Global Roundup: Pakistani Padwomen, Afghan Women’s Rights Activist Released, Greek Museum Featuring Women Artists, South African Women’s Group Tackles GBV in Policing, ‘Women Life Freedom’ Books
Global Roundup: Pakistani Padwomen, Afghan Women’s Rights Activist Released, Greek Museum Featuring Women Artists, South African Women’s Group Tackles GBV in Policing, ‘Women Life Freedom’ Books
Curated by FG Contributor Inaara Merani
Featured Image Source: Image credits: Waqas Rabbani, @JustAPakistaniGamer on YouTube. (Feminism in India)
In Pakistan, and neighbouring countries, menstruation is highly stigmatized in society. Menstruators are often forcibly excluded from different activities, and there is a lack of awareness and education about menstruation. In many villages in Pakistan, women use rags and cloth while menstruating, leaving them vulnerable to various reproductive and urinary tract infections.
Their experience making commercial pads led them to recognize the need and the demand for affordable and reusable alternatives. Many of the menstrual products that are currently available, from brands such as Always and Butterfly, are expensive and require frequent disposal, which can be difficult for women living in certain villages in Pakistan. Their pursuit for a more effective solution was supported by UN Women, and the three women were able to create a new product that has a chance to create a new market for cheap and reusable sanitary napkins.
We often encounter people from the city who repeatedly discard the sanitary pads. leading to a waste of money. That’s why we started making cloth pads for underprivileged women. Our pads can be reused, unlike the ones bought from the market that are used only once and thrown away, causing repeated expenses. – Gul Shama
The pad is made up of four layers; the top layer is composed of soft cotton and the inner layer is made of synthetic fibers. Within these layers, there is a non-woven fabric with another micro fleece sheet to prevent leakage. The pads are soft, easy to use, and can be washed multiple times without any hassle. Each pad is priced at PKR 50 ($0.18 USD), standing in stark contrast to the menstrual products brands which price pads between PKR 80 to PKR 100 ($0.29-$0.36 USD).
Currently, the products are sold through small-scale exhibitions in villages, but Perveza, Gul Shama and Raheela have plans to place the pads in local shops and social media sites in Pakistan and beyond. Although the trio has received support from UN Women Pakistan, they still need support from policy-makers and big organizations in order to better market their product and reach larger audiences. Still, they are raising awareness about menstruation and also breaking barriers to menstruating safely in society.
We will distribute these [pads] to women in villages for free because they are not aware of the benefits. In villages, women use regular cloth, which is not suitable for them. We educate them on the advantages of using these pads for comfort when they go out. – Perveza
(Khaama)
Julia Parsi, a women’s rights activist in Afghanistan, was just released from prison by the Taliban administration after three months. Parsi is a senior member of the women’s protest movement in Afghanistan and the founder of the women’s library. She was arrested on September 28, 2023 in Kabul for her women’s rights advocacy.
Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan has become the only country in the world where girls are banned from schooling beyond the age of 11. The group has also imposed what has been described as a policy of “gender apartheid”, banning women from most work and public spaces.
Since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, Parsi’s advocacy efforts focused towards the education of women and girls. Although she faced threats and increasing fear, she remained a visible figure in the media and repeatedly spoke out about women’s fundamental rights to education and work.
For the past several years, Parsi spent her time teaching the Persian language and literature in local schools. She continued to teach up until the city of Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021. The closure of all schools marked a turning point for Parsi, which further fueled her advocacy efforts.
Parsi became a well-known figure in protests, facing armed Taliban forces and demanding freedom for all women and girls, and her face has become synonymous with bravery in the face of adversity. Even when fellow protesters began to disappear or were killed, Parsi remained visible in the media and did not falter in her stance. She boldly spoke out against the Taliban’s rule and for the fundamental rights of women and girls to education and work.
Despite Parsi’s efforts and many more Afghan women’s protests, schools for girls in Afghanistan above the sixth grade are not showing signs of opening anytime soon. Without access to employment or education, most women in Afghanistan have had their livelihoods stripped away due to a system of patriarchal beliefs. However, after more than two years of bad news for women and girls in Afghanistan, Parsi’s release from prison is a spark of hope for women across the country.
In Greece, ‘women artists have been systematically marginalized for decades’ says Gregos © Angelos TZORTZINIS/AFP. (France 24)
The National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens (EMST) handed over its halls this week exclusively to women artists, in a pioneering exhibition titled “What if women ruled the world?” In an attempt to recognize and highlight the work and contributions of women artists, EMST will feature the work of 25 women artists with another 15 temporary displays to follow.
Among the included painters, sculptors, photographers, and artists using other mediums are Syrian-American contemporary artist Diana Al-Hadid, French visual artist Annette Messages, Iranian-American painter Tala Madani, Greek-Belgian contemporary artist Danai Anesiadou, and English visual artist Cornelia Parker.
