Survivors have their voices heard at the UN

Equally worthy news sources Time Magazine and FMF blogger Kat have been getting buzz going: the recession has brought with it an increase in human trafficking, particularly in cases of child sex trafficking.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 12.3 million people are being trafficked at any given time, with that number mostly being compiled of women and girls.

In response to this dangerous snowballing threat to safety, the UN responded with a series of recently-held hearings specifically on the issue. Truth be told, this is not the first time human trafficking has been brought up in the halls of the UN; its an issue they've been grappling with for quite some time. It is, however, the first time the UN has approached the topic by putting the specialists to the side and the spotlight on survivors. The results were fascinating.


Heart-wrenching stories were shared from all walks of life from Rachel Lloyd (who founded the non-profit GEMS after escaping her own forced sexual exploitation horror story) to Charlotte Awino of Uganda (who was imprisoned 8 years by Ugandan rebels at the age of 14,) Buddhi Gurung of Nepal (who, unlike many, survived being duped by a false work ad, having his passport confiscated and forced to work in a war-zone) and Kikka Cerpa of Venezuela (who was taken to NYC by her boyfriend, under the guise of being a nanny, only to get sold into his family's brothel.)

While the stories came from different corners of the globe, they oozed of the same plea: these people are victims and the official world needs to start seeing them as victims.

In all cases, there was an opportunity for action that was not taken. Awino explained when found by authorities, people in her situation are often mistaken as compliant terrorists, and treated as such. Cerpa reported the multiple times the police raided her brothel, either to demand sex or to arrest the workers. Each time, she was denied the aid she needed because it was never assumed that she was there against her will. Gurung is currently suing the US government (specifically the federal contractors KRB) for human trafficking and is still shocked that in his many encounters with officials, it was always assumed he was a voluntary immigrant worker, even though his papers did not match.

UN Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons Joy Ngozi Ezeilo emphasized penalizing the guilty, not the victims, pushing for stronger law enforcement in each country and financial compensation for the victims.

Reminding those in the hearing of shared humanity, Ezeilo closed by saying "it will be irresponsible if we fail to act. We are humans and we should not support inhuman action...The slave trade has been abolished and we can't accept that in our world today.""

photo credit: mvcorks on flickr.com

Racism, Front and Center

The last month and a half of US politics has been uglier than usual. Across the country, we have seen riotous constituents (and a few others) screaming at Members of Congress, carrying fire arms, and spewing hate-filled language at every meida outlet available.

In just the last week, we've witnessed both a member of the House of Representatives shouting at the President of the United States during a major speech before Congress and a "march on Washington" with some of the most blantat, vitriolic messaging I've ever seen.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?

Georgetown University Sociology Professor Michael Eric Dyson has an idea. Maureen Dowd has an idea. Former President Jimmy Carter has an idea. And they're all calling it the same thing: racism.

Georgetown University Sociology Professor Michael Eric Dyson responded to the claims of "angry ideological differences" v. "racism" with a succinct social, political, and historical context of race/racism in the US:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

In her 9/13 NYTimes Op-Ed, Maureen Dowd outlines what she calls "the lunacy of the summer," concluding that all the name-calling of the president (from 'socialist' to 'granny killer') comes back to an attempt to discredit the President as "other."

And in an interview with NBC, former President Jimmy Carter has this to say:

At what point do we ignore the party lines and focus on human decency (or a severe lack thereof)? As feminists; as Republicans/Democrats/Libertarians/Greens/Women's Party/Independets...whatever(!) we mustto deal with this. This is not a post-racial society, and this is not a bi-racial society. We are a multi-racial society that MUST address our multi-racial problems.

What are your thoughts? Is this the tipping point? Where do we go from here?

Russian Activist Kidnapped and Murdered

According to the New York Times and other sources, Natalya Estemirova, a journalist and activist in Chechnya, was kidnapped and murdered. Estemirova documented the struggles and abuses going on in this tumultuous area of the world for over a decade. Estemirova recieved several awards for human rights activities.

According to reports, Estemirova was grabbed outside of her home this morning. Her body was found on the side of the road. Many believe that her death was directly linked to her activism and her open criticism of president Ramzan Kadyrov.

