Global Roundup: Haiti Women & Girls, Kenya Women Protest, Brazil Trans-Led Salon, Black Trans Circles Detroit, Reviving Kurdish Women Singers’ Voices
Curated by FG Contributor Samiha Hossain
Women cook in a makeshift kitchen at Antenor Firmin high school, which has been transformed into a shelter for Haitians displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince on May 1, 2024 [Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters]
According to a recent report by the UN, Haitian women and girls are facing an “alarming” level of violence, including threats of rape, in makeshift displacement camps that have sprung up as a result of a surge of gang violence in the country. UN Women said the camps lack basic necessities, such as lighting and locks for bedrooms and toilets, which leaves women and girls “particularly at risk of sexual and gender-based violence”.
The report comes as a second contingent of Kenyan police landed in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince this week as part of a UN-backed mission that aims to tackle a surge in gang violence. Haiti has reeled from years of violence as armed groups – often with ties to the country’s political and business leaders – have vied for influence and control of territory. An uptick in attacks across Port-au-Prince at the end of February prompted the resignation of Haiti’s unelected prime minister, the creation of a transitional presidential council and the Kenyan police deployment.
More than 578,000 Haitians have been internally displaced as a result of the violence, according to the UN, and just over half of that figure are women and girls. Philomene Dayiti, 65, is among about 800 people living in a makeshift camp in a church courtyard in Port-au-Prince’s sprawling metropolitan area.
The only thing I’m asking for: I’d like to go home, find a place to rest. I can’t stay here indefinitely. -Philomene Dayiti
The UN-backed security mission ran into numerous delays and has been met with criticism, including in Kenya, where President William Ruto has faced questions over a deadly police crackdown on protests. Haitian human rights advocates have said the deployment alone cannot solve systemic problems in the country, and they have urged safeguards to be put in place to prevent possible abuses by the international police force. UN Women also spoke to displaced Haitians across six makeshift displacement camps who decried a lack of healthcare, education and other services.
Our report tells us that the level of insecurity and brutality, including sexual violence, that women are facing at the hands of gangs in Haiti is unprecedented. It must stop now. -Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director
People walk among rubbish as others stand on the edge of a dumpsite where six bodies were found at the landfill in Mukuru slum, Nairobi, on July 12, 2024. Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images
Six bodies of women were found in a quarry in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi last Friday, sparking a protest at a nearby police station. The area has been cordoned off as a crime scene, and “preliminary investigations suggest a similar mode of killing of the deceased,” a statement by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said. The identities of the dead or how long the bodies had been at the quarry were not immediately clear.
Angry residents who marched to the nearby Kware police station were dispersed by teargas as shots rang in the air. The discovery of the bodies on Friday has sparked fresh public anger and brought a new spotlight to Kenya’s femicide crisis, just months after thousands of women marched on the streets with banners reading: “Stop killing us.”
Furthermore, the horrifying scene comes after weeks of anti-government protests over a since-scrapped finance bill. The protests resulted in scores of civilian deaths amid a heavy-handed response from Kenyan police. Human rights groups have also accused security forces of abducting Kenyans during the protests.
In a statement, Women Press Freedom expressed deep concern over the shooting of journalist Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki while she covered protests in Nakuru County. Video footage and sources on the ground confirmed that she was shot three times with rubber bullets by a police officer in a Kenya Police van. The organization pointed out that it is not the first instance of police violence against women journalists in Kenya during recent protests. Just last month, NTV reporter Maureen Mureithi was injured by a police water cannon while covering demonstrations in Nairobi.
Women Press Freedom stands in solidarity with Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki and all journalists who face dangers in their line of duty. We urge the Kenyan government to uphold its commitment to press freedom and ensure that such attacks on journalists do not go unpunished…Journalists must be allowed to carry out their work without fear of violence or intimidation from law enforcement. -Women Press Freedom
A short documentary directed by trans visual artist Roma Joana in collaboration with beauty collective Pelo Tosco, celebrates queer expression through hair in Brazil. Titled Sinto Muito, the film delves into the universe of the Pelo Tosco salon and beauty collective, a space created and run by trans people in São Paulo, which works to destandardise the concept of beauty and provide a safe and inclusive environment for clients.
