pursue their dreams. Let's make sure they all have that chance in every corner of the planet. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Rossalyn Warren, for CNN

2018-03-04 11:05:23

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/04/africa/malawi-consent-classes-asequals-intl/index.html

Malawi consent classes teach children no means no - CNN

Meet the schoolgirls fighting off attackers -- and the boys learning about consent -- in Malawi.

africa, Malawi consent classes teach children no means no - CNN

'I'm beautiful, but I'm dangerous': Consent classes teach children no means no

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.Lilongwe, Malawi -- "I am strong," the girls chanted, their voices filling a classroom in the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi's capital. "I can use my voice. I can use my body!"The group of about 50 schoolgirls, dressed in indigo uniforms, were being taught to fight off sexual assault. In front of them, Simang'aliso Domoya paced up and down, calling on the pupils to repeat her mantra: "I am beautiful, but I am dangerous!"The girls, ages 11 to 16, looked at the instructor wide-eyed. Outside the classroom, other students gathered to peer through the windows.Domoya is a coordinator for the Malawian non-governmental organization Ujamaa-Pamodzi, which teaches self-empowerment and self-defense in classrooms across the country. Girls repeat Domoya's chant: "Don't touch me. Respect my body!" Read MoreThe team uses vocal exercises and physical activities to teach girls how to speak out against assault, harassment, abuse, and -- if necessary -- how to physically fight off attackers.It's a critical skill in the country, where one in five girls, and one in seven boys, are sexually abused before the age of 18, according to the 2014 Violence Against Children and Young Women in Malawi report. The Ujamaa-Pamodzi course was adopted from the No Means No Worldwide program, an initiative to reduce sexual violence and assault in Kenya's capital. One study found that out of 522 girls, ages 14 to 21, who took the "consent classes" in Nairobi's Kaariobangi and Korogocho neighborhoods, more than half reported using the self-defense skills to avert sexual assault in the year after training. Since the organization first began, Ujamaa-Pamodzi has taught around 25,000 girls and 12,000 boys.Domoya said they split their instruction into verbal and physical -- and both play an important role.Ujamaa-Pamodzi instructors teach the girls self-defense, and how to say: "No!""We encourage the girls to use their spirit to believe in themselves, and to know how defend themselves from assault," Domoya said. "We also have a safety goal: We encourage girls to get away in each and every situation -- not to fight, but to get away and use their voice to shout, yell and speak out."Many of the girls CNN spoke with said the workshop has had a real-life impact. They asked that their names not be used in case of repercussions from their families.One 15-year-old student told CNN that her sister's husband tried to rape her while she was living in the couple's home. "I used the verbal skills I learned from their workshop to end the assault, such as warning him I'd tell my sister," she said.Later, she contacted one of the Ujamaa facilitators, who advised her to warn her brother-in-law that she would report him to a local child protection organization."They [Ujamaa] helped me speak out and use my voice," she said. "I learned how to help protect myself." Harassment is normalized in Malawi, the girls say. A 12-year-old participant of the workshop said the skills she learned have given her confidence to act."When I'm walking home from school, sometimes men will try and stop me and touch me," she said. "And now ever since, I have pushed them off me, or I run away. I don't freeze up anymore."The organization says the majority of cases can be stopped verbally. Their training focuses on self-defense tactics that target an attacker's eyes, back, groin and knees. "Some people think at first, 'Oh, it's just about martial arts!' But it's more than that. It's helping to teach them to believe in themselves," Domoya said."The way they'll react to their father is different to how they will react to a stranger ... Their response will also differ depending on the attacker's height, weight, environment. We encourage them to speak to someone they trust, and to not give up hope -- to keep talking."Beyond the practical life skills, the group also identifies survivors of sexual abuse and harassment in their sessions. So far, the staff have identified and supported more than 400 girls and boys.Instructors Simang'aliso Domoya, left, Patricia Mvula, center, and Dominc Luo, right, outside the Lilongwe classroom.They said the abuse of children is increasingly coming from teachers -- an issue they're tackling head-on in their workshops. Lessons involve a role-playing scenario in which a teacher harasses a pupil.The group runs classes for boys, too, teaching them about everything from sexual health to healthy relationships, consent and peer pressure. They say the responsibility to end harassment and abuse is up to boys, too. "To end abuse and gender-based violence, it's critical to include boys and men," Martin Ndirangu, the director of the group's operations in Malawi, said.The organization also encourages boys to consider "what it means to be a man.""We ask them: 'What does it mean to be a man?' What should they do?" Boys clamber to answer a question in a class on consent and "what it means to be a man.""We tell boys there are two moments -- one is ordinary moments, the other is moments of truth -- where they are put to the test to understand their values. We encourage them to be courageous about what they care about: their future, their family, whatever it means to them," Ndirangu added.The response to the program from students is positive: Boys who had said they often feared peer pressure say they now understand the importance of having their own voice. Girls who were previously introverted and shy report a new level of confidence and ambition. "If a man touches me, then I know no, that's not right," one girl said at the end of their session.Ndirangu cited anecdotal evidence that the program has helped prevent cases of child marriages and teen pregnancies. But he said "raising awareness" isn't enough to help protect girls and boys in Malawi."We think awareness is one thing, but we don't really see change. It's not enough just going on radio talking about these things; we need to teach real-life skills. We know we are helping -- and we are seeing how they're using the skills in situations across Malawi every day." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Hakim Almasmari and Sarah El Sirgany, CNN

2018-01-22 17:56:38

news

middleeast

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/22/middleeast/yemen-child-marriage-asequals/index.html

Child marriage in Yemen - As Equals - CNN

More than two-thirds of Yemeni girls are married off before they reach 18. Halima is determined not to be one of them.

middleeast, Child marriage in Yemen - As Equals - CNN

She's only 12, but her father is already planning her wedding

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Sanaa, Yemen — When Halima's father told her he was planning her wedding, the 12-year-old firmly refused. "My father married off my sisters, and wants to marry me off by force, but I don't want to get married," said Halima, whose father asked CNN not to use his family's surname.Child marriage is entrenched in Yemen, a symptom of crippling poverty and a deeply conservative culture. It's a traditional practice preserved in proverbs like, "Marry an 8-year-old girl, she's guaranteed" -- an assurance of a child's virginity. And the country's three-year civil war has only exacerbated the problem. Today, more than two-thirds of Yemeni girls are married off before they reach 18, a staggering leap from half of all girls before the conflict.But Halima, with her quick laugh and infectious smile, is determined not to be a part of that mounting statistic. Read More"I'm in the fifth grade. I want to finish school. I want to become a doctor, God willing," Halima told CNN, still dressed in her school uniform -- a forest green abaya and white headscarf. "Many of my friends in school have been married off.""One of my friends dropped out and when I asked her why, she said, 'Because tomorrow is my wedding.'" Halima's father walks her home from school.It's a fate Halima's sister Kafa was unable to avoid. She was wed to a man 15 years her senior when she was just 13. "If I had the choice, I would have gone to school and been educated. I didn't want to get married. I was coerced. There was nothing for me in marriage as a child," Kafa told CNN, her face concealed by a veil.Kafa's husband gave her permission to talk, but he declined to speak with CNN.Four years and four kids after their wedding day, Kafa, now 17, has many cautioning tales for her sister."I suffered so much in each childbirth," she said, speaking at her parents' home in the outskirts of the capital Sanaa -- an hour from where she now lives with her husband and daughters.Young adolescents face a much higher risk of complications and death in pregnancy than other women, according to the World Health Organization."Every delivery was through a surgical operation. I stayed in a hospital bed between seven to 10 days after each," Kafa said. Kafa feeds her daughters.Their father, Abdullah, is an unemployed laborer, who -- between children, grandchildren and relatives -- says he has 17 mouths to feed. Increasingly, fathers like Abdullah are marrying off their daughters to be relieved of the cost of their care -- seeking dowry payments to cope with conflict-related hardships or to pay off debts. Abdullah received a dowry of $2,000 for Kafa. While he says it's a decision he regrets, it hasn't stopped him from planning Halima's marriage -- though he has yet to select a suitor.Underneath the shade of a green tarpaulin covering the courtyard of their home, Abdullah squats next to Kafa as she feeds her daughters and brushes their hair."I want you to forgive me for marrying you at such a young age," he told Kafa. "I needed money to support our family. I married you so that your sisters and mother can live. So I was forced to choose. Now, I am asking for your forgiveness."Many Yemeni parents are facing this stark reality: collect dowries for their daughters to pay for food and healthcare, or let their other children suffer. Kafa's daughters play with cats at her parents' home in Sanaa."Food prices have soared by up to 200 percent and the cost of living has increased by at least a third, so many daughters have been given away by families who wouldn't have dreamed of doing that before," Nadine Drummond, a spokesperson for Save the Children in Yemen, told CNN.Nearly 2 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen, according to UNICEF, and a staggering 1 million people have been stricken by cholera.Both are easily preventable conditions brought on by the war.According to the United Nations, more than 5,500 civilians have been killed in Yemen since March 2015, when a coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the country.Because of restrictions on the borders, which have been shut completely at times, aid and fuel are scarce. Some 11.3 million people are in acute need of humanitarian assistance, and 8.4 million are just "a step away" from famine, according to the United Nations. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock warned in November that Yemen "will be the largest famine the world has seen for many decades."All of these factors have intensified the problem of child marriages, which have long been a scourge in Yemen -- one of a handful of countries in the region without a legal minimum age of marriage. With a civil war raging, and almost no functioning government, it is unlikely that anything legally will change for Yemen's child brides any time soon. Kafa bakes traditional Yemeni malawah bread.And children are getting married younger. About 44% of girls are now married off before their 15th birthday, according to a survey conducted by UNICEF. The trend is on the rise, with girls as young as nine getting married, Meritxell Relano, UNICEF's resident representative in Yemen, told CNN."There are no jobs in the country. There is no agriculture. The system, the health system and the education system are collapsed or about to collapse," Relano said. Three years into the war, families that have plunged into poverty and food insecurity are now resorting to desperate measures to survive."Unfortunately, many Yemenis see early marriage as a virtue. And war has made it worse," Ahmed Al-Qureshi, a Yemeni child rights activist, said. Abdullah told CNN that he was aware of his daughters' dreams and aspirations -- but has no choice."There is a war and rockets are flying over our heads, homes are collapsing, our home shakes every time there is an airstrike, so what can I do?""I have no option but to marry my daughters early."During her visit, Kafa takes over baking the main meal -- Yemeni malawah bread -- while her children play with a cluster of cats roaming the kitchen. Plastic containers are piled in a corner, ready for the daily trips the family makes to get potable water. Metal scraps and junk line the dirty brick courtyard at the heart of the family's two-room home. Halima shares one of those rooms with nine of her siblings. Girls play in the courtyard of Halima's school.Kafa wants a different destiny for her four daughters, and for her younger sister: an education, a chance at a better future, a choice."They will get married when they want, not when I want... I will never marry them off at a young age," she said.But as the war rages on, their chance of pursuing an education looks bleak.An estimated 2 million children are out of school in Yemen, where persistent bombardment has left 1,600 schools partially or completely damaged.Teachers started this academic year with a strike to protest their unpaid wages. They are the only thing propping up the country's education system, which is on the verge of collapse."What could aggravate the problem even more is the complete halt of the education process in Yemen's most populous areas, which will lead boys to go to battle as child soldiers and girls to early marriages," Al-Qureshi told CNN.Halima's school is still open, but many of her peers have stopped going. On a recent afternoon, the remaining girls in her class could be seen playing in a sunny square outside her school. Dressed in their school uniforms, they stood in a circle dancing. Halima leaves school with her mother."We don't want to get married, we want to finish our studies," Halima said."Girls like me that got married at a young age are now giving birth to their kids ... All these girls that are 11, 12, 13, they're so young.""Their future is not good. We could grow old and become teachers or doctors and then get married. We thought when we get older, 22 or 25, then we'd get married, not when we're young. It doesn't work like this to marry off kids," she added.When her parents picked her up from school, Halima, with her pink backpack slung over her shoulder, was all smiles. Her father took her by the hand and walked with her back home, chatting about her day, joking and laughing.Despite everything, Halima is still optimistic."I crave having a good future, not (to) end up with the future of these other girls. I don't want to get married." — CNN's Salma Abdelaziz and Eliza Mackintosh contributed to this report. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Eliza Mackintosh, CNN Photographs by Sarah Tilotta, CNN

2019-02-14 09:17:01

health

health

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/health/senegal-iodized-salt-asequals-intl/index.html

The 'Salt Queen' working to transform the health of a nation - CNN

The world's leading cause of mental impairment is still a stubborn problem in Senegal. One woman is trying to change that.

health, The 'Salt Queen' working to transform the health of a nation - CNN

The 'Salt Queen' working to transform the health of a nation

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series. Fatick, Senegal — Marie Diouf, 35, is on her cellphone speaking swiftly in Wolof, a lyrical Senegalese language, as salt flies past her. Dressed in a red boubou, a long traditional robe, Diouf cuts a striking figure in an otherwise muted landscape encrusted in white. As the sun sets, casting an orange hue over the salt flats of Fatick, in southwestern Senegal, Diouf stands, hand on hip, surveying a group of sinewy young men chipping away at a hardened, crystallized mound."When I saw other men who had their own land I thought, 'why not me?'" Diouf said, gesturing across the expansive plains, dotted with ancient baobab trees. In the distance, tucked away in fields of dry maize, is her village Ndiemou, which means "Salt" in the local Serer language. When Senegal privatized land in the area in 2000, Diouf became the first woman to invest. It was a bold move in the west African country, where women have limited access to property despite providing the vast majority of agricultural labor. During the high harvesting season, from February to April, the salt flats are scattered with hundreds of women toiling away in over 40 degrees Celsius (100 degree Fahrenheit), scooping the crystalline mineral into baskets later carried aloft on their heads. But they're not necessarily the ones to benefit financially from the production.Diouf walks along the edge of irrigation pools at her salt flat in Fatick. In the coming months, the water will evaporate, leaving salt behind.It's an inequity that didn't sit well with Diouf. Read More"When I first started, men were telling me that I wasn't going to last in this business, but I would say to them that every job a man can do, a woman can too."Today, she employs dozens of women and men -- including her husband -- in her own micro-business, producing about four to five tons of salt daily in peak season by extracting water from a nearby river to evaporate on land. "At home my husband is the boss, but here, in the salt flats, it's me," Diouf said, breaking into an infectious laugh. Young men chip away at a hardened mount of salt on Diouf's land in Fatick.The same year Diouf leased her plot of land, a presidential decree mandated that all salt harvested in Senegal be iodized. It's a public health strategy widely considered to be the most effective way to prevent iodine deficiency, which can cause goiter (swollen thyroid glands in the neck), stunted growth and mental impairment -- health issues that had long plagued parts of Senegal. And it's cheap to do -- each ton of salt needs about 6 ounces of potassium iodate, which costs only $4.25.In most developed countries around the world, table salt has been fortified for nearly a century, which is why the concept of iodine deficiency is almost unheard of in places like the United States. But not here.Bags of iodized salt ready for distribution.Despite being the largest salt producer in West Africa (Senegal mines nearly 500,000 tons annually), iodine deficiency is still a stubborn problem across the country. Experts say that's down to quality control. Most Senegalese people get their salt from small scale artisanal harvesters, like Diouf, who make up about one-third of the country's overall production. But many fail to iodize their salt effectively.Those quality issues are why the Iodine Global Network, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and others are pushing for Senegal to pivot from supporting small scale producers to deploying iodized salt industrially instead: in processed foods, condiments and seasonings, such as stock cubes. Only 37% of Senegalese households have access to adequately iodized salt, according to a 2015 nationwide survey, and the situation is worse in rural areas. For comparison, approximately 70% of all households globally had access in 2013.And the need for iodine, which is critical to brain development, increases during pregnancy and infancy. In 2015, 30% of pregnant women in Senegal were iodine deficient, according to the same survey. Without the essential nutrient, they risk losing babies in miscarriages, or giving birth to children with permanent neurological damage. Even a slight deficiency can lower a child's I.Q. by 10 to 15 points.Men working for Diouf use an iodization machine donated by NGO Nutrition International to mix potassium iodate into the salt before packaging.Other than iodized salt, sources of iodine include seafood, as well as some dairy products and grains (depending on the soil where it's grown). But in rural regions of Senegal, those foods aren't always part of an average diet -- especially for those struggling with poverty and food security. So Diouf, supported by Canadian-based non-governmental organization Nutrition International, has taken on the mantle of local businesswoman and evangelist, going door-to-door to raise awareness about the importance of iodine. As a result, Marie's village, where she is known as "the queen of salt," seems to buck nationwide data that shows access to adequately iodized salt is lowest in harvesting areas. Marie Diouf outside her home in the village of Ndiemou, which means "Salt" in the local Serer language.Only 11% of populations living in salt harvesting regions have access to iodized salt, compared to 53% in urban areas, according to the 2015 government study.Adama Nguirane, the regional representative for the government's universal salt iodization project, says this disparity is down to a few factors, but chief among them is a lack of means. It's difficult to convince people to buy iodized salt when they can get it in their backyards for free. That's why it is critical to get women like Diouf involved in the supply chain, Nguirane says, because they're the ones cooking meals for their families and taking care of the children."I believe in the development of my country and it's essential that we fix this problem for our children and our future," Nguirane said. "Marie is the model, and we rely on her to show us the way."Ndeye Faye, top left, and Seynabou Diouf, right, test salt for iodine content before sealing it in plastic bags, while Fatou Sarr, bottom left, looks on. Marie Diouf employs the women in her micro-business producing and packaging iodized salt.Menno Mulder-Sibanda, a senior nutrition specialist with the World Bank, which has a long-standing partnership with the Senegalese government, says that reducing iodine deficiency is an "essential" part of investing in the economic growth of a nation, and, given the limited agricultural promise of Senegal, the key driver of its future will be in new service-oriented businesses and technology."There is a moral question, of not acting on something that is so, in a way, manageable," Mulder-Sibanda said. "Obviously salt iodization in a country like Senegal is tremendously difficult to implement as a public response. But it baffles me that we haven't moved on this issue."Aby Faye, 17, holds her two month old baby, Sokhna. Faye says she was aware of the importance of iodine during pregnancy thanks to Marie's campaigning in their village.Pape Coumb Ndoffene Faye, the headteacher at the village's elementary school, says he has noticed a big difference in his students' achievement as a result of Diouf's work. "Since the project began, I know children have been getting iodized salt at home and in the canteen here, and mental capacity has improved," Faye says, adding that the school now ranks fourth out of 31 for test results in the region.Faye, who has been working as headteacher since 2004, adds: "If we look at it as a curve, it's been going up since I started." Pape Coumb Ndoffene Faye, headteacher of Ndiemou's primary school, calls on students during a French lesson.Diouf has high hopes for her 13-year-old daughter Fatou, a graduate of Ndiemou elementary. She now walks about 2.5 miles to her middle school each morning. Diouf wants to see her become a powerful CEO, a diplomat, or even the first female president, one day.Her aspirations may be high, but they feel attainable. President of Senegal Macky Sall was born in the city of Fatick, just 5 miles from Ndiemou, where he served as Mayor from 2009 to 2012. Local people here have a lot of pride in his success, but the region has changed little since his time in office -- it's still among the poorest in Senegal.Marie's daughter Fatou, backpack in tow, sets off early one morning for school.Elsewhere in the country, however, Sall's vision for the future looks bright. On the road to Fatick from Dakar, Senegal's investment in technology and services is embodied in the promise of a glittering, futuristic city: Diamniadio. It's the crown jewel in Sall's Emerging Senegal plan, which aims to alleviate poverty and get Senegal on the road to development by 2035.Critics have called the $2 billion urban center a vanity project for Sall, who is running for reelection in February.In any case, it's clear that if basic levels of nutrition aren't delivered in places like Fatick, parts of the population will be left behind on Senegal's road to economic fulfillment.Still, Diouf is hopeful."Macky Sall won't be here forever, we want our children to be prepared to replace him."Meissa Seck contributed to this report from Fatick. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Kara Fox, CNN

2018-11-07 15:43:52

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/07/africa/rwanda-diane-rwigara-trial-asequals-intl/index.html

Diane Rwigara: Rwandan opposition leader stands by her innocence at long-awaited trial - CNN

The high-profile trial of prominent Rwandan government critic Diane Rwigara and her mother closed after five hours of testimony in Kigali's High Court on Monday. The prosecution is seeking a 22-year prison sentence for the opposition leader.

africa, Diane Rwigara: Rwandan opposition leader stands by her innocence at long-awaited trial - CNN

Rwandan opposition leader stands by her innocence at long-awaited trial

CNN -- The high-profile trial of prominent Rwandan government critic Diane Rwigara and her mother concluded after five hours of proceedings in the High Court in the capital Kigali on Wednesday.Rwigara, 37, is facing charges of incitement and fraud. Her 59-year-old mother, Adeline Rwigara, has been accused of divisionism and inciting insurrection. Both have long said that their charges are politically motivated. Diane Rwigara was the sole female challenger in Rwanda's 2017 presidential election that Rwandan President Paul Kagame won with almost 99% of the vote. She had launched her campaign to run three months ahead of the election, but electoral authorities disqualified her, saying that she exaggerated the number of signatures needed to qualify and accusing her of submitting the names of dead people.Read: She wanted to be president, but ended up jailed insteadAfter she was disqualified, Rwigara launched the People Salvation Movement (Itabaza), an activist group, to "encourage Rwandans to hold their government accountable." Shortly after its formation, she was arrested on charges of incitement and fraud, charges she denies. Diane Rwigara (center), and her mother Adeline Rwigara on trial in Kigali's High Court on Wednesday.Read MoreRwigara's mother, Adeline, was also arrested based on private WhatsApp messages exchanged between her and her sister, who lives outside Rwanda. The prosecution had previously called those private chats -- in which Adeline and her sisters criticized the government -- "dangerous meetings." They were detained in a Kigali jail for over a year until being granted release on bail in October. In court on Wednesday, the pair stood firm in their resolve and proclaimed their innocence. Diane Rwigara said that the forgery charges were fabricated as a way to block her candidacy, according to her official Twitter account. Rwigara also stood by comments she made in criticism of the government during a 2017 news conference. Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda since 2000, has been widely credited with the nation's remarkable turnaround following the 1994 genocide. His fiscal and social policies are widely touted by supporters -- and many in the international community -- as a blueprint for success in the region. Kagame's critics, including Rwigara, say that development has come at a cost to civil society and allege that the strongman has created an atmosphere of fear to crush all dissenting voices. As an activist, Rwigara has questioned what she believes to be the suspicious deaths and disappearances of prominent businessmen, lawyers, journalists and a former intelligence official, among others. Groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have highlighted those cases.Awaiting trial, Rwandan opposition leader says she's determined to hold government accountableRwanda's National Police and the office of the President have not responded to CNN's request for comment on those cases.During the trial, Rwigara said that she stood by those remarks and said that cases of murders and disappearances "point to insecurity and fear," according to her Twitter account. She added that Kagame's ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), has "penetrated all businesses and aspects of life," and invested in "vanity projects...to create a development facade to mislead the international community." CNN has reached out to the Rwigaras for comment.The prosecution is seeking a 22-year prison sentence for Diane Rwigara. They have requested a sentence of 22 years for inciting insurrection and 15 years for inciting divisions for her mother, local media Rwanda Today reported.A verdict is expected on December 6.

Leila Hall for CNN Photos by Meri Hyöky

2018-09-12 04:13:36

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/12/africa/lesotho-female-chieftainship-asequals-intl/index.html

In Lesotho, only men can inherit the role of chief. One woman is trying to change that - CNN

Women can now be appointed chiefs in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, but not in Lesotho, where activists say a woman isn't just discriminated against -- "she simply doesn't exist."

africa, In Lesotho, only men can inherit the role of chief. One woman is trying to change that - CNN

Only men can inherit the title of chief in Lesotho. One woman is trying to change that

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Ha Mamathe, Lesotho — Senate Masupha sits in her family home in the village of Ha Mamathe in Lesotho, under a portrait of her late mother. The inscription on the portrait, written in the Sesotho language, acknowledges her mother's role as principal chief of Ha Mamathe and the villages that surround it -- a position that she held for 12 years before her death in 2008.Outside, the carefully tended flower garden, wooden trimmings on the porch and old sandstone buildings have a story to tell. For generations, members of the Masupha family have lived and served as chiefs of this area. David Masupha, Senate Masupha's father, was principal chief before his death in 1996, and was a direct descendant of King Moshoeshoe I, the revered founder of Lesotho, home to the Basotho people."My parents were chiefs for all of their lives -- that was their right. I felt very secure when I was growing up," recalls Masupha. "But when my mother passed on, I was taken out of my comfort zone. There was a sudden tension in the family about who would inherit the chieftainship. I was a victim of this tension, because it was as if I wasn't even there."Read MoreSenate Masupha is fighting for the law on chieftainship to be changed.Masupha is the only child in her family, but Lesotho's laws prohibit women from inheriting the chieftainship. Women can take on the role if their chief husbands die, but afterwards the position can be inherited only by a male heir.When talk in the family turned to the possibility of evicting Masupha from her parents' home, she decided to take action. In 2013, she filed a case with Lesotho's Constitutional Court for her right to inherit the chieftainship, arguing that the existing law was discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional. But the court rejected her case -- as did the Court of Appeal one year later, where the judge argued that modernizing the rule was a matter for Parliament. Masupha's uncle -- her father's younger brother -- took over as principal chief, but she continues to live in her parents' home and to battle for change that she believes is long overdue. Laws that prohibit women from inheriting the role of chief have been invalidated in South Africa -- and in Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, women can now be appointed chiefs on the same terms as their male counterparts.Meanwhile, little has changed in Lesotho."A woman in Lesotho is not discriminated against -- she simply doesn't exist," says Kuena Thabane of the Lesotho Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), which has been supporting Masupha's fight.Like Masupha, Kuena Thabane is frustrated by the current chieftainship law. Sitting in her small, cluttered office in the capital Maseru, Thabane gives an exasperated half-laugh. "You can only discriminate against someone who exists, but in Lesotho's laws on succession and inheritance, women are not even mentioned -- they are entirely overlooked."The Lesotho government has not responded to a request for comment.Among Lesotho's 22 principal chiefs, who make up the majority of the country's Senate, Khoabane Theko, principal chief of Thaba Bosiu, says he is the lone supporter of Masupha's fight."A girl child does not choose to be born as a girl, so in my opinion the laws that discriminate against her are totally heinous," says Theko, speaking at his home near the historical mountain fortress where King Moshoeshoe I established the Basotho nation.He points out the hypocrisy in the current system, in which female chiefs who take over from their husbands are generally well respected, yet their female children are denied access to the role."We don't consider the brilliance of a girl child and what she might be able to bring to the chieftainship if she was given the chance to rule," he says.Khoabane Theko is one of Masupha's few supporters in the Senate.Most other principal chiefs disagree. Peete Lesaoana Peete of Koeneng and Mapoteng holds firmly to prevailing cultural norms, arguing that in Basotho culture, a woman marries into the man's family and any future children belong to his clan."It cannot work the other way around," explains Peete. "If a girl child inherits the chieftainship she will take it out of the family when she gets married; she will derail the royal lineage. She cannot marry a man into her family. That is culturally taboo."Thabane is frustrated by this view that privileges tradition above all else and believes culture should not always be preserved."In my opinion, culture is an instrument that is used to oppress, and especially to oppress women," she says.Khoabane Theko, principal chief of Thaba Bosiu, reads the law against discrimination in the Constitution of Lesotho.Masupha agrees, rejecting any logic that sees women getting married as an obstacle.And she's hopeful that her constant campaigning, while having little effect on the laws of the land, is starting to have impacts at a grassroots level.She begins to smile as she describes how some women in her community who are facing gender-based violence or discrimination often confide in her."This tells me that they understand my fight and that it's made them look at the reality within their own families and break the silence and speak out," Masupha says.And it's a learning experience for her too. "Their experiences tell me that my case isn't only happening within my home -- it's also happening within my community."Two residents of Ha Mamathe walk along a tar road leading to the village.But raising Masupha's case with men and women at a bustling intersection in her home village reveals a divided community.Mpoetsi 'Mamosa Lereka, 43, stands out from the crowd in her trousers and heels, a rare sight in rural Lesotho, where most women wear skirts or dresses. Her face lights up when she hears Masupha's name. She remembers when her mother was chief and welcomes Masupha's challenge to the entrenched gender stereotypes that still govern the views of so many in Lesotho, including many women."When it comes to leadership, we always vote for men in Lesotho. We are made to believe that men should be leaders; that's our mentality," she says, adding: "We sideline ourselves as women. It's long overdue that this inheritance law changes; we need more women leaders in this country." 'Makhotso Makhoebe, a slightly older woman in a skirt, warm jacket and beanie, is one of those who opposes change. Shading her eyes from the harsh midday sun, she shakes her head as she speaks."Women should not be given leadership," she says. "They don't deserve that kind of power -- they have many more weaknesses than men and they don't know how to talk to people. We don't trust them. It's good that Senate Masupha lost her case."A 70-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, waits for a taxi on the outskirts of Ha Mamathe. She supports Masupha's fight. "Even if she was a girl, she had the right to be a chief," she says.Inside the Masupha family home on the edge of Ha Mamathe, Senate Masupha reflects on her uphill battle."Patriarchy is entrenched in the fabric of our society, to the extent that women themselves see it as a normal way of life and continue to enforce it," she says, a hint of tiredness in her voice.She sighs, shifts in her seat and then raises her head, her expression still determined as she points out the progress toward gender equality made by Lesotho's neighbors."There's no way that Lesotho can sustain its current retrogressive laws," she says. "It's only a matter of time before we get to where we're supposed to be." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Alice McCool, for CNN Photos and videos by Alice McCool and Darlyne Komukama

