Global Roundup: France Women Rally for Rape Survivor, Indigenous Women in Bolivia Clean Polluted Lake, Sri Lanka's Presidential Election, London Cafe Employes Disabled Young People, Nigerian Woman Ref
Global Roundup: France Women Rally for Rape Survivor, Indigenous Women in Bolivia Clean Polluted Lake, Sri Lanka's Presidential Election, London Cafe Employes Disabled Young People, Nigerian Woman Ref
People gather next to a placard that reads: "Gisele for all women, all women for Gisele", during a demonstration in support of Gisele Pelicot near the courthouse in Marseille, France, September 14, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz
cw: rape
Hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered in cities around France on Saturday in support of Gisèle Pélicot, a woman whose husband is on trial, accused of drugging her and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her over nearly a decade in a case that has shocked the nation.
Feminist associations have called for some 30 gatherings in cities ranging from Marseille to Paris, where on the Place de la Republique banners read “Support to Gisèle” or “Shame Must Change Camp” or “Victims We believe you”.
Pélicot, now aged 72, has become a symbol of courage and resilience and of the fight against sexual violence.
It was her decision to forgo a private trial and instead insist on a public trial, due to run until December, to alert the public to sexual abuse and drug-induced blackouts, her lawyers have said.
“We thank her a thousand times for her enormous courage,” feminist Fatima Benomar from the “Coudes a Coudes” association told BFM TV, adding the gatherings were also to pay tribute to all rape victims.
Prosecutors said Pélicot offered sex with his wife on a website and filmed the abuse. Fifty other men accused of taking part in the abuse are also on trial.
In Marseille, about 200 protesters gathered in front of the Palais de Justice.
I am here to support Gisèle and all women as there are many Gisèles, too many Gisèles. -Lou Salome Patouillard, artist
Tatiana, left, and Dayana Blanco are aiming to plant 4,000 totora a year. The team were awarded the UN Development Programme’s Equator prize for their efforts last year. Photographs by Claudia Morales for the Guardian
Fed up with the ever-increasing pollution, Aymara women and sisters Dayana and Tatiana Blanco and other young women formed the Uru Uru Team in 2019.
Now, in among the filth that chokes the water are submerged rafts that hold thousands of native reeds called totora – a bulrush that can grow to 6 metres and was used to make Lake Titicaca’s famous floating islands. This aquatic plant, Schoenoplectus californicus, has been shown to be very effective at absorbing heavy metals and contaminants.
Made of recycled plastic collected from the lake, the rafts were placed there by the Uru Uru Team.
For years, lakeside communities have faced pollution from the mining industry, and from the waste of the nearby city of Oruro.
It’s very difficult to live and work in these conditions,..The smell here is very strong and affects our health. When the sun rises and sets, it is intolerable. I had stomach ache from it once. Who knows what illnesses we could get in the future?”Dayana Blanco
Changing temperatures and rain patterns have seen Lake Uru Uru’s shoreline recede dramatically over recent years and, as Oruro city has grown, people have built houses in what were protected areas.
Indigenous people know that if a lake dies, it’s as if the soul of a people dies…With colonialism and globalisation, new generations have lost their way…They’ve forgotten where they’ve come from and that we are not superior to animals, plants, mountains, lakes and rivers. It is because of this lack of respect and care for nature and mother Earth that there’s an imbalance. -Tatiana Blanco
The Uru Uru Team has planted about 3,000 totora plants so far. Dayana wants to involve more people from the community, as well as individuals with a background in science and landscape restoration. The team’s aim is to plant 4,000 totora a year and completely clean up the lake to bring back the birds and allow the community to grow vegetables again.
Dayana Blanco is writing a graphic novel that tells the Uru Uru Team’s story from the perspective of a lake flamingo. The group has a Facebook page and international organisations, such as the United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, have provided technical support. Last year, the Uru Uru Team won the UN Development Programme’s 14th Equator prize, which celebrates initiatives by Indigenous peoples and other communities in adapting to and mitigating the climate crisis.