I think there’s something mysterious and enchanting about being able to change ourselves in any way we want. Hair has this incredible capacity to change, morph and adapt. I find it an interesting intersection between many of our experiences as non-normative bodies. -Roma Joana
Sinto Muito follows four multidisciplinary artists as they give testimonials on their relationship with hair while simultaneously the hair becomes living works of art around them, reflecting how their ever-evolving identities are constantly changing and strengthening. With a majority trans and queer crew in front of and behind the camera, the film demonstrates how hair transformations can reaffirm both individual and collective identities, and ultimately be used as a tool for non-normative beauty. Dazed spoke to Joana about the film, creating the hair sculptures and telling queer stories through hair.
Joana says she’s worked with Pelo Tosco before and she’s also had her hair done there for the past few years. She discusses wanting to “explore hair’s amazing capacity to protect and reinforce our identities.” Joana, who identifies as a travesti living in Brazil, sees hair as an important tool which she sometimes uses to connect with herself as a child and honour her. She hopes Sinto Muito helps people feel more comfortable with who they are.
In a world that is still so binary, defending differences in their most existential manifestations is fundamental to creating empathy. The film is a call for self-esteem and respect, both within and outside the queer community. -Roma Joana
Wendi Cooper is from the state of Louisiana in the U.S. and she’s one of about 30 transgender women spending three days at a hotel in downtown Detroit taking part in “Black Trans Circles Detroit.” It's a convening of Black transgender women, bonding through activities like taking professional headshots, getting glammed up, and on a deeper level opening up about their trauma.
Wendi recounts being stopped by a police officer in 1999, when she had just started her transition, and being charged with “crime against nature.” Crime against nature is a Louisiana law that makes it illegal to engage in what is referred to as sexual offenses that are deemed as unnatural or contrary to the order of nature. That charge would label her as a sex offender. Wendi’s story of discrimination is one that many transgender women at Black Trans Circles Detroit can relate to.
According to the national LGBTQ task force, Black transgender people experience some of the highest levels of discrimination. GenderGP finds that Black trans people are subject to extremely high unemployment rates, twice as high as other trans people, and four times the rate of the general U.S. population.
These disadvantages fueled Jeynce Poindexter, co-executive director of Trans Sistas of Color Project, to host this 3-day event with the transgender law firm.
Usually trans women of color, particularly Black trans women, they’re in survival mode and so when someone else would take it for granted and say, ‘oh, go get a job,’ well how do you do that when you have barriers built into the internal workings of the systems to keep you out? -Jeynce Poindexter
Wendi says she’s now forgiven the cop who altered her future in 1999. Since then, she’s earned her masters in criminal justice, she’s helped create a Black trans documentary, she’s found healing through action, and events just like Black Trans Circles Detroit.
I feel seen, ya know, I feel that I’m in a world right now where people are noticing me, people are noticing Wendi. -Wendi Cooper
An EU-supported project has recorded and digitized the songs of 32 Kurdish women folk singers in Turkey. Zeynep Yas, the project manager, has recorded the lives and works of 32 women singers from different geographies, digitized them, and prepared a unique archive.
Our objective is to find the voices of Kurdish women in history. The oldest one - and we only have her voice - is Ms. Nazli. The song was recorded in Gaziantep in 1902 in Zincirli. -Zeynep Yas
Yas also announced that in addition to the 32 digitized voices, they have begun working on digitizing another 130 women voices. A group of singers captured the attention of music enthusiasts by singing some of the newly-digitized Kurdish folk songs. In addition to digitization, the project aims to publish a book to shed light on the 32 women singers, covering every aspect of their lives.
We have a very important role in Kurdish music, unfortunately, because men were the dominant voices, many [women] were not heard. They remained hidden. -Sebahattin Xoce, artist
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Samiha Hossain (she/her) is an aspiring urban planner studying at Toronto Metropolitan University. Throughout the years, she has worked in nonprofits with survivors of sexual violence and youth. Samiha firmly believes in the power of connecting with people and listening to their stories to create solidarity and heal as a community. She loves learning about the diverse forms of feminist resistance around the world.