[women-rights] Are Asian women better or worse political leaders?

ONLINEWOMEN BULLETIN: November 04, 2003

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This bulletin highlights Asia Pacific women's involvement in politics,
governance, decision-making and transformative leadership. You will also
find summaries of the data and information we have recently uploaded in
our website http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org plus announcements of
events and other women-focused news stories from around the world. If
you do not have full internet access please contact:
onlinewomeninpolitics@capwip.org and we will provide you with copies of
the documents you want in TXT or MSWord format. Thank you.
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SHE SAID
"The law of the gun has devastated the condition of women.''
Amy Smythe, who advises the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo on women's
issues

On this issue:

A. Announcements
1. Conference - Globalization and Gender: The Implications of Global
Economic Restructuring for Women in China and Southeast Asia
2. Conference - Women and Migration in Asia
3. Document on Gender Quality and the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs)
4. Document: The Life and Struggle of Women Workers under
Contractualization


B. Women in Politics News
1. Oman upper house gets another woman
2. Are Asian women better or worse political leaders?
3. Women MPS support family law reforms proposed by Moroccan king
4. UK's first woman law lord appointed
5. Rwanda has the most women MPs


C. Other News
1. Egypt may soon permit women to confer citizenship
2. Afghan women take radio liberties
3. New internet portal on women in peace and war
4. Women not getting U.N. protection in war
5. Madame Chiang Kai-shek dies; Chinese chief's powerful widow
6. Khatami hails Bahrain for boosting women's image
7. Desperately seeking Sylvia
8. South Korean women want equal rights in divorce



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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Globalization and Gender: The Implications of Global Economic
Restructuring for Women in China and Southeast Asia
Date: 27 - 29 November 2003
Venue: Chinese University of Hong Kong
Web http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/hkiaps/grc/conference03/index.html
E-mail: grcentre@cuhk.edu.hk
There will be panel sessions on: Understanding Globalization: Women in
Processes of Change in China and Southeast Asia; Globalization and
Women's Health in China and Southeast Asia; Religious and Cultural
Transformations: Women Addressing Fragmentation and Conflict; The New
Patriarchies: Women in Changing Gender Roles and Family Relations;
Roundtable discussion - The Way Forward: Syntheses and Lessons for
Gender-Responsive Policies. Deadline for registration is 15 November
2003.


Women and Migration in Asia
Date: 10 - 13 December 2003
Venue: Delhi, India
Website: http://www.dcrcdu.org/women-migration.htm
Email: dcrcworkshop@hotmail.com
Host/Sponsor: Developing Countries Research Centre (DCRC)
This Conference seeks to explore the gender implications of migration
processes both within different Asian societies as well as across the
Asian region, and globally.


Gender Quality and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
This World Bank Gender and Development Group paper examines the linkages
between gender equality and the rest of the MDGs and argues that gender
equality is not only a goal in itself but also an essential step for
combating poverty and HIV/AIDS, and for promoting education and
environmental stability. The paper provides examples of how gender
equality can be integrated into MDG policies and interventions. Go to:
http://www.worldbank.org/gender/resources/gendermdg.pdf


The Life and Struggle of Women Workers under Contractualization
This paper was prepared for the Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN)
Conference on Globalization and its Impact on Women's Labour (18-20 June
2003; Bangkok, Thailand). It addresses the issue of women in labour
contractualization in the Philippines. Labour contractualization refers
to the replacement of regular workers by temporary workers who are not
given the benefits, do not accumulate seniority and could be easily
terminanted. Complete text is available online.
http://www.aprnet.org/journals/8/v8-1.htm


To view more events, visit our Online Calendar:
http://onlinewomeninpolitics.org/Asp_Files/eventnopost.asp
To post your events for FREE, go to
http://onlinewomeninpolitics.org/asp/calendar.asp



