DOCSLIB.ORG

A REVOLUTION for ALL Women’S Rights in the New Libya WATCH Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watch All Rights Reserved

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A REVOLUTION for ALL Women’S Rights in the New Libya WATCH Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watch All Rights Reserved HUMAN RIGHTS A REVOLUTION FOR ALL Women’s Rights in the New Libya WATCH Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-0114 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH A Revolution for All Women’s Rights in the New Libya Summary .................................................................................................................4 I. Background .........................................................................................................10 II . Women ’s Political Participation ..........................................................................15 The Right to Participate ..................................................................................................................15 Election Campaigning and Awareness ............................................................................................16 Governmental Leadership in Appointments ...................................................................................20 Drafting the Constitution ...............................................................................................................20 III . A Constitution that Protects Human Rights ........................................................23 Gender -Sensitive Constitutional Provisions ....................................................................................23 Equality Before the Law ..........................................................................................................24 Nondiscrimination .................................................................................................................24 Violence against Women ........................................................................................................24 IV . Amending Gaddafi -era Legislation .....................................................................25 Violence against Women ...............................................................................................................25 Equality with Respect to Personal Status Laws ...............................................................................29 Nationality Rights ..........................................................................................................................31 Recommendations .................................................................................................32 Recommendations to the Constituent Assembly Drafting the Constitution .......................................32 Recommendations to the Government of Libya ..............................................................................32 Recommendations to the General National Congress ......................................................................33 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................34 Human Rights Watch | May 2013 1 A REVOLUTION FOR ALL Women’s Rights in the New Libya Young Libyan women from a non-profit youth group that educated voters on the electoral process at an event promoting women’s political participation in Tripoli days before the July 2012 election. With only a three-week campaign, voters scarcely knew the candidates. Women waiting to cast their ballots in Benghazi. Women’s rights activists said the real work would begin after the elections to ensure women take part in Libya’s transition and beyond. Summary Libyans are in the midst of dramatic change, trying to build a new political system after 42 years of dictatorship. The challenges to build a more rights-respecting state based on the rule of law are significant. For Libyan women, the stakes are high. Many spected in the new Libya and that discrimination based women played important roles in the uprising that led on gender is firmly rejected by law. to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi and have con - This report presents four key issues that Libya tributed to the political transition, including as mem - should address to help secure women’s rights. Failure bers in the new parliament. Now concrete steps are to deal with these issues properly will set back the urgently needed to ensure that women’s rights are re - progress women have made over the past two years, 4 A Revolution for All and hinder respect for women’s rights in the future. equal terms with men in the Constituent Assembly and Now is the time to ensure that women can participate the rest of the constitution drafting process. Women’s actively in the political process and that women’s rights voices are critical to prepare a constitution that meets are enshrined in Libyan law. international standards for women’s rights. First, Libya’s parliament, the General National Con - Second, the future constitution should guarantee gress, should ensure that women can participate on full equality between men and women with an explicit Human Rights Watch | May 2013 5 A graffiti image in Tripoli of a female Libyan revolutionary. Libyan women played a crucial role in the protests that began in Benghazi in February 2011 and sparked the uprising that eventually toppled Gaddafi.. 6 A Revolution for All reference to gender equality in its text. The constitution should make clear that its provisions on equality over - ride any law. As noted in the Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women and other relevant inter - national instruments to which Libya is party, equality before the law requires that men and women are af - forded equal rights in regard to legal capacities, includ - ing access to legal remedies and due process. The new constitution should also explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender, sex, pregnancy, and marital status, among other categories. It should re - quire the legislature to pass laws that prevent and pro - hibit discrimination by state and private parties, allow courts to strike down discriminatory policies, and give those affected by it an effective remedy. Third , the GNC and future parliaments should repeal or amend Gaddafi -era laws and regulations that subject women to discrimination and abuse , including gender - specific violence , unequal personal status laws , and an ambiguous nationality law . For example , the current penal code classifies sexual violence as a“crime against a woman ’s honor ,” rather than against the woman as a victim or as a violation of her bodily in - tegrity . Article 375 of the penal code contains less se - vere criminal sentencing for perpetrators of so -called honor crimes . Law No . 70 (1973) on zina (adultery and fornication ) discourages victims of sexual assault from seeking justice . Fourth, the Libyan government and GNC should work to end discrimination against women in all aspects of the country’s public and political life, end impunity for violence and domestic violence against women, and challenge negative stereotypes of women. While the enormous political change in Libya has al - ready provided unprecedented opportunities to reshape the legal and social status of women in Libya, including with regard to their full and meaningful participation in politics, the gains made to date remain fragile and need to be rapidly bolstered by clear constitutional and leg - islative guarantees. The Libyan government should provide leadership in adopting the measures above as part of its stated effort to promote human rights for everyone in Libya. Human Rights Watch | May 2013 7 Amal Mohamed B’ayou, an independent candidate in Benghazi, handed out election pamphlets in front of the courthouse on July 6, 2012. “For 42 years men have ruled Libya,” B’ayou said. “Now it’s time for the women to rule.” Candidate posters from the July 2012 elections conceal graffiti I. Background caricaturing Gaddafi and his family in Tripoli. For many Libyans, the elections marked the start of a new and more hopeful era. On the eve of Libya’s first democratic national elec - tions in July 2012, Haja Nowara held a lonely vigil in the square outside the courthouse in Benghazi, where she had spent many evenings supporting the revolution since early 2011. One of only a handful of women present, she was engulfed by a sea of men who had come to pray and ing for the first time in her life. 1 “We sacrificed a lot to get to celebrate ahead of the historic event due to take place here. Although I didn’t lose any of my own children during the next day. An elderly woman, Nowara proudly dis - the war, I’ve come back [to the square] to honor all the played her voter registration card around her neck and martyrs, who are my children as well.” 2 waved Libya’s new flag while
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Women and Participation in the Arab Uprisings: a Struggle for Justice
    Distr. LIMITED E/ESCWA/SDD/2013/Technical Paper.13 26 December 2013 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR WESTERN ASIA (ESCWA) WOMEN AND PARTICIPATION IN THE ARAB UPRISINGS: A STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE New York, 2013 13-0381 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This paper constitutes part of the research conducted by the Social Participatory Development Section within the Social Development Division to advocate the principles of social justice, participation and citizenship. Specifically, the paper discusses the pivotal role of women in the democratic movements that swept the region three years ago and the challenges they faced in the process. The paper argues that the increased participation of women and their commendable struggle against gender-based injustices have not yet translated into greater freedoms or increased political participation. More critically, in a region dominated by a patriarchal mindset, violence against women has become a means to an end and a tool to exercise control over society. If the demands for bread, freedom and social justice are not linked to discourses aimed at achieving gender justice, the goals of the Arab revolutions will remain elusive. This paper was co-authored by Ms. Dina Tannir, Social Affairs Officer, and Ms. Vivienne Badaan, Research Assistant, and has benefited from the overall guidance and comments of Ms. Maha Yahya, Chief, Social Participatory Development Section. iii iv CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... iii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 II. GENDERING ARAB REVOLUTIONS: WHAT WOMEN WANT ......................... 2 A. The centrality of gender to Arab revolutions............................................................ 2 B. Participation par excellence: Activism among Arab women.................................... 3 III. CHANGING LANES: THE STRUGGLE OVER WOMEN’S BODIES .................