2018-07-24 07:18:32

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/24/africa/uganda-feminist-djs-asequals-intl/index.html

The feminist DJs in Uganda taking back the night - CNN

After a spate of murders in Uganda, feminist DJs are creating safe spaces for women in the capital Kampala.

africa, The feminist DJs in Uganda taking back the night - CNN

The feminist DJs in Uganda taking back the night

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series. Kampala, Uganda — At a party in a private home in central Kampala, there was a moment early in the evening when the rose-lit room felt like a feminist utopia -- a rarity in Uganda. Women drank hibiscus cocktails and danced happily with each other as a female DJ played a set."We're telling women that this space is for you, kind of turning the idea of ladies night on its head," Kampire Bahana (DJ Kampire), known for her all-African, bass heavy music, told CNN. DJ Kampire playing a set at Pussy Party, an event for women she helps organize. She's among a handful of female DJs working to create safe spaces for women and the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda, where violence against women continues to be rife. Half of women have experienced physical violence in the country, while 22% have experienced sexual violence, according to a 2018 report from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.Kampire, who organized the evening with other women, including Rachael Kungu (DJ Rachael), says their aim is to eliminate sexual harassment and demand accountability. Read MoreThe country has a conservative outlook -- influenced by a mix of colonial-era laws, evangelical Christianity and traditional beliefs. In 2014, two controversial laws made international headlines. The Anti-Homosexuality Act created a surge in hate crime against LGBTQ+ people, and the Anti-Pornography Act, which included a "mini-skirt ban," led to police and vigilantes stripping women in the streets. Driving through Kabalagala, the heart of Kampala's nightlife scene. Activists say that these laws have created a fertile environment for crimes against women to be committed. Since 2017, the bodies of more than 20 women have been found dumped on roadsides in greater Kampala.The government and police have been accused of being slow to respond to the spate of murders -- leading to a series of protests in June, including a women's march and procession carrying mock coffins to the country's parliament building.In response to the murders, President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's leader of more than 30 years, spoke out against gender-based violence and announced measures to deter attacks against women, including nationwide DNA collection. A pink-tinted Kampire DJing at Pussy Party.But local activists have accused Museveni of blaming female victims of night-time violence. Speaking about the murder of one woman in February, Museveni suggested that young people should avoid alcohol and drugs: "I will not allow anybody to interfere with the freedom of our young people: discos etc. ... but avoid alcohol, drugs and umalaya [sex work]. They are dangerous for you."Industry veteran DJ Rachael disagrees.Dubbed East Africa's first female DJ, Rachael has been filling dancefloors with big sounds for over 20 years."It's degrading for the government to blame women for being out at night," she told CNN, peering out beneath her signature baseball cap. DJs Rachael (left) and Kampire (right) playing at Femme Famous, an event organized by Rachael featuring female DJs who she's mentored. "Some women are out having fun, others are working -- DJs like me, musicians, hotel workers -- we all have to go home late in the night."Rachael mentors young women interested in mixing, and says she wants to share her expertise with more underprivileged women too: "There are some women in a camp nearby from war-torn areas in Northern Uganda who I want to encourage to take this up."Kampire was also partly taught by DJ Rachael as part of her Femme Electronic DJ collective."It's good to have somebody who has already broken those barriers, it makes entry for other people easier," Kampire said."I want to see more women everywhere ... making money, being business owners, running things," she added.DJ Hibotep playing at Design Hub Kampala, an event and co-working space in an industrial area of the city.Somalia-born Hibo Elmi, who plays under the moniker Hibotep, a regular behind Kampala's DJ booths, is working toward the same goal.After being told by a producer that she had to sleep with men or be rich to get studio time, she set her sights on a recording studio of her own: run for women, by women.Hibotep says she's hyper aware of how surprising she is to people as a female Muslim DJ. On stage, her face is punctuated by bright lipstick and a nose ring, framed by a headscarf. As she plays, videos shown alongside her sets depict "Ninjabis": stereotype-smashing women in burqas, smoking and swearing. The DJ says she long stopped trying to pander to audiences -- especially men -- instead claiming nightlife spaces around her as her own. "When you're a woman you get targeted easily," she said, adding that male DJ colleagues have even attempted to sabotage her sets by stepping on wires or pretending to misplace equipment needed for her to play. But she continues to play shows, and to push the boundaries of the male-dominated music scene.The crowd at the Femme Famous event in Bubble O-Leary's Pub."All us female DJs here play something different," she said. "It's to make a statement. This is our movement and this is how we're gonna shout."And those "shouts" are beginning to be heard beyond Uganda's borders.This summer, Kampire has taken her distinct sound global with her first European tour. Back in Uganda, she is trying to change that landscape, but it's still an uphill battle. Even after organizing "Pussy Party" Kampala -- a club night with DJ Rachael, curating an all-women and non-binary DJ lineup and security team, and employing a strict door policy -- Kampire's vision for a safe nightlife space isn't quite there yet. A group of women at the Femme Famous event in Kampala sway to the music. The same evening that started so well -- with pink cocktails and women on the decks -- ended up unraveling. The organizers lost control of the door policy, and complaints of threatening and abusive behavior from men flooded in. "It's so challenging trying to create a space which is safe for women and gender minorities, and dealing with straight men's entitlement to women's spaces," Kampire said later in messages on WhatsApp."We are still working through the practical aspects of that. But it's a privilege to learn and figure it out, so we're looking forward to the next one." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Illustration by Jordan Andrew Carter

2018-03-08 11:03:39

news

opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/08/opinions/leymah-gbowee-iwd-asequals-opinion-intl/index.html

International Women's Day: The people have awoken, we need to make the most of this moment - CNN

On International Women's Day, Nobel Peace laureate and Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee writes that the next generation of young women will bring about the changes she dreams of.

opinions, International Women's Day: The people have awoken, we need to make the most of this moment - CNN

Leymah Gbowee: The people have awoken, we need to make the most of this moment

Editor's Note: Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian activist. In 2011 she received the Nobel Peace Prize. The opinions in this article belong to the author. Earlier this year, my daughter Pudu attended the second Women's March in Los Angeles. She later sent me an email saying that she felt excited to be part of the march.The protesters' signs used humor and anger to counter the policies of the US administration. She looked out over a sea of people wearing pink "pussyhats" as they listened to speeches about the harm being done by current political and social systems.But she left the Women's March with a big question: what is this for?Read MoreShe wondered what our traffic jams, road closures and rousing speeches achieved since, once we put the signs away, we still live in a sexist, patriarchal world. A world where undocumented children risk deportation, where the poorest members of society are denied basic rights and where the color of your skin can make you a target for violence. Knowing my history of bringing women together to create change, she asked me if we march only to hear ourselves chant -- because she sees little evidence of the protests creating change.I believe it takes a village to raise children, so I asked my good friend and American feminist Abigail Disney to share her reflections with my daughter.Even in the face of Donald Trump's election, Abby has faith in the American people's ability to change society for the better. She shared how the election prompted many people to try to understand what their personal responsibilities are."We need to make the most of this moment, where it feels like a lot of people have awoken from a deep, apathetic slumber."Abby encouraged my daughter not to be disheartened if the world looks bleak. In Abby's words: "Don't ever forget that almost every time history has taken a great leap forward, it has looked worse than ever. I will never forget when the Berlin Wall fell. It had never felt less likely. And there it was -- without a shot fired -- just crumbling."Reflecting on our joint feminist activism, Abby told Pudu that real change is slow, it is hard and it takes a lifetime of work. She emphasized the need for solidarity, and the importance of encouraging the newer protesters to keep organizing marches, writing petitions and running for office. We need to make the most of this moment, where it feels like a lot of people have awoken from a deep, apathetic slumber.Abby and I both agree that anger can be an incredible motivator, but you cannot let go of optimism, or your anger will start to control you. I believe that huge gains have been made, and when we take a generational view, we can see how much has changed.When my mother was a young woman in Liberia, she had five daughters. At the time, this was considered a curse because she didn't have a son. In fact, my name, Leymah, means: "What is it about me?" because my mother was hoping to conceive a boy.Turn to my generation. I am the proud mother of eight children. My mother and grandmother taught me to be independent and I owe my feminist education to them, because they told us that we could do whatever a boy could do.Today, my generation is boldly organizing marches, wearing pussyhats and writing outrageous slogans on their placards. We place value on girls' education and have tried to raise our daughters in a way that celebrates their strength, courage and wisdom. We do not see girls to be a curse; rather we see them as a blessing."I believe that the next generation of young women will use their power to institute the changes that are currently being dreamed of. Small steps create big changes."My life's work as a peace builder and an organizer has been to bring women together. I believe that huge change is possible when women put aside their differences, identify possible solutions for their shared problems and have the necessary resources.Our current global reality is not ideal. However, when I look to my daughter's generation, I am filled with optimism. Without a doubt, I believe that the next generation of young women will use their power to institute the changes that are currently being dreamed of. Small steps create big changes.For example, I know a young Liberian girl named Hannah, who was the only girl in her class in a tiny village. Hannah dreams of being a doctor. When Hannah's school shut down, her family and her community rallied around her to find options for her. My foundation connected with Hannah, and our scholarship program is supporting her to attend high school -- moving her one more step toward her dream of becoming a doctor.In my mother's generation, it was normal to hope for a son. In Hannah's generation, the entire community wants Hannah to fulfill her dreams. Twenty years ago, no one talked publicly about female genital mutilation (FGM). But today in Liberia, FGM has been banned for one year through an executive order, and there is a movement to eliminate the practice. These are the small steps.I am an activist, a feminist and a fighter because I am a forever optimist. I relentlessly believe that good exists in humanity. And when women and girls stand shoulder to shoulder, learning from one another and supporting their sisters, anything is possible. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Story by Kara Fox and Waffa Munayyer Video by Aleem Agha and Jenny Marc

2018-03-07 04:30:53

news

middleeast

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/06/middleeast/afghanistan-women-zan-tv-station-asequals/index.html

This all-female TV station is bringing women's issues to Afghanistan's attention - CNN

The Taliban banned women from being journalists in Afghanistan. Now the country has an all-female television network.

middleeast, This all-female TV station is bringing women's issues to Afghanistan's attention - CNN

This all-female TV station is bringing women's issues to Afghanistan's attention

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.Kabul, Afghanistan — Journalists, editors and producers gather for an editorial meeting in a coral painted building in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.The day's agenda? Women.This is the office of Zan TV — made for and run entirely by women.Zan, which means "woman" in the Dari language, is the first media outlet of its kind in Afghanistan, which was under Taliban rule from 1996 until 2001.Read MoreDuring that time, women's rights all but disappeared. Journalism and access to education for women were banned under the regime.In the 16 years since the fall of the Taliban, women have gradually moved back into important societal and professional roles. Yet the knock-on effect of a country marred by war and conflict continues to be felt across important public-facing sectors — including journalism.The number of female journalists has been declining in recent years, particularly in the last two, according to a survey released by the Centre of Afghan Women Journalists in November. The report found that 1,037 women work in media outlets.Zan TV is hoping it can help change that, by giving women not only more visibility on camera but also the power to investigate and report on important issues facing women. "The happiest moment of my life is when I report the facts visually, talk about challenges that women face in our society," says Shogofa Sidiqui, a chief reporter at the station.Although Sidiqui understands women might be fighting an uphill battle in journalism — with insecurity and the threat of violence a constant -- she is hopeful that Zan TV will inspire young women to follow their dreams."They have to show their courage and ability to be a role model as women for other women in [the] future." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Stephanie Busari and Torera Idowu, CNN

2018-03-02 08:25:03

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/02/africa/nigeria-rape-survivors-metoo-asequals/index.html

The #MeToo stories you haven't heard: Meet the women speaking out in Nigeria - CNN

Five Nigerian women share their harrowing stories of sexual abuse and harassment with CNN.

africa, The #MeToo stories you haven't heard: Meet the women speaking out in Nigeria - CNN

The #MeToo stories you haven't heard: Meet the women speaking out in Nigeria

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.Lagos, Nigeria — Brenda Uphopho was walking up the stairs in her office when she suddenly felt someone's hand reach underneath her skirt. It was her boss."I screamed, and he was shocked at my scream," Uphopho, a festival producer from Lagos, told CNN. "And I was shocked that he was shocked." Speaking out about sexual assault and harassment is widely considered taboo in Nigeria, where one in four girls experience sexual violence before the age of 18. Of those who experienced sexual violence in childhood, only 38% told someone about it -- and as few as 5% sought help, according to a national survey carried out in 2014. Many victims suffer in silence, but, in the wake of the global #MeToo movement, Nigerian women are beginning to share their stories -- hopeful that it will break the cycle of stigma.Read MoreUphopho is one of five Nigerian women who have told CNN about their experiences of rape, sexual abuse and harassment in recent weeks and months. Many of the women were speaking out for the first time.Brenda UphophoJUST WATCHEDThe Nigerian voices of #MeTooReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe Nigerian voices of #MeToo 01:38Uphopho told CNN she has been assaulted three times by three different men. The first was when she was just 5 years old, and a man who worked for her family forced her to touch him. Uphopho said she didn't understand how serious the situation was at that age, so she kept quiet.When it happened again she was 18, and old enough to know she had been violated."During a party, I found myself alone with a stranger who wanted to force me to have sex with him. He beat me up when I refused and sexually assaulted me," she told CNN. "I was too ashamed to tell anyone about it.""I just felt if I was going to tell anybody ... they would ask me ... 'What did you wear? What were you doing there? How did you end up alone with this person?'" she said, adding that she came to believe it was her fault. "I could be walking on the street and I would get my butt slapped by a bike rider. My coworkers would make unsolicited sexual comments to me and I wouldn't think it was out of place."Uphoho and her husband have co-produced a play called "Shattered," which seeks to encourage victims of sexual violence to speak up about their experiences. She decided to share her story to break the "culture of silence" around sexual abuse.Eurel NwaforJUST WATCHEDThe Nigerian voices of #MeTooReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe Nigerian voices of #MeToo 01:30Eurel Nwafor, 22, told CNN she was raped in August 2017 after some opposition union members stormed her former place of work. "There was a lot of chaos outside the office," said Nwafor, who was working as a personal assistant at a market in Lagos at the time. "On opening the door to see what was happening, I received a slap from a man and before I could recover, he dragged me outside." Nwafor said that the same man ripped her clothes off and forced himself on her. "He didn't listen, though I begged him to stop," she told CNN.Nwafor has been fighting to bring charges against the man she says raped her, despite her family's disapproval."My mom wants me to leave everything in God's hands, likewise ... other family members, but I refuse to suffer in silence."She took to Instagram, sharing a video pleading for help. It went viral and caught the attention of support group Stand To End Rape, which offered her counseling and legal advice."I cannot wake up every morning, knowing that the person that did this to me is out there going about his daily activities like nothing happened," Nwafor said.Chichi OgbonnayaJUST WATCHEDThe Nigerian voices of #MeTooReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe Nigerian voices of #MeToo 01:33Behind her warm smile, Chichi Ogbonnaya hides the scars of being raped at just 10 years old."This man was respected in our church and I called him 'uncle,'" she said. Ogbonnaya was sent to live with the man by her mother, who couldn't afford to take care of her. The abuse started soon afterwards."He made me lie on top of him while his wife was away," Ogbonnaya said, speaking about the experience for the first time. "He tried to penetrate me but when he could not, he went to get something that looked like a lubricant.""He told me to stay calm and be quiet. I didn't know what was happening," Ogbonnaya said.Ogbonnaya told CNN she remembers him handing her "the blood-soaked sheet to wash before his wife returned."The abuse continued for five years -- until she was 15. During that time she was forced to have an abortion, but the procedure was botched and left her hemorrhaging alone in her bedroom."Even after I left the house, the act still continued and I just felt it was too late. I was too exposed to a whole lot of things ... I didn't have that sort of relationship with my mum to start telling her this happened to me."Ogbonnaya now works as a program manager for Women at Risk International Foundation, a rape crisis center.Oluwaseun Ayodeji OsowobiJUST WATCHEDThe Nigerian voices of #MeTooReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe Nigerian voices of #MeToo 00:48In 2010, Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi was working as a volunteer in a local election when she says she was asked to register underage voters. She refused.Afterward, one of the candidates came to meet her, Osowobi, now 27, told CNN. "He said 'You are a young girl, after service, what is next for you? You want to get a job? I will give you money, get you a car, give you employment and make your life better.'"Osowobi turned down the offer, sparking widespread hostility towards her in the community."Nobody was kind except this young man who came to my polling center to register," Osowobi said. He offered her a ride home, saying it wasn't safe for her to walk by herself at night. "He made advances at me. When I declined, his countenance changed and I knew I was in danger," Osowobi said. "I struggled to get out of the car but he chased after me and dragged me on the floor with my braids. He assaulted me while I pleaded with him that I was a virgin. I felt worthless after," she said. Although the experience was traumatic, Osowobi said she was able to move on because of the support and counseling she got from her parents."I told my parents and apologized because I felt I had disappointed them. My mother said to me: 'Your worth is not in your vagina; your worth lies in your capacity as a human being to think, work and impact your generation,'" she said.Osowobi said the experience inspired her to start Stand to End Rape -- one of only two rape centers in Lagos.Omodasola OmibekuJUST WATCHEDThe Nigerian voices of #MeTooReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe Nigerian voices of #MeToo 02:12Omodasola Omibeku told CNN she first experienced abuse at the hands of a distant relative at around 6 years old."Anytime we were alone, he brought out his penis and asked if I knew what it was and wanted to touch it? He would put it my hand or mouth," Omibeku told CNN.The man lived in Omibeku's home, which she said was full of "aunties and uncles, some not even blood relatives.""I was in a lot of pain when he raped me some months after. I still feel the pain any time I talk about it. It was like trying to force a huge spiky rock into a tiny hole."Omibeku said she was attacked again in university, while she was walking home to her hostel after lectures."I thought I was being robbed, so I offered him my bag and phone but he didn't want any of that."He pushed me to the ground, grabbed my right knee and raped me." After the ordeal she was too ashamed to tell anyone.Both experiences have distorted her perceptions of sex. "How am I supposed to enjoy sex without having to think about how someone forcefully raped me? It gives me the idea that that is what sex is supposed to be. It messed up my first knowledge of sex," she said.Omibeku told CNN that she only began to heal after she met other victims of sexual abuse at Osowobi's Stand to End Rape center."Up until then, I thought I was the only person that had been raped in the world. I thought I was the only person carrying this pain," Omibeku said.Now she supports other victims as a volunteer at the rape crisis center. "I want my story and healing process to help others out there and to let them know they are not alone," she said. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Illustration by Jordan Andrew Carter

2018-01-09 01:55:10

news

opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/opinions/yemen-women-nadia-sakkaf-asequals/index.html

War in Yemen gives women more responsibility but not empowerment - CNN

Yemen ranks as the worst country in the world to be a woman and the war has only made matters worse, writes Nadia Al-Sakkaf.

opinions, War in Yemen gives women more responsibility but not empowerment - CNN

Nadia Al-Sakkaf: War in Yemen gives women more responsibility but not empowerment

Nadia Al-Sakkaf is a researcher specializing in gender and politics. She was the first Yemeni woman appointed as Information Minister. Before that she was The Yemen Times Chief Editor. She is currently a PhD candidate at Reading University in UK. The opinions in this article belong to the author. It was an all-female gathering after a funeral for a family mourning their son, killed in Yemen's on-going civil war. The interesting thing about this gathering was that there were relatives present who were fighting on opposing sides of the conflict.Nevertheless, the women came together in grief. They were simply women talking about losing their sons to the war and about how life has become so hard for everyone in Yemen. The conflict, which started in 2014, has claimed the lives of many Yemenis directly through combat or through disease and hunger. UN statistics said that up until September 2017, over 5,000 people had been killed in the war -- 20% of which were children.Read MoreBut the war has also had a much longer-term impact on Yemeni society: it has changed the country forever -- especially for women.It is Yemen's women who during the conflict have maintained the social fabric of society and kept communities together. They are the nurturers, mediators, peacemakers, and keepers of tradition. Because of the conflict, the entire socio-cultural balance of the society has been tipped over."It is Yemen's women who during the conflict have maintained the social fabric of society and kept communities together."Across Yemen, women find themselves in charge of managing the poverty afflicting their communities -- and they do so with very few resources and, in some cases, no qualifications.They bake bread at home and sell it. Some have become maids and offer their cleaning services to others for little money.Very few women have gone through what one would call empowerment, as they are not really acquiring more power.Instead, they are being given more responsibilities. In some cases, this gives them more freedom of mobility as they are forced out of their homes in search of income. It is not that cultural values have changed; it's that war has increased the burden on women.It's not just a fear for their lives or economic insecurity that has placed so many Yemeni women in this situation. It is also the lack of routine, such as children not knowing whether they can or should go to school, parents not knowing whether they have a source of income or how to put food on the table and sick people not having access to healthcare. The list of basic needs goes on.The situation in Yemen was bad before the war. But with the conflict, it has reached unprecedented levels of desperation."Very few women have gone through what one would call empowerment, as they are not really acquiring more power."How does a Yemeni mother, wife, sister or caretaker appease her loved ones and take care of her responsibilities when she has nothing to work with? The social gender power balances in Yemen have always favored men over women, but the conflict has made matters worse as men take their position as decision makers at all levels across all fields.Even during humanitarian aid delivery, it is usually men who take charge and decide where and how to distribute aid -- if it is distributed at all.But as the instability extends over the course of the conflict, women are gradually finding themselves in charge, as the men in their lives are either killed, out fighting, or become too depressed to be useful. The problem of being in charge without basic resources is a very consuming one.The situation for Yemeni women differs depending on which side they happen to be on. For example, Yemeni women of the Shiite Zaidi north find themselves sucked into an ideological battle, giving away their men and young sons as feed to a political fire that will eventually consume them.Houthi women find themselves in strange new roles, such as the newly created women militants who carry arms and kill opponents.There are Houthi women whose task is to recruit new soldiers for the fight, convincing other mothers to send their flesh and blood knowing that they will probably never come back.There is a faction whose role is to raid houses and loot money for the "cause.""The social gender power balances in Yemen have always favored men over women, but the conflict has made matters worse." This is new for Yemeni women. Not because Yemeni women have never held a gun -- on the contrary, many of the women who become militants were originally trained in their tribes pre-conflict. Yemeni tradition has it that women would guard Qat fields from the rooftops of their homes and shoot -- or scare off -- potential thieves. In some tribes where the men go abroad for work, women are taught how to use a firearm for their own protection. The new aspect in this is the violence and the political engagement at a public level.But again, this is not empowerment. The women are recruited, told what to do and given approval by men to engage in such actions. They do not do it of their own accord.And even those women who are not directly involved suffer greatly because of the discriminating attitude promoted by the Houthis against women.But whichever side they are on, all Yemeni women grieve and try to make sense of their lives as they stand in the midst of chaos. The women of the dominantly Sunni northern regions are equally involved in the conflict, sending off their men to the front lines knowing that they may never see them again. But they do so out of self-defense rather than ideology.While life is relatively peaceful in most of Yemen's southern cities, hardships still exist for women, due to an identity crisis that has grown out of what groups control which areas.How much freedom southern women have sometimes depends literally on which street they live on and who controls it. If it is predominantly the liberal socialists, then they have more freedom of movement and dress than say in an area controlled by the Yemeni version of the Muslim Brotherhood, or even worse.The story of a Yemeni woman living in the unstable Yemen of today has many dimensions and facets. But all the women of Yemen share their amazing resilience that pushes them forward. And when tragedy strikes, they all grieve their loved ones the same way. The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Story by Stephanie Busari and Barry Neild Photos and video by Edward Kiernan

2018-01-09 01:53:12

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/africa/kenyan-percussionist-asequals/index.html

Told not to drum, this woman is breaking a centuries-old taboo - CNN

Her drums were torn, she was made to feel dirty and publicly called out, all because she's a female percussionist.

africa, Told not to drum, this woman is breaking a centuries-old taboo - CNN

Told not to drum, this woman is breaking a centuries-old taboo

Editor's Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.Arusha, Tanzania — Kasiva Mutua carefully unpacks her drums, placing them on the paving stones of a courtyard.Shaded by a tree from Tanzania's harsh midday sun she settles, cross-legged behind them. As she starts to play her eyes close as she loses herself in the rhythm.This is a defiant act in Mutua's native Kenya, where it's taboo for women to drum.Read MoreBut for the renowned percussionist, drumming has never been about sex or gender — even if it was for the people who tried to stop her."There's been a ton of problems I've faced as a female percussionist," she tells CNN. "But hey, I'm here, I'm super happy, you have no idea. I feel so good when I play the drums, it elevates me."JUST WATCHEDThe Kenyan drummer breaking a centuries-old tabooReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe Kenyan drummer breaking a centuries-old taboo 01:44Today, Mutua's uplifting rhythms are in demand at music festivals and in recording studios around the world.While her ability seems effortless, growing up in part of the world where it's often forbidden for women to play such a symbolically potent musical instrument, the 29-year-old has had to work hard for recognition."Drumming has been a subject of taboo to women in Africa and me rising as a percussionist and going publicly with it and making a living out of it is problematic to some people," she says."I've had my drums torn in rehearsal spaces," she adds. "I've been publicly called out and asked why I would put a drum between my legs. I was once questioned how I could do that and, after having that conversation, this man made me feel like I was dirty to put something between my legs."I was seen as a sexual object at that moment, and that is not cool."Mutua was undeterred. Having learned traditional drumming from her grandmother, she took her skills to local contests, eventually defying expectations to win prizes and recognition."(I've been) asked why I would put a drum between my legs. I was once questioned how I could do that and, after having that conversation, this man made me feel like I was dirty," Mutua says.Now unstoppable, she and her blend of Afrobeat, reggae, jazz and Kenyan beats are at the heart of the Nile Project — an initiative uniting communities along Africa's longest river. She's also been named a TED Fellow, giving talks alongside other global "inspiring visionaries."And she's using her energy and profile in Kenya and beyond to encourage other young women into music, with the aim of inspiring all-female bands."Women can do whatever they want," Mutua says.But, she insists, audiences should look beyond her identity and focus on her musical skills."It's not about genders anymore, it's about delivery," she says, adding that while some view her as a trailblazer or simply a percussionist, others still don't know what to make of her."So it's pretty mixed up, but I could say it's more comfortable now because I feel like once you've proved to the world that you are just a human being doing an amazing job, people tend to accept you better."One major milestone for Mutua came in 2014 when she was chosen among other artists to represent her country at the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington. That, she says, marked a shift in attitudes among Kenyans."I think we're getting better at dropping the taboo subject and just dealing with music and entertainment.""I think we're getting better at dropping the taboo subject and just dealing with music and entertainment," Mutua says.While she says her expressive performances mean she leaves a part of herself with the audience each time she goes on stage, they also give her the willpower to achieve other things in life.And, of course, the drumming keeps her happy."When I play I'm in a very, very good place," she says. "I don't feel any trouble, it's like I'm floating in the air somewhere, and it's just very peaceful up there..." The As Equals reporting project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via its Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme. Click here for more stories like this.