WIP NEWS

Oman upper house gets another woman
An Omani politician has struck a blow for female power after becoming
the eighth woman to take a seat in Oman's upper house. Sultan Qabuus
named another woman to the council of state in Oman's appointed upper
house, local media reported on Sunday. The appointment of Fawzia bint
Nasir al-Farsiyah follows the initial failure of women to increase their
share in the Majlis al-Shura, which was elected on 4 October in the
first polls open to all citizens of the conservative Gulf sultanate. She
will fill the post of education ministry undersecretary.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1102_oman_wip.htm


Are Asian women better or worse political leaders?
Were Asia's women leaders such as the dazzling Madame Chiang Kai Shek,
the fiery Madame Mao Zedong, the corrupt Manchu Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi,
India's assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Pakistan's twice
deposed Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for alleged massive corruption,
and the extravagant First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos truly
power-hungry politicians, or were they victims of the region's
deeply-rooted male chauvinism and the cynicism of male journalists,
writers and historians? What about the often condescending and harsh
assessment of Indonesian President Megawati, former President Cory C.
Aquino and our incumbent President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as
"indecisive" and "weak" ­ are these appraisals based on reality or
clouded by chauvinist prejudices, or both? Were their political actions
­ for better or for ill ­ swayed by pressure from male prejudices?
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1103_asia_wip.htm


Women MPS support family law reforms proposed by Moroccan king
Several women associations and women parliament members have voiced
support to the proposed family law (Mudawana) reforms announced by the
Moroccan king on October 10, describing the amendments as "an initiative
that would contribute to the edification of a modernist and democratic
society." These reforms put family under the joint responsibility of
spouses, make polygamy almost impossible and re-organize marriage and
divorce regulations.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1101_morocco_wrights.htm



UK's first woman law lord appointed
Legal history will be created next January when one of the last all-male
bastions of the British establishment admits a woman for the first time.
Dame Brenda Hale, one of three women judges in the court of appeal, will
become the UK's first woman law lord and one of the 12 judges who will
sit in the proposed new supreme court. Her appointment comes amid
government moves to end the white, male, public school stranglehold on
the judiciary, including a proposed independent judicial appointments
commission with a brief to make the judges more representative of the
people they serve.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1024_uk_wip.htm


Rwanda has the most women MPs
Rwanda has beaten Sweden by getting the highest proportion of women into
parliament, voting them on to 39 seats in the lower chamber of deputies,
a level amounting to 48.8% of the seats. In the voting, which began on
September 30, women won 15 of the seats that were also open to men.
Sweden's women hold 45.3% of seats in the country's single-chamber
parliament. Denmark is third with 38%, followed by Finland with 37.5%
and the Netherlands with 36.7%. Britain is in 50th place with 17.9%, and
the US house of representatives ties at 60th place with Andorra, with
14.3%. (
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1023_rwanda_wip.htm


OTHER NEWS

Egypt may soon permit women to confer citizenship
In response to a presidential pronouncement, Egyptian women by the 1000s
are seeking citizenship for their children born of foreign fathers and
also are hoping a proposed law will pass that will provide citizenship
to their stateless children.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1103_egypt_wrights.htm


Afghan women take radio liberties
Working from a one-room studio with a gas lantern for illumination and
two car batteries for power, a group of young Afghan women are
transmitting a low-watt, revolutionary message to female listeners in
the vicinity of this remote northern city. In addition to popular music,
live newscasts, humor and chats on child care, Radio Rabia Balkhi (89.7
FM) airs recorded essays and features on more daring topics such as
"women and the constitution," how to seek treatment for mental illness
and the right of abused wives to divorce. It also answers listeners'
letters, ranging from complaints about poor conditions at women's
college dormitories to protests from female doctors that they have not
received their hospital salaries. There are also poignant pleas for help
from individual women, trapped by tradition with nowhere to turn.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1103_afghan_media.htm


