Women and the Black Lives Matter Movement

Women and the Black Lives Matter movement

Women have been at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement, leading it fiercely from 2013. Alicia Garza has been a vocal activist against systemic racism and after the acquittal of George Zimmerman from the murder charges of Trayvon Martin, she turned to social media to express her angst. Supported by her friends, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, they launched the #BlackLivesMatter movement to spread information about the problems that the black people were unfairly subjected to. When they started the movement, it connected various people online so that they could take action offline. Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, the movement has gained new momentum and seems to be on track to bring forth some significant changes in American society.

Women are already battling gender discrimination in several spaces, be it their workplace or their own homes. This problem persists in political spaces as well where not only women but also members of the LGBTQ community are under-represented. As one of the proponents of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Alicia wanted to close this gap and provide a platform for everyone to raise their voices. It was high time that women and members of the LGBTQ community had platforms where they could express dissent against systemic discrimination and abuse.

However, some protestors participating in the Black Lives Matter movement have been subjected to police brutality including Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray, among others. Several women have also been exposed to police abuse. Black women including Rekia Boyd, Michelle Cusseaux, Tanisha Anderson, Shelly Frey, Yvette Smith, and Eleanor Bumpurs have suffered while protesting against racial inequality. But unlike their male counterparts, the female cases did not gather enough public outrage. This indicates how the gender of the demonstrator has an impact on the entire movement as a whole.

While the Black Lives Matter movement speaks of very relevant issues for the members of the entire black community, this movement would not have half its strength without the participation of women. The reason why women such as Alicia started this movement and are sustaining it is because they know that there are issues that women in specific are dealing with such as sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Despite knowing that they are putting themselves at risk by marching out, they know that it is a cause worth fighting for. Hopefully, their efforts will pay off and the much-needed reforms would be introduced in the United States of America.

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – South America; Focus Country – Venezuela

Venezuela’s economic and political crises have affected the people at various levels and according to Luz Patricia Mejía, a lawyer and women’s rights expert with the Organization of the American States (OAS), there is reason to believe that the rate of violence against women is on the rise. With an increase in poverty and lack of economic opportunities, the women are more vulnerable to violence. While Venezuela does have a comprehensive law in place to deal with gender-based violence, there is no environment of justice with regard to the women victims. Only 5 % of the lawsuits result in prosecution of the accused in the country.

The reluctance of the government to release data on maternal and infant mortality rates has also created an atmosphere of distrust among the people. The Human Rights Watch, in a recent report, notes that there was an increase of 65 % in maternal mortality rates in 2016 as compared to 2015. Further, there was a 30 % increase in infant mortality rates in 2016 as compared to 2015. Healthcare has become a luxury now in Venezuela and more and more women are signing up for sterilization. Many women are also crossing the borders in search of better opportunities, often becoming victims of sex trafficking in the process. The government needs to ensure that at least the basic rights of the women and children are protected. The international community needs to play a proactive role in coming up with effective solutions for Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of issues related to Women’s Rights please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Womens-Rights/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – South America; Focus Country – Peru

Peru faces a huge problem of gender-based violence. According to a recent report issued by the Peruvian ministry, there has been a 26 % surge in complaints related to such violence over January to April, 2017. The country’s Minister for Women and Vulnerable Populations, Ana Maria Romero-Lozada, stated that it was urgent to properly implement new laws. She added that, “We don’t want to send a lot of people to jail, but if someone must go, then he should go”. The Human Rights Watch, in a recent report, notes that while 382 women were victims of femicide (the killing of a woman in certain contexts, including domestic violence and gender-based discrimination) or attempted femicide in 2016, the courts convicted 54 people for femicide between January 2015 and March 2016.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in a recent report, highlights the high prevalence of partner violence among various regions in Peru such as Lima and Cusco. In August 2017, thousands of women took to the streets to protest against the state of affairs with regard to gender-based violence. Unreasonable restrictions on reproductive rights have affected several young women and continue to remain a huge problem in the country. The government needs to take up the agenda of women empowerment very seriously and as already emphasized by the beauty pageant contestants in the 2017 Miss Peru contest, the time for dealing with gender-based violence is now.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of issues related to Women’s Rights please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Womens-Rights/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Africa; Focus Country – South Sudan

A writer with Sudanese roots, Bushra al-Fadil, has been conferred with the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing. The 65 year-old won this prestigious award for his short story titled, ‘The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away’. His work has been translated by Max Shmookler, with support from Najlaa Osman Eltom, and has been published in The Book of Khartoum – A City in Short Fiction. He currently resides in Saudi Arabia and his most recent collection, Above a City’s Sky, was published in 2012.

In this short story, al-Fadil explores how a young Sudanese girl and her sister fall prey to harassment while travelling in a bus. The writer conveys the problems facing Sudanese women through lines such as this: “I got on board the bus with them again. The passengers’ eyes, like glass saws, flew over the thighs and eyes and faces of the young girls. I turned.” While the story ends in a tragedy, the image of the two beautiful young girls conjured by the writer remains, like a haunting reminder of the reality in countries torn by civil conflicts. Bushra al-Fadil’s short story is a very powerful one which will compel the readers to imagine the plight of women in some of the most vulnerable countries in the world.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Africa; Focus Country – South Sudan

Women’s condition in South Sudan has been aggravated due to the civil war with most women facing some form of physical, sexual or mental abuse. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) notes in a news report that around 475,000 women and girls are at risk in the country and gender-based violence is a threat that can have not only reproductive ramifications but can also give rise to serious health hazards such as HIV. Lack of access to health care and psycho-social support is a major problem and therefore, some human rights organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are taking steps to make the same accessible to the women and girls in need.