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu for CNN Video by Ignacio Osario, Alex Sears, Agne Jurkenaite and Isobel Lester

2019-03-08 00:20:33

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/07/africa/ghana-firefighters-court-case-asequals-iwd-intl/index.html

Female firefighters from Ghana launch first gender discrimination case - CNN

After Grace Fosu was dismissed from Ghana's National Fire Service she joined forces with fellow firefighter Thelma Hammond to fight the decision. It became Ghana's first gender discrimination case.

africa, Female firefighters from Ghana launch first gender discrimination case - CNN

She was fired over the phone while in labor. And she's still fighting to get her job back

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, an ongoing series. Accra, Ghana — Grace Fosu was about to give birth at a maternity ward in Ghana's capital Accra when she says she received a phone call from her employer, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), telling her that she was being let go from her job. "I am in labor and you are calling me to tell me this, do you want me to die?" Fosu, 33, recalled telling the metro fire officer.After hanging up, Fosu delivered a healthy baby girl, Salamat. But instead of feeling joy, she was consumed with grief. "For the dismissal, I went through hell ... I was very, very sad because I wasn't expecting this," Fosu told CNN about the September 2014 phone call.Fosu and her husband, Seidu Abubakari, had married the previous year, after meeting at an athletics tournament for Ghana's security officials; Fosu ran the sprints for the fire service and Abubakari was a long distance runner for Ghana's customs agency. Salamat was their first child, and they were looking forward to starting a family together. Read MoreWeeks after their daughter was born, the couple were summoned by the fire service and a formal dismissal letter, in which Fosu's pregnancy was described as an "offence," was handed to her husband."When I opened the letter, I was confused. Then my body started shaking so I tried to control myself and my wife too," Abubakari, 38, said, adding that fire service officials largely ignored Fosu's presence in the room.Grace and her husband Seidu Abubakari in their uniforms. The letter stated that Fosu was in violation of "Regulation 33 clause (6) of the Ghana National Fire Service Conditions of Service," which prohibited female firefighters from becoming pregnant in their first three years of employment.Fosu had never before heard of the decades-old rule, which was established when the fire service was formed in 1963. The spokesman for Ghana's National Fire Service, Ellis Okoe, told CNN that the regulation was created because "fire service work involves a lot of strenuous effort" and that "if you are pregnant it could cause a lot of problems."It's unclear how many women have been affected by the regulation, but Fosu's experience suggests a selective enforcement of the rule. She says 11 other women in her class of firefighters were also pregnant within the same three-year period, but she was the only one to be kicked out of the service. Okoe said that the fire service "doesn't have statistics" on all of those dismissed under the clause, and could not explain why Fosu's peers who became pregnant were allowed to continue working. Fosu believes she was targeted over an incident in which she says she was sexually harassed by a senior male officer. She says the officer called her one evening demanding sex and gave her unsolicited advice on ways she could abort her baby. Abubakari, who witnessed the conversation, confronted the officer. But the couple never reported the incident.Spokesman Okoe told CNN that the fire service has rules against sexual harassment and abuse, including an internal tribunal to investigate claims, which would have been utilized if Fosu had lodged a complaint.Fosu says she never filed an official report against the officer -- who is still in the service -- because the harassment stopped after her husband confronted him.Grace dressed in her full fire service gear. After being dismissed and with nothing left to lose, she says she decided to take action against the fire service.She reported her dismissal to Ghana's Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), an independent constitutional body with powers to investigate human rights abuses in the country. "Quite a number of similar cases had come from the uniformed services of Ghana," CHRAJ commissioner Joseph Whittal told CNN, explaining that similar rules about pregnancy exist in Ghana's armed forces, police and immigration service. A Ghana Armed Forces spokesman told CNN that the military has a policy governing when women recruits get pregnant until six months past the end of the training period; it previously had a three-year ban like the fire service. A Ghana Police Service spokeswoman told CNN that women who got pregnant during their 18-month probation period were given maternity leave and allowed to return to work. CNN has reached out to the immigration service for comment on their policies."Because the grounds for dismissal was based on a regulation, the only option was to seek a declaration from the courts invalidating it," Whittal said. For years, CHRAJ had been waiting for a complainant willing to take such a case to court. Women who had previously reported their dismissals on similar grounds to CHRAJ withdrew because they didn't want to go through the court process, which can often be cumbersome and drawn out. But Fosu says she was not deterred. And as the lawyers at CHRAJ prepared to sue the fire service, another woman, Thelma Hammond, came forward with a similar story. Thelma (right), with her mother, at her graduation from fire service training school. Hammond, 36, was dismissed from the fire service in June 2013, more than a year before Fosu. She too had a baby before her first three years of service were up. Hammond told CNN that, after her dismissal, her colleagues asked if she had refused advances from senior officers.Hammond said she hadn't experienced any sexual harassment at the fire service and was shocked to lose her job. She says her first reaction was: "How can I take care of my baby?"In 2017, Fosu and Hammond filed a lawsuit against Ghana's Fire Service, triggering what would become the country's first successful gender discrimination case.In the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court, lawyers for the fire service argued that vigorous training during the first three years of employment may "adversely affect the foetus and the would be mothers." But their reasoning didn't stand up.In April 2018, after less than a year of court proceedings, Justice Anthony Yeboah declared the regulation "discriminatory in effect, unjustifiable, illegitimate and illegal." The judge held that by giving other women a reprieve, the fire service had demonstrated that the training could be deferred until after pregnancy and that women were "entitled to the right to choose when to become pregnant." In his ruling, Yeboah said the dismissal of Fosu and Hammond was "[an] unwarranted, institutional onslaught on their fundamental human rights - right to work and freedom from discrimination." He ordered their reinstatement as firefighters, the payment of all the salaries and bonuses lost due to their dismissals and compensation of 50,000 Ghanaian cedi, about $9,000 dollars, to each woman "for the trauma and inevitable inconvenience of the wrongful dismissal."The victory was a big win not just for the women, or the lawyers working the case pro bono, but for gender equality in Ghana. Thelma was fired after giving birth to her daughter, Martha Oppong-Sagoe. Spokesman for the fire service Ellis Okoe told CNN that the service has since scrapped the policy "to reflect the changes of the time," reducing the prohibition period from three years to one -- the first six months of training and six months probation. But, nearly a year after the historic judgment, the fire service is still resisting the verdict. Despite losing an appeal in January, the GNFS has still not allowed Fosu and Hammond to return to work and is yet to compensate them. CHRAJ sent the service a letter demanding that they reinstate the women by February 28 or face contempt of court, but the date passed without any action.In theory, Ghanaian women have the constitutional right to equality and freedom from discrimination, but the Fosu and Hammond's case exposed the reality that sexism is still rife, Sheila Minkah-Premo, a lawyer and women's rights advocate, says. "[Ghana] has made some strides with regard to women's rights in some areas but has not done very well in other areas ... women's role in public life is abysmal with attempts to get an affirmative action law in place not gone far," she said. Only 37 of the 275 members of parliament are women. Still, the country does better than others in guaranteeing paid leave for mothers of infants. Ghanaian women are entitled to at least 12 weeks of paid maternity leave under the country's Labour Act -- the US, by comparison, guarantees nothing. But, Minkah-Premo says, Ghanaian employers find ways around the rules. "The challenge is with some discriminatory practices in some institutions when it comes to engaging women who are pregnant or who become pregnant within the probationary period or a defined period within employment ... Some banks also have similar policies and these are discriminatory practices that must be stopped."Hammond says that the sudden shift from a two-income household took a toll on her marriage, sparking frequent fights.Thelma (right) with her husband Terrance Oppong-Sagoe. "All the pressure was on my husband because the support I was giving him was no longer coming... [and] all the pressure of paying water bills, electricity bills, school fees, all [of these were] on him," Hammond told CNN. Before she was let go, she had been saving to study human resources at university, but those dreams have been put on hold.Fosu says that when she lost her job she felt she lost her identity as a strong, independent, working woman and she contemplated suicide. The internal struggle and financial strain that accompanied her dismissal has had knock-on effects on Fosu's family too.In a desperate moment, she sold her wedding ring for a sixth of its value to buy food. The decision started a huge fight with her husband, who says he hopes to replace it when their finances are in better shape. In the meantime, the couple had to sell a plot of land where they planned to build a house. Today, they live in a small one bedroom home in a slum west of Accra. Still, the couple has hope. Abubakari says he wants to study law one day so he can help other women, who went through what his wife has.But for now, all they can do is wait."I'm praying that this job comes back to my hands. I have a lot to give in my future," Fosu said.Family photos courtesy of Grace Fosu and Thelma Hammond. Eliza Mackintosh, Ed Kiernan and Sara Delgrossi contributed to this report.Click here for more stories from the As Equals series.

Phoebe Parke, for CNN

2016-02-18 12:41:08

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/world/slavery-what-you-can-do/index.html

Slavery: Here's what you can do right now to end it - CNN

There are 40 million slaves in the world today -- here's what ordinary people can do to help them.

modern-day slavery, trafficking, solutions, experts, charity, human trafficking, slavery, abolition, world, Slavery: Here's what you can do right now to end it - CNN

Here's what you can do right now to fight modern slavery

Story highlightsAnti-trafficking organizations share their tips for helping end slavery Actions include petitioning, donating money and providing jobs for survivors (CNN)Right now, there are 40 million slaves in the world, including 10 million children. Faced with these harrowing statistics, it's easy to think that there is nothing ordinary people can do about it. But that is not the case.We asked the anti-trafficking community what we can all do to help end modern-day slavery -- the responses were many and varied. Here are some things you can start doing right now to make a difference. Learn and educateFirst off, you can educate yourself about the problem -- anti-trafficking organizations highlighted the wealth of online material on the subject -- and then spread the word.Find out what practices your #biz can enact to prevent and combat human trafficking. Explore our tools: https://t.co/V7xd1PLpPO #CNNFreedom— UN Global Compact (@globalcompact) February 15, 2016 World Hope stands with @CNNFreedom that ordinary people, YOU!, can #EndSlavery. Here's how! #CNNFreedom pic.twitter.com/i7yC5ZqBSF— World Hope Intl (@worldhopeorg) February 16, 2016 What can ordinary people do to end slavery? Educate your faith community! Here's how: https://t.co/z5X1l5ZPwE #cnnfreedom— Free the Slaves (@FreetheSlaves) February 15, 2016 What can ordinary people do to end slavery? Throw a party to raise awareness and funds! Here's how https://t.co/sJ7mojxnl3 #cnnfreedom— Free the Slaves (@FreetheSlaves) February 15, 2016 Read MoreTake a standOnce you are well informed, charities suggested holding governments and businesses around the world accountable. Ordinary people can hold governments & businesses accountable to #EndSlavery with petitions like these: https://t.co/kDA4Jls3Aj #cnnfreedom— Walk Free (@walkfree) February 15, 2016 Ordinary people can use their voices to ensure local legislators are working to protect victims. #cnnfreedom https://t.co/I4rvRPEtTT— Blaec von Kalweit (@vonKalweit) February 15, 2016 Q: What can ordinary people do to help #EndSlavery? A:As stated in my UN speech, I asked consumers & citizens 2 stop the demand #cnnfreedom— Rani Hong (@RanisVoice) February 15, 2016 Q: What can ordinary people do to end slavery? A: #StandWithSanju and insist on the GoodWeave label #CNNfreedom https://t.co/V5PecS3TpQ— GoodWeave (@GoodWeave) February 16, 2016 More: 7 ways to spot that someone is being traffickedRemember the survivors Don't forget to listen to the survivors themselves -- and you can help by providing jobs for victims of modern-day slavery, or helping others provide them with a safe haven. #cnnfreedom Listen to survivors. They understand this issue best. https://t.co/bYpmovXL3I— Demand Abolition (@DemandAbolition) February 15, 2016 We R more than our stories, we R part of the solution to #EndSlavery - Provide us a job opportunity #cnnfreedom. https://t.co/LlPdEJjjtm— Rani Hong (@RanisVoice) February 15, 2016 #CNNFreedom Build a future for survivors by building shelters where they can heal & grow https://t.co/fMZWjZQr1A pic.twitter.com/S2HZe20RNI— Made By Survivors (@madebysurvivors) February 15, 2016 Find out more about modern-day slavery from the CNN Freedom Project. This article was updated on March 5, 2018, to reflect the latest global slavery statistics.

Ryan Bergeron, CNN

2022-02-24 17:16:48

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/us/iyw-how-to-help-ukraine/index.html

How to provide aid to those in Ukraine - CNN

Russian bombardments and fighting continue throughout Ukraine sending people fleeing for safety.

us, How to provide aid to those in Ukraine - CNN

How to help the people of Ukraine

(CNN)Amid the harrowing accounts of tragedy in Ukraine, CNN's audience has contributed more than $6.3 million to the humanitarian relief work according to Public Good, the online donation platform partnering with CNN. The help is desperately needed and greatly appreciated as aid groups scramble to care for millions of displaced Ukrainians. Food and other supplies inside Ukraine are becoming increasingly scarce, and civilians continue to pour over borders seeking safety. Organizations are on the ground in Ukraine and neighboring countries to help with shelter, food, water and other needs. You can find out how to help here or by clicking on the button below.

Julia M. Chan, CNN

2022-03-15 20:41:29

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/us/iyw-wellness-how-to-help-asian-aapi-mental-health/index.html

Asian Americans are feeling on edge. How you can get help or help those in need - CNN

Between a resurgence in anti-Asian violence and the anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings, it's an especially fraught time for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) mental health.

us, Asian Americans are feeling on edge. How you can get help or help those in need - CNN

Asian Americans are feeling on edge. How you can get help or help those in need

(CNN)Between a resurgence in anti-Asian violence and the anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings, it's an especially fraught time for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) mental health. Stop AAPI Hate, a center that tracks reports of racism and discrimination, recorded more than 10,000 incidents against AAPIs nationwide from March 2020 to December 2021.Licensed clinician Jeanie Chang, a marriage and family therapist based in North Carolina who specializes in AAPI mental health, says she's seeing women in particular feeling more on edge than ever.In this conversation with Impact Your World, Chang breaks down the trauma individuals are experiencing, offers clinically backed coping techniques she uses in her own practice, and suggests practical ways allies and workplaces can offer meaningful support.The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.Read MoreCNN: In a general sense, what are your Asian American clients telling you about how they're feeling right now?Jeanie Chang, LMFT: I sense a little bit of a heaviness, feeling like no progress has been made. They feel like things are still as racially charged. We're still seeing a spike in anti-Asian violence. The safety issue has been a thing, psychological safety and physical safety. I see quite a bit of Asian DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) leaders and there's discouragement as well. They feel like they got the attention right after Atlanta, and of course May (Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month). And it's a little bit hurtful or disappointing when the talk stops, right? And now the one-year anniversary is here. It is a huge deal, and yet a few folks have said they're not going to really commemorate it. API (Asian/Pacific Islander) professionals are actually in distress because of the lack of attention or feeling ignored, neglected, invalidated. Q. How do these big dates or anniversaries affect collective trauma?The definition of trauma is anything distressful. People think it's this dramatic thing like you have to witness a national disaster. No, it could be what's distressing to you. Secondary trauma is a little bit more immediate. We can get traumatized as if we are literally there witnessing it or it happening to us just by viewing graphic material. There's also vicarious trauma -- I'm seeing that quite a bit at this time -- where that's long-term trauma. There's also racial trauma, being exposed to racist attacks, innuendos, expressions, and that also has been a big part of the pandemic. Overall, that means people are much more sensitive, ultra-, hypervigilant. We all experience it differently, because we're all different people. It's part of our experience. Perhaps the Atlanta anniversary retriggers that horrified feeling that we had as a nation a year ago -- and as APIs going, "nobody seems to understand me." The event can be retriggering, but I'm thinking the space we're in that has not quite progressed. Demonstrators attend the 2021 AAPI Rally Against Hate in New York. The Asian American-Pacific Islander community is comprised of more than 50 ethnicities.Q. How does the "model minority" myth compound Asian American mental health?The model minority myth is a stereotype started in the civil rights movement (era) by an American White sociologist. The origin of it is harmful because you're pitting Blacks against Asians, pointing out to Black Americans, "Look, these people are hardworking and they listen and they don't cause trouble." So that has carried with us since 1965. That stereotype is we are model citizens, we don't rock the boat, we work hard. So the minute people see us, the assumption is, we're good, we're fine, we're well off, we have no problems. But it can be very distressful. When an Asian American or API needs assistance in schooling, they actually get ignored, because they're like, "You're Asian, I think you're fine." And that has led to a higher suicide rate. It also perpetuates mental health stigma: "I shouldn't get help because I'm supposed to look good," the saving face mentality that also exists in our culture. So we're kind of a double whammy of feeling stuck.As we know, we are very different people. Stereotypes are harmful and false. The bottom line is our identity is multilayered, like anyone's identity.Q. What kinds of coping strategies do you recommend to your clients?I think it's really important to practice mindfulness, which is also rooted in East Asian culture. It's so powerful, the practice of trying to ground yourself in the present moment. Science shows your brain is depleted of oxygen when you're in distress. So deep breathing is the first thing I teach, something like square breathing or box breathing, which is big in the military. When you inhale, you inhale slowly. Your chest should be puffed out when you inhale for four counts. Then you hold your breath for four counts, four seconds, and then you exhale it all out for four counts. So that one round is 12 (seconds). And you do it four times, like a square. You have time to practice breathing for 48 seconds.It can change your brain. You can rewire it. And so when we get a little technical with neuroplasticity, the wires in our brain, super important to know that there's hope despite the trauma you've been through, that you can definitely manage it through the practice of mindfulness. Another coping skill is the butterfly hug. This is based on eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Anybody could do it. You're hugging yourself like a butterfly, but you're tapping with bilateral stimulation to ground yourself. It's a self-soothing technique for any stressful incident that you may have experienced to bring you back to the present moment. Not everybody does this, but I like to add affirmations. And especially as Asians, we're not good at affirming -- if anything, we bring ourselves down a lot by saying we're not good enough. Say in your head as you're breathing things like, "I am strong. I'm good enough. I'm smart." Say whatever affirmations come to your mind, starting with "I" because it's about you.Q. What can allies do on an individual level? And what should they be mindful of in their approach?I know you care. I know you want to ask your API peers. Go ahead. And you can even preface it by saying, "I'm not sure this is the right way to ask." Just be honest, but ask. Because overall, when you don't ask, it does come across as you don't care. It's just simply as "how are you feeling about what happened?"You don't need to offer solutions. I'm revealing a therapy secret: validation is probably the number-one thing people come in for, to have their stories heard. So when you do that as an ally or friend or peer, my goodness, they will feel really connected. But if you feel like you have something to offer, you could say, '"I'd love to help." That's different. They can also choose to educate themselves a little bit, reading an article or brushing up on how to pronounce the Atlanta victims' names. You bet that Asians will notice, and then there's an affinity. So it doesn't take rocket science. That's why I think people don't do it, they think it's much harder than it is. I just want you to have conversations. But I do want you to make some effort.Allies also know, culturally speaking, it's not easy for us to share. We're not used to being asked. But the more you do it, more you practice it, the easier it gets.Attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise. Here's what you can doQ. How can workplaces offer meaningful support?Number one starts with leadership. They're the changemakers. So what I say to leaders is because you have that position of power and visibility, you need to model that behavior. Do your research or take DEI courses.You need to be the one starting those conversations. I'm not saying you have to wear your heart on your sleeve, but leaders set the tone and psychological safety in the workplace. I hope employees can share with you things like, '"I'm running a little late because I'm nervous about taking the subway, so I walked." You need to understand the context of what's going on in this country. The other thing is if you so want your ERG (employee resource group) executive sponsors that are not API to understand your experience, welcome them to the table. They're not going to know your experience if you don't invite them to your listening sessions or heritage month events. Make a concerted effort to point out, "we would love you there." Q. How can we sustain these conversations long after events fade from the headlines and without retraumatizing ourselves in the process?It does not come easy for us to speak up. It's just not the norm. So we need to unlearn some things, habits like keeping your head down. And that's why it's also a little bit more draining for us. Give yourself time to address the things you need to address.Pick your battles. There may never be an end, so it's a constant training, like an Ironman: You're using all your muscles to fight against anti-Asian hate, systemic racism. We're also learning as we go along. I have found myself pivoting a lot. Life is full of change, so that is also being aware that we need to tolerate change when it comes to things we can't predict or control.Speak with other APIs to fuel you. It's always very heartwarming when you feel connected with people who understand your experiences. You need to get that energy back for you to bring it into spaces where your energy is being sucked out because of toxicity or misunderstandings. You recharge your phone every night. Same thing -- we've got to recharge. For more ways to help the AAPI community, CNN's Impact Your World has gathered a list of resources here.

Ashley Vaughan, CNN

2021-03-05 20:04:31

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/us/how-to-support-the-aapi-community-iyw-trnd/index.html

Attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise. Here's what you can do - CNN

"We're just tired," Will Lex Ham of New York City tells CNN. "We're tired of being scapegoated."

us, Attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise. Here's what you can do - CNN

Attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise. Here's what you can do

(CNN)"We're just tired," Will Lex Ham of New York City tells CNN. "We're tired of being scapegoated." Ham's sentiments echo the fatigue, frustration and collective trauma experienced by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) due to racist attacks on their communities. For many in the AAPI community, just leaving home requires a new routine and a mental shift that prioritizes survival. It's coupled with a subtle fear, wondering if they or a loved one will become the next victim. "I no longer listen to music when I'm walking around," Pearl Sun says. "I want to make sure I pay attention to what or whatever might be happening around me."This spike in hostility towards Asian Americans coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic. Between March and December of 2020, 2,808 complaints were reported to Stop AAPI Hate. The organization, which tracks racist encounters against Asian Americans, reported 8.7 percent of the incidents involved physical assaults, and 71 percent included verbal harassment like the one NBA star Jeremy Lin experienced, when he was called "coronavirus" on the court. Read MoreIn an interview with CNN anchor Don Lemon, Lin spoke about the need for awareness and solidarity for AAPI community members. The history we rarely hear about While Covid-19 may have raised the xenophobic flames, racism against Asian Americans is not new. The history of racism against Asians in the US dates back to the 1800's, says Doris Chang, Associate Professor at New York University and a clinical psychologist who studies racism's impact on the AAPI community. She points to the 19th century recruitment of single men from China for cheap labor in American mines, fishing boats and railroad construction. "They were willing to take jobs working in terrible conditions, making poor wages. As the economy worsened, they were eventually seen as a threat to White men in terms of a threat to their jobs and a threat to their livelihoods," Chang explains. "We saw even then in the late 1800's these explosions of anti-Asian violence. Eventually we saw when it led to the passages of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was the first piece of legislation that officially barred immigration or limited immigration on the basis of one's race." Chang says violence toward Asian Americans occurs in cycles punctuated by dormancy. Asian people are often "welcomed in this country as long as we are seen as useful to the larger American project." "During times of social, political, economic instability," she continued, "then we are marginalized again and seen as a 'perpetual foreigner' and therefore a threat to national security.""It has been a really painful experience to see our most revered members of our community being targeted," says Doris Chang, clinical psychologist and professor at New York University. Resurgence of hateAs Covid-19 spread in the US, President Trump publicly referred to coronavirus as "Kung Flu" and the "China Virus." He insisted the appellations were not racist, instead simply referring to the pandemic's geographic origin. But Chang says the descriptions resonate with --and help inflame-- that cycle of discrimination. "So, we have this coming together of stereotypes, paired with activation of those stereotypes for political rhetoric — paired with already a feeling of unsafety and fear." Chang and her team are studying the Asian American experience during the pandemic in combination with the protests over George Floyd's murder. Their goal is to ultimately promote alliances and solidarity with Black Lives Matter and immigrants' rights groups. But her initial findings reveal disturbing figures for her own community. In her survey of nearly 700 Asian Americans across the country, 16 percent reported being deliberately coughed or spat on. And 24 percent reported workplace discrimination while 14 percent said they had been barred from an establishment like a shop. The uptick in discrimination against the AAPI community is distressing. But there are ways to push back and resources available to lend support. Here is what you can do:Speak up and speak outAsian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) has created the Stand Against Hatred platform to empower Asian and Asian Americans to share their stories and "document hate" as a way to educate and inform. "On the advocacy side, one of the questions we still get when we talk to people about this issue is, 'Is this a real thing?' That's literally the question that some people will ask us," explains John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of the AAJC. He says the "Stand Against Hatred" platform "documents that this is real. It documents where that has happened." Yang also explains how this platform amplifies visibility of AAPI people while also reshaping and reclaiming a narrative perpetuated by harmful stereotypes."Unfortunately, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders often are invisible to the public. Or, where we are visible, it falls into a couple of different stereotypes. One stereotype is the so called 'model minority' -- the suggestion that there are no issues that really affect the Asian American community. 'They are already doing well, and they don't have needs that we need to be worried about.'""And we know that that's false. This moment proves that that is false," he continues.By amplifying and centering AAPI voices, community needs get amplified as well."So, in that sense, making sure that these stories are visible—those needs are visible is critical."Teach and trainRight To Be, a website that fights harassment, partnered with AAJC to launch free bystander intervention training. "We are launching these trainings in partnership with them (AAJC) really to help folks who are witnessing anti-Asian, anti-Asian American harassment and be equipped to safely respond," Emily May of Right To Be explains.The one-hour intensive class explores the "spectrum of disrespect" from microaggressions to violence. According to the organization's website, the training teaches how to safely intervene when witnessing anti-Asian racism whether online or in person. It also allows for practice through real-world scenarios. The virtual events are free of charge, but registration is required. For those who have experienced harassment, Right To Be created an online class to help survivors cope and grow. "What we wanted to do with the training on 'what to do if you experience that type of harassment' is really support that healing and resilience," May tells CNN."Our hope in providing these bystander intervention trainings and equipping Asians and Asian Americans to have more resilience practices at their disposal is that we can start to heal some of the long-term, multigenerational trauma that is happening." Racism attacks the mind View this post on Instagram A post shared by NAMI (@namicommunicate) As a clinical psychologist, Doris Chang says many of her Asian and Asian American clients are under a lot of distress as a result of recent attacks. Although the need is great, "Asian Americans tend to underutilize mental health services more than other groups do. We just don't go," Chang explains. "Whereas Black Americans and Hispanic Americans are starting to come to therapy in greater numbers than before, that has not shifted for Asian Americans." According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), members of the AAPI community are the least likely to seek help of any racial group. In 2019, the organization claims, only 23.3 percent of AAPI adults with mental illness were receiving treatment. To help raise awareness about mental health offerings for AAPI individuals, NAMI has listed a number of resources specifically designed for Asian Americans. Among the resources listed is Psychology Today's search portal to help AAPI people find Asian mental health professionals with common backgrounds. In addition to NAMI, the Asian American Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut in conjunction with the #IAMNOTAVIRUS Campaign has created a downloadable workbook to promote and prioritize self-care for Asian Americans. Protect Asian elders View this post on Instagram A post shared by Compassion in Oakland (@compassioninoakland) Between March 2020 and December 2020, Stop AAPI Hate received 126 reports of incidents specifically involving elderly Asians and Asian Americans. Chang tells CNN safety for elderly family members, many of whom do not speak English as a first language, is a major worry. "It has been a really painful experience to see our most revered members of our community being targeted." In response, activists in California's Bay Area created Compassion in Oakland to accompany elderly Asian men and women who may feel unsafe outdoors. According to the non-profit's website, more than 400 Californians are stepping forward to protect elder Asian Americans. On the organization's website, out-of-state volunteers can apply to bring a 'Compassion project' in their area. Raise funds to empower AAPI individuals and businessesThere are numerous grassroots crowdfunding sites raising funds for specific anti-xenophobia causes. You can also set one up for your own community. "What GoFundMe does best is enabling people to take action on the causes that matter most to them, in real time," says Musa Tariq of GoFundMe. "The community the #StopAsianHate initiative has created is remarkable -- people are sharing their personal experiences with racism and calling on others to help." Jean Casarez, Aaron Cooper and Steve Coppin contributed to this report.