Until this point, only 37 percent of all artists represented at the Museum were women. The works that have been selected for this ongoing exhibit will address a number of themes including: stereotypes of women’s beauty, violence against women, inequality, consumerism, and how poverty disproportionately affects women.
Women artists are still under-represented in most aspects of the art world. We wanted to reverse the trend and see what a museum would look like if, instead of a few token pieces, works by women artists made up the majority. – Katerina Gregos, artistic director at the EMST
In addition to featuring the works of artists from around the world, several of the featured artists are Greek. In Greece, women became eligible to vote in 1953, and marriage dowries were abolished in 1983. EMST artistic director Katerina Gregos says that women often have difficulty gaining recognition in a traditionally patriarchal country, especially in a country where women’s rights movements have been suppressed.
Especially in a country like Greece, where there has never been an organised feminist movement in the visual arts and where women artists have been systematically marginalised for decades, this initiative is an important message and, compensation for a major inequality. Most wars and destruction are orchestrated mainly by men. If women were in charge, perhaps there would be less violence, more compromise, more fairness. It wouldn’t be a perfect world but it would certainly be different. – Katerina Gregos
(UN Women)
Women and girls in South Africa face some of the highest rates of gender-based violence (GBV) in the world. While some individuals do report their assaults, many victims are reluctant to report their experiences because they feel that police officers are not adequately trained to deal with GBV.
Through a partnership with UN Women, the Government of Ireland, the Elma Foundation, and the Bread of the World, Ilitha Labantu (an organization that provides services for women and children affected by violence in South Africa) launched a programme in 2021 to work with the South African Police Service (SAPS) on a survivor-centered approach to instruct police officers on how to work with and treat survivors of GBV. The training programmes cover topics such as defining gender, gender sensitivity, harmful social norms, legal remedies and procedures, the role of SAPS, handling traumatized individuals, and basic counseling.
This Ilitha Labantu-led initiative is an opportunity to work towards standardization of GBV reporting desks in police stations, improve the experience of survivors when reporting cases, and ensure police have the necessary training to respond to violence against women and girls, responding to the needs of women and girls. – Aleta Miller, Representative of UN Women’s South Africa Multi-Country Office
The SAPS embraced the program, and it has since been implemented in 75 police stations across Cape Metro and Cape Winelands of the Western Cape Province. Additionally, at the beginning of the month, 66 officers graduated after completing their required training.
Ilitha Labantu plans to expand the programme across South Africa, hoping to bring in other organizations with different areas of expertise. The organization also hopes that the content from the trainings will be implemented into the country’s police academies. Since the program was launched, the organization has noticed a significant reduction of complaints about local police stations from clients. Several police stations have also created a more welcoming and warm environment in victim support rooms.
This effort will go a long way to strengthen the working relationship between the SAPS and communities by building capacity and training to educate and sensitize them on matters related to ending violence against women and girls. – Aleta Miller
(New Arab)
Just over a year since Mahsa Zhina Amini’s death and since the women’s rights movement began in Iran, two graphic books combining text and different forms of art about the movement have been created. The slogans “Zan Zendegi Azadi” or “Jin Jîyan Azadî”, meaning “Woman Life Freedom” in Persian and Kurdish, respectively, have been at the core of this movement.
Woman Life Freedom, Voices and Art from the Women’s Protests in Iran, edited by Malu Halasa, combined the work of more than 50 writers and artists. Halasa’s book celebrates the women that the Iranian regime has tried, and has failed to silence; however, the women in this graphic book remain anonymous for their safety. Halasa draws on artists from the 1970s up until the present, presenting works from the Iranian Women of Graphic Design (IWofGD) collective, and in doing so, demonstrates how art, women’s rights, and resistance go hand-in-hand.
Similarly, Marjane Satrapi includes the work of over 20 activists, artists, journalists, and academics in a collection of stories, which will be released during Nowruz in March 2024. Created in collaboration with Iranian political scientist Farid Vahid, French reporter Jean-Pierre Perrin, historian Abbas Milani, and the contribution of various comic artists, Satrapi’s graphic book conveys stories about women’s resistance and resilience in the face of oppression. The book will include a visual narrative of captivating illustrations about the history of the women’s movement in Iran and the motivation to continue the movement until all women are free in Iran.
Each graphic book speaks to the struggles of different generations of women in Iran and how the struggle for liberation is far from won in the country. With text and different forms of art, these books strive to tell a story about the women’s rights movement in Iran, and how it has persisted in the face of adversity and danger.
Inaara Merani (she/her) recently completed her Masters degree at the University of Western Ontario, studying Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies with a specialization in Transitional Justice. In the upcoming years, she hopes to attend law school, focusing her career in human rights law.
Inaara is deeply passionate about dismantling patriarchal institutions to ensure women and other marginalized populations have safe and equal access to their rights. She believes in the power of knowledge and learning from others, and hopes to continue to learn from others throughout her career.