 Cross Cutting Initiatives
Cross-cutting initiativesare activities which do not fall solely within a programme but cut across the different programmes of APWLD and are directly related to the general objectives of the network. These are either initiated by the members of the Secretariat, given the urgency or significance of the issue at hand, or in support to a national initiative of the members.
The objectives for 2003 – 2005 are:
- To respond to urgent issues of the day which are within the mandate and general objectives of APWLD; and
- To respond to requests from APWLD members and partners which are within the mandate of APWLD.
Output: Relevant and timely responses to urgent issues initiated by the Secretariat
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Indicators:a) Number of statements from feminist and women’s human rights perspectives released on issues; or number of related actions initiated or participated in by the Secretariat
b) Number of other networks seeking APWLD’s endorsement of their issue
c) Number of networks endorsing APWLD’s issues/campaigns
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2.1 Response to Natural Disasters in Asia: Indian Ocean tsunami and earthquake in Kashmir
As on December 26, 2004, the Indian Ocean Tsunami struck 12 countries spanning South East Asia, South Asia and East Africa, APWLD started receiving requests for immediate assistance from its members in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. At its annual meeting on February 8-9, 2005, the Regional Council of APWLD issues a resolution to act as a focal point of advocacy for women’s human rights in the tsunami aftermath and proposed calling a conference of women human rights defenders from the tsunami affected countries to share information on women’s human rights concerns in the tsunami aftermath. An APWLD statement on women’s human rights concerns in the tsunami affected countries was released and widely disseminated.
In terms of immediate financial assistance, APWLD was able to raise USD 10,000 through cost saving measures during Regional Council and Programme and Management meetings, 10% contributions from the members’ per diems during the meetings, personal donations from the members, pledges from the APWLD programme budgets and proceeds from sales of APWLD publications and t-shirts. These funds were divided between 6 member-organisations involved in the tsunami relief and reconstruction efforts: Society for Rural Education and Development (India), Solidaritas Perempuan (Indonesia), Sustainable Development Foundation (Thailand), International Movement against all forms of Discrimination and Racism (Sri Lanka), INFORM (Sri Lanka) and Women’s Studies Center, Chiang Mai University (Thailand).
In response to call of Azra Talat Sayeed of Roots for Equity, APWLD member-organisation in Pakistan, for immediate assistance to survivors of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan facing the imminent winter in the mountainous Kashmir, APWLD was able to donate USD 1,200 for purchase of housing materials.
The following are the reports from some of these 6 member-organisations who received financial contributions from APWLD for the tsunami relief efforts:
Society for Rural Education and Development, India
SRED received USD 2,500 from APWLD in support of their relief assistance to Dalit communities affected by the tsunami. The SRED team distributed relief materials to 1496 families in 22 villages of three districts in Tamil Nadu. The relief materials included cloths such as saris, lungi, towels, children’s clothes, household utensils and food items. SRED team also supplied school uniforms, school bags and notebooks to the children.
Most of the Dalit communities have not received any assistance from the Indian Government and NGOs. Komala, an activist involved in relief work with SRED, reported saying that through SRED’s relief work 460 families in her area got benefited. She targeted affected people, especially women. The relief material went directly to affected people not to the leaders who exploited the situation. Many women commented saying “they have eaten for the day”.
Rasaram from Pondicherry appreciated that relief material distributed by SRED were of good quality and that new cloths were distributed. Along with SRED team he distributed relief materials to 1468 families in his area. Rasaram was particularly happy that the material given benefited Dalit villages in this area. Dalits were kept 50 km away from the relief camp where the other community was staying. Even temporary shelters were not given to all Dalits.