Ryan Bergeron, CNN

2022-03-08 02:17:59

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/us/iyw-international-womens-day-afghan-refugees/index.html

International Women's Day 2022: She became a refugee as a teenager and now runs a non-profit dedicated to helping women like herself - CNN

It was the middle of the night when Bibi Bahrami's father awoke her and the rest of the family, telling them they must flee their home immediately. Bahrami, only a teenager at the time, remembers being in a state of shock.

us, International Women's Day 2022: She became a refugee as a teenager and now runs a non-profit dedicated to helping women like herself - CNN

She became a refugee as a teenager and now runs a non-profit dedicated to helping women like herself

(CNN)It was the middle of the night when Bibi Bahrami's father awoke her and the rest of the family, telling them they must flee their home immediately. Bahrami, only a teenager at the time, remembers being in a state of shock. "We just put our shoes on and we were all crying." It was 1979. The Soviets had invaded Afghanistan and word spread that troops would be coming to her family's village the next day to burn down houses. Not knowing what was happening or where she was headed, Bibi and her family of 12 began a difficult two-day journey on foot to Pakistan. "We didn't want to leave home. We didn't know where we were going to end up," Bahrami said. "It was a lot of uncertainty." Read MoreIt's a feeling that welled up again for her as she watched news of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Reading the headlines and seeing the lines of Ukrainian refugees brought back bad memories."When I saw that destruction, the damage, the bombing and killing of humans, it just hurts me. There are a lot of memories. When people even say 'Russian,' my body was like shaking about how cruel and how much damage they did to the Afghan people."As the world recognizes International Women's Day, it's women like Bahrami whose work strives to make life better for women. International Women's Day celebrates the headway women have made so far in their pursuit of equality and also calls for more progress around the world. That's something Bahrami has dedicated her life to. After she was driven from her home, Bahrami and her family spent the next six years living in a refugee camp in Pakistan. Life was hard, but she said her family made the most it. They started out living in a tent but eventually made a sort of "mud house." Much like life in Afghanistan, however, girls in the refugee camp did not attend formal school. "Because of security, girls did not have school there. But my brothers did, and I was very eager to study and learn and studied with my brothers." Despite all the hardships, the camp did bring a new light into her life. It's where she met her future husband, an Afghan student who had studied in America and who would eventually help them move to the US.A reawakeningBahrami and her husband, Saber, moved to Muncie, Indiana, raised six kids and eventually brought her parents and other family members to the US. Being out of Afghanistan provided Bahrami with a lot of experiences that wouldn't be available to her back home. "I attended GED classes, and I was so inspired by the opportunity. I had daycare for my children, and I can still study and go to school. I was very, very inspired by those opportunities. And I say I want to do this for the girls I left behind."Inspired and now empowered to help the women and children back in Afghanistan, Bahrami had her dream, but having just had her sixth child, she wanted to wait until the time was right. Then, the events of September 11 took place. "I said, 'Now, I have to do something.'"That's when her foundation, Afghan Women's and Kids' Education and Necessities (AWAKEN), began to take shape.The AWAKEN foundation opened a Vocational Center for Women in Afghanistan. "We were working on the rebuilding of Afghanistan. The Taliban left; we had some hope for a brighter future. Education was our goal. Education and health care. In order to be educated you have to (have) health care."Her goal was to start in the same village she had left behind -- where she says some 80% of the infrastructure was destroyed by the Soviet invasion. The first projects were building a clinic and a school that both boys and girls could attend. Then in 2005, AWAKEN built a vocation center for women that taught reading, writing and sewing. Upon completion of the sewing class, each woman received her own sewing machine. "These women didn't own anything -- maybe the clothes on them, and receiving a sewing machine was such a huge deal for them. That was one of my dreams to provide."Since getting her own education, Bibi knew providing other women that opportunity would change the whole community."I feel like women's education is so important. A woman can educate their children and then the society because raising good kids and educating them, we will have a better tomorrow and better future."In 2016, AWAKEN opened a maternal and child health center. Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. But it's memories from the refugee camp that puts this issue close to Bahrami's heart. "My own sister-in-law at the refugee camp passed away while giving birth. That was my trauma from the refugee camp. I can still hear her voice and the difficulty."Now opened for over five years, the center has helped deliver over 500 babies. Bahrami (second from left) is pictured here with women that she is helping resettle in Indiana. Hope for all refugeesThe theme for this year's International Women's Day is "Break the Bias." Bahrami has broken the bias for hundreds of women in Afghanistan by giving them an education and access to health care. In return, they have transformed the district of Beshood, the place she once fled in fear.Though she still lives in the United States, Bahrami is proud of her old village, which has more than doubled in population since 2002. "When we started the school we had 220 students. Now we have over 2000."But an old struggle has reemerged in Afghanistan: the Taliban. In August 2021, the Taliban regained control of the country, forcing many to leave in fear. As refugees began making their way to the United States, Bahrami saw another opportunity to support to Afghan women. Only this time, it would be in her adopted hometown of Muncie, Indiana. Bahrami and AWAKEN started a new project, MARRC: Muncie Afghan Refugee Resettlement Committee. It's an all-volunteer group that helps Afghan refugees find housing, jobs and support. So far they have taken in around 28 families.Frima, 26, just arrived in Muncie with her 2-year-old son. Her life was in danger because she worked with other women at a family-focused non-profit -- something that is strictly forbidden by the Taliban. She left her husband behind at the Kabul airport, not knowing when she or her child will ever see him again. But thanks to Bahrami, the young mother is hopeful for the future. "I really appreciate and am very, very thankful for Bibi," Frima told CNN.As Bahrami sees the million-plus people now fleeing Ukraine, she looks at her own community accepting refugee families and touts worldwide acceptance as a way for a better tomorrow for everyone."I mean, anywhere, any country, any part of the world, I feel like the system would benefit from representation of women and men in all walks of life, leadership and education for the necessity for humanity and a sustainable society," she said. She points out the crucial role that women play. "In Afghanistan, and in many countries including in this one, women have suffered and have not been paid equally. It is time for the world to recognize the values of women," Bahrami said. "I feel that sometimes (women) are disadvantaged and not respected in societies and those things hurt my heart. God created all of us with equal rights and opportunities. There might be barriers but we have our rights and that should be appreciated."

Christopher Dawson, CNN

2018-03-08 14:34:35

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world

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/08/world/iyw-international-womens-day-resources/index.html

How to help on International Women's Day - CNN

International Women's Day is a day to both celebrate women and to take action, and Impact Your World has identified ways you can help a variety of important causes for women everywhere.

world, How to help on International Women's Day - CNN

Move womankind forward on International Women's Day

(CNN)International Women's Day is a time to celebrate female achievement and also take action. CNN's 'Impact Your World' has identified ways you can help a variety of important causes for women everywhere. Gender equalityThis year, the International Women's Day 2022 campaign #BreakTheBias is asking all of us to call out gender bias, discrimination and stereotyping. The goal is to help break down the biases that make it difficult for women to move ahead. According to the World Economic Forum, equality is actually in retreat, and it will take another century for both genders to stand on equal footing. You can help by supporting these organizations working toward gender equality:Read MoreCAREGirl UpPlan InternationalThe US National Committee for UN WomenEducationAfghan girls raise their hands during English class in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2006. The Taliban have announced new restrictions on girls' education.Education is key to unlocking opportunity, but according to a UN estimate, only two-thirds of countries have achieved gender parity in primary school enrollment. Worldwide, 129 million girls are unable to attend school. Here are some of the organizations helping girls get greater access to education:Camfed Room to Read The Malala FundChild bridesThe rescue of Parwana: 9-year-old child bride is taken to safety in AfghanistanAs many as 15 million girls each year become child brides, destroying childhoods, killing freedoms and blocking opportunities. The nonprofit Unchained At Last reports that girls who are married at age 18 or younger are 50% more likely to drop out of school, more likely to earn low wages and are three times more likely to be beaten by their spouses than those who marry as an adult. These organizations are fighting the practice of forcing girls into marriage: Girls not BridesUNICEF USAViolence against womenJUST WATCHEDWe asked women around the world if they feel safe after dark. Here's what they told usReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHWe asked women around the world if they feel safe after dark. Here's what they told us 03:42Safety is a paramount concern for women. The World Health Organization estimates 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced either physical or sexual violence. And a recent study in The Lancet finds 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic violence from an intimate partner.They also face the threat of being kidnapped. At least 71% of human trafficking victims, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, are women and girls who are usually sold into marriage or sexual slavery. This global public health challenge affects one in four women. Where's the outrage or the plan?You can find a global list of anti-trafficking organizations at CNN's Freedom Project. Here are organizations working to stop violence against women, and provide help to victims who need a way out:Love is RespectRape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) V-DayCNN Impact Your World has launched a campaign with charity aggregator Public Good to help you support the organizations included in this article. To join the effort, click on the button below or follow this link.

Donald Judd, CNN

2022-03-15 09:10:27

politics

politics

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/politics/white-house-equal-pay-day/index.html

Wage gap: White House will announce steps aimed at closing gender and racial pay disparities - CNNPolitics

The Biden administration on Tuesday will announce a series of steps aimed at closing the gender and racial wage gaps, with Vice President Kamala Harris hosting a virtual White House meeting to mark Equal Pay Day.

politics, Wage gap: White House will announce steps aimed at closing gender and racial pay disparities - CNNPolitics

White House will announce steps aimed at closing gender and racial wage gaps

Washington (CNN)The Biden administration on Tuesday will announce a series of steps aimed at closing the gender and racial wage gaps, with Vice President Kamala Harris hosting a virtual White House meeting to mark Equal Pay Day.The steps include a new regulation across the federal workforce banning the use of prior salary history in the hiring and pay-setting processes for employees, which the administration said in a fact sheet can "help break the cycle of past arbitrary and potentially discriminatory pay that can follow women and workers of color from job to job, entrenching gender and racial pay gaps over time."President Joe Biden will also sign an executive order to limit federal contractors' access to the previous pay history of applicants and employees when determining salaries, and the administration said it will seek to ensure equitable access to "good-paying" jobs, noting the "relative underrepresentation" of women in many well-compensated occupations. "For over 25 years, Equal Pay Day has helped draw attention to gender-based pay disparities by highlighting how far into a new year a woman must work, on average, to earn what a man did in the previous year," Biden said Monday in a proclamation."This year, Equal Pay Day falls on March 15, the earliest we have ever marked the occasion. The earlier that Equal Pay Day arrives, the closer our Nation has come to achieving pay fairness. But while we should celebrate the progress we have made, as I have said in the past, we should not be satisfied until Equal Pay Day is no longer necessary at all," he added. Read MoreBiden will also deliver remarks marking the occasion.According to Department of Labor estimates released Tuesday, Black women lost $39.3 billion and Hispanic women lost $46.7 billion in wages in 2019 compared with their White male counterparts due to their participation in what the department terms "low-wage sectors" like caregiving and hospitality. Why have women been so disproportionately affected by Covid-19? Experts explain "Women have -- particularly women of color -- have historically been in jobs overrepresented in sectors where they're paid less," a senior administration official told reporters Monday. "The administration is increasing access to good-paying jobs for women and people of color in sectors where jobs are being created ... and where women have historically been underrepresented."Harris will be joined at Tuesday's gathering by current and former members of the US Women's National Team, who reached a $24 million agreement last month on an equal pay dispute with US Soccer. The dispute, which dated back to a March 2019 gender-discrimination lawsuit against US Soccer, was resolved with both parties agreeing to equal rates of pay for women's and men's national teams. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Office of Personnel Management Director Kiran Ahuja and other Cabinet secretaries are also expected to participate in Tuesday's meeting.The announcements are expected to build on other steps the administration has taken, including in its Covid-19 relief package, which provided financial assistance for child care workers. The White House estimates that more than 9 in 10 child care workers are women, and more than 4 in 10 are women of color. In Monday's proclamation, Biden repeated calls for Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which he said "would help mitigate sex-based pay discrimination while ensuring greater transparency and reporting of disparities in wages."The bill, which failed to clear the Senate last year, would "provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex," according to the legislative text. CNN's Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

Ryan Bergeron, CNN

2022-02-04 01:42:47

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/03/us/iyw-adl-how-to-help-fight-against-antisemitism/index.html

As anti-semitism grows, so does its dangers to everyone. Here's how you can fight against it - CNN

Vlad Khaykin has dedicated his life to educating and fighting anti-Semitism.

us, As anti-semitism grows, so does its dangers to everyone. Here's how you can fight against it - CNN

As anti-Semitism grows, so does its dangers to everyone. Here's how you can fight against it

(CNN)Vlad Khaykin directs the Anti-Defamation League's programs on anti-Semitism.For him, it's personal. He was born in the Soviet Union where Jew-hatred was entrenched in society.Khaykin's grandparents survived the Holocaust. Other family members did not. Today he is grateful -- and protective -- of the safety he enjoys. But that safety is threatened. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that anti-Semitic attacks hit an all-time high in 2019, remained at historically high levels in 2020 and now recent incidents have the Jewish community on edge. Khaykin says hostility against Jews tends to gain ground during times of uncertainty: be that economic depression, war or pandemic. If there is anxiety, some people will turn to anti-Semitism for "an answer for why things are going wrong in the world."Read MoreIn the United States, the Jewish population makes up just over 2 percent of the population. But anti-Semitism affects everyone, and everyone should be concerned. Khaykin points out that persistent, historic and patently untrue canards against the Jewish people perpetuate fundamental flaws in society."It breeds conspiracy theories that distort our ability to make informed decisions, which are central to any democracy," he said. "It is anti-democratic. It is anti-intellectual. It leads to contempt for knowledge, learning, expertise."Former US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power described it as the "canary in the coal mine."Here are a few things that everyone can do to help fight anti-Semitism. Educate yourself and be an advocate No matter where you live, you can help. As Khaykin points out, "you don't need to know any Jews" to want to make the world a better place for everyone. The ADL has many educational online programs and resources available. They range from anti-bias training to anti-Semitism education. Advocate for others' education and protection. Approach schools and centers of learning about adding programs and curriculums on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. Echoes & Reflections is an online program that focuses on Holocaust education in the classroom. Tennessee school officials said their vote to ban Holocaust graphic novel "Maus" was meant to shelter students from foul language and nudity. But advocates say books like these are important tools in teaching younger generations. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum is another resource where one can learn not only about the Holocaust but find educational information on anti-Semitism and its impact today. People attend the "NO FEAR: Rally in Solidarity with the Jewish People" event in Washington, Sunday, July 11, 2021.Stop the spreadThis means not just speaking out against hate speech you hear, but reporting what you see on social media. The pandemic has fueled a lot of conspiracy theories, and several prominent people have compared vaccine requirements or mask mandates to the Holocaust. This type of rhetoric demeans the actual atrocities of the Holocaust."Attempts to minimize through absurd comparisons, to minimize the horror and enormity of the Holocaust, are really pernicious," Khaykin said. "Scholars of genocide have said that the final act of genocide is the denial of the genocide."Germany has strict laws against hate speech and Holocaust denials, but in the US such speech is harder to regulate. Private companies like Facebook, however, have rules against it. You just need to report it when you see it -- every time you see it. Community outreachBe involved and aware of what is happening in your community. In August, the ADL, the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI held a community outreach event raising awareness about how they work together to combat anti-Semitism. The ADL has 25 regional offices around the country and work closely with law enforcement agencies. As interest in communities grows about what is being done to combat hate, these type events are more likely to happen in the future. Members and supporters of the Jewish community come together for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of those who died during a shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.If you or a loved one experience anti-SemitismReport it immediately. The ADL has an online form where you can report any incidents of "anti-Semitism, extremism, bias, bigotry or hate." Note, this is not just for people who experienced anti-Jewish hostility. This is for anyone targeted for their "religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or level of ability." Reportable activity could be anything from seeing a hate symbol on the street to kids getting bullied at school or online. Here you can upload video and photos of the incident and someone will contact you. The ADL keeps track of all reported anti-Semitic and hate crime incidents. Khaykin said, "Anti-Semitism doesn't just show up in our schools, in our workplaces. It's everywhere. It pervades every aspect of our civilization." The only way to stop the cycle of ignorance and hate is through knowledge and love.

Harmeet Kaur, CNN

2022-03-15 16:48:50

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us

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/us/asian-american-women-attacks-public-safety-cec/index.html

Attacks on Asian American women are igniting a conversation about public safety - CNN

As more Asian American women report feeling increasingly unsafe, community members are pushing leaders to do more to address public safety. But without a clear, identifiable pattern to the attacks, people are divided about what the root of the problem is -- and what's needed to solve it.

us, Attacks on Asian American women are igniting a conversation about public safety - CNN

Attacks on Asian American women are igniting a conversation about public safety

(CNN)What hit Hong Lee so hard about the killing of Christina Yuna Lee was how easily it could have been her.Late one night in February, Christina took a car back to her New York Chinatown apartment, where a man followed her up six flights of stairs and forced himself into her home. She cried out desperately for help, but before anyone could reach her, she was stabbed dozens of times to her death.Christina was an Asian American woman around Hong's age. They shared a mutual friend. And Hong, too, had an experience that left her afraid for her life -- a memory that has been fresh on her mind lately given the string of Asian American women who have been killed in recent weeks.Michelle Go was pushed to her death on the New York City subway tracks. GuiYing Ma died from her injuries after being struck repeatedly in the head with a rock last year in Queens. Julia Li was killed while driving in St. Paul, Minnesota. Mary Ye, a spa worker in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was shot and killed during an attempted robbery. Fang Sihui, a spa owner in the same city, was killed under similar circumstances just three weeks earlier. All the while, the trauma from last year's Atlanta spa shootings still felt raw.Hong Lee became an advocate for victims of anti-Asian violence after her own experience with racism."It's just odd to me that all these attacks are happening all at once," Hong said.Read MoreThe brutality and seeming frequency of these high-profile incidents have Hong and other Asian American women on edge. But making sense of the tragedies has proved especially difficult.The victims have been from various class backgrounds -- attacked on streets and subway platforms, at homes and workplaces. The perpetrators have been White, Black and Hispanic -- their actions sometimes without expressing obvious anti-Asian bias. Meanwhile, rates of homicides and other violent crimes increased last year in cities nationwide.As ​74% of Asian American and Pacific Islander women report having personally experienced racism or discrimination in the past year, community members are pushing leaders to do more to address public safety. But without a clear, identifiable pattern to the attacks, advocates, elected officials and citizens are divided about the root of the problem -- and what's needed to solve it.Asian American women face a distinct threatIn August 2020, Hong was standing in line at a Los Angeles restaurant when she says a man handed her a business card and asked her to have lunch with him. When she politely declined, she said he snatched his card back and yelled at her to "go back to f**king Asia." He proceeded to hurl profane and derogatory insults at her for the next several minutes. Effectively backed into a corner, Hong felt there was little she could do besides film the encounter while she waited for police to arrive."I honestly was preparing for the worst case scenario," she said. "I thought, 'If I walk out of this restaurant, what if he follows me? What if I get raped? What if I get murdered? What if he assaults me?'"From the 19th century Page Act, which depicted the majority of Chinese women in the US as sex workers, to US military occupations in Asia to pop culture touchstones such as "Full Metal Jacket," Sung Yeon Choimorrow notes that Asian women in the United States have long been stereotyped as sexual objects or as being submissive -- making them especially vulnerable to harassment and violence. This sign was seen at a March 19, 2021, vigil for victims of the Atlanta spa shooting in New York.Racism and sexism against Asian American women intensified with the start of the pandemic as the community was scapegoated, said Choimorrow, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum. With then-President Donald Trump referring to Covid-19 as the "China virus" or "kung flu," it seemed to her that others felt emboldened to act on anti-Asian sentiments. She recalls how, early on in the pandemic, a man chased her down her neighborhood while she was on a walk with her young daughter. "Go back home with your China virus," she remembers him yelling.But while the pandemic might have heightened the violence and harassment Asian American women face, the underlying issue has always been there, according to Choimorrow."(There are) all sorts of crazy assumptions people make about how Asian women are docile and submissive and don't stand up for ourselves or think for ourselves," she said. "I think that makes us very easy targets."The scope of violence is hard to captureIt's difficult to disentangle the racialized misogyny that Asian American women in particular face from the racism that has intensified for Asian Americans overall since the pandemic began. But two years later, Asian American women are still reporting incidents of violence and harassment. Police released surveillance footage Monday capturing an incident from last week, in which a woman in New York was shown being punched dozens of times in the head and face and stomped on seven times by a man who had allegedly called her an "Asian b*tch." The continuing reports are a testament to how persistent racism and sexism against Asian American women is, said Connie Chung Joe."That was just the sparkplug that ignited so much of this hatred," said Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, referring to the pandemic. "What's kept it sustained is deep-seated racism and gender violence and misogyny."A police officer in New York's Chinatown hands out leaflets with information on how to report on hate crimes on March 17, 2021.Capturing the true extent of violence and harassment against Asian American women, however, has been complicated.Statistics from advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate suggest that women are disproportionately affected in a surge of anti-Asian hate incidents, but the organization's data is crowdsourced, self-reported and not independently verified. Further, researchers started collecting it after the start of the pandemic (notably, to combat what they deemed incomplete data from police departments and government agencies), making it hard to assess the scope of anti-Asian hate in previous years.Hate crime and bias incident data collected by law enforcement agencies, meanwhile, are notoriously unreliable and underreported. Still, the FBI's annual hate crime statistics report found that attacks motivated by bias against Asians jumped 73% from 2019 to 2020 -- the most recent year for which data is available. Researchers at Cal State San Bernardino found that hate crimes against Asians reported to police in 24 of the nation's largest cities and counties were up 189% in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020. While those numbers don't disaggregate hate crimes against Asian American women, findings from community groups are noteworthy.A crowd gathers in New York at a vigil for Michelle Go, who was killed in January after being pushed in front of an oncoming subway train."It's notable that women are reporting (more hate incidents than men)," said Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate. "And we also have very detailed stories about what is happening to them."When police arrived at the restaurant where Hong had been harassed, she said an officer told her encounters like the one she experienced happen all the time. She said they informed her the incident wasn't a crime, so nothing could be done.Hong's experience underscored how law enforcement can be ill-equipped to respond to incidents that might not rise to the level of an arrest or prosecution. When officers dismiss such reports instead of recording them as hate incidents, victims might be less likely to turn to the police in the future, said Joe.Hong struggled with whether to go public about the harassment. Part of her wanted to forget the whole thing. But reports of anti-Asian racism seemed to be rising, so she posted the footage to social media to raise awareness.Soon after she gave a local TV interview, Hong said another woman came forward saying she had a similar encounter with the same man. Several other victims followed with their own stories, LAPD Detective Orlando Martinez confirmed to CNN. And in the meantime, Hong said the police department reached out to apologize and document her experience as a hate incident.The attacks lack a clear patternRecent attacks on Asian American women have raised some big questions: What factors led to the violence and how could they have been prevented?Answering those questions, though, has been challenging because there isn't an obvious pattern to the attacks, beyond the race and gender of the victims. Some lack a clear motive.In the high-profile cases of Christina Yuna Lee and Michelle Go, authorities have said there wasn't evidence to suggest that the crimes were motivated by racism. (New York City Mayor Eric Adams later criticized police for being too quick to rule out that possibility, and the heads of the New York Police Department Special Victims Division and Hate Crime Task Force were soon reassigned as part of what WABC reported was a routine reshuffling.)Commuters wait for a train at the Times Square subway station days after Michelle Go was pushed from a subway platform there and killed.Neither of the suspects were reported to have used racial epithets, nor did they appear to have documented histories of anti-Asian bias. In the absence of such indicators, the conversation turned to the backgrounds of the suspects.Assamad Nash, the man accused of killing Christina Yuna Lee, was homeless and facing other criminal charges. Martial Simon, the man accused of killing Michelle Go, was homeless and had at least three prior police encounters related to mental health issues, authorities said. He spent years in and out of jails, hospitals, outpatient psychiatric clinics and the streets, The New York Times reported.Some said the suspects should never have been on the streets at all, given their previous criminal records. Many Republicans -- and even a majority of Democrats -- criticized New York's bail reform laws, which ​allowed some suspects to be released from jail pending trial without paying cash bail. Some critics also blamed restorative justice approaches to crime championed by progressives, for threatening public safety. If the men had been behind bars, some reasoned, Lee and Go might still be alive.A woman holds a candle during a January 18 vigil in San Francisco for Michelle Go.However, The New York Daily News reviewed Nash's records and found that bail reform laws and progressive prosecution policies did not explain why he was out on the streets. Manhattan judges could have set bail in Nash's previous cases, which included allegedly punching a stranger at a subway turnstile, even with bail reforms in place, the Daily News reported, but did not -- a common practice for misdemeanor offenses ​even before the bail reforms were enacted, according to the Center for Court Innovation. In fact, the majority of cities that have seen increases in crime have not eliminated cash bail, weakening the case that bail reforms were to blame.Other conversations have focused on better mental health and housing services as a solution to preventing violent attacks. But mental health specialists and racial justice advocates have challenged the notion that homeless people with mental illnesses were a significant contributor to homicides and violent crime more generally -- and violence and harassment against Asian American women more specifically. "There are so many additional cases where folks are not homeless. They're not mentally ill," Joe, of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, said. "There are unfortunately, many, many people who are committing these hate crimes and hate incidents, and they have none of those barriers."Still, many Asian American women feel unsafe going about their daily lives. And they're calling on their leaders to take action.Leaders are taking different approachesThere isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to violence and harassment against Asian American women, advocates said. Rather, they see a need for changes on several fronts: among them, collecting better data, teaching Asian American history in schools and improving community relationships with law enforcement."When I'm asked, 'What do we need to do to address safety for Asian Americans?' I tell them we need to have affordable health care, including mental health care for everybody. People need to be paid living wages, and no one should be homeless," Choimorrow said. "We need to start thinking about finding solutions in much, much bigger, comprehensive ways than we've ever done because it's really coming to that crisis point." A law enforcement officer in New York is seen at a subway station on March 30, 2021, in the largely Asian American neighborhood of Flushing.Across the country, leaders and advocacy groups are trying different approaches.​In mid-February, a few weeks after Go was killed on a New York subway platform, Mayor Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to remove homeless individuals from trains and subway stations by deploying law enforcement officers and outreach teams with trained mental health professionals.The city acknowledged in the plan that "homelessness and violence do not equate and must not be conflated." But it stressed that immediate interventions were necessary to support "a small minority of individuals who may be experiencing several compounding challenges at once." The proposal also called for state and federal funding for more beds and shelters with on-site mental health treatment.Ben Wei, founder of the advocacy group Asians Fighting Injustice, said his organization asked Adams' administration to take this action. He views it as a step in the right direction, but adds that criminalizing homelessness and "throwing police at the problem" is not the answer.New York Mayor Eric Adams joins local politicians, activists and residents at a vigil for Michelle Go.Others are more skeptical that the plan will make Asian American women safer. Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the New York-based Asian American Federation, wonders where homeless people will go after being removed from subways. She feels community organizations are best equipped to respond to social problems, and welcomes the state's recent $10 million investment in Asian American advocacy groups, ​of whom her group is one.In Georgia, where community members this week will mark the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings, advocates are calling for policies that address community needs, including language access in immigration services and access to the ballot box."We still see those as battles that we need to fight, that ultimately help create public safety and that will ultimately help to mitigate the conditions that lead to instances of interpersonal violence, including the spa shootings," said Phi Nguyen, executive director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta.Flowers adorn Gold Spa after a series of shootings at Atlanta-area spas that left eight people, six of them Asian women, dead.In California, advocates and elected officials are focusing on street harassment.State lawmakers, in partnership with Stop AAPI Hate, recently introduced legislation that treats street harassment as a public health issue. One bill requires the largest transit agencies to study the types of harassment riders face and develop strategies to combat them, while another seeks to create a public awareness campaign that would engage residents across communities. A third bill, which Stop AAPI Hate says is still being finalized, will seek to help businesses respond to bias incidents.The initiatives aren't a panacea, Choi said. But because the majority of hate incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate involve harassment in public spaces, she feels they could make a significant dent in the problem.Hong, for her part, recognizes that addressing the complex factors driving anti-Asian violence and harassment will require a combination of efforts. But she's doing what she can to equip vulnerable people with tools to keep themselves safe. Along with two friends, she started the organization Seniors Fight Back, which offers self-defense training to elders in the Los Angeles community. She's also using her voice to advocate for victims of hate incidents and help connect them to resources.But the anti-Asian racism and attacks of the last two years have affected her deeply -- the threat of violence feels like it's always looming. She says she always has pepper spray on her, and walks with her keys between her fingers.And she's looking over her shoulder, just in case.