This comes as another example of the terrible price of exposing the corruption and wrong-doing in our world. Journalists, especially women journalists, have often faced serious consequences for being to interested in things they shouldn't be, and for talking about things thos in power have wanted to keep secret. Anna Politkovskaya (who is memorialized in the photo) was another Russian journalist who was killed in 2006, and there are also the cases of Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

Photo Courtesy of www.flickr/ajau

Dalit "Untouchables" - Unbelievable Discrimination and What You Can Do

On Friday, June 12, 2009, the Feminist Majority Foundation attended the 2009 Global Affirmative Action Praxis Project (GAAPP) Transnational Seminar: Critical Race Theory and the Struggle for Equality in Brazil, India, and the United States at UCLA. The final two days of the weeklong seminar were open to the public.

A group of FMF interns had the opportunity to listen to leaders of the Navsarjan organization, a group devoted to promoting equality among the Indian people and in particular, among the “Untouchable” Dalit population in India, speak at the seminar.

The conference was an eye-opening experience and motivated us to continue to promote women’s equality at home and around the world. Unfortunately, untouchability has existed for thousands of years in India and over time, many Dalits have come to accept or submit to their oppressive treatment.

Navsarjan is working to end the prejudiced treatment of Untouchables and to promote equality for all people in India. Unfortunately, the officiates at the 2009 Global Affirmative Action Praxis Project (GAAPP) Transnational Seminar experienced firsthand the unfair treatment of Dalits when attempting to sponsor Dalits to attend this conference:

Initially, the GAAPP Transnational Seminar attempted to sponsor seven Dalit students to speak about their roles as activists for Navsarjan on issues such as violence against women, land rights and caste, and gender discrimination. GAAPP had met some of these women leaders in India and was particularly moved by their accounts of intolerance and struggle. It would have been the first time these students traveled abroad. One woman in particular wanted to share her personal experience of gender favoritism, in which she was rejected from her community and then by her relatives for being born as the seventh daughter in a family with an “excess of daughters.”

These seven students applied twice to receive visas at the US General Consulate in Mumbai, yet both times their applications were denied. GAAPP sent several letters of support to the Consulate, yet it is suspected that these letters were not even reviewed. During their second appointment, these students were given a letter of rejection immediately, due to a lack of “demonstrate ties to their home countries.” This was particularly ironic, given that these "ties" are related to property, something most Dalits, especially women, do not have access or rights to. Unfortunately, these students were not able to attend the Global Affirmative Action Praxis seminar. Their experience is an attestation to the injustice toward Dalits that continues to exist today.

Discrimination toward Dalits is a direct result of the caste system in India. The Indian caste system divides its citizens into various hierarchical groups called Varnas, which include Brahmans (scholars), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants) and Shudras (workers). These four Varnas are believed to have originated from a Primeval Being. Later, a fifth Varna was created: the Untouchables. Today, the social stratification of the Varnas grants privileges to those in the highest ranks, while leaving those in the lowest rank, the Untouchables, now called Dalits, without basic human rights.

The systematic oppression of Dalits is strongly linked to religious Hindu beliefs and therefore, those who wish to bring complete equality to India face many challenges. As the group Navsarjan declares,

“Those from the “lowest” castes are told that their place in the caste hierarchy is due to their sins in a past life. Vivid punishments of torture and death are assigned for crimes such as gaining literacy or insulting a member of a dominant caste."

This religious belief in reincarnation hinders efforts to promote equality in India, as it is believed that Dalits are paying for their sins from a past life and are accordingly, “polluted and impure.” Consequently, the marginalized population of 167 million Dalits is “outcasted".

In 1950, the national constitution of India abolished“untouchability” and banned discrimination based on the caste system. Yet, in spite of this apparent legal protection, close to 50% of Dalits live beneath the poverty line and three out of five Dalits are illiterate. Evidently, while India’s laws are helpful in theory, they have not produced any real changes in the lives of the Dalit people. Sadly, a governmental tolerance of Dalit oppression and discrimination renders the so-called legal protections of Dalits ineffective.

Dalits generally work (only) in jobs that support this theme of impurity and although Dalits make up almost a fifth of the Indian population, they control less than 5 % of the nation’s resources. Dalits are responsible for cleaning toilets and removing human waste, skinning animals and washing clothing. Often, they are forced to live outside of their villages, where less than 10% of Dalit households can afford safe drinking water, electricity and toilets.