It was reported to SRED that 500 families in 13 islands have not received any support from the government. SRED team went to the islands by the boats and distributed relief materials to them. In Cuddalore district relief material were given to Dalits, and Vasu reported that the reactions from the faces of the women when they got relief materials that he will never forget. |
International Movement against all forms of Discrimination and Racism, Sri Lanka
IMADR Asia Committee intervened in tsunami relief activities from the 27th December 2004 as our partners at the district level had to respond immediately to the crisis situation. We express our appreciation to APWLD for giving us a contribution to strengthen our work during the early phase of disaster relief. Our committee decided to allocate the funds received from APWLD for the following activities:
Received from APWLD 147,300 SL rupees (USD 1,500)
Expenditure
-- Galle Disctrict:
Launching of Livelihood Programme for Women affected by the tsunami: 116,477Rp
-- Matara District:
Lace making equipment for 10 women 50,000Rp
Contribution from IMADR 30,823Rp
IMADR’s livelihood programme was launched on March 8, International Women’s Day, by giving kitchen utensils to 3 women who were earning livelihood income by making breakfast for tsunami survivors. Women in Galle camps made a special request to facilitate setting up a community kitchen and a children’s activity at a camp located along the railway line which houses 75 families/or 350 people in tents. A lunch and food items were provided to the camp residents. Also, 47 women with children received 200 Rp each as a cash gift.
10 elderly women received lace making equipment to maintain their traditional livelihood activity, and 50 lace making pillows were provided to encourage younger women to learn the skill. Marketing assistance is being envisaged to develop a self reliance scheme for these women.
Following is a breakdown of the budget expenditure:
-- Support for Ratree Kongwatmai and the Laem Pom community: 20,000 Baht
-- Stipend for Jintana Kaewkhao and the Ban Krut community: 10,000 Baht
-- Publication of Women’s Studies Masters students’ research: 10,000 Baht
Total: 40,000 Baht
Ratree Kongwatmai from Laem Pom village, Phang Nga, encountered a double tragedy when, after the tsunami had devastated her community, she found that hired guards from the Far East Company, owned by a powerful politician, had been posted around what was left of her house, preventing her from entering the premises to search for her missing daughter. Her frantic calls to local authorities went unanswered, and by the time she gained access to her land, she found the body of her daughter decayed beyond recognition. Ratree’s rage at this injustice has fuelled her fight against the company, which is seeking to profit from the natural disaster, illegally confiscating villagers’ land to develop a 418-rai area in Hat Laem Pom into a golf course and a luxury hotel.
In responding to Ratree’s request for support, the Women’s Studies Center invited her to a meeting organised by APWLD and the WSC in Phuket on August 8-10, 2005 on State Violence and Women’s Human Rights. There, Ratree had the opportunity to meet activists from throughout the tsunami-affected region. Of particular support were Jintana Kaewkhao and her colleagues from Ban Krut, who have been involved in the fight against a coal-fired power plant project in Ban Krut, Prajuap Khirikhan Province of southern Thailand since 1997. As experienced activists from the south of Thailand, Jintana and her colleagues were able to share with Ratree a wealth of information and advice in strategising her fight against the Far East Company.
From November 22-28, 2005, the Chiang Mai University Women’s Studies Center led a group of twenty women’s studies students in the masters’ programme on a trip to Phang Nga and Phuket provinces of Thailand to study the effect of the tsunami on women and the role of women in the rebuilding process. The students’ papers will be published as a compilation entitled The Effect of the Tsunami on Women and the Role of Women in the Rebuilding Process. The compilation will be published in the Thai language, and distributed to relevant groups within the country in an effort to promote understanding of the gendered aspects of disaster relief.
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2.2 Survey of Violations of Women’s Human Rights in the Tsunami Aftermath and Guidelines for Gender Sensitive Disaster Management funded by Mamacash, Cordaid, and Global Fund for Women
This project developed in response to the resolution of APWLD’s Regional Council to act as a focal point of advocacy for women’s human rights in the tsunami aftermath and to call a conference of women human rights defenders from the tsunami affected countries to share information on women’s human rights concerns in the tsunami aftermath. APWLD participated at the Asian Civil Society Consultation on Post Tsunami Challenges in Bangkok, February 13-14, 2005, and based on discussions of the women’s caucus made a commitment to draft a comprehensive report focusing on women’s human rights violations in the tsunami aftermath given the gravity of the violations and the extent of marginalisation and exclusion of women from the rehabilitation process. The report was compiled, based mainly on inputs from APWLD members, and submitted to the Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Dr. Walter Kälin, during his visit to Bangkok, at the Practitioner’s Forum on Human Rights organised by the OHCHR Asia Pacific Regional Office (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights).
The report was widely disseminated through electronic list-serves and uploaded on the APWLD website. It was later printed as a publication “Why are women more vulnerable during disasters?” 200 copies were printed and distributed at various international meetings such as AWID Forum in Bangkok, October 27-30, 2005, and UN ESCAP Regional Workshop on the Impact of the Tsunami on Vulnerable Groups and Women, Phuket, November 21-23, 2005. Additional 500 copies have been printed later in the year adding a section on women’s human rights concerns in the aftermath of the October 8, 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan.
