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A Publication of Women Graduates - USA |
| Fourth Edition October2008 |
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Did you miss this?! Letter from the Editor |
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This has been a very busy last six weeks or so, and in addition to the WG-USA Annual General Meeting (more about this below), the big news is our organization’s admittance to the International Federation of University Women. We received our notification on October 8th, and while many of you, I am sure, saw the e-mail blast announcing the happy news, it certainly bears repeating here! As appeared in Louise McLeod’s e-mail, here is the quote from Louise Croot, IFUW President, "Given the journey of change we have been on I want to thank you both for your crucial role in this development and now result with such a positive outcome." She also expressed an interest in watching and learning from our exploration and technical approach in becoming the first virtual affiliate. We have received congratulations and well wishes from around the world, including Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Fiji, Croatia, India, Israel, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and France. The full text of their congratulations can be seen by clicking here. In other exciting news, we also have received from the IRS our official 501(c)3 status, which officially makes us a recognized non-profit organization. I would also like to encourage all of you with Facebook accounts to join the WG-USA group on Facebook. And for those of you without Facebook accounts, what are you waiting for? This is a great way to reach out to like-minded women all over the country (and the world). Just go to www.facebook.com to create a free account and let’s make the transition to the new technological age of social networking an active part of our quest for new members! You might be surprised at the people you know who are already a part of this active and growing networking site. If you have any questions or concerns, or difficulties in signing up, please feel free to contact me for a quick and painless tutorial. In the last issue of The Flame, I told you about an amazing article on Rwanda that was published in the Young Members newsletter of the IFUW: Poverty as a Cause and Consequence of Violence Against Women in Africa: The Case of Rwanda. At that time, the article was only available in French, but we have since received a translation. The full text of the article in English is available below and is a powerful and worthwhile read. Lastly, this issue contains a great deal of information (and links to even more) that I believe you will find truly interesting—so grab your cup of coffee or tea, take a few minutes, and I hope you enjoy the read. P.S. Not that I think any of you need reminding, but just in case, please don't forget to vote! |
| Bev S. Weiler, Editor, The Flame |
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MEET THE BOARD -- Kathleen Laurila Coordinator of International Relationships |
 Shalom! For more than thirty years I have been involved in addressing international issues in a variety of ways, as a community organizer and nonprofit leader as well as in a professional capacity. Helping to found Women Graduates-USA is yet another step for me in what I have long believed is the path to world peace – creating relationships among people from all parts of the world. This is called citizen diplomacy or “track two” diplomacy and is a conceptual way to view the process of international peacemaking where individuals, in addition to official governmental actions, create positive connections that enhance what government does to help foster peace throughout the world. As a member of the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), WG-USA members have the potential to connect to women leaders in 79 other nations. As an American Association of University Women (AAUW) member, I was twice elected a Vice-President of IFUW after earlier serving two three-year terms on the Status of Women Committee responsible for developing the IFUW program. During that time we concentrated on the issues of “globalization,” especially the impact on women, both positive and negative. Working on issues in a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary forum brings a perspective that is invaluable in better understanding our own place in the world. My role in WG-USA is that of the Coordinator for International Relations, or the “CIR.” This is the language of the 79-nation International Federation of University Women (IFUW) and the role is to represent WG-USA on the IFUW Council, the governing body of IFUW. In addition, I act as the liaison between IFUW and WG-USA in providing information to our members about the activities of IFUW in the international arena, and in turn, suggest to our members how we can contribute to the advocacy work of IFUW. This advocacy takes the form of making our individual voices heard in the US Congress about foreign policy issues that affect women and girls, as well as the opportunity for each of the WG-USA members to participate in the United Nation meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York and Geneva. As members of WG-USA, an organization that is focused entirely on global issues affecting women – the opportunity to make a difference will be yours. Please take the time to go to http://wg-usa.org/takeaction.shtml to see how you can Take Action and become involved in global matters of importance not only to our organization as a whole, but to each of us as individual citizens of the world. |
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MESSAGES FROM THE AGM: Women Graduates-USA Conducts First General Meeting |
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Woman Graduates-USA conducted its first face-to-face General Meeting by celebrating the recent acceptance into the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), and the approval by the US government as a nonprofit – non-governmental – organization. In keeping with the international spirit, Ardith Toogood, Canadian Coordinator for International Relations, spoke at our Celebration Dinner, and the Estonian immigrant Mayor of Perry, Iowa where the conference was held, warmly welcomed us. Following a day of committee meetings, all attendees participated in discussing the future for WG-USA. Although we have many issues and procedures to develop as a “virtual” organization, we primarily focused on programs for action, we restated our intent to educate ourselves and take action on those global issues that affect the education of girls and discrimination against women. With the expected change in the US government, we are preparing to add our voices to the effort to gain US Senate ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It has been sixteen years since passage could politically be considered a possibility. When the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) holds its meetings next March in New York, WG-USA members will be coordinating our efforts with the IFUW delegation, taking on whatever responsibility will be the most effective in advancing the message of equality for all. We have also begun planning for our attendance at the 2010 IFUW Conference in our neighboring country of Mexico. It was also agreed that we will pursue membership in the National Council of Women’s Organizations, and the National Council for Research on Women, while we also look at an opportunity to be a part of the US Committee for UNESCO. Working in coalitions and partnerships is to be a hallmark of our activities. |
| Kathleen Laurila, CIR |
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Exerpt from the President’s Speech Given at the AGM 2008 |