Scottie Andrew, CNN

2022-02-10 19:12:02

entertainment

entertainment

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/10/entertainment/super-bowl-parties-homeless-2022-iyw-cec/index.html

He threw a Super Bowl party for homeless New Yorkers. Now, his 'Super Soul Parties' are being held nationwide - CNN

Meir Kay, who has thrown "Super Soul Parties" since 2017, said 35 cities are throwing their own parties and inviting residents of homeless shelters to watch the Super Bowl.

entertainment, He threw a Super Bowl party for homeless New Yorkers. Now, his 'Super Soul Parties' are being held nationwide - CNN

He threw a Super Bowl party for homeless New Yorkers. Now, his 'Super Soul Parties' are being held nationwide

(CNN)The first Super Soul Party in 2017 was a largely impromptu affair, designed to make sure a few folks experiencing homelessness could watch the biggest game of the year in comfort. Meir Kalmanson, dressed in Tom Brady's New England Patriots jersey, invited men he met on New York sidewalks to a Super Bowl party he was throwing. Soon, the men who agreed were ushered into cars and whisked off to Manhattan penthouse bar 230 Fifth, where they had their own private seating area with food, Patriots T-shirts and access to several large TVs. The party host, known as Meir Kay to his 308,000 YouTube followers, shared clips from the first ever "Super Soul Party" on his channel. Now, that initial event has grown from a small gathering of men Kay met that night to a nationwide chain of celebrations in 35 cities for residents living in homeless shelters. A man randomly threw a Super Bowl party for the homeless. 3 years later, he's hosting 20 across the USThe parties are places to eat and get haircuts, enjoy the most important football game of the year and form a community that hopefully, Kay said, lasts long after Super Bowl Sunday. "We use the Super Bowl as a way to get people's attention," Kay told CNN. "But really what happens is the magic, when people are able to reconnect with themselves and with the community so that they're able to rebuild their lives." Read MoreHow Super Soul parties started -- and took off Kay said that he noticed homeless outreach efforts tend to peak in New York during the winter holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but when it comes to what might be considered the US' biggest unofficial holiday -- Super Bowl Sunday -- he didn't know of any game day parties for those experiencing homelessness. So he threw his own. Though that fateful first party only had a handful of attendees, all of whom Kay invited earlier in the evening, the idea "caught like wildfire," he said, and soon, volunteers were bringing Super Soul parties to their own cities. In 2020, there were 20 parties across the US. Kay, pictured left, said his goal is to throw Super Soul Parties in every state. Covid-19 threw a wrench in Kay's plans for expansion -- there were no Super Soul Parties in 2021. The lull only inspired him to go bigger in 2022, he said. The parties keep growing in size and scopeKay said he works with homeless shelters to invite attendees to their city's Super Soul Party. On game day, volunteers transport partygoers from shelters to a "safe space" where the festivities are held. "It would be easier to do it in a homeless shelter, but the foundation of these events is really to take people out of those environments," Kay said. There's more to enjoy at the parties than a buffet and good company, too. In recent years, Kay's parties have added resources for guests to "rebuild themselves from the inside out," with mental health counseling and financial services. Partygoers also have access to free clothing, hygiene kits and other essentials they can take home. There are barbers to give them a trim while they watch the game, too. This year, the biggest event is in Orlando, with 500 attendees in Exploria Stadium, CNN affiliate WFTV reported, where the Orlando City Soccer Club and Orlando Pride play. Most other parties will see between 50 to 100 people attend due to Covid-19 restrictions, Kay said. The work continues after the Super Bowl endsWhile organizing 35 parties across the US is an achievement, Kay said he wants to throw a Super Soul Party in every state in the US next. He's started hosting Thanksgiving dinners for residents of homeless shelters, too. And while in-person events are "where [Super Soul] thrives," he hopes partnerships with local businesses and other organizations can keep the work going in the off-season, too -- Kay said he's working with some finance companies to organize virtual "financial freedom" classes and share them with shelters. Super Soul Parties offer resources like mental health counseling and haircuts in addition to a place to watch the big game, Kay said. For all its growth -- Kay said he "grew up with the mentality of 'just go big'" -- the purpose of a Super Soul Party is to impact the lives of the people it serves. One of the Super Soul Party moments Kay holds dearest happened the day after the Super Bowl -- a man who'd attended a 2020 party was featured in a local newscast, where he was spotted by his adult son with whom he'd lost contact years earlier. The two reconnected, and the man moved in with his son and became an active member of his family and loving grandfather, Kay said. Though the pandemic stunted the growth of Kay's efforts, and planning Super Soul Parties isn't without its challenges, moments like that remind Kay why he threw that 2017 party in the first place, he said. "When things get hard and difficult, it's like, 'Oh, this is why we do it,'" he said. "This is why we put the work in."

Ryan Bergeron, CNN

2021-12-30 17:43:29

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/30/us/iyw-native-fish-keepers/index.html

Montana nonprofit is fighting to protect native fish on this historic reservation - CNN

Cindy Benson, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has lived her entire life in or near the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana.

us, Montana nonprofit is fighting to protect native fish on this historic reservation - CNN

Montana nonprofit is fighting to protect native fish on this historic reservation

(CNN)Cindy Benson, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has lived her entire life in or near the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. She says her family lineage can be traced back as far as Chief Looking Glass in the 1800s, so Benson and generations of her family have witnessed firsthand the declining numbers of native species in the area. "Our native species are disappearing everywhere. In fish, animals, plants and insects. We need to take a stand," said Benson.The native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout are two species that are experiencing a decline in population. One of the main reasons for that is the introduction of lake trout to the area. "I remember when I was a young child, people fishing out on the lake, my dad included. They were fishing for the native fish, and I actually remember the day they caught their first lake trout. And what a shock it was to them. After that they were catching them all the time ... and that slowly led to their quitting fishing."Benson's family weren't the only ones who noticed once-abundant species becoming displaced by invasive fish. She says a tribal elder spoke to her about how it used to be a common sight to see a range of westslope cutthroat trout at the lake's surface feeding. That is something you don't see these days in Flathead Lake. Read MoreHeritage species Flathead Lake is one of the largest lakes in the western United States, and the native fish here are especially important to the Indigenous people who have called this land home for thousands of years. Benson says that the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes were hunter-gatherers. They followed the native fish throughout the lake's river system in order to catch them. "The tribes have named some places after bull trout, so it has very significant cultural meaning -- to the tribal elders especially.""Cutthroat and bull trout have been in the Flathead Lake and the river system for thousands of years, back to the ice age and beyond. Lake trout have been in the lake for a little over 100 years. The combination of mysis shrimp and lake trout have created a very detrimental condition for the native trout," Barry Hansen, a fisheries biologist at Native Fish Keepers, told CNN.The group is trying to restore the native trout and stop lake trout from taking over. Since a large portion of Flathead Lake is part of the Flathead Indian Reservation, Native Fish Keepers is owned and operated by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Its mission is to reduce the invasive species and restore native ones, including the bull trout and westslope cutthroat trouts.The way group members are working toward that goal is by taking a cue from their hunter-gatherer ancestors -- they're fishing. Targeted fishingFlathead Lake covers over 200 square miles and is up to 380 feet deep, so Hansen says knowing where the different species migrate is key. "Bull trout are more localized in particular areas. And that helps us to target lake trout without having a significant impact on bull trout."Native Fish Keepers employs 16 tribal members who head out almost daily during the non-winter months to extract the lake trout. Nets are placed where the lake trout dwell to help minimize the amount of native fish caught. It's an expensive to program to run, so to help offset the costs, Native Fish Keepers set up a nonprofit organization to process and sell the fresh-caught lake trout.Benson, who is the fishery specialist that oversees the processing of the caught fish, says the operation processes about 20,000 pounds of fish a year. The fish are then sold to local markets and restaurants -- with all the money going back into supporting the operation for the future. Besides striving to help preserve the native species that mean so much to the Indigenous people of the Flathead Reservation, Native Fish Keepers also tries to help the broader communities around them. The group's employees are almost entirely tribal members, and they donate thousands of pounds of fish to local food banks every year. Benson and the Native Fish Keepers are hoping the work they're doing today will have a lasting impact."If we don't do something now, future generations won't see these fish," she said.

Lauren Lee, CNN

2021-12-23 15:56:48

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/23/us/warrick-dunn-charities-affordable-housing-iyw-trnd/index.html

Former NFL star Warrick Dunn helps single parents realize dream of homeownership - CNN

Former All-Pro NFL Player Warrick Dunn devotes post football career to fight for affordable housing and homeownership for single parents.

us, Former NFL star Warrick Dunn helps single parents realize dream of homeownership - CNN

How former NFL star Warrick Dunn's mother inspired him to tackle housing inequity

Atlanta (CNN)In 1997 Warrick Dunn signed a multimillion-dollar contract to play professional football with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His coach at the time, Tony Dungy, encouraged the rookie to find a way to give back."I wanted to do something that was a little bit more impactful, not just handing out turkeys," he said in an interview with CNN. "I wanted to do something that had a real impact in the community."Dunn ruminated on potential ideas and his own life experiences. He decided to focus on helping single parents buy their own places to live. To date, Warrick Dunn Charities has helped nearly 200 single parents purchase and furnish their own homes.Inspired by his courageous motherRead MoreDunn said the idea was inspired by his late mother, Betty Smothers, a single mom of six who worked as a police officer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana."She went out of her way even when she didn't have a lot to help other people," Dunn explained. On January 7, 1993, two armed robbers ambushed and killed Smothers as she worked off duty escorting a businesswoman on a night bank deposit. Denver Broncos honor Demaryius Thomas with memorial and tribute "She lost her life, and she was never able to realize her dream of homeownership," said Dunn.At 18 years old Dunn was left to look after his five younger siblings."I wanted to take the money from the insurance policy and actually give her kids something that she wanted to give them -- a stable environment, a home."After his mother's death, Dunn went on to star at Florida State University.Once Dunn made it to the NFL, he looked to help other single parents realize that same dream. "Everyone deserves a place to call home because home is where the heart is," he said.The work evolvesDunn started with a program called Homes for the Holidays. It focused on simply getting people into homes. "$5,000 down payment and we fully furnish their homes with food, furniture, linens, garden tools,TVs, computers all the way down to the toothbrush," Dunn said. "The more I learned, we wanted to get into the business of giving people the potential to break their cycle of poverty," he explained. "Over the last 21 years, I've just learned a lot about different issues people face."Warrick Dunn Charities began partnering with Habitat for Humanity, community development groups, and financial institutions to get people into homes and secure their well being for the long haul.Bobby Bowden, legendary Florida State University football coach, dies at 91"We've come up with services that can really help give families, tools so they can have some stability long term, and with that is financial literacy, health and wellness, education attainment and workforce development and entrepreneurship," Dunn said. Today, Warrick Dunn Charities has expanded from Homes for the Holidays to include three additional programs: Count on Your Future, Sculpt, and the Hearts for Community Service scholarships. Together Dunn says the programs can transform communities by fighting poverty and hunger and improving families' quality of life academically, socially and economically."It set the foundation for me to think and to be able to be in a position to map out the next steps," said Kia Savage-Lewis, a 2005 Home for the Holidays participant. "Up until that point, survival was my thinking process."Savage-Lewis completed her education and now runs her own small business.Tackling the affordable housing crisisAccording to Harvard University's State of the Nation's Housing report, 1 in 7 households (17.6 million in total) are "severely cost-burdened," spending half or more of their income on housing. Dunn's organization is striving to change that. "Now we're actually getting to building only affordable housing for families," Dunn said. "We want to make sure that things are affordable for people, and they're not being pushed out of their communities." Here's why the US government is changing rent relief distributionIn spring of 2020, he started WD Communities. He teamed up with the city of Augusta, Georgia, to build a community of affordable homes as part of the Laney-Walker revitalization project. "This is just the first of hopefully many that we can do together in Augusta," Dunn said. "Hopefully, this is building a model that we could take to other cities to help different communities that need our services."The former running back, who played 12 seasons with the Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons, has his eyes on the long game. "We want to be able to help people that are trying to help themselves," Dunn said."The goal is I hope we can go out of business, and when I say that, it's no one else needs housing."

Ashley Vaughan, CNN

2021-12-21 21:41:00

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/21/us/iyw-wellness-4-ways-to-give-without-money/index.html

No money? No problem. Here are 4 ways to give back without opening your wallet - CNN

It's the season of giving!

us, No money? No problem. Here are 4 ways to give back without opening your wallet - CNN

No money? No problem. Here are 4 ways to give back without opening your wallet

(CNN)It's the season of giving!Even if you are low on funds, you can still make an impact.Here are four ways you can spread goodwill during the holidays without spending a dime. The gift of lifeThe American Red Cross is experiencing its worst blood shortage in more than a decade, forcing patients to delay much-needed surgeries like organ transplants. On its website, the American Red Cross features a ZIP code finder to locate blood donation centers close to home. Read MoreThe gift of sight The app Be My Eyes allows sighted individuals to lend their vision to blind people. The app offers a live video feature enabling volunteers to offer support on tasks like distinguishing colors, exploring new spaces and checking expiration dates. Be My Eyes boasts a community of more than 5 million volunteers. The app is put to use in more than 150 countries. The gift of spoken voice Through the power of artificial intelligence, VocaliD gives people with prosthetic voices unique vocal qualities that reflect their personalities. Through the organization's human voicebank, individuals use easy-to-follow prompts to record their voices. Diversity of submissions is important to meet needs spanning race, gender, and age. The gift of expertise With Catchafire, you can match your professional skills with local and global volunteer opportunities. On its website, donors can browse volunteer projects according to interest, cause, availability, and expertise. Many of the requested skills may already align with tasks performed within one's day-to-day job. The volunteer projects are virtual and can be performed from the comfort of home.

Lauren Lee, CNN

2021-11-24 12:46:28

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/24/us/food-bank-supply-chain-iyw-trnd/index.html

US Food Banks survive coronavirus demand to face new problems: supply chain disruption and rising food prices - CNN

For nearly two years, economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic put increased demand on food banks across the US. As the need declines, they face new problems.

us, US Food Banks survive coronavirus demand to face new problems: supply chain disruption and rising food prices - CNN

US Food Banks survive coronavirus demand to face new problems: supply chain disruption and rising food prices

(CNN)For nearly two years, economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic put increased demand on food banks across the US. As the need declines, they face new problems. "Rising cost of food and ongoing challenges with the supply chain is making it more expensive for food banks to purchase food and even move donated food across this country," said Katie Fitzgerald, chief operating officer of Feeding America, a network of over 200 food banks across the country.Low inventory, supply chain disruption, and labor shortages have created the bottleneck that contributed to increased costs for charities."We are continuing to navigate this really difficult storm that the pandemic has created."Unsustainable costsRead MoreIn 2020, the pandemic's peak, one in five people turned to the charitable food system for help. Although the food banks could answer the call, they won't be able to absorb these new cost increases long-term."We are concerned about the fact that emergency funding and other sorts of supports that the federal government has put into place are starting to go away at the same time," Fitzgerald explained in an interview with CNN."When food prices rise, so does food insecurity," she said. "We still have 38 million Americans who are food insecure here in this country."Fitzgerald says many food banks are now forced to find ways to stretch donations, including smaller portion sizes or food substitutions."We're remaining very guarded and preparing to make sure that those 38 million Americans who are continuing to struggle with food insecurity have the support that they need moving forward."Giving --and receiving-- helpFitzgerald said it is crucial for those who can support the charitable food system to do so now."We couldn't have supported the 60 million people who reached out to the charitable food system over the last year without the help of everyday Americans."Help can come in the form of financial contributions and donations of non-perishable foods. Fitzgerald also urged the food industry to continue to donate unused goods to local food banks."This is a problem we can solve," said Fitzgerald."We have enough food in this country, and we can make sure that every child and every American has enough nutritious food to eat."To find ways to help those facing food insecurity click here. If you need resources to help with food insecurity click here.

Martha Shade, CNN

2021-12-17 16:27:59

health

health

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/17/health/better-to-give-than-to-receive-wellness/index.html

Holiday giving: It really is better to give than to receive... - CNN

Before you order another batch of gifts online, here are some festive ways your family can get together, bond over a holiday activity and help others.

health, Holiday giving: It really is better to give than to receive... - CNN

'Tis better to give than to receive. No, really, it is!

(CNN)Doing good is actually good for you, studies show. So why not start some new holiday traditions that are both fun and altruistic? Getting your loved ones together to assemble gifts for the less fortunate is easier than ever thanks to pre-assembled kits ... and it's a great family activity!Gifts you can assembleIf your family would like to help a foster child this holiday season, Together We Rise is helping kids without permanent homes by providing colorful bags to tote their items around. (Many foster kids lug their worldly possessions around in trash bags.) They send you a panel to decorate, which you then send back. They attach each artwork panel to a duffel bag, which is stuffed with new hygiene items.Kynd Kits are an activity for the whole family. You choose a cause or group of people important to you, and then request the corresponding kit. Read MoreEach kit will contain items specifically requested by people in those groups. You assemble the pieces together, write a card, then send it off. Among the recipients you can choose from this year: people undergoing chemotherapy, essential workers and people experiencing homelessness. Cleantheworld.org has a similar business model. Finding soap and other personal care items can be tough for someone who is homeless, so why not order a hygiene kit, assemble it, and then send it off to someone who really needs it? A family art project can brighten the walls at a long-term care facility. The Foundation for Hospital Art will send you a kit, complete with pre-drawn canvases and art supplies. You color it in, create one panel of your own design and send it back with the pre-addressed UPS label. If you can knit or crochet, consider ordering a kit from Knots of Love. Their hats support patients going through chemotherapy, burn victims, brain surgery patients and head trauma patients.Shopping for a child in needThe Salvation Army's "Angel Tree" program is online this year, making it easier than ever to shop for a child in need. Just enter your zip code, add the requested items from their registry to your cart, and Salvation Army does the rest. Buying local, buying smallThe pandemic has hit small businesses especially hard so buying local will have a great impact this year. Many small stores have an online presence or happily accept orders over the phone. Local craft fairs and farmers' markets are another great place to find meaningful gifts that give cheer twice: to the small business owner and to the recipient. And if you want to spend your money at a local bookstore instead of a big online retailer, consider buying from bookshop.org. The web site partners with independent book sellers across the country to send your dollars to stores that really need it.

Julia M. Chan, CNN

2022-01-02 11:00:44

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/02/us/betty-white-animal-charities-iyw/index.html

How to support animal lover Betty White's favorite cause - CNN

When it came to people, Betty White loved to make them laugh. When it came to animals, she loved to lend them a helping hand.

us, How to support animal lover Betty White's favorite cause - CNN

How to support animal lover Betty White's favorite cause

(CNN)When it came to people, Betty White loved to make them laugh. When it came to animals, she loved to lend them a helping hand. Betty White, beloved and trailblazing actress, dies at 99A lifelong animal lover, White -- who died Friday at age 99 -- said her parents instilled in her a compassion for all creatures great and small. "They imbued in me the fact that, to me, there isn't an animal on the planet that I don't find fascinating and want to learn more about," she told Smithsonian Magazine.She even aspired to become a forest ranger or zookeeper before going to Hollywood. "I often say that I have to stay in show business to pay for my animal business," White liked to joke. Throughout her career she worked with a number of animal health, welfare, and conservation groups, including those below.Greater Los Angeles Zoo AssociationRead MoreBetty White attends the Annual Beastly Ball at the Los Angeles Zoo in 2014.White passionately advocated for zoos -- particularly the Los Angeles Zoo -- and took an active role in the non-profit supporting it. Besides her zoo commissioner duties, she volunteered with the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association for more than 40 years as a trustee and chair. She strongly supported the conservation and educational missions of zoos."Zoos have changed dramatically in our lifetimes," White wrote for the Los Angeles Zoo. "Our zoo animals serve as ambassadors to the public -- to make people aware of the diminishing wild populations before it is too late. A message that will only register by seeing these wondrous creatures live and up close."In 2011, White published "Betty and Friends: My Life at the Zoo," a book chronicling her experiences with animals. The crew on her TV Land sitcom "Hot in Cleveland" adopted a baby orangutan at the Los Angeles Zoo the following year and named it after her character on the show.American HumaneAmerican Humane (formerly known as American Humane Association) is the first animal welfare group White joined, and she remained involved for more than 60 years. White said her acting work allowed her to see firsthand how the group kept her animal co-stars safe on set through its "No Animals Were Harmed" certification program.She became a national ambassador for the non-profit and appeared in public service announcement like the one above. In 2012, American Humane honored White with its highest honor, the National Humanitarian Medal, and its Legacy Award for a lifetime of helping animals. "Betty White is a tireless and devoted animal welfare advocate and we are proud to honor her with these two special awards," American Humane President and CEO Robin Ganzert said in a statement at the time. "Betty is an inspiration to me personally, to everyone at American Humane Association and to millions of animal lovers around the globe."Guide Dogs for the BlindWhite was a major donor to Guide Dogs for the Blind. She was involved with the non-profit for more than 30 years, sponsoring dogs, hosting benefits and raising money. White didn't need a guide dog to get around, but she took one home anyway — as a pet. After she lost a previous dog to cancer, Guide Dogs for the Blind offered her Pontiac, a young golden retriever in need of a career change. A leg problem ended his service dog training, but it led to a close companionship with White."That's my heart, my golden retriever," she told AARP. "Whenever I come home late from work at night, I come up to the house and here's this big golden head in the window on the left stairway landing, looking out and waiting for me."Endangered Wolf CenterMarlin Perkins, the famed zoologist and host of the television show "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom," and his wife, Carol, founded the Endangered Wolf Center in 1971. Previously known as the Wild Canid Survival and Research Center, the non-profit cares for endangered species of canids like the Mexican gray wolf and reintroduces them into the wild to help balance natural ecosystems. It is now considered an essential part of federal wolf recovery efforts.Without White, though, it may have never happened. "It was all Betty's fault," Carol Perkins told the St. Louis Dispatch in 2000. "Betty's the one who turned me on to wolves." White loved wolves all her life. She fondly remembered seeing and hearing them as a child on family camping trips. After White and Perkins met in the early 1960s, White sent a book about wolves to Perkins, and Perkins credited their friendship for sparking her own interest in the animals.In 2005, White began the non-profit's "Puppy Naming Club" — supporters who get to pick names for the center's youngest wolves. The name she chose for a male pup was fitting: Perkins, after her late friend Marlin, who passed away in 1986.BraveHearts Therapeutic Riding and Educational CenterBraveHearts Therapeutic Riding and Educational Center uses horsemanship to help children and adults deal with medical problems. It's home to the largest equine-based services program for veterans in the US. White got involved with BraveHearts through a contact on the board. She became a close friend and generous supporter, attending fundraisers and sponsoring a golden-colored horse named Baby."We call Betty and Baby our Golden Girls," BraveHearts Founder Marge Tautkus Gunnar said. White connected with humans and horses alike during her visit to the center. "Here is this wonderful, iconic lady floating through the barn, adoring the horses, they adoring her back," Gunnar recalled. "And the students and their families flocking up to her, and she was just so kind and gracious and giving to them."

Lauren Lee, CNN

2020-01-27 17:05:08

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/honoor-kobe-bryant-charity-iyw-trnd/index.html

How to honor Kobe Bryant's legacy through the charities he supported - CNN

Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but his influence extended far beyond the court.

us, How to honor Kobe Bryant's legacy through the charities he supported - CNN

Honor Kobe Bryant's legacy through the charities he supported

(CNN)Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but his influence extended far beyond the court. The fierce competitor was as passionate about philanthropy as he was about pursuing baskets or championship rings. "He's leaving a legacy, and he's teaching people how to be more than just an athlete," former teammate Metta World Peace told CNN in an interview shortly after the announcement of Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna's deaths in a helicopter crash. Here are some other ways you can honor Bryant's legacy through the charities he supported:The Mamba and Mambacita Sports FoundationGianna Bryant and her father, former NBA player Kobe Bryant.Read MoreThe Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation was one of the basketball star's most impactful philanthropic works. Bryant and his wife started the foundation to improve the lives of young people and their families. KVBF provides scholarships and operates Mamba FC, a youth soccer club that teaches young athletes how to become leaders and independent thinkers through sports. Since 2011, the foundation has partnered with the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Step Up on Second and homeless youth drop-in center My Friend's Place to provide comprehensive services to homeless kids in Los Angeles. Vanessa Bryant regularly visits the young parents at My Friend's Place and hosts an annual holiday celebration for them and their children.Following the deaths of Bryant and his daughter, Vanessa changed the name of their family non-profit. The organization is now called the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, honoring Kobe and Gianna.After-School All-StarsBryant was an honorary ambassador of After-School All-Stars, a non-profit organization that partners with schools nationwide to extend school hours for low-income children. As a champion for after-school programming for all, Bryant gave frequent motivational speeches and raised money for the organization's Los Angeles chapter, which serves 14,000 students; 98% of those students are youth of color. Make A Wish FoundationOver the last 20 years, Bryant granted more than 250 wishes of children battling life-threatening illnesses through the Make A Wish Foundation. The foundation's Facebook page called Bryant "an amazing wish granter who has brought countless smiles to our wish kids and their families." Stand up to CancerBryant was also a champion for people battling cancer. Outside of sending motivational messages to those fighting the disease, he raised money for research and medical expenses. In 2012, he was part of an all-star telecast that raised more than $81 million for research through Stand up to Cancer. The National Museum of African American History and CultureBryant and his wife donated at least $1 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The couple is one of the museum's founding donors. When the museum opened in 2016, Bryant tweeted out this message: "Go. See this. Museum. There is no greater testament to this country than the stories in this building."You can support the work of these organizations through the "you can make a difference" button below or by clicking here.