The report has been translated into French and Japanese and used for advocacy purposes by local groups. The report gave impetus to women’s groups in Japan such as Asia-Japan Women’s Resource Centre and Women’s Net Kobe, to renew their advocacy efforts for women’s need for special protection during natural disasters. They raised concerns about sexual abuse of women after the earthquake in Kobe, in 1995 but were silenced by the right wing media at the time.
Feedback from UNIFEM, Bangkok
…I am writing to let you know that UNIFEM has found your research on the impact of tsunami relief operations on women, very useful:
- The presentation by Cholpon at the UN event to mark International Women’s Day on March 8 2005, was very informative for UN staff and helped to boost the message presented by the UNIFEM Regional Programme Director, Lucita Lazo, on the need to take rights based approach in disaster recovery operations to ensure the rights of women are protected.
- Information from the research paper by APWLD on the tsunami was used to inform the presentation by Lucita at the IWD event
- Information from this paper was also used by me to provide examples as to why a rights based approach to development and emergency relief is essential. The examples of what went wrong for women post-tsunami illustrates the failure of a needs based approach over a rights based approach. I intend to give this presentation again in Cambodia in June this year.
I would like to congratulate you on the excellent work by APWLD on behalf of the women victims of the tsunami. It has greatly helped to inform the work of the UNIFEMCEDAWSEA programme.
Best wishes,
Sabina Lauber
Programme Manager
UNIFEM CEDAW South East Asia Programme
Bangkok, Thailand |
The project has three phases:
- consultation on post-tsunami challenges for women of the affected countries (July 25-27, 2005)
- a survey to document women’s human rights violations (August– April 2006)
- compilation of guidelines for gender sensitive disaster management and relief (April 2006 – June 2006).
Phase 1. Consultation on post-tsunami challenges for women of the affected countries
The project started with the Asian Women’s Consultation on Post Tsunami Challenges held in Aceh, Indonesia, from July 25 to 27, 2005. Over 60 women, activists advocating for women’s rights in the tsunami aftermath and survivors of the tsunami, from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand and from international and regional NGOs convened for a meeting to identify challenges women face in the tsunami aftermath. The Consultation was organised by APWLD member-organisation Solidaritas Perempuan.
The following were the objectives of the consultation:
- Documenting and sharing cases of women’s rights violations
- Identifying of post-tsunami challenges for women
- Developing strategies to address the identified challenges
- Identify what kind of guidelines are needed
- Set up the survey, with a developed questionnaire.
The meeting was held “right in the middle of the tsunami context”: in the village of Lambaro Seubun affected by the tsunami. The plenary sessions were held in the only community building in the village – the mosque, and the workshops - at the villagers’ houses. The participants stayed at the villagers’ houses where every family lost members in the tsunami. As one of the participants noted: the context facilitated staying focused on the tsunami related issues as well as conveyed the message of solidarity with villagers who participated in workshops and cultural performance every night. A young Acehnese woman activist who lost her husband and two children said that sharing experiences with tsunami survivors from other countries gave her strength to move on with her life as she felt she is not alone in her grief. The participants found workshops on trauma healing and counseling methods, morning sessions of Taichi and yoga a helpful collective healing process.
As part of the consultation, site visits were organized to refugee camps in Banda Aceh and Lampulo village, Community Centre of by UPC/Up Link project and Media and Communication Centre of the Oxfam International in Banda Aceh. The visits to the refugee camps gave an opportunity for tsunami survivors from different countries to exchange information on the post-tsunami women’s situation in their countries and strategies used to address the issues. The Peukan Bada Village Community Centre showcased a successful community development initiative where men and women work together to restore their livelihoods. The visit to the Oxfam office was aimed at learning how they use the Sphere Project Manual “Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response” to facilitate discussion among the participants on the Guidelines for Gender Sensitive Disaster Management: whether such guidelines should be developed under this project and how useful they will be. The participants noted in the exchange session after the trips that although they are survivors of the tsunami themselves the field trips were an “eye opener” in terms of the magnitude of the disaster scale and its implications for the Acehnese people.
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