A lack of access to basic infrastructure is further aggravated by the fact that Dalits are excluded from village wells and temples. Dalit children in particular are stigmatized from an early age. They are frequently segregated in schools and called names such as Kachro (filth), Melo (dirty), Dhudiyo (dusty), Gandy (mad), Ghelo (stupid) and Punjo (waste). Undeniably, discrimination toward Dalits occurs in India every day. Unfortunately, this discrimination doubles when gender enters the equation.

Almost always, when a group of people is severely discriminated against, women are those who suffer the most. In India, it is a Dalit woman who must stand away from the village well when retrieving water, often for hours at a time, in the hopes that a non-Dalit will show “mercy” by giving her water. Dalit women are also forced to do the most unsanitary jobs; 92% of Dalits assigned to cleaning human waste are female. Unfortunately, due to the intersectional cross of gender and caste assignment, women receive very little compensation for their labor; if they refuse to continue working, they will most likely be pushed out of their homes.

In addition to job discrimination, Dalit women experience sexual and physical abuse from those in higher castes. Martin Macwan, founder of Navsarjan, observed that Dalit women are not allowed to touch the shadow of men in higher castes, yet when men rape Dalit women, there is often no response.

Not only has rape been used as a tool for sexual abuse, it has also been used as a means of punishment for Dalits who choose to challenge the caste system. In these cases, rape is utilized as a way of punishing the woman and her family for breaking the rules of the caste system. Unfortunately, Dalit women who are raped oftentimes do not seek justice, knowing that their cases will probably be ignored in a society which does not value their bodies.

Clearly, discrimination toward Dalit men and women is a problem that still exists at staggering rates today. Regrettably, the abuse of Dalits does not show signs of stopping soon. Please visit the following websites for more information on the Dalits and for ways you can help.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

- Jenna and Danae, FMF Choices Campus Leadership Interns

For North Korean female refugees in China the "life of an animal"

The recent sentencing of U.S. journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, to 12 years of reform through hard labor in a North Korean labor camp for "grave crimes" against the country has been met with strong reaction from journalists, politicians, and activists alike. Lee and Ling were captured while filming a documentary for Current TV about North Korean exiles who flee to neighboring China.

While their unjust arrest and sentencing has been covered greatly, few have discussed the reason for their visit and subject of their documentary. The Washington Post today did just that with a revealing article about the women who escape North Korea, sometimes on their own but often by human traffickers, only to be met with a grim reality and few resources to help them.

"North Korea regards them as criminals for leaving. China refuses to recognize them as refugees, sending many back to face interrogation, hard labor and sometimes torture. Others stay on in stateless limbo, sold by brokers to Chinese men in need of fertile women and live-in labor. Forced marriage, abiding threats of deportation and a life without citizenship have become the norm for most female defectors now living in China."

In a recent report by the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea an estimated 300,000 North Koreans currently live in China illegally. Eight out of 10 defectors are working-class women who have fled due to poverty and hunger.

Bang Mi Sun is one woman who has experienced first hand the "life of an animal" as a North Korean refugee in China.

"If I had a chance to meet with President Obama, I would first like to tell him how North Korean women are being sold like livestock in China and, second, to know that North Korean labor camps are hell on earth."

Her story is below:

Newsday Tuesday, May 5th Edition

The Cool:
The US Senate starts us off on a good note, reintroducing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act which would include crimes committed on the basis sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, and disability as hate crimes under federal law. The House gave the OK to the bill, passing it on a 249-175 bipartisan vote. Thanks for saying no to hate, Congress!

We have the Senate to thank for the next tidbit, too - former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius (photo at right) was confirmed as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, rounding out President Obama's new cabinet.

Finally, a big cheer for the 8 year-old Saudi Arabia girl who won a divorce from a 47 year-old man.

The UnCool:
The Missouri State House approved restrictions to Emergency Contraception in the Show Me State by passing an amendment to allow pharmacies to refuse to stock EC, also known as the morning-after pill or Plan B. The California Supreme Court also refused to hear an appeal in a sexual orientation expulsion case from a Lutheran high school.

On the global scene, human rights violations against juveniles are continuing in Iran, with the execution of Delara Darabi as the most recent example. In Afghanistan, there is rising concern about potential voting fraud for Afghan women as the August election approaches.