Julia M. Chan, CNN

2020-11-08 18:25:02

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/us/alex-trebek-charities-nonprofits-iyw/index.html

Here are some of Alex Trebek's favorite causes that he supported - CNN

For more than three decades, viewers came to know Alex Trebek as the face of the hit TV game show "Jeopardy!" But lesser known was his charitable work and all the time and money he gave to a number of causes, from health care to hairy creatures.

us, Here are some of Alex Trebek's favorite causes that he supported - CNN

Alex Trebek supported many causes. These were some of his favorites

(CNN)For more than three decades, viewers came to know Alex Trebek as the face of the hit TV game show "Jeopardy!" But what was lesser-known about Trebek was his charitable work. The beloved host devoted a lot of time and money to a number of causes, from health care to hairy beasts.Pancreatic cancer Two months after Trebek was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in 2019, he moved the crowd at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network's (PanCAN) PurpleStride Los Angeles walk. "What we have heard from today's speakers is that there is always hope," Trebek said from the podium. He had plenty of hope and support -- some 200 family members, friends, and coworkers joined him, and "Team Alex" quickly became one of the event's top fundraising teams. Many fans and former contestants also stepped up to support Trebek. Among them were "Jeopardy!" champions James Holzhauer and Steven Grade, who encouraged viewers to donate to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Research, the largest private funder of such research.Read MoreThe Trebek Family FoundationIn 2011, Trebek and his wife, Jean, formed a private foundation, the Trebek Family Foundation, to accommodate the ever-growing number of requests from charities."Once you form a charitable foundation it becomes easier to give," Trebek told the Washingtonian the following year. "It's brought about a nice change." Below are just a few of Trebek's favorite interests he supported over the years with his time, checkbook, or both.Geography Trebek had a lifelong passion for geography. He said he learned the subject studying atlases and geography books for fun, and even looked forward to medical appointments so he could read National Geographic in the waiting room. In addition to his "Jeopardy!" hosting duties, Trebek also moderated the National Geographic Bee for 25 years. National Geographic Society, the nonprofit behind the contest, credited Trebek with making it a prominent national broadcast. "He's been a great spokesperson in terms of knowing about our world and inspiring others to care about it," said Mary Lee Elden, then the executive director of geography competitions, before Trebek's last bee in 2013.Trebek, who grew up in Ontario, also supported The Royal Canadian Geographic Society and its youth contest, the Canadian Geographic Challenge, which he helped launch."I love working with young people, and seeing how bright these young geographers are," he told the RCGS. "All events are geographic. They affect us directly."Trebek was an RCGS Fellow and Gold Medal recipient. In 2016, the nonprofit named him Honorary President, and a few years later renamed its prestigious geographic literacy award after him. "Alex has done so much for geographic literacy over the course of his career," said John Geiger, CEO of the RCGS. "He has helped to inspire thousands of young people to learn more about our country and our planet."Film Alex Trebek backstage at the 2015 AFI Life Achievement Award Gala with his wife Jean (center) and friends from Turner Classic Movies.Trebek was one of the biggest stars on television, but cinema held a special place in his heart. He supported the American Film Institute through his foundation and hosted the sold-out AFI Great American Movie Quiz at the Hollywood Bowl in 2011. He and his wife attended AFI tributes for Jane Fonda, Sophia Loren, Steve Martin, and Denzel Washington. A self-described "lover of classic films," Trebek particularly enjoyed meeting fellow fans of the genre. "There are a lot of us out there that love classic films, and that's a good thing," he told Turner Classic Movies in 2019. (TCM and CNN are both part of WarnerMedia.) Trebek moderated trivia competitions aboard several TCM cruises, hosted screenings at TCM Film Festivals, and emceed the late TCM host Robert Osborne's 20th anniversary tribute.Trebek himself appeared in several films such as "White Men Can't Jump," "Rain Man," "Groundhog Day," and "Charlie's Angels" in cameo roles.Musk OxTrebek's favorite animal was the musk ox, a hoofed wooly mammal native to the Arctic. He said he liked them for their uniquely strong family dynamic, and "besides that, I like the way their furry coats wave in the breeze when they are running," he told "Jeopardy!" By the 1950s, demand for its meat and qiviut (soft inner wool) almost pushed the species to extinction. Today, the Musk Ox Development Corporation, operating on the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska, raises and cares for the oxen and promotes sustainable qiviut production. Trebek's history with the nonprofit spanned more than 30 years. He visited the ox farm several times and became one of MODC's most generous donors. As "Herd Godfather," Trebek personally signed every honorary adoption certificate sent to fellow supporters.Mark Austin, the farm's executive director, told CNN affiliate KTVA Trebek was a lot like his favorite animal: "Heart of a musk ox, tough as a musk ox."

Madeline Holcombe, CNN

2021-12-28 19:47:43

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https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/28/health/is-it-cold-flu-or-covid-wellness/index.html

Do you have a cold, the flu or Covid-19? How to tell the difference - CNN

Covid-19 can look a lot like a simple cold or flu, especially in vaccinated people. Epidemiologist Dr. Abdul El-Sayed explains what to look for to differentiate between the viruses and how to respond to the infections.

health, Do you have a cold, the flu or Covid-19? How to tell the difference - CNN

Do you have a cold, the flu or Covid-19? Experts explain how to tell the difference

(CNN)Do you have a sore throat, a runny nose and muscle aches? It could be a common cold, a case of the flu -- or Covid-19. The illnesses all share similar symptoms, sometimes making it hard to distinguish which is putting you under the weather. Case rates of Covid-19 have been on the rise as the Omicron variant has spread, but hospitalization numbers appear to be staying relatively low. For vaccinated people, evidence suggests that infection with this variant seems less likely to be severe, epidemiologist and former Detroit Health Department executive director, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed said. Daily Covid-19 case rates have now surpassed Delta's surge. Hospitalizations so far have yet to match"The important thing to remember is a vaccine is like giving a 'be on the lookout' call to your immune system. So its capacity to identify, target and destroy viruses is so much higher every time we take another boost of the vaccine," El-Sayed said. "It makes sense that the symptoms you would experience are milder if you have been vaccinated." That does not mean, however, that infections shouldn't be taken seriously, he added, especially when considering the risk of overwhelming health care systems. Read More"Just because the per-individual risk of severe illness may be lower, that doesn't mean on a societal level Omicron doesn't pose a real risk," he said. "Even a small proportion of a relatively large number can be a relatively large number."Many Covid-19 infections may look like a cold or flu. The best way to know is to get a test, said Dr. Sarah Ash Combs, attending physician at Children's National Hospital. "Short of getting a test, I would say it's really tricky to distinguish right now," Combs said. "We need to just treat cold-ish symptoms in pretty much the same bucket" as Covid-19. What symptoms to look forEarly signs of cold, flu and Covid-19 tend to be similar, El-Sayed said. Both Covid-19 and the flu often cause symptoms such as fever, fatigue, body aches, sore throat, shortness of breath and vomiting or diarrhea, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Covid-19 infection can be distinguished, however, by the headache and dry cough that often go along with it. The loss of taste and smell that has been the biggest warning sign of a Covid-19 infection is still a possible symptom, though it is less prevalent now than it has been with other variants, El-Sayed said. Between Christmas and New Year's, doctors expect the US Omicron surge to grow"For people who are feeling serious chest pain, particularly with a dry cough that has gotten worse, that's when you really ought to seek medical attention," he warned.The most important factor to consider is exposure."If you are starting to feel any of these symptoms, it's worth asking: Has anybody with whom I've come into contact been infected with Covid? It's also worth isolating and taking a rapid test," he advised.Even if you're not feeling symptoms yet, it may be best to exercise caution if you have been around someone who tested positive for Covid-19."I do think it is worth keeping a high suspicion that it could be Covid considering that we have the Omicron variant spreading like wildfire," El-Sayed added.At this point, it is safest to treat all cold symptoms carefully, Combs said. When to test for Covid-19It is often good to address your suspicions of Covid-19 by taking a test, although when you do it makes a difference. If you are feeling symptoms, now is the time to take a test, El-Sayed said. January will be 'a really, really hard month' as the Omicron variant fuels spike in infections, expert saysFor those who have been exposed but aren't feeling symptoms, there is a possibility that the virus hasn't developed enough to show up on a rapid test, he explained. In those cases, it is best to wait five days after exposure before testing and to remain on the lookout, according to the CDC."Just because you get a negative test doesn't necessarily mean it's not Covid," El-Sayed said. "The best approach is to test and then maybe test again in 12 to 24 hours, and if you get two negatives, you can be more certain that it's not."Whether it is Covid-19 or the common cold, it has always been a good idea to isolate while you fight a viral illness, he said. It has become even more important with the risk of spread increasing with Covid-19. What to do if your child starts snifflingLooking ahead to the return to school after the winter break, the US is at a point where people need to treat cold or flu symptoms the same as Covid-19, Combs said.When a family comes into her emergency room with a child that has sniffles and a sore throat and asks what it is, she is honest: She can't know for sure without a test, said Combs.Children are experiencing Omicron much in the same way adults are in that the symptoms are much more wide-ranging and often milder, like a cold, she said. Getting a flu shot for your child is important to reduce the chance of adding another virus to the mix, Combs said. Children under 5-years-old are still waiting on Covid-19 vaccine approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, but those older can get vaccinated to reduce the risk of spread and serious disease.As they go back to a school environment, testing is going to be essential to protecting against outbreaks, Combs said. The latest on coronavirus pandemic and Omicron variant"If you're looking to be really careful, if you're looking at a child going back to a school environment is to spread to other people, I would say really the only way to know is taking that test," Combs said. The good news is we know how to manage infections when children return to school, Combs said. When it isn't clear if your child was exposed or if their test is still pending, protocols like masking, sanitizing, distancing and reducing indoor gatherings are still believed to be effective in reducing spread, she added. And know that advice may evolve as time goes on, El-Sayed cautioned."It's changing quickly. We're learning a lot more," he said. "Omicorn is a variant we've really only known for about a month."Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the hospital where Dr. Sarah Ash Combs works. It is Children's National Hospital.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent

2021-12-29 12:50:59

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https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/29/health/pandemic-proof-resolutions-healthy-2022-gupta-wellness/index.html

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Resolutions for making 2022 a better, healthier year - CNN

It's almost the new year and along with it comes the admittedly aspirational tradition of setting New Year's resolutions -- ones that we hopefully can stick to and not abandon after Week 3, or even Day 3, of 2022.

health, Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Resolutions for making 2022 a better, healthier year - CNN

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Resolutions for making 2022 a better, healthier year

(CNN)It's almost the new year and along with it comes the admittedly aspirational tradition of setting New Year's resolutions -- ones that we hopefully can stick to and not abandon after Week 3, or even Day 3, of 2022.At the same time, we're sliding into our third year of battling a novel coronavirus that continues to keep the world in pandemic mode. Do you have a cold, the flu or Covid-19? Experts explain how to tell the differenceThat's why it is more important now than ever -- as the Delta variant gets squeezed out by Omicron in this country and around the globe, and as Covid-19 haltingly evolves from pandemic to endemic -- to think about setting resolutions that will help us stay healthy and strong enough to see us through the coming year. In other words, resolutions that will pandemic-proof us as much as possible.That means we have to be proactive rather than reactive: We need to learn from the past, fix things before they break, and optimize ourselves and our ways. As the former creative director of the fashion house Lanvin, Alber Elbaz, said when I interviewed him in 2014, "You know, there is a saying in America, 'If it's not broken, don't fix it.' And I think that if it's not broken, fix it before it breaks." (Elbaz tragically succumbed to Covid-19 in April 2021.)Read MoreWith that in mind, I have put together a short list of simple and universal resolutions to consider including among yours. I know I'll be following the list.Resolution short listGet vaccinatedAt the very top of my list is get vaccinated! The vaccines have been around for more than a year, yet currently just about 62% of the country is fully vaccinated and 33% of Americans have been boosted.I can't stress this enough: Being vaccinated is the best way to lower your risk of having a bad outcome if you do develop Covid-19. According to a recent Commonwealth Fund estimate, the US vaccine rollout effort has prevented 1.1 million Covid deaths, more than 10.3 million hospitalizations and nearly 36 million infections through November 2021. Still, too many preventable deaths occurred at a time when vaccines were already available.They are very effective against the Delta variant, which is still fueling some outbreaks in parts of the United States. And while preliminary studies show certain vaccines may be less effective at preventing infection with the Omicron variant, they still help avert hospitalizations and deaths, especially with the booster. So if you haven't received your shots yet, now is the time to do it. Pandemic-proof your bodyBesides the vaccine, there are other important ways to pandemic-proof your body. We often are motivated to stay healthy through fear of future disease: Eat right to stave off cancer or dementia in old age, exercise to avoid cardiovascular disease later on. The pandemic has taught us that being healthy could be very protective against serious disease right now, not only in the decades to come. Getting yourself in the best shape possible, within what is reasonable, prepares you to better fight off the virus should you get infected.New Omicron variant fills up children's hospitalsIf you smoke, try to quit -- you don't need me to tell you it's bad for you in so many ways; the pandemic only adds one more. If you don't exercise, start. Physical activity is critical to good health -- even something low-key like walking can work wonders. If you have a chronic health condition like liver, kidney or heart disease or diabetes -- all of which have been shown to lead to worse outcomes in people battling the virus -- try to manage those conditions as tightly as possible.Another condition strongly tied to worse Covid-19 outcomes is obesity and overweight, an issue that affects almost three-quarters of Americans over the age of 20. One of the most common questions I received was about the connection between excess weight and severe Covid, so here is a look at what happens to your body. Not surprisingly, losing weight is a popular New Year's resolution. I won't lie, it's a very challenging goal that many people struggle with, and it isn't often accomplished quickly.How to start the Mediterranean diet — meal by mealSo, this coming year, perhaps a different mindset will help. Instead of dieting to lose weight, resolve to eat right to boost your immune system. What does that mean? Scientists have learned that about 80% of your immunity lies with your gut microbiome -- the trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other organisms that reside inside your intestines and play a key role in digestion, nutrition and immunity (among other vital activities.) Food is one of the clearest and quickest messages you send your body on a daily basis, a signal to those trillions of micro-organisms that stand at the ready. To put it simply, what you eat for breakfast can affect your immunity by dinnertime. And, the healthiest microbiomes are the most diverse. That means you should be eating a wide variety of foods as well; the colors of the rainbow (like fruits, vegetables and fermented foods) should fill your plate. Focusing on a single superfood misses the point. The wider the variety of healthy food, the better because that will diversify your microbiome, which in turn will improve your immune system.While developing and maintaining a healthy microbiome is not going to inoculate you from Covid-19, it'll lower your risk of getting severe disease. (I explain this more in depth in my latest book, "World War C.") CDC moves 3 more European destinations to its highest travel risk categoryAnd let's face it: making healthy food choices every day is more realistic than shedding 10 or 100 pounds overnight.You might also notice other health benefits, too, like I did. A scientist friend I speak with regularly recommended I keep a detailed food journal along with a few items that I wanted to measure, like mood, creativity, willingness to work and exercise. It became really clear to me that when I would eat pickles, my metrics would always be high: I could sit down and write a paper, I could go for a run, I felt great, my mood was elevated and I had high energy. Pickles and other fermented foods, it turns out, are a great food to feed your microbiota. Now, pickles may not work in the same way for you as they do for me, but you can experiment the same way I did to find out what gives you an edge.Pandemic-proof your homeNext is to pandemic-proof your home. All that means is following basic, public health recommendations. Things like making sure everyone in your household is up-to-date with their immunizations and -- to avoid a twindemic -- their annual flu shot, too.Other action items include keeping hands and high-touch surfaces clean, and making sure you have a supply of face masks to wear in communal indoor spaces -- like elevators, supermarkets and shopping malls -- especially if you live in a place with high community transmission. Social distance when possible and, if you do decide to gather indoors, make sure there is enough ventilation by opening windows or turning on a portable HEPA air purifier. One way to get an idea of the ventilation in your home is using a CO2 monitor. CDC shortens recommended Covid-19 isolation and quarantine timeConsider keeping over-the-counter rapid tests on hand. Research shows that while these antigen tests are less accurate than PCR tests for detecting an infection (especially early on and in asymptomatic people), they are particularly good at determining if someone is contagious in the moment. That means they can be used to screen large numbers of people or before a big event. Although you may have a hard time finding them right now, the tight supply should ease up.It's important to think about the Swiss cheese model: No single measure is going to be 100% effective in shielding you against infection in every situation, but with each additional layer, you gain more protection. Pandemic-proof your mindMy last resolution recommendation is to pandemic-proof your mind. It will come as no surprise to learn that mental health problems went up during the last couple of years, including among kids. Take the time to address any issues you might be experiencing, to avoid adding insult to an already difficult time.Omicron is messing with the economic recoveryOne important way to do that is by maintaining our bonds to one another. We humans are social by nature and we thrive when we are connected. Ironically, it took the pandemic to remind us it's not just a luxury to be social, it's a necessity -- even as it stole from us the very contact we need to flourish. So take time to reach out to family, friends and colleagues to cultivate and nurture relationships. Even a brief but positive exchange with a random stranger, like a smile on the street, can have lasting effects and ripple outward.It's also important to get outside our own silos to connect with and understand those who think differently -- be it our neighbor, a teacher, our sister-in-law or our very own parents. We evolved to cooperate with one another, otherwise we couldn't possibly survive as a species; caring for one another is encoded in our DNA. Covid was the third leading cause of death in 2020 in this country -- the way to mitigate its impact is to start listening so we can start cooperating. Let's fight for our future together. I will be right there alongside you. That is my resolution for 2022. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.CNN Health's Andrea Kane contributed to this report.

Jillian Sykes, CNN

2021-12-22 15:20:11

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https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/22/us/iyw-wellness-woman-walks-to-raise-funds-for-lung-disease/index.html

Woman walks over 1,400 miles to honor her late mother and raise awareness of pulmonary fibrosis - CNN

Along a windy stretch of Texas highway, a woman walks with purpose. Mary Hesch is on a 1,439-mile pilgrimage from central Wisconsin to the Texas coast -- all of it on foot -- to honor her mother and raise awareness of the lung disease that took her life.

us, Woman walks over 1,400 miles to honor her late mother and raise awareness of pulmonary fibrosis - CNN

Woman walks over 1,400 miles to honor her late mother and raise awareness of pulmonary fibrosis

(CNN)Along a windy stretch of Texas highway, a woman walks with purpose. Mary Hesch is on a 1,439-mile pilgrimage from central Wisconsin to the Texas coast -- all of it on foot -- to honor her mother and raise awareness of the lung disease that took her life.Hesch, 61, physically embarked on her journey on September 15, but emotionally, it began some 25 years ago after an unexpected phone call from her mother. "She called and said, 'I have some bad news,'" the daughter recalled to CNN. "I'll never forget. 'I have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. I have six months to two years to live.'" Pulmonary fibrosis is a debilitating, incurable lung disease that affects more than 250,000 Americans.An inspiring motherHesch described her mother as an inspirational woman with a knack for cooking and a voice that could move you to tears. "She was a mother of 6, and there were many times that was too much. But she got us through. There were so many beautiful lessons of life, of love."Read MoreHesch's mother found comfort visiting Port Aransas, Texas, where the sea-level air helped her breathe and the Gulf waters soothed her soul. Planning her own funeral, she asked Mary to draw a memorial card featuring two seagulls flying over the ocean. When her mother passed away, the family scattered her ashes in the ocean off that very beach.Mary Hesch's mother died of pulmonary fibrosis twenty-five years ago. A family's enduranceWalking has always been a part of Hesch's life. "At least thirty years ago I said to a friend, 'wouldn't it be fun to walk to the ocean?'" After the loss of her mother, the idea took on a greater sense of importance. With a starting point of her front door in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, every step to the Texas shore would be a way to honor her mother's life. Mary's father and his second wife, Lois, suggested using the journey to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pulmonary fibrosis.Mary partnered with the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation to organize the fundraising, launched her walking route on Google maps and set off."My dad was interviewed the day I left. He was really emotional. He was asked 'how do you feel about what your daughter's going to do?' He answered with two words: One was 'proud,' the other was 'brave.' It's humbling to be thought of as brave."The journeyLife on the road is anything but lonely for Mary. Her friend Joan Dold frequently walks alongside her. Joan's husband, Clarence, drives along in a motor home where the trio eats and sleeps. Mary Hesch and friend Joan Dold walking somewhere between Wisconsin and Texas.There are countless animals, cows mostly, Mary finds herself stopping to greet. It's a habit she picked up from her mother. But the biggest surprises are the everyday people she connects with. "The cars go by, I look in their eyes and we connect," she recalled. "How many cars stop ... I think in the hundreds. 'Are you OK?' 'Do you need water?' 90 percent of the days there's a story where somebody stopped."Her connections led to donations to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation and news coverage that made its way back to Hesch's hometown. Her father was particularly moved. He longed to link up with his daughter at the beach in Texas. But amid the threat of Covid-19, the 93-year-old resigned himself to staying home and phoning Mary with encouragement and ideas. "He had big ideas," Mary shared. "'You need to call the President. He needs to know.' 'What kind of shoes are you wearing? They should sponsor you.' 'There's going to be a statue of you in Washington, DC!'"Community impactThis journey is not only significant to Mary and her family, but also to passersby noticing the giant photo of Mary's mother and the mission statement plastered on the back of the Dold's motor home. Joan and Clarence Dold drive along in this RV to accompany Mary on her journey."I was at an AT&T store getting my phone fixed. A woman saw my van and came in and said, 'my husband died a year ago from pulmonary fibrosis.' She said, 'Your walk means a lot to me.'"Strangers, of every political stripe and social leaning have been bonding with Hesch throughout the journey. "I didn't expect that. So much kindness and beauty," Hesch said. "We're so divided in this country, but we're really not. The divide is not real. It's really been opening for me, spiritually opening."The physical tollMary plans to arrive at Port Aransas on December 30. By then, she will have walked 99 days, averaging 14.6 miles per day. She's currently on schedule, but it hasn't been all cows and well-wishers. Missouri's Ozark Mountains were particularly grueling. "It took every ounce of my being to get through it." At the halfway point, Mary was breathing heavy, crawling, and doubting herself. But she cleared those mountains. It's been mostly flat ever since and "worth every minute of physical exertion," she said. An unexpected turnOn day 89 of her journey, Hesch received a devastating call. Her father had suffered a heart attack. Her biggest cheerleader had passed away. Mary cried for hours and considered postponing her arrival date. But the next morning, she awoke with new resolve. "I'm physically stronger. It's like he's walking with me," she said.Her mission now has an additional dimension that will make the walk even more special as Hesch approaches that beach in Texas. "Now, Lois is coming with his ashes, so he's going to get there. Our plan is that the last half mile, I'm carrying the urn with his ashes and Lois will walk beside me with her walker."A journey completed. A disease fought, and a couple at last reunited in the sea.

Lauren Lee, CNN

2021-12-16 13:46:11

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/16/us/iyw-refugee-women-vickery-trading-trnd/index.html

Vickery Trading helps refugee women stitch together a bright future - CNN

When refugees arrive in the US, they face unique challenges.

us, Vickery Trading helps refugee women stitch together a bright future - CNN

Dallas nonprofit helps refugee women stitch together a bright future

Dallas (CNN)When refugees arrive in the US, they face unique challenges."They've been dumped in a new country where they don't know the language, don't know the culture, and they all of a sudden have to survive," said Stephanie Giddens, founder and executive director of Vickery Trading Company."They need extra resources, and you have to go about that help in a different way, in a very trauma-informed way."Giddens started her Dallas-based nonprofit to help refugee women stitch a path together for long-term success through sewing, English and financial literacy skills.Passion for helping marginalized womenRead More"I became interested in the marginalization of women as I studied women around the world and realized how many women were so disadvantaged, especially outside of the United States," said Giddens. She began volunteering with organizations supporting resettled refugees. "I realized there were so many opportunities that they had missed out on in their lives, and I wanted to help," Giddens said in an interview with CNN.How to help Afghan refugees According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, of the 79.5 million people forced into displacement, over half are women and girls. Women refugees often experience sexual and gender-based violence, child marriage and uphill battles resettling because of a lack of bankable skills.Giddens researched the best ways to help marginalized refugees and founded Vickery Trading Company in 2015. The nonprofit hires and trains refugee women to professionally sew using industrial machines, equipping them with the skills to enter the broader workplace. Participants earn between $10-$12 an hour, depending on their skill level. The fair wage for a seamstress in the Dallas market is up to $15 an hour."During that training, they are making a line of women's and children's clothes," said Giddens. "We sell that clothing in the marketplace to help generate revenue to support the mission of the organization."Going beyond the seamsThe impact of Giddens' work goes beyond the stitches of seams. Her nonprofit provides essential wrap-around services to support resettlement."The second piece of our mission is personal development," said Giddens, "all of the other skills that they will need to really be self-sufficient here in America."That includes English lessons, computer and financial literacy courses, and mental health services.Giddens incorporates courses like trauma-sensitive yoga to help the women process and deal with mental trauma from their previous experiences. "It's really helping them to connect with their bodies and their feelings and recognize what they're experiencing in the moment, which is one of the first steps to healing," said Giddens.New beginnings The effectiveness of Giddens' work shows up in her students."After coming here, I learned that I can be treated without discrimination," said Frishda Hussaini, an Afghan refugee from Kabul. "Stephanie and Vickery Trading company has given me motivation and courage to enter the society, to show my talent and help me find friends. And it is a good feeling."Since training with Vickery Trading Company, Hussaini has taken on a part-time job with Refugee Services of Texas, enrolled in college and continues to work as a seamstress on a freelance basis outside of her work with the nonprofit."When we take the time to invest in refugee women, we are really investing in the future thriving of our communities," concluded Giddens.

Lauren Lee, CNN

2021-12-09 16:43:26

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/09/us/black-and-missing-iyw-trnd/index.html

How two Maryland women work to raise awareness about missing Black people - CNN

When the disappearance and death of Gabby Petito blew up social media and flooded TV screens in August, the case put a renewed spotlight on the inequity in coverage of missing people of color.

us, How two Maryland women work to raise awareness about missing Black people - CNN

How two Maryland women work to raise awareness about missing Black people

(CNN)When the disappearance and death of Gabby Petito blew up social media and flooded TV screens in August, the case put a renewed spotlight on the inequity in coverage of missing people of color. For the last 13 years, sisters-in-law Natalie and Derrica Wilson have made it their mission to step in to help search for missing people of color when the media and law enforcement fall short.'Missing white woman syndrome'When 24-year-old Tamika Huston went missing from Derrica Wilson's hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, on May 27, 2004, she was shocked at the lack of media coverage."When she disappeared, her family struggled to garner local coverage, much less national coverage," said Derrica, co-founder, and CEO of the Black and Missing Foundation.Read MoreJUST WATCHEDHow one group is working to bring awareness of Black missing personsReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHHow one group is working to bring awareness of Black missing persons 11:31"About six months later, Natalee Holloway disappeared, and (she) became a household name," Derrica said.Journalist Gwen Ifill is often credited with coining the phrase "missing white woman syndrome" to describe the unequal media coverage of missing young white women compared to news about missing persons of color. "You rarely see our people on the news," said Derrica. "There is no sense of urgency being pushed behind these missing persons."According to FBI data from 2019, 609,275 people were reported missing in the United States. Black, Asian and Indigenous people made up nearly 40% of all reported cases. Although Black people only make up 13% of the US population, they comprised 34% (205,802) of all reported missing person cases in 2019.The pair believes the disparity in media coverage can be linked to mutiple factors, including the misclassification of minority children as runaways or criminals and a desensitization to crime victims who come from impoverished minority communities."Derrica and I decided to use our professions to help find our missing," said Natalie.Derrica previously worked for the Arlington County Sheriff's Department and the City of Falls Church Police Department in Virginia. Natalie spent her career working in public relations."Those are the two critical professions needed to help us find us," said Natalie. "So, we banded together, and we formed the organization."Help us find us"The Black and Missing Foundation was started because of a necessity," Natalie told CNN.When the Wilsons officially established the Maryland-based nonprofit in 2008, they had a straightforward mission: help us find us.The nonprofit brings awareness to missing persons of color using its online platform, public awareness campaigns, education, and an anonymous tip line."We help families from A through Z in raising awareness of their missing loved ones, and that includes creating flyers and social media posts as well as boots on the ground," said Natalie. "It's important for everyone to recognize that this is someone's brother, sister, mother, father, son, daughter, and their lives are valuable, and we need to do everything that we can to help find them and bring them home," said Derrica. "We want them to know that they're not in this by themselves."For BAMFI, that includes emotional support, and in the event a missing individual is found deceased, funds to assist with funeral arrangements.A game changer For mothers likes Brandi Stallings, The Wilsons' support was game-changing.In 2017, Stalling's 16-year-old daughter, Kennedi High, went missing."I was all so frantic when Kennedi was missing because it was during a time where a lot of girls were missing in DC," said Stalling, who was further alarmed that law enforcement seemed to discount Kennedi's autism as a factor in her abduction.She reached out to the Black and Missing Foundation. They appealed for tips. An Uber driver who picked up Kennedi recognized her and called their tip line, which ultimately led to her return home. "To have an organization that hears your pain and can help and assist and not judge you ... it's something that I think all families need."To date, the Black and Missing Foundation has brought closure to over 300 families and counting. What's more, they've added ways to help equip people with means to protect themselves, including self-defense workshops, fingerprinting, and social media safety courses for young people."We want to be that proactive organization to keep people from going missing," said Derrica."We have to do our part because it could be any one of us," Natalie said.