Since independence, the government has tried to introduce instruments that would protect women’s rights. The Transitional Constitution and Bill of Rights seek to guarantee equality among men and women and provide a 25 percent quota for women in legislative and executive bodies. However, despite such provisions, the ground realities are far from satisfactory. Apart from violence against women and lack of access to adequate healthcare, education and employment present huge challenges to the women in this country. Necessary measures have to be taken to implement the existing laws and legislations so that women empowerment is not just another dream for South Sudan.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of issues related to Women’s Rights please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Womens-Rights/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Africa; Focus Country – Kenya

Many women in Kenya were exposed to serious human rights abuses during the post-election violence in 2007-2008 and again in 2017 wherein they were raped by the police. In a detailed report, the Human Rights Watch describes the horrifying acts committed by the men in uniform. While many women were gang-raped (about half of the rapes reported to the human rights organization were gang-rapes), many were mass-raped, and raped with objects. These incidents have left most of the survivors with terrible mental trauma, wherein they have to deal with feelings emanating from post-rape physical agony, self-loathing, hopelessness, fear and anxiety, sleeplessness, and suicidal thoughts.

Apart from sexual violence, women in Kenya have to deal with the issue of domestic violence which is a very serious problem in the country. According to a recent Kenya Health and Demographic Survey, 45 percent women have experienced physical violence. The survey also indicated that there is a high level of acceptance of wife-beating among both men and women. Political representation of women is low in this country with around 20 percent women in the parliament. The government led by Uhuru Kenyatta needs to take serious steps to control violence against women and work towards their empowerment.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of issues related to Women’s Rights please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Womens-Rights/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Asia; Focus Country – Philippines

Nick Joaquin (1917-2004) was one of the greatest Filipino authors whose works have (unfortunately) not transcended the territory of his country. He has been the recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Literature (1996) and several National Book Awards. To celebrate the centennial of his birth, Penguin Classics prepared a collection of eleven of his most famous short stories to reach out to new readers all across the globe. Titled, “The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic”, this collection features short stories such as ‘May Day Eve’, ‘The Summer Solstice’, and ‘A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino’ apart from the titular stories.

Joaquin concocts worlds where there is a certain duality: war and resistance, hope and tragedy, and the desperate and the despot. In his world, women have power, both emotional and sexual. These characters drive the narratives forward and give a feeling that Joaquin is perhaps a feminist. Blending fantasy with reality in a very fluid manner, he speaks of extremely important social issues such as poverty and violence. Joaquin played an extremely significant role in Philippines till his death in 2004. This collection reminds the reader of the power of endurance, especially in troubling times where President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs has wreaked havoc among the people of his country.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Asia; Focus Country – Philippines

Women in Philippines face a lot of challenges when it comes to work and wages. Most women work in those jobs which have low salaries and minimal job security. While the majority is employed in the services sector (70 percent), 10 percent is employed in the industrial sector and the remaining 20 percent works in the agricultural sector. A study conducted by the Centre for Women’s Resources (CWR), titled, ‘Promises Unfulfilled, Change Unperceived: A Country Report on Filipino Women in the Time of Neoliberalism’ indicates that there has been a steady decline in the women workforce numbers in relation to the agricultural sector (which is a key sector in the Philippines) due to shift from agrarian activities to non-agrarian work for better economic opportunities.  Further, the implementation of neoliberal policies in Philippines has caused harm to the interests of the working women.

Women generally work in industries such as wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, etc. where they get lower wages. They are also employed in private households which may expose them to physical, mental and sexual abuse. President Rodrigo Duterte’s agenda does not seem to have the issue of women’s empowerment and that should change. He may have growth in the economy as his main goal but it cannot be realized without contribution from the women workforce.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of issues related to Women’s Rights please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Womens-Rights/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Europe; Focus Country – France

2017 will be remembered as the year for anti-sexual harassment awareness with people from different countries raising their voices against the offence of sexual harassment. In France, the issue of sexual harassment has garnered debate over the last few years, with several French politicians involved in such scandals. Women in this country still face a pretty wide gender pay gap (20 % as per French national statistics bureau Insee). This year witnessed several movements such as the one where women stopped working at 3:40 pm and took to the streets to protest against the gender pay gap on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Women were also encouraged to leave work at 11:44 am to denounce the wage disparity between the two genders. This movement was trending in French social media as #3novembre11h44.

France also has one of the highest recorded instances of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, rape, and sexual assault, in the European Union (EU), as per its 2017 Report on Equality. President Emmanuel Macron should ensure that the agenda of gender equality is given top priority so that the coming years can see a change in not only numbers, but also attitudes towards women.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of issues related to Women’s Rights please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Womens-Rights/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Eurasia; Focus Country – Russia

 

The crime of domestic violence in Russia is not really a crime. With around 30,000 cases registered last year, the decriminalization of this offence only adds to the misery of women. In 2017, the legislature passed a law which exonerates husbands from criminal liability in cases of domestic violence, barring few exceptions. While official sources state that 40 percent of violent crimes are committed by spouses or intimate partners, independent sources estimate a statistical figure of around 80 percent. The government has cited ‘protection of family values’ as their primary reason for non-intervention. However, in reality, they have failed in their duty to protect certain basic women’s rights.

Not only wives, female children are also exposed to this kind of violence at homes. A famous Russian saying provides this: “If he beats you, he loves you.” This phrase appears in a document belonging to the sixteenth century. However, the manner in which the government has handled the issue of domestic violence indicates that their attitude towards women has not progressed with the changing times. The police rarely take matters of domestic violence seriously and often dismiss such complaints citing ‘internal family matter’. Women in Russia have to raise their voices against the crime of domestic violence. They have to stop the society and the leaders from assuming that it’s just another ‘normal family affair’. Hopefully, a feminist revolution would awaken the conscience of this nation soon.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of issues related to Women’s Rights please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Womens-Rights/