New internet portal on women in peace and war
An Internet portal offering comprehensive information on the dangers and
responsibilities facing women and girls during armed conflicts and
women's roles in peace building (http://www.womenwarpeace.org/) was
unveiled this week by the United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM). UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer said the portal would
address the information gap, providing accurate reports and helping to
track progress towards implementing Security Council resolution 1325.
That text was unanimously adopted in October 2000 and urges an enhanced
role for women in preventing conflict, promoting peace and assisting in
post-conflict reconstruction within UN operations.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1031_womenwarpeace.htm


Women not getting U.N. protection in war
A landmark U.N. resolution committing governments to protect women from
the abuses of war has done little to keep thousands of women in conflict
zones from Congo to Colombia from falling victim to rape. ``The law of
the gun has devastated the condition of women,'' Amy Smythe, who advises
the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo on women's issues, told a Security
Council meeting marking the third anniversary of the resolution. Also
largely unheeded has been the resolution's call for countries in
conflict to give women a major voice at peace talks and for the United
Nations to give women top jobs in settling wars, diplomats said.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1030_un_conflict.htm


Madame Chiang Kai-shek dies; Chinese chief's powerful widow
Madame Chiang Kai-shek, 106, one of the world's most powerful,
best-known and controversial women during the 1930s and 1940s and a
major influence on United States policy toward China in those decades,
died Oct. 24 at her apartment in New York. She caught a cold earlier in
the week and then developed symptoms of pneumonia. She also had been
treated for cancer. Madame Chiang was the wife of Chiang Kai-shek, the
leader of Nationalist Chinese forces during both the civil war against
the Chinese Communists and World War II against Japan. In that capacity,
she was one of her husband's leading propagandists and a vital force in
winning vast amounts of money and equipment for his cause.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1025_chiang.htm


Khatami hails Bahrain for boosting women's image
Iranian President, Mohammed Khatami, has hailed Bahrain's efforts in
promoting "real and civilised image of Muslim women," the Bahraini news
agency, BNA, said. Khatami's statement came during a meeting in Tehran
on Sunday with Sheikha Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His
Majesty King Hamad. Sheikha Sabika, the first "First Lady" from the Arab
world to meet the Iranian president, "underlined the keenness of the two
countries' leaders to cement bilateral relations," said BNA. It said
Khatami has "underlined the reform project initiated by the King which
had dealt carefully with all women's issues and hailed Sheikha Sabika's
role in highlighting the real image of Muslim women worldwide."
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1021_bahrain_wrights.htm



Desperately seeking Sylvia
In the 80s, Sylvia Plath became a kind of feminist symbol of a victim,
of what men can do to women; and the torment she endured is certainly
part of the fascination for some. Not just in her life, or in her
poetry, but after her death - since she was still legally married to
Hughes, he inherited the Plath estate and was either careless with her
work or protective of others' (and his own) feelings, depending on your
view. He rearranged Plath's order of the poems in Ariel, for example,
and added some of her bleakest at the end, such as Edge, which begins:
"The woman is perfected./Her dead/Body wears the smile of
accomplishment." Plath's order, on the other hand, was more hopeful - it
began with the word "love" and ended with "spring". Hughes burned
Plath's last journal, "lost" another, similarly "lost" an unfinished
novel and instructed that a collection of Plath's papers should not be
released until 2013.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1018_plath.htm


South Korean women want equal rights in divorce
Kim Min-hee, a 31-year-old working mother, never thought about South
Korean family law until she decided to end her seven-year marriage.
Having fled with her two sons from a violent husband, Kim -- not her
real name -- wants to change a decades-old law to give her children
equal rights. "After the divorce, my sons and I will not be in the same
family legally. Even though I am allowed to raise them, we are
considered to be just living together in a house," Kim told Reuters at a
rally in Seoul against the "ho-ju" system. Ho-ju literally means head of
the family or household. In practice, it defines family structure
through male lines, giving men privileges and disadvantaging women,
notably in divorce. The country has one of the highest divorce rates.
Continue:
http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/03_1020_kr_wrights.htm

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