Samudra Jayalath, 61, along with other supporters of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party take part in an election campaign for the upcoming presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka August 31, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Quotas alone are not the answer, sayid Harini Amarasuriya, a woman parliamentarian who called for a wider effort to bring more women into political life. Sri Lanka set a quota of 25% among lawmakers in 2016.
The quota system is just one way. It can make a numerical change, but for meaningful change there must be an effort that actively brings women into politics and gets them involved in leadership roles. -Harini Amarasuriya
Irrigation Minister Pavithra Devi Wanniarachchi is the lone woman in the current cabinet of 16, and there are just two women among three dozen junior ministers.
Nimalka Fernando of the Women's Political Academy, which has trained about 3,000 women over the last 12 years to effectively participate in decision-making, blames the patriarchal structure of Sri Lanka's political parties for the sparse representation of women.
The biggest block is men do not perceive politics as a space that should be shared equally with women. We share the house equally, but politics is outside the house. Women are campaigners, they are in protests ... but there is a block when it comes to decision-making. -Nimalka Fernando
Samudra Jayalath, 61, had hoped her political career would take off after she won a municipal election in 2012. She never secured a national position, despite nearly four decades of working for different parties.
It's very hard for women to make it in politics unless they come from a political family. Parties only want women to fill chairs. -Samudra Jayalath
The three main contenders in the election are President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Marxist-leaning parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa
Only Wickremesinghe has outlined a special effort to boost women's representation in politics and business. Premadasa wants to improve maternity laws and roll out a national policy for daycare.
Regulations to promote women in management, private insurance schemes and modernising labour laws are among Dissanayake's pledges.
Via BBC
A café in west London is trying to help get more adults with learning disabilities into employment.
Based at the Ealing Project cinema, Café Mahaba is training people with special educational needs and disabilities to become baristas and work in a coffee shop.
So far it's helped 22 young people learn about working in a coffee shop.
Watch the BBC report here.
Photo by Gbemisola Yusuf
“Controlling 22 players on the field is amazing," she told BBC Sport Africa from the Maracana pitch in Ajegunle-Lagos.
Although the number of female match officials in Africa and world football has grown over the years, women remain underrepresented as referees at both continental and global levels.
As of 2023, 53 African women are on world governing body Fifa's international referees list. This includes assistant referees and futsal referees, and represents a significant increase from previous decades.
This steady rise has been largely driven by efforts from organisations like the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and national associations to promote gender inclusivity.
South Africa and Morocco are two countries with a larger proportion of women officiating at the highest levels versus others in the continent.
Social, cultural and institutional factors are holding many women back, including igid gender roles and the male-dominated nature of football administration and management which means women are less likely to be appointed for key games, despite their qualifications.
Yusuf was born and raised in Agege in the mainland area of Lagos, where the township stadium meant everything to her and her family. As a child, she would regularly go to the local stadium with her mother. There, they would sell drinks to players, coaches and fans alike.
She nurtured a passion for the football scene and started out as a player and then switched to refereeing at age 14, when she joined a programme which Caf had launched to identify, train and provide opportunities for young match officials in youth competitions.
I will say refereeing is the hardest job in the world. You make decisions in a few seconds, whether you are right or wrong…I just give my best and leave the rest to God. -Gbemisola Yusuf
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Mona Eltahawy is a feminist author, commentator and disruptor of patriarchy. She is editing an anthology on menopause called Bloody Hell! And Other Stories: Adventures in Menopause from Across the Personal and Political Spectrum. Her first book Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution (2015) targeted patriarchy in the Middle East and North Africa and her second The Seven Necessary Sins For Women and Girls (2019) took her disruption worldwide. It is now available in Ireland and the UK. Her commentary has appeared in media around the world and she makes video essays and writes a newsletter as FEMINIST GIANT.
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