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We are resilient women--women who have faced adversities personally, professionally, or politically. And we rebound. Many of you saw the handwriting on the wall sooner than others and had the vision to create a new organization. In June of 2007, over 70 women met together in Phoenix at the conclusion of the AAUW Convention. How many of you were part of that meeting? Thank you for having the courage to step up early in the process. Out of that meeting you said, we want to create a new affiliate organization in the United States and the work began. Then in August last year 30 women met in Manchester, England in conjunction with the International Federation of University Women’s Triennium conference. Three meetings were held to discuss how we can make this affiliate organization happen. How many of you were part of that meeting? A very special thank you to Louise McLeod who facilitated the meetings and Carolyn Cowgill who served as the recorder at the meetings. For those of us who remained in the States you kept us informed of what was taking place at each of the gatherings. It was out of those meetings that the name Women Graduates-USA was selected. And of those who attended in Manchester, 29 of the 30 have joined the organization. Between August and the end of October, e-mail messages provided a way for everyone to stay connected and the mission of Women Graduates-USA was determined. Our mission is “Empowering women globally through education, friendship, and mutual support to secure a better world.” As I look back over the last year I am amazed how far we have come. But when I look ahead, I know how far we have yet to go. I have often used the example of building a house when creating a new organization. So how far are we? We have the site location and the blue print. The digging has taken place and the foundation has been poured. But we have yet to put on the build the walls and put on a roof. I say that because there are two key areas that need to take place before we have a real house. One is the need to increase our membership numbers. We now have 147 members. The question is always asked, why do you want more members? The answer is: Without them we can not impact the programs that we support. And so our second effort is to develop and strengthen our programs. Outstanding programs attract members and members impact programs. For the full text of this speech, please visit: The President's Speech Messages from our Members |
| Florine Swanson, WG-USA President |
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POVERTY AS CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN AFRICA: THE CASE OF RWANDA |
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According to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2001, "… poverty can be defined as the condition in which a human being is deprived, in sustained or chronic manner, of resources, means, choices, security and necessary capacity for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.” According to the Human Development Indicator of UNDP, on 50 poorest countries in the world, 33 are in sub-Saharan Africa . There are mainly women among the 1.5 billion people who live on $ 1 or less a day. During the last decade, the gap between women and men continued to widen in the cycle of poverty referred to as the "feminization of poverty". The Programme of Action adopted in 1995 in Beijing at the Fourth World Conference on Women, has identified the elimination of persistent and growing burden of poverty that affects women as one of 12 critical areas requiring attention and action from the international community, governments and civil society. Inadequacy in health needs, food, access to education, and participation in decision-making in the home as within the community maintains the cycle of poverty, and is indeed a cause and / or a consequence of violence against women. Several studies have affirmed that the social and economic dependence of women can be both a cause and consequence of violence committed against them. Women living in developing countries constitute targeted victims. In particular, in post-conflict countries in Africa, the socio-economic situation of women is disastrous, especially women living in rural areas, the vast majority of whom are illiterate. Violence against women, a global scourge Everywhere in the world, violence against women has become one of the crucial events of our time, thwarting the goals of equality, fairness, peace and development. According to Amnesty International, violence against women and girls is "the most widespread violation of human rights" of our time . All States are concerned about the protection and promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms of their peoples, with particular attention to violence against women, to strengthen their capacity and empowerment. The inequalities based on all forms of discrimination are a major handicap to the respect of human rights and hinder the development of States. To overcome this handicap, States are obliged, inter alia, to strengthen the capacity of women, the poor and victims of violence, and yet they could be at the height of responsibility if they had a required level. What is meant by Violence against Women? "Violence against women" means any act of violence directed against women as such and causing or likely to cause harm to women or physical, sexual or psychological suffering, including threats of such acts, Coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life . Consequently violence against women includes, but is not limited to, the following forms: - Physical, sexual or psychological violence within the family including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the home, violence related to dowry, rape, genital mutilation and other traditional practices prejudicial to Women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation; - Physical, sexual and psychological violence exercised within society, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation in the workplace, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking and forced prostitution; - Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs. Particular attention for Rwanda Following the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda, violence against women continues to occupy today the highest rate of crime, according to the report published by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Rwanda for the last two years of 2006 and 2007. In addition, following the damage mostly material consequent of this calamity, women and widows of genocide and whose husbands are in prison for the crime of Genocide, suddenly became heads of household. As for the girls, most of them were forced into prostitution or forced into early marriage due to lack of livelihood. It was found that in developed countries as in developing countries, the number of households headed by women is increasing and they are generally poorer and more prone to rising unemployment and under-employment than those headed by men. Currently, access to medical care remains an urgent need for many women who have suffered violence. They bear incurable scars including depression, which hinders any development effort and reduces job performance, with the predictable consequence of perpetual poverty. It is noteworthy also that poverty and lack of education exacerbate the vulnerability of women in the field of health, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV / AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, social and family abuses. 1. http://www.google.rw/search pauvreté, accessed 12 april 2008. 2. Les Témoins de Jéhovah, “ La Violence contre des femmes, un fléon mondial” in Revellez-vous, Louviers Cedex, Janvier 2008, p3. 3. ONU, Département de l’Information, Déclaration et Programme d’Action de Beijing + 5 Déclaration politique et document final, New York, 2002, p.86 |
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