Opinion by Arwa Damon, CNN

2020-08-19 19:08:22

news

opinions

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/opinions/world-humanitarian-day-opinion-damon/index.html

Arwa Damon: The question haunting me this World Humanitarian Day (opinion) - CNN

Arwa Damon writes that we created a world where being a "humanitarian" is a "thing" and not the norm.

opinions, Arwa Damon: The question haunting me this World Humanitarian Day (opinion) - CNN

Arwa Damon: The question haunting me this World Humanitarian Day

Arwa Damon is a senior international correspondent based in CNN's Istanbul bureau and the president and co-founder of the International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion articles on CNN. (CNN)I am angry at the trajectory of our evolution as a species. I am angry at us, that we created a world where being a "humanitarian" is a "thing" and not the norm.The kindness of strangers exists. That I know. It's literally the lifeblood of my charity the International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance, which facilitates medical care for war-wounded children who are unable to access the treatment they need. It's in the army of volunteers who descended upon Beirut's devastated neighborhoods and swept, cleaned, carried debris for days from the streets and inside people's homes. It's in those who choose not to charge rent during the Covid-19 pandemic; those who had businesses that they transformed into food delivery and mask-making entities; in the individual who does not walk past the beggar or homeless person on the street, but stops for them. It's in those who World Humanitarian Day commemorates, aid workers killed or injured while trying to do right by those less fortunate, and those who continue to try to do so. And yet that is not the narrative of our human collective. For if it were, we would not be where we are today. We would be in a better place.There are those who are fighting every day to try to make even the smallest difference in the lives of people who have so little and who have been robbed of so much. I do not know a single humanitarian worker who is not utterly exhausted, and emotionally drained.I often ask myself: why is it so hard to do the right thing? Why are we humans so fundamentally flawed that selfishness, greed, hunger for power and disregard for others have become the predominant definers of our collective? For we are the cause of the biggest tragedies. We are the creators of greatest humanitarian crises. We are our own worst enemy. But we do have the power to change that.Read MoreI fundamentally believe that we can do better by each other -- because I see awe-inspiring courage in activists braving oppressive governments, I see inspiration among people who already have little giving to those who have even less, I see heartening solidarity in the wake of inexplicable disaster. Children gather at the Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece. This photo is part of a collaboration between CNN and London's Imperial War Museum, Life in a Camp, which launches next month.It takes something as incomprehensible and horrific as the Lebanon blast to capture the world's attention, but even that is finite. Other crises have drifted from view. What of the nearly 80 million refugees around the world? From Bangladesh to South Sudan, to Myanmar, Syria and Somalia, the needs -- food, shelter, medicine, education, the chance to rebuild shattered lives and communities -- are more desperate than they have ever been. But they may as well exist on another planet.I was recently talking with one of my many wounded friends in Beirut, a psychoanalyst, about why cruelty towards one another exists on such a grand scale. "Kindness is not as powerful as destruction." She said. "Building something takes time, destruction takes seconds."Our conversation should not be dismissed as an emotional reaction to Beirut's horrific blast or a by-product of my over-developed cynicism. We live in a world where, despite the connectivity -- the window into others' realities that social media has created -- it feels like we are growing increasingly immune to the suffering of others. We live in a world where we spend hundreds of billions of dollars on military might, yet if a fraction of that were diverted towards humanitarian aid, hunger might cease to exist. The untold story of women who risked their lives to do good -- and get their rightsWhile governments do provide some funding, it's far from enough, and too many are largely apathetic, energize a false sense of fear of "the other" and turn humanitarian aid into another pawn on the geopolitical chessboard. The knock-on effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the world's many acute humanitarian crises has been profound. Funding has been diverted or dried up, aid budgets have been slashed, NGOs search desperately for ways to keep essential activities alive, state actors look the other way. According to the UN, "In 2020, nearly 168 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance and protection," he said. "That represents about one person in 45 on the planet. It is the highest figure in decades." And yet aid agencies have nowhere near enough funding to even begin addressing the scale of the need.The individual response to Covid-19, in many ways, epitomizes what we can become. It feels as if those of us who have soap, running water, the means to buy food, disinfectant and face masks have become more acutely aware of the plight of those who do not. It's as if it created a freeze-frame moment of realization -- What if I had to face this in a refugee camp, a slum, a war zone? -- that led to inspiring stories across the globe of those who have transformed that moment into something bigger than themselves.We need to stop destroying each other and our planet. Our minds, our creativity have resulted in extraordinary things. There are amazing individuals, philanthropists and organizations trying to alter the current balance of our world. We need to focus on their missions. I do believe that if more of us work together we can succeed. Get our free weekly newsletterSign up for CNN Opinion's new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and FacebookI recognize that the numbers can seem overwhelming, that the challenges and complexities can feel suffocating, that there is a sense of helplessness and questions of what we can each do to truly make a difference. None of us is going to change the world alone. But if we keep dismissing the impact we can have as individuals, then what chance do we have of veering off our current trajectory? Nothing is too small, no gesture is insignificant, no donation too little; for that all feeds into building a collective good. We can do better. We can do more. We can build and work towards a future where World Humanitarian Day celebrates all of us.

Amy Chillag, CNN

2020-11-18 12:53:10

health

health

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/18/health/outdoor-classrooms-nature-pandemic-trnd-iyw/index.html

Outdoor classroom reenergizes kids during the pandemic - CNN

When the pandemic forced his school to go to online learning, fifth-grader Bergen Manzella spent six hours a day staring at his computer screen. His mother found an outdoor class that allows him to explore nature, learn and do a digital detox.

health, Outdoor classroom reenergizes kids during the pandemic - CNN

Outdoor classrooms reenergize kids during the pandemic

(CNN)When the pandemic forced his school to go to online learning, fifth-grader Bergen Manzella spent six hours a day staring at his computer screen. "My eyes were drooping a lot and red. I was really tired staring at a screen, not being able to move around that much," said Bergen.His mother, a math tutor, didn't like what it was doing to him. The truth is, even before remote learning, she was seeing her son come home from school tired and wrung out. "That more sterile environment in an indoor classroom can be fatiguing," Brynn Manzella told CNN. So she decided to homeschool him. Around that time, Manzella heard about another teacher holding an outdoor class once a week in her Loveland, Colorado, neighborhood with other elementary school kids. Read MoreThe class came at the perfect time, said Manzella, because her son needed more outdoor time to explore and socialize with other kids in a safe way during the pandemic."I think it creates an opportunity for kids to be really resourceful and to think outside of the box." Fresh air, nature and no screens Project Learning Tree is an environmental education program that gets children from prekindergarten through 12th grade out into nature to explore and learn about their environment -- with a focus on trees. It's part of the non-profit Sustainable Forestry Initiative. "It's super fun. We do a whole bunch of activities," 10-year-old Bergen told CNN. "I just love all the colors of nature being outside." The program, offered in all 50 states, aligns with Common Core State Standards in science, social studies, language arts and math. Just in time for fall, they learn why leaves turn yellow. Children in Loveland, Colorado, circle around teacher Michele Mandeville during a Project Learning Tree outdoor classroom activity. "The stuff inside them that makes them green, goes inside these tubes in the leaf so the tree can store it for the next year," said Bergen. "Then the leaves turn yellow and fall off the tree." Students also learn about pollinators and how bees help produce the food we eat. They learn how seeds travel through the wind and grow in the soil where they land. They create nature journals -- like so many scientists have from John Muir to John James Audubon. The kids develop their creative writing skills that way -- crafting stories from their observations, sitting under a tree for 10 or 15 minutes, said Michele Mandeville, a facilitator for Project Learning Tree in Colorado. "If we give kids the opportunity to get outside to learn in nature, to engage with nature and others within an outdoor space, they're really going to learn to preserve nature and just kind of fall in love with it," Mandeville told CNN. The kids choose a tree to "adopt" and they learn about that species; from the bark to the type of leaf, and watch how it changes through the seasons. They pretend to be trees and gather the nutrients they need for them to survive, collecting different colored squares for each element.A student works on her nature journal, describing a yellow leaf from a tree she adopted. "There was green for nutrients, yellow for sunlight, blue for water and red for fire," said Bergen. They learn to "read" a cross section of a tree to see how old it is through the number of rings and what happened in each year from beetle kill, to forest fires which Colorado is dealing with now. Mandeville also teaches them to spot the species of birds in their trees -- from downy woodpeckers to western bluebirds. And classes are held all winter long in many places, unless it drops below freezing. Birds are easier to spot when the leaves are off the trees and kids learn to build shelters, and check for animal tracks. Project Learning Tree shares these fun winter activities parents can do outside with their preschoolers. Using five senses to observe Children learn to focus and observe using their five senses just as scientists need to hone their power of observation. Mandeville has the kids map out sounds they hear, called "sound mapping." "They close their eyes and kind of put on little 'deer ears' by cupping their ears," said Mandeville. They write down everything from bird tweets to traffic sounds, to rustling leaves and rushing water and indicate the direction they're coming from."We're not engaged with sound because we're so stimulated by our vision," said Mandeville. Outdoor playtime might help kids' eyesightShe encourages students to lift up a log in the river and discover what may be hiding underneath. She explains how mushrooms and moss help decompose wood in the river. "They can collect data and you can even spend time building bar graphs, comparing different elements in nature they found," said Manzella. "You can't do that in a classroom with four walls. They're able to learn in a different way." The power of nature to soothe, and spark creativityBergen's mom says after he takes the class, "he comes home enlivened." Studies have found numerous health benefits of spending time outdoors in nature and children in particular benefit greatly. Bergen explains it this way, "I feel like, you can breath and you can just be closer to the ground, to this earth." Mandeville, who has a Masters of Education degree, took a year off from teaching in school to do outdoor education, which ended up coinciding with the pandemic. Ten-year-old Bergen Manzella learns how to take a core sample from a tree. "There really has been a rise with students getting really nervous and anxious when they're in the classroom and just kind of the rush in the quick change of subjects that they have to go through and not giving them a lot of time to process and get outside and really engage."Teachers need to get outside too. "I know that they are burnt out and overwhelmed with trying to engage kids through a screen." Mandeville is a facilitator for Project Learning Tree, giving other teachers, and informal educators workshops -- now online -- about how to teach this outdoor education curriculum. "Many students who are quiet in the classroom and don't want to be called on tend to really excel outdoors," said Mandeville who herself was a shy kid. Why you should be forest bathing (and we don't mean shampoo)"The quiet ones ... their eyes open up. They want to explore, they feel like they have a little more room to just go poke around and maybe lift a log look and see what's under there." Kids tend to have very short attention spans when they're looking at screens all day, said Mandeville. "It really is about going outside and just opening up our sense of awe and wonder and looking and seeing what we have not seen before." No formal class needed to get outdoorsWhether you are an educator, a parent, or a volunteer interested in the outdoors, you can find free nature activities and games for kids to download or pull up on an I-Pad on Project Learning Tree's website. Or you can get training online to hold an informal class in your own community. A student looks at the rings of a tree through a microscope. The students learn how to tell a tree's age and what happened in each year of its life. Parents can get their kids outside and away from their screens whether they find a class or not, said Mandeville. "It's just something very simple such as going into your backyard, finding a place to sit -- we call that a 'sit spot' -- and observing all that's around them," picking out bird song, traffic noise, leaf blowers and the sound that wind makes through the leaves. Living near nature linked to longer lives, says studyThat encourages self-awareness, to learn to sit quietly and just be. "I find that nature has always been a place for me to heal and find hope in the world," said Mandeville. Bergen's mother agrees. "Oftentimes we're outside and we're just not noticing all the life that's happening around us even in the middle of a city.And as soon as we start noticing, I really believe that we can't stop noticing."

Lauren Lee, CNN

2020-11-28 10:58:38

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/28/us/giving-tuesday-pandemic-iyw-trnd/index.html

Giving Tuesday: How to help nonprofits - CNN

December 1 is Giving Tuesday, a day aimed at simply encouraging people to do good around the world by giving their time, talents and treasure. But giving might be a challenge this year as millions deal with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

us, Giving Tuesday: How to help nonprofits - CNN

Covid-19 is increasing demands on nonprofits. Here are three ways you can help this Giving Tuesday

(CNN)December 1 is Giving Tuesday (#GivingTuesday) -- a day dedicated to simply encouraging people to do good around the world by giving their time, talents and treasure. But that might be a bigger challenge this year as millions deal with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic."As unemployment has risen, so many people who have given to the Salvation Army in the past are in fact coming to us for help," said Kenneth Hodder, the Salvation Army's national commander.Salvation Army starts holiday fundraising early to 'Rescue Christmas'A Gallup poll conducted during the coronavirus pandemic shows the percentage of Americans donating to charities hit a new low of 73%. In prior years' polling, the percentage is usually more than 80%. "We're seeing demand absolutely skyrocket," said William Stoudt, executive director of Rebuilding Together New Orleans, a national nonprofit which focuses on necessary home repairs and renovations.Read More"People are out of work and they have literally no way to make a home repair," he told CNN."It could be a small leak, or it could be a massive renovation, pipe break, you name it. They have no resources and they have no one to turn to."In May, the #GivingTuesday organization launched #GivingTuesdayNow as an emergency response to the pandemic, but the need remains great worldwide."I think we're all suffering in a collective way, and I think #GivingTuesday will actually be extra special this year because we can respond to that collective, universal suffering with universal generosity," said Asha Curran, CEO of #GivingTuesday."While we celebrate charitable giving, #GivingTuesday is not a fundraising day," Curran explained. "It's a day of generosity and we celebrate generosity in all of the many ways that it manifests, both monetarily and non-monetarily."Here is how you can make a difference this #GivingTuesday.Make a donation or start a fundraiserThroughout our communities, nonprofit organizations are working tirelessly to make a difference. Consider making a monetary donation to a cause important to you.How you can help fight the hunger crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemicImpact Your World has compiled a list of donation opportunities to help those affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Simply select your area of interest and click the support button to donate. A more hands-on way you can help is by starting a Facebook fundraiser for a nonprofit of your choice."The number one reason that people give is that they're asked to by someone that they trust," said Curran."So, if that community is on Facebook, great. If that community is on something else, then go there." Give your time"#GivingTuesday was founded on the idea that everyone, everywhere has something to give," said Curran. "Philanthropy is not the exclusive province of people with millions or billions of dollars -- generosity is a value that literally anyone, anywhere can express."Ready to cut your long, quarantine hair? Consider donating it to charity "We're seeing increasing demand, but we have no volunteers," said Stoudt. His nonprofit, like most, relies heavily on the efforts of volunteers for projects.You can connect with nonprofits in your community or use VolunteerMatch or Points of Light to locate both virtual and in-person opportunities near you. You might want to consider creating a mutual aid network. This is a type of self-organized volunteerism that connects those who want to help to those in need. During the pandemic, these types of groups have thrived across the country.For all volunteer opportunities, please keep in mind the safety recommendations outlined by the CDC.Lend your voiceYou have the power to transform your community by lending your voice to advocate for the causes and issues you care about. "There's so much power in people using their collective voice to inspire generosity," said Curran.You can start a forum to discuss and address community issues, tweet support for your favorite nonprofit or even send thank you notes to those making an impact. "I think that that brings a lot of hope and inspiration and optimism to people," Curran said.

Jennifer Grubb, CNN

2020-11-17 18:41:40

news

weather

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/17/weather/help-central-america-hurricane-victims-iyw-trnd/index.html

Help Central America hurricane victims - CNN

Hurricane Iota slammed into an already storm-ravaged Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm November 17th. The landfall was just 15 miles south of where Hurricane Eta hit two weeks earlier. Eta left thousands displaced and dozens killed in Central America.

weather, Help Central America hurricane victims - CNN

Help Central America hurricane victims

(CNN)Hurricane Iota slammed into an already storm-ravaged Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm November 17th. The landfall was just 15 miles south of where Hurricane Eta hit two weeks earlier. Eta left thousands displaced and dozens killed in Central America.Non-profits are mounting relief efforts across Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala to provide shelter, food and medical care to those left in need after the storm pushes through. You can help by clicking on the button below. Iota is the 13th hurricane of the historic 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. So far, there have been 30 named storms, the most ever recorded. The combined devastation from Iota, Eta and the coronavirus pandemic will likely plague the area -- already suffering from a poor public health system -- for years to come.

Julia M. Chan, CNN

2020-11-07 06:01:20

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/07/us/iyw-how-to-donate-hair-to-charity-during-covid-trnd/index.html

Not getting a haircut for a while? Consider donating to charity - CNN

As more people stay home and skip the salon or barbershop, some hair-focused nonprofits are seeing one bright spot in the pandemic: more donated hair going to those who need it.

us, Not getting a haircut for a while? Consider donating to charity - CNN

Ready to cut your long, quarantine hair? Consider donating it to charity 

(CNN)As people stay home and skip the salon or barbershop, some hair-focused non-profits are seeing one bright spot in the pandemic: more donated hair going to those who need it. "Listen, there's never enough hair," said stylist Martino Cartier, founder of the New Jersey-based Wigs & Wishes, which makes free wigs for people with cancer. "We get donations every day and it's never enough, so this is definitely a silver lining for us."Maggie Varney, founder of Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan, says the extra ponytails and braids have been "one of the rainbows in the storm." This year set a new record amount of donations -- 487 -- for Sparrow Hospital's annual hair donation drive, many coming from first-time donors in new demographics such as boys and adults. "I've had many of them say to me, 'I would never have thought of this if it wasn't for Covid,'" Varney told CNN.And longer waits between cuts are turning into highly coveted longer donations, according to JoAn Nicely, founder of Pink Heart Funds in Mississippi. "We're getting 15-, 16-inch ponytails, which is fabulous, because most of the young girls that want wigs want long wigs," she said.Read MoreNeed remains greatEven as the coronavirus pandemic enters its 10th month in the United States, the nonprofit founders report a welcome but endless stream of emails, calls and mail from interested donors. And that's a good thing, they say, since so many still need the help."Covid-19 put a halt across the entire world, but the one thing it didn't stop was cancer," said Nicely, whose nonprofit makes free wigs for children with hair loss disorders and gives free wigs and breast prosthetics to women with cancer. A cancer survivor herself, Nicely understands the urgency even during a global crisis. "The need is there -- doesn't matter how bad Covid is," she said. Cartier agrees. "We're definitely helping more people than ever before," he said, adding that Wigs & Wishes is shipping about 50 wigs a day across the country and beyond. His location near many large oncology centers on the East Coast keeps him busy: On top of his regular client schedule, he also takes care of six to 10 cancer patients daily at his salon. The need -- and the hope that hair provides -- keeps Varney working seven days a week. Slightly more than half of the children she serves have been diagnosed with cancer, while the rest have lost hair from alopecia, trichotillomania, lupus, blood disorders and dog bites. "I don't care what age you are -- I get 3-year-olds and 5-year-olds that come in here, and I put those wigs on them and their smile and their heart just brightens up," said Varney, who makes free custom wigs or hairpieces for every child. "They look in the mirror and they recognize the person looking back at them."Trim before you cutIf you're interested in donating your hair, proper maintenance is the first step. Cartier, a stylist for nearly three decades, recommends using a sulfate-free shampoo, "good" conditioner, and heat protectant for regular haircare. Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids also recommends using high-quality dryers and tools, regular brushing and limiting exposure to heat damage. But most important of all is keeping your ends trimmed -- at least an eighth to a quarter inch every four to six weeks, according to Cartier. Regular trimming may sound counterintuitive at first, but he says breakage will happen anyway. "You don't cut it, it breaks," he said. "It cuts itself for you." Nicely, a stylist for over 40 years, sees "a lot" of donated ponytails full of split ends, which unfortunately cannot be made into wigs. "Think about it," she said. "Do you want a child to have a wig made out of extremely damaged hair?" View this post on Instagram One of the best parts of my day, giving women the gift of looking cancer free for free❤️🙏🏼♥️ @martinocartiersalon A post shared by Martino Cartier®️ (@martinocartier) on Jul 8, 2020 at 8:02am PDT Read directions carefullyDifferent nonprofits have different requirements for donating hair, so it's crucial to read all the instructions before you cut. For instance, the minimum length to donate can vary widely. Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan can take donations as short as seven inches to make short wigs that many boys prefer, but at least 10 inches is requested. Wigs & Wishes requires a minimum of 12 inches, while Pink Heart Funds requires 13 inches to meet the demand for longer wigs. "People don't realize how much hair you really do need," Cartier said, especially "by the time you cut the split ends off, and by the time you tie a knot in it." It can take five to six donations to make one wig.There may also be different rules when it comes to layered, colored and chemically processed hair, as well as the amount of gray hair permitted. Children's hair makes for ideal donations since it tends to be unprocessed and healthier. How you gather your donation may also matter. Wigs & Wishes requires donations to be braided while Pink Heart Funds and Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan accept ponytails and braids. General guidelinesAll three nonprofits require hair donations to be clean, dry and placed in a sealable plastic bag. Wet or damp donations can breed mold or mildew and have to be thrown out. Securing hair is also key, especially before cutting. Hair cannot be bundled after it has been on the floor. Donations need to be secured in more than one place in case a band breaks or hair shifts out of place in transit. "It breaks my heart when I get a hair donation and it's dumped in a bag and it's all loose hair because they can't use it," said Varney, a licensed cosmetologist with more than 40 years of experience. "The outer layer of the hair shaft is like shingles on a roof, so if it's turned all different ways," she said, "that wig will mat and tangle." It ultimately makes the wig too hard to maintain, especially for kids. And you don't have to be in the United States to help. All three charities accept hair donated from around the world. Pink Heart Funds has received donations from Ireland, Germany and the Philippines. Wigs & Wishes has a strong network of partnering salons in Europe and Australia. And Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan has counted donations from 62 countries in the last year, including France, Italy, Iraq and Iran. View this post on Instagram Our "Cuts 4 a Cause" Hair Restoration Certification Program is back! We host this class twice a year to teach licensed cosmetologists how to provide wigs and services to children & adults. By the end of the two-day course, our beauty professionals are certified in hair restoration. The next class will be held on Sunday-Monday; October 18-19th from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. Learn more and sign up here: https://www.wigs4kids.org/how-you-can-help/cuts-4-a-cause.html A post shared by Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of MI (@wigs4kids) on Aug 21, 2020 at 5:14am PDT Other ways to helpWigs are expensive. Depending on how they're made, each wig can cost several hundred to several thousand dollars. Because these nonprofits give away their wigs for free and don't turn anyone eligible away, monetary donations are needed more than ever. The pandemic has been a double whammy for charities, limiting their ability to fundraise while shrinking the donor base."That is what really kicked our butts," Nicely said, noting that financial donations for Pink Heart Funds are down 60 percent this year because many of her regular donors in the cosmetology industry have been out of work. If hair and money are not options, there's also time. Varney says interest in donating hair to Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan often leads to volunteering for the organization in other ways, ranging from sorting mail to styling wigs. Cartier says there's also a constant need for volunteers across the country for Wigs & Wishes, which is looking for help with its upcoming annual gala that will be held virtually. While the world waits for an end to Covid-19, the founders also hope for an end to cancer, anticipating the need will remain long after coronavirus. "We're not going anywhere," Cartier said. "So until they find the cure, we've got to just keep pushing and keep changing lives."

Lauren Lee, CNN

2020-09-20 05:00:43

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/20/us/christmas-salvation-army-red-kettle-coronavirus-iyw-trnd/index.html

Salvation Army starts holiday fundraising early to 'Rescue Christmas' - CNN

The Salvation Army is getting an early start on its holiday fundraising campaign due to the unprecedented demands of the coronavirus pandemic.

us, Salvation Army starts holiday fundraising early to 'Rescue Christmas' - CNN

Salvation Army starts holiday fundraising early to 'Rescue Christmas'

(CNN)The Salvation Army is getting an early start on its holiday fundraising campaign due to the unprecedented demands of the coronavirus pandemic. "It would be no exaggeration to say that since the pandemic began in mid-March, the Salvation Army has seen a tsunami of human need," said Kenneth Hodder, Salvation Army's National Commander.Since March, Salvation Army USA has provided more than 100 million meals, 1.5 million nights of safe shelter, plus emotional and spiritual support to over 800,000 people across the US. They expect those numbers to grow, bracing for a 155% increase in the need for their services heading into the holiday season. Those services include putting food on the table, paying bills, providing shelter, and even helping place gifts under the tree."We will go from our average of about 2.6 million people every year to more than 6.6 million people."'Rescue Christmas'Read MoreThe new campaign is called "Rescue Christmas," and it kicked off on September 14 -- 100 days before Christmas.A Salvation Army bell ringer in action outside a Chcago store in 2003. "Our traditional red kettle campaign, a symbol of Christmas and Americans caring for one another, is going to be increasingly difficult this year," Hodder told CNN."We believe that Christmas for millions of Americans is at risk," the commander said. "The need that we see at Christmas will last far beyond the holidays." Last year, the Salvation Army raised $126 million with its Red Kettle campaign; they expect to only bring in half that much this year."That would be disastrous for our ability to meet the needs of people," Hodder said. "So, for us, the Christmas Kettle Campaign not only is a symbol, but it is a means of acquiring the vital resources that we need."Red Kettle goes virtualAlthough this year's campaign got an early start, you won't be seeing as many kettles this season as you have in Christmas past. A man in a Santa suit publicizes a free Christmas dinner organized by the Salvation Army in New York, circa 1910. "Most people are carrying less cash than they have in the past. We have less foot traffic at some stores, and as unemployment has risen, so many people who have given to the army in the past are in fact, coming to us for help."In response, the organization shifted focus to online donations and launched the "Rescue Christmas" donation page. "People can go to that website today, and they can provide a one-time donation, find volunteer opportunities and also enlist in the army and make a $25 monthly sustaining gift," added Hodden.Local donations will continue to stay in the communities from which those funds are given. The Salvation Army assures that .82 cents of each dollar donated goes directly to helping those in need."We want to make sure everyone who comes to the Salvation Army will get what they need, not only for Christmas but to know that there's hope and that there's a bright future ahead."You can donate online here.

Amy Chillag, CNN

2020-09-14 22:11:44

news

us

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/us/iyw-childrens-books-black-characters-nonprofit-trnd/index.html

Black lives matter in children's books, too. That's why this couple started a non-profit - CNN

An Illinois attorney couldn't find a book with a Black main character on the cover for her niece. So she and her husband went on a mission to provide free books with Black characters throughout a Chicago suburb starting the nonprofit "Young, Black & Lit."

us, Black lives matter in children's books, too. That's why this couple started a non-profit - CNN

Black lives matter in children's books, too. That's why this couple started a non-profit

(CNN)Krenice Roseman went birthday shopping for her niece in a Chicago-area bookstore two years ago. She was in a hurry, scanning book covers, but couldn't find any that reflected who her niece, an African American girl, is. The attorney, who's an avid reader, went online instead and found a couple of books with Black characters. She bought them for her niece -- and donated some more to local community centers. "I became frustrated and decided I wanted to do something about it," Roseman told CNN of the dearth of Black title characters in children's literature. She told her future husband about her experience. "He had a bigger vision for what we can do," the 36-year-old said.The couple filed paperwork to start a non-profit. Six weeks later, Young, Black & Lit was born.Read MoreMaking an impact, one child at a time Young, Black & Lit provides free books that feature Black main characters to children. The organization has distributed more than 5,000 books in the Chicagoland area through book fairs, community groups and schools. "When a child sees themselves reflected in the books that they read, when the books are a mirror to them, they feel valued," said Roseman.Eleven percent of children's books had Black main characters last year, according to the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Representation has been growing: In 2015, just 7% of books featured Black characters. An elementary class in Evanston, Illinois, receives free books from the non-profit Young, Black & Lit, whose mission is to give away books with Black main characters. For Roseman, a bigger problem is this: 60% of students in low-income communities don't have any books at all in their homes. "That speaks to a lack of libraries, a lack of books within libraries, also money within the community to support buying books," she said.A Department of Education study backs that up. It found 2.5 million children are enrolled in school districts where there are no libraries at all -- a huge problem since, the report finds, students who have books in their homes perform better academically. "It's not only about seeing yourself in the books that you read, but being able to take a peek into the world of other children, who look different than you and experience life different than you," Roseman said.8-year-old thinks he is Superman Amir Wilson's parents tried to find books with Black characters before the non-profit came along, but "it was just always a challenge finding the ones for his age," said his father, Kareem Wilson. Amir's third grade class received books from Young, Black & Lit last school year. "(The non-profit) made me keenly aware that there were books out there like this," Wilson said. "I had no idea." Amir Wilson, 8, reads the book, "Hidden Figures," donated to his third-grade class by the non-profit, Young, Black & Lit. The 8-year-old said he loved reading "Hidden Figures" about the Black women and NASA mathematicians who helped the US win the space race. "Other people say they can't do stuff, and they prove them wrong," Amir told CNN. But his favorite genre is superheroes, so bringing home "Miles Morales: Spider-Man" was thrilling. "It's the best Spider-Man ever," the young reader told CNN. "He thinks he's Spider-Man," added Amir's dad. "To have Black characters gives a sense of pride in who one is." How Covid-19 changed their plansBefore the pandemic, Roseman and her husband would go to schools, community events and businesses and set up tables filled with more than a hundred books with Black characters on the covers. Children and their parents would wander up and take books they liked for free. "We hear them say, 'Hey, that girl looks like me,' or 'Her hair is like mine,' and that's really an affirmation of the work that we're doing -- that they're excited to see such an array of books of children who look like them, who share those stories, share their family dynamics," said Roseman. The book titles would make anyone excited -- from the illustrated book about the late Rep. John Lewis, "Preaching to the Chickens," to stories about haircuts like "Crown." The non-profit Young, Black & Lit has given away 5,000 plus books with Black main characters to children in the Chicagoland area."This talks about the everyday story of a boy getting his haircut in the barbershop, and the joy that he feels," said Derrick Ramsey, Roseman's husband. "If you think about when you get your hair done, you feel better afterwards, right? It's about the pride that you feel once you have a haircut." When the pandemic hit in March, the book fairs stopped and schools and libraries shut down. The couple sent books directly to students' homes. This year, they will launch a program giving every low-income student in kindergarten one book per month during the school year, then five books during the summer throughout schools in Evanston, Illinois, just north of Chicago. The giving continues through the third grade, a pivotal grade when focus shifts from learning to read to reading to learn, Roseman said.Creating a library of books with Black characters When they started out, Ramsey and Roseman faced an uphill battle finding books to buy with Black characters through publisher websites because, Ramsey said, there was no way to sort children's books this way. "You would think that the work of finding these books would be simple, right? That I can go to a publisher's website and I can click, 'Give me the African American books,' and they would all come out in a list and we could just download," Ramsey told CNN.Instead, they went through thousands of books on each publisher's website, he said. Now that the couple has collated everything and reached out to publishers, it's become a lot easier to add new titles. The non-profit Young, Black & Lit has given away more than 5,000 books with Black main characters to children in the Chicagoland area.They first purchased books with support from their network of friends and associates, said Ramsey. "We started out with a very cut-and-dry budget." Now, grants and individual donations are helping their mission. Those who can afford it can buy books directly from their website for their own families -- with all the money going directly to fund free books for children. "I've loved books ever since I was a kid. They were expanding my imagination," said Roseman. "I could always be caught with a book. And so Young, Black & Lit was one way for me to pursue that passion and help children along the way."Roseman and Ramsey got engaged while running this non-profit. Both said the work helped show they were meant to be together. "I think that was a crash course and a preview into what we hope will be a very successful marriage because we were able to really communicate and execute a vision together," said Roseman. "A crash course in team work, conflict management, listening -- all key things you have to have in a successful relationship," said Ramsey as his wife laughed.

Lauren Lee, CNN

2020-08-29 08:59:21

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us

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/29/us/new-orleans-after-katrina-15-years-iyw-trnd/index.html

New Orleans after Katrina: This non-profit is still helping the city rebuild 15 years later - CNN

Hurricane Katrina rampaged New Orleans on August 29, 2005, when dozens of levees failed, leaving vast swaths of the city swamped, homes damaged and lives uprooted. Fifteen years later, the Crescent City's most vulnerable still struggle. But for the past decade and a half, the national non-profit Rebuilding Together has helped families recover, making critical repairs to 1,750 homes across the city.

us, New Orleans after Katrina: This non-profit is still helping the city rebuild 15 years later - CNN

New Orleans after Katrina: This non-profit is still helping the city rebuild 15 years later

New Orleans (CNN)Hurricane Katrina rampaged New Orleans on August 29, 2005, when dozens of levees failed, leaving vast swaths of the city swamped, homes damaged and lives uprooted.Fifteen years later, the Crescent City's most vulnerable still struggle. But for the past decade and a half, the national non-profit Rebuilding Together has helped families recover, making critical repairs to 1,750 homes there. Repairing homes, revitalizing communitiesRebuilding Together was born out of necessity in Midland, Texas, after a small group of residents saw a growing need in their community."It started as a great grassroots, community-based organization of neighbors helping neighbors getting together to repair low-income residents' homes," said Caroline Blakely, president of Rebuilding Together.Read MoreThe organization now has 130 affiliates across the country and over 100,000 volunteers with a simple mission: repair homes, revitalize communities, and rebuild lives. "Our beneficiaries are homeowners who are low-income (and) can receive critical repairs to their homes to let them stay in their homes," Blakely told CNN. "We need communities to stick together to help one another and allow for homeownership, which is the greatest asset to create generational wealth."When structural racism and a disaster collideA mother and her children are rescued by boat from New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.Katrina was no equal-opportunity storm. Although tourist areas and many of the city's predominately White neighborhoods have recovered, many Black homeowners haven't had such luck. "If you drive through the Ninth Ward, you still see Katrina in every other street," said William Stoudt, executive director of Rebuilding Together New Orleans.A damaged home painted with the words "Do Not Demo" stands amid debris in 2007 in the Lower Ninth Ward.Blight, empty lots and desolation are still common throughout the Lower Ninth Ward, a predominately Black part of town."Policies made it harder for African American families to come back," said Stoudt. Decades-old racial disparities and segregation before Katrina forced many Black families into less desirable neighborhoods that are not as safe from flooding and have lower home values."What you were given to rebuild was directly tied to what your house was worth, not how much it costs to rebuild," Stoudt said.Residents had no choice but to cut corners on repairs, and, even worse, live in conditions that threatened their health and safety. Fifteen years after the flood, very little recovery money flows into the city, and that is why Rebuilding Together is committed to its work.Vietnam War veteran struggles to rebuildFelix Lewis, a Vietnam veteran, poses in front of his newly renovated home with volunteers from Chevon who helped complete the work."They called us refugees, refugees from New Orleans," Felix Lewis said.Lewis, affectionately called "Mr. Felix," is a Vietnam veteran and 65-year resident of New Orleans. He spent years trying to piecemeal his house back together after it was flooded following Katrina. Stoudt said Lewis used what little insurance money he received to reframe the house, replace siding and do electrical and plumbing work, Stoudt said."But that wasn't enough," he said."He was essentially living in a gutted, partially rebuilt home."Finally, in 2019, Lewis connected with Rebuilding Together."With our partners and volunteers, we were able to bring that all together to get him back home," Stoudt said. "There are hundreds of 'Mr. Felixes' out there still to this day, 15 years later, that haven't had that opportunity."Pandemic heightens need but stifles volunteer workA contractor removes drywall from a home being repaired with donations from Rebuilding Together.Home repairs have become even more daunting during the coronavirus pandemic. Rebuilding Together has seen skyrocketing demand for help."People are out of work, and they have literally no way to make a home repair," Stoudt explained. "It could be a small leak, or it could be a massive renovation pipe break; you name it, they have no resources."The organization relies heavily on volunteers from corporate sponsors, but in this remote-work environment, volunteer capacity has dried up. Now, they rely heavily on contract workers, which cost more. "We're doing more with less," Stoudt said. "While the pandemic is so scary in so many ways, we know that our work is now more important today than it was six months ago."Most of those impacted are older adults who rely on Rebuilding Together to keep their homes safe and livable as they age."Our work keeps people out of nursing homes, which are typically more high-risk during this pandemic," Stoudt said. "We need to be here, and we're going to figure out a way to make it work.""We need people that want to get involved, that want to support."You can donate to Rebuilding Together here.

Cai Pigliucci, CNN

2021-11-30 02:14:05

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/africa/book-bunk-kenya-library-renovations-africa-spc-intl/index.html

Book Bunk: In Kenya, these women are restoring and reclaiming Nairobi's dilapidated, colonial-era libraries - CNN

Co-founded by publisher Angela Wachuka and author Wanjiru Koinange, Book Bunk is working to renovate libraries across Nairobi.

africa, Book Bunk: In Kenya, these women are restoring and reclaiming Nairobi's dilapidated, colonial-era libraries - CNN

Nairobi's new chapter: These women are restoring and reclaiming Kenya's dilapidated, colonial-era libraries

(CNN)Libraries in Nairobi, Kenya, are getting a makeover thanks to two women who are hoping to turn the page on the past -- creating a new future both for the books inside the libraries and the communities around them.Book Bunk, founded in 2017 by publisher Angela Wachuka and author Wanjiru Koinange, is a non-profit organization working to restore libraries across the city by updating everything from the physical infrastructure to the book collections. The team has also helped transform the libraries into spaces for events that encourage thought and celebrate writing, including hosting the Nairobi Literature Festival. "We've really asked a lot of questions about what libraries are, what they can be, and what's stopping them from getting to the point where they can fully serve communities," said Koinange. The formerly dilapidated buildings are haunted by the ghosts of a not-so-distant past. Kenya, which had been under British rule since 1895, was named an official colony in 1920 and remained that way for more than 40 years.McMillan Memorial Library is the city's oldest library, and Book Bunk's latest project. Built in 1931, only White European colonizers were allowed to enter the space for the next three decades,Read MoreEven the name of the library recalls its history. It was commissioned by Lady Lucie McMillan and dedicated as a memorial to her husband, British American settler Sir William Northrup McMillan. Past the lions guarding the front entrance (placed there in reference to McMillan's fascination with lions), the books within the library also serve as striking reminders of the times. "When you look at the collection, it reflects a certain kind of ideology -- a very problematic one," said Wachuka. "I think that libraries are great equalizers," says Book Bunk co-founder Angela Wachuka. Updating a colonial collectionIn 2018, Book Bunk established a partnership with Nairobi's local government that allows the team to lead restoration efforts in the city's libraries. Book Bunk, which relies on donors and partnerships to fund its projects, has a dedicated staff of paid and volunteer workers. Wachuka and Koinange, along with 30 interns, worked over a period of nine months at the McMillan Memorial Library to catalogue 137,705 books -- mainly acquired from British colonizers. They are now combing through the material to decide which ones will stay. "The texts in here don't reflect who we are but are an important part of understanding how we have been viewed throughout history," said Wachuka. The McMillan Library is Book Bunk's third library restoration project. The team has already restored Eastlands Library in eastern Nairobi and the more central Kaloleni Library. They are now working to digitize books and archival content like periodicals that will make access to history a click away.Read more: These women are shaping the future of African space explorationWhile sorting through the shelves, they noticed a sizable gap at all three libraries: the lack of an Africanist collection. "I'm 100% sure that if we had books on the shelves that reflected people's needs, then we'd have them flying off the shelves," said Koinange. "(Libraries) are a place where you can access anything you need. It doesn't matter who you are," says Book Bunk co-founder Wanjiru Koinange.The organization plans to add books by and about Africans, the diaspora, and the Black experience. The team also publishes books, including the East African version of Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o's children's book "Sulwe," available in English, Swahili, and Luo (a language spoken mainly by the Luo people, the fourth-largest ethnic group in Kenya).A welcoming space to gatherThe surrounding communities use the libraries as workspaces, with about 300 people across the locations accessing them every day, according to Koinange. Before Book Bunk restored them, Kaloleni and Eastlands had no running water or workable bathrooms, and McMillan had a barely functioning electrical system, forcing the library to close when the sun set. Even before revamping the libraries, Book Bunk spent months surveying local communities to find out what services would be most useful. People requested Wi-Fi, updated bathrooms, extended opening hours, community spaces and fun activities. Koinange and Wachuka listened. Kaloleni now has a dedicated children's library and at Eastlands, a funky space filled with art and complete with a stage for performances -- including a recent set featuring Kenyan singer and songwriter Sanaipei Tande, recorded as part of the Nairobi Literature Festival.Book Bunk is currently working to create outdoor spaces at the libraries and updating infrastructure, from installing Wi-Fi to clearing asbestos in the walls. And while there is still the lingering feeling that they are restoring a space that was never intended for them, Koinange believes it is important to stand up to history and leave something better for posterity. Read more: This Nigerian artist is illustrating the human experience with a ballpoint pen"I think there's an erasure that we're very quick to do as Kenyans when things are painful. That is not useful, because if you erase it, then you kind of forget it, and it happens over and over again," she said. "(Instead), you stare it in the face and be like, 'We're going to make you beautiful again.' You're going to find a way to restore not just the building, but what the building means for Kenyans, (and) that is a lot more lasting." Briana Duggan contributed to this story.

Aisha Salaudeen, CNN

2021-08-06 08:01:35

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/06/africa/nigeria-comedy-social-media-spc-intl/index.html

Nigeria's social media comedians are making laughter pay - CNN

In Nigeria, an emerging crop of young comics are leveraging social media to create video content that makes people laugh -- and makes money.

africa, Nigeria's social media comedians are making laughter pay - CNN

Nigeria's social media comedians are making laughter pay

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)In Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, an emerging crop of young comics are leveraging social media to create video content that makes people laugh -- and makes money.What started as a hobby is now turning into a lucrative business opportunity. By leaning on the growing internet access across the continent, these comics are creating characters and skits on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter that can be sold to brands. Three Nigerian comics -- Ope Keshinro, Tobi Olubiyi and Koye Kekere-Ekun -- recently spoke to CNN about using smartphones to generate laughs and grow their audiences. Koye "K10" Kekere-EkunKoye Kekere-Ekun is a Nigerian actor and comedian famous for his dry humor.Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial center, Koye Kekere-Ekun wanted to be a footballer. Read MoreKekere-Ekun, 34, eventually put his dream on pause to toe the family line and become a lawyer. While working at a law firm in 2013, he acted on a random idea that changed everything."I just posted a video of myself imitating this Indian Canadian comedian, Russell Peters ... And at the time, I guess my followers responded to it -- they liked it," he said.Now with more than 100,000 followers across Twitter and Instagram, his videos, usually laced with dry humor, sometimes go viral. The comic says he gets paid to create video content on Twitter and Instagram by working with brands to incorporate a product or service in his comedy. When he once asked his followers what they thought of his "K10" brand, "someone just replied and said 'Humor, sense, nonsense.' And I thought that captured it perfectly -- because you might think I'm saying absolute crap, but there's always some sense in it," Kekere-Ekun said.This chip-eating Kenyan comic is keeping Africans entertained on social media In 2017, he was invited to make a couple of skits for RED TV, a Lagos-based lifestyle channel. The company liked his content so much that they offered him his own TV show, "Inspector K."In just a few years, he went from the set of "Inspector K" to featuring in multiple Nigerian films including "Namaste Wahala," "Three Thieves," and "The Royal Hibiscus Hotel."Even with that success, Kekere-Ekun says he is constantly working to expand his brand. "I am not afraid to try new things," he said. "I tried acting and I am enjoying it now ... in the next five years, I want to create a lot more content that I have written and produced."Ope "SwitOpe" KeshinroRadio host and content creator Ope Keshinro.You'll most likely catch Ope Keshinro in the studio, anchoring her lifestyle radio show, but in 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the forced period of lockdown in Nigeria pushed the radio presenter to try something new. "There was a video trending on Twitter at the time. It was in Yoruba [a West African dialect]. And then I saw people making their own versions of the video. I thought to myself 'this is easy.' I downloaded TikTok, picked up the audio, acted it out, and posted it," she explained.After a couple of hours, Keshinro realized her version of the video had gained traction, with many of her followers resharing and posting it.This Nigerian comic is getting a lot of love on TikTok with the 'Don't Leave Me' challengeFrom there, the 29-year-old began lip-syncing to funny audio and video clips on TikTok. The most popular character in Keshinro's videos is "Mohmiee," a Nigerian pastor known for her elaborate miracles.Like Kekere-Ekun, brands pay her to advertise their products through her TikTok videos. But being a content creator is not without difficulties. "The most challenging part would be consistency ... I always worry about people getting bored. I am constantly thinking of what to do to keep my content fresh," she said.Despite her concerns, the comic says the positive comments on her social media pages are encouraging."People motivate me, to be honest. I have people posting in my comments and I have not come across negative comments," she said. "Sometimes when I don't post videos, I have people reminding me that I should post because they love my videos."In the next couple of years, Keshinro says she has dreams of making it in Nigeria's movie industry: "I want to be the most sought-after actress, a radio presenter and content creator, all in one." Tobi "Oli Ekun" OlubiyiTobi Olubiyi is famous for his "Agba" character in his comedy skits.Growing up, Tobi Olubiyi wanted to be many things: a drummer, a lawyer, a scientist.He eventually ended up studying adult education instead. While at the University of Ibadan, in southwest Nigeria, Olubiyi experimented with music and dance. But it was a tongue twister on social media that introduced him to the world of content creation."A friend of mine, she put out a tweet, this tongue twister: 'How do you know her eyes are hazel?' She said we should record a five-second video of us saying that," he explained.Olubiyi responded with a skit in the Yoruba language (spoken in west Africa), using the phrase as a starting point. The video had more than 1,000 shares, with comments from people asking him to make similar videos.From there, his most popular skit character "Agba" was born -- a Yoruba man who is famous for bragging about having multiple girlfriends. This comic sensation is wowing Instagram users with her skits on Nigerian families"Agba is a socialite, he is a rich and affluent person ... when I started creating content, I was focused on Agba. But now I have multiple characters that I play in my skits," Olubiyi told CNN. According to Olubiyi, one of his strategies for getting shares on social media is creating videos that mention or make fun of some of Nigeria's biggest celebrities. By doing this, the celebrities -- usually musicians, including Simi and Adekunle Gold, and Mayorkun -- share his content for their audience to see.Olubiyi is also capitalizing on his videos by working with brands. He says his big breakthrough came in 2020 when he was approached by Guinness Nigeria to become one of its brand ambassadors. Today, the comic says making people laugh is more than just a hobby."What I really love about my videos is the fact that people have reached out to me. They've said things like ... 'I saw your video and it just made me happy.' That's fulfilling to me," he said. "I derive fulfillment from making other people laugh and smile and taking them out of tough times."

Samantha Bresnahan, CNN

2021-03-08 02:09:30

news

africa

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/07/africa/south-africa-zimbabwe-women-space-science-spc-intl/index.html

These women are shaping the future of African space exploration - CNN

In celebration of International Women's Day, meet three inspiring pioneers shaping the future of space science and technology in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

africa, These women are shaping the future of African space exploration - CNN

These women are shaping the future of African space exploration

(CNN)In the heart of Cape Town, a control room buzzes with activity. Technicians monitor a grid of screens, scanning data that will soon make its way to astronomers working to deepen our understanding of the universe.Operated by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), the data is coming from the MeerKAT array -- one of the most advanced radio telescopes in the world. Comprised of 64 connected satellite dishes in a remote part of the Northern Cape, the $330 million telescope has put South Africa on the astronomy map. It's also a key component of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), an international effort that will see thousands of dishes built in remote regions of South Africa and Australia.South Africa's MeerKAT array is one of the most advanced radio telescopes in the world."This is probably the biggest science project on the whole continent," says Pontsho Maruping, SARAO deputy managing director. "We've already started training astronomers in other African countries.""What excites me is the fact that it allows people on the African continent to really contribute to one of the most technologically advanced industries in the world," she adds.While an African-born astronaut has yet to launch to space, programs across the continent are on the rise, especially in the fields of satellites and telescopes. Consulting group Space in Africa values space programs on the continent in excess of $7 billion, while countries including Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda have established or expanded their space agencies in the last 20 years.Read MoreSeveral of those programs include women in leadership roles. In celebration of International Women's Day, meet three inspiring female pioneers shaping the future of space exploration across Africa and beyond.Jessie Ndaba, space engineerJessie Ndaba is the co-founder of Astrofica, a satellite tech company in South Africa.When South African space engineer Jessie Ndaba and company co-founder Khalid Manjoo named their satellite startup, the choice was easy: Astrofica -- a hybrid of "astronomy" and "Africa" -- seemed like the perfect fit.The fully Black-owned satellite tech company, based in Cape Town, specializes in assembling, manufacturing and testing satellite systems -- a lucrative focus of the African space industry. According to Space in Africa, 41 satellites had been launched from the continent by August 2020, and that number is likely to triple by 2024. More than $4 billion has been invested in satellite development across Africa so far.Space "was and is a calling," Ndaba says, noting that her fascination began with a photo of a rocket engine in a textbook gifted by her grandmother, who raised her in Johannesburg. Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASACairo, Egypt – The pyramids at Giza can be seen in the center of this image taken from the International Space Station in 2012, with the modern Cairo metropolitan area to the left and the Sahara desert on the right. Scroll through the gallery for more photos of the continent taken from space.Hide Caption 1 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASARiver, Sierra Leone – The Sierra Leone river, captured in 2014 by the NASA Terra spacecraft. Hide Caption 2 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASAMount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – A crew member on the International Space Station captured this image of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, covered in snow and ice in 2007. Hide Caption 3 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASAGres de Chinguetti Plateau, Mauritania – The Richat Structure, a geographical feature in the Sahara, is pictured in 1993 sitting in the Gres de Chinguetti Plateau in central Mauritania, northwest Africa. Hide Caption 4 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASACarthage, Tunisia – The ancient city of Carthage in Tunisia is pictured here, as photographed by a crew member on the International Space Station in 2006. Hide Caption 5 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASATibesti Mountains, Chad – This image of the Tibesti Mountains, Chad, was taken in 1997. The squid-like shape the lava made as it flowed down the flanks of the Pic Tousside provided astronauts with a visual marker as they flew across northern Africa. Hide Caption 6 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASATifernine dunes, Algeria – The Tifernine dunes of east-central Algeria are pictured in this image, captured in 1995. "The dunes lie in a basin of dark-colored rocks heavily cut by winding stream courses (top right)," explains the caption in the Nasa Image and Video Gallery. "Very occasional storms allow the streams to erode the dark rocks and transport the sediment to the basin. Winds then mold the stream sediments into the complex dune shapes so well displayed here." Hide Caption 7 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASADjibouti, Djibouti – This view taken from the International Space Station in 2000 shows Djibouti, the capital city of the country of the same name, in East Africa. Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASASt. Anthony Monastery, Egypt – The world's oldest Christian monastery, in the remote mountainous area of eastern Egypt, can be seen in this image taken in 2010 by NASA Terra spacecraft. Hide Caption 9 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASALake Afrera, Ethiopia – This hypersaline lake, called Lake Afrera, is in the Danakil Depression in northern Ethiopia, it can be seen in this image taken by the NASA Terra spacecraft in 2014. Hide Caption 10 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASA Betsiboka River, Madagascar – This image taken from the International Space Station 2009 shows the Betsiboka River in Madagascar. Hide Caption 11 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASALimpopo River, South Africa – The swollen Limpopo River was captured by the NASA Terra spacecraft as it flew over South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2013. Hide Caption 12 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASALilongwe, Malawi – Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi is pictured in this Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image from 2016. Hide Caption 13 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASA Atlas mountains, Morocco – This radar image from 1999 shows the Atlas mountains and parts of Morocco. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: Africa from the air, captured by NASASossus Vlei, Namibia – Winds moving north caused the deep red dunes that can be seen in this image of the Sossus Vlei clay pan in Namibia, taken by an astronaut in 2001. Hide Caption 15 of 15Having experienced the industry's evolution over the last 15 years, she says the key to success in the sector is collaboration -- and helping people on Earth. "We are all for partnering with other countries in Africa or outside Africa," Ndaba says, "as long as we are working toward improving people's lives."But she says sometimes that message gets lost, pointing to the common criticism that space endeavors are expensive and that governments like South Africa's should be investing in improving the lives of its citizens."There's a number of benefits that we get from what we do, but we fail to communicate it to people," Ndaba says, adding that satellite imagery can be used to assess land quality for farming or housing construction."We're always looking at the challenges that people are facing, and we look for the solution."Adriana Marais, physicist and explorerSouth African physicist Adriana Marais is the founder of Proudly Human.Adriana Marais has set her sights on Mars -- and it's a mission she's been planning for as long as she can remember."If I had to choose a particular outcome for my life, spending my last days on Mars would be it," Marais says.In 2015, the South African physicist came a step closer to realizing her dream when she was shortlisted as one of 100 astronaut candidates for the Mars One Project, a private venture to build a permanent settlement on the red planet.Read more: Perseverance will search for ancient life on Mars. These places are nextBut there's still much to learn about Mars before humans can survive on its surface -- or even successfully make the trip. After a nine-month journey just to get there, astronauts will encounter extreme conditions on arrival.On Earth, Marais is preparing to simulate that harsh environment. In 2019, she founded research organization Proudly Human, which plans to run a series of settlement experiments in extreme environments as part of its Off-World project.Nuclear-powered rocket could get astronauts to Mars faster "We will have teams arriving, setting up infrastructure from scratch, and living and doing research in those extreme locations for duration of the experiment," says Marais.In December 2019, she traveled to Antarctica to begin setting up a community where selected participants will spend nine months in complete isolation. The project is now on hold because of the pandemic but Marais says Antarctica will be an ideal testing ground."Temperatures in the winter in Antarctica range between -60 and -70 degrees Fahrenheit in the interior, and this is the average temperature on Mars in terms of testing infrastructure like water systems," she says. According to Proudly Human, the research and technology developed to support life in environmental extremes can also help inform solutions on Earth, where billions of people worldwide lack access to clean water and air, reliable power sources, and a secure food supply."I feel we have a duty living in this challenging era," says Marais, "creating a future that we can be proud of, whatever planet we're on."Ruvimbo Samanga, space law adviserZimbabwean Ruvimbo Samanga is a space law adviser for her home country, which began its own space program in 2018.Growing up in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Ruvimbo Samanga first became interested in space as a young girl. But she never thought her love of "all things extra-terrestrial and extra-planetary" could become a viable career, and pursued law instead.In 2018, she coached a team of law students that made history by becoming the first African entrants to win the prestigious, international Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court competition. That's when Samanga realized she could combine her two passions into one career -- and became a space law and policy adviser.From there, "the opportunities were boundless," she says. "I think (space law and policy) just give me the most effective way of bringing about change in the industry. It's so exciting to see the field developing right before your eyes."Nigeria's 'techpreneurs' are using technology to provide life-changing solutions to everyday problems Space law governs space-related activities, including the use of space technology, damage created by space objects, and the preservation of space and Earth environments -- and it has to constantly evolve to keep up with developments in technology.Samanga represents Zimbabwe on the Space Generation Advisory Council, supporting the UN Programme on Space Applications -- which facilitates the sharing of space technology benefits with developing countries that don't yet have the resources to do it themselves."There are a lot of challenges in Zimbabwe and an urgent need for socioeconomic development all around," she says, pointing to the recent food security crisis brought on by severe droughts.In 2019, Samanga started AgriSpace, which uses satellite technology to help farmers maximize crop yield.Samanga built on her expertise to launch AgriSpace in 2019, a company which helps Zimbabwean farmers optimize crop yields. "I realized there was a technological gap -- farmers are using archaic and traditional methods," she says. "To bridge that gap, we use satellite imagery and data to give farmers the necessary information they need to know when to plant, how to plant, what to plant, and where to plant."For Samanga, all her work -- from law and policy to satellite tech -- stems back to her childhood fascination with space. She's now sharing that dream with students in Zimbabwe, inspiring the next generation of space explorers from the African continent."I dream for a world where girls do not have to question themselves and are not questioned," she says. "My dream is to see more African youth, especially young girls, in the African space industry."CNN's John Lewis and Ian Hooper contributed to this report.