    [Show full text]
  • IMC Libya Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Assessment Report
    IMC Libya Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Assessment Report November 2011 Prepared by: Dr. Inka Weissbecker, IMC Global Mental Health and Psychosocial Advisor ([email protected]) and Colleen Fitzgerald, MSW, IMC Libya MHPSS Program Manager ([email protected]) 1 | P a g e Contents 1. Assessment Goals II. Psychiatric Services in General Hospitals 2. Assessment Methodology III. Mental Health Services through General Health 2.1. Site Visits, Interviews and Focus Group Clinics Discussions IV. Informal Service Providers 2.2. Assessment Instruments Local Non-Governmental Organizations 3. Assessment Results The School System 3.1. Sociopolitical Context and Recent Developments Traditional Healers 3.1.1. Recent Crisis in Libya V. Self-Care 3.1.2. International Medical Corps in Libya 3.4. The Educational System and Training 3.2. Mental Health and Psychosocial Context Opportunities 3.2.1. Prevalence of Mental Illness 3.4.1. Medical Professions 3.2.2. At Risk and Vulnerable Groups 3.4.2. Psychologists and Social Workers 3.2.2. Mental Health Related Problems, Coping and 3.5. International Organizations Involved in MHPSS Community Sources of Support Work 3.2.3. Attitudes Towards People with Mental Illness 4. Conclusions 3.2.4. Help-Seeking Patterns 5. References 3.3. The Mental Health System 6. Appendixes 3.3.1. General Health Care Appendix 1: MH PHC Integration Checklist 3.3.2. Mental Health Care in Affected Areas Appendix 2: Tool for Mental Health Related Problems, I. Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Coping and Community Sources of Support 1. Assessment Goals The aim of this assessment was to: obtain an understanding of the mental health context (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • THE STATUS of WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS in LIBYA the Status of Women Human Rights Defenders in Libya
    Ref: Al-monitor THE STATUS OF WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN LIBYA The Status of Women Human Rights Defenders in Libya التحالف اﻹقليمي للمدافعات عن حقوق اﻹنسان في شرق اﻻوسط و شمال أفريقيا THE WHRD COALITION IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Researcher: Hana Farhat Proofreading: Sawssan Abou Zahr Designer: Athar al-Aghar www.whrdmena.org www.facebook.com/whrdmena www.twitter.com/whrdmena 2 «One month ago, they tried to assassinate my son…he was driving my car, so maybe they want me. Maybe they want my family ...but this is not about Salwa – you know, there are many, many activists ... [that they have] «.targeted التحالف اﻹقليمي للمدافعات عن حقوق اﻹنسان في شرق اﻻوسط و شمال أفريقيا Bugaighis speaking on the National Public Radio a few weeks before her death in 2014.1 1. J. Giovanni, “Mother of Libya’s Revolution Killed,”Newsweek, 7 November 2014. Available online: http:// europe.newsweek.com/mother-libyas-revolution-murdered260375-?rm=eu[Accessed 15 September 2016) 3 The Status of Women Human Rights Defenders in Libya Salwa Bugaighis was a prominent lawyer and Woman Human Rights Defender in Libya.She was instrumental during the Libyan revolution of 2011, following a career in defending political 17 demonstration of 2011 theprisoners National under Transitional Qaddafi’s Council, regime. the She uprising›s helped organise political the wing, February Salwa was vice-president of ain preparatory Benghazi, one committee of the first for protests national that dialogue ignited in the Libya.She political was uprising.As assassinated former in her member house of in Benghazi by unknown hooded men wearing military uniform on the 25thof June, 2014, on the same day as the elections for the House of Representatives.
    [Show full text]
  • From Subjects to Citizens: Women in Post-Revolutionary Libya
    What the Women Say From Subjects to Citizens: Women in Post-Revolutionary Libya nternational nternational I Civil Society Action Network Brief 9 Fall 2013 In February of 2011, a group of Libyan women, inspired by the wave of peaceful uprisings across Egypt and Tunisia, protested the arrests of their male Key Points relatives outside a prison in Benghazi. For Women’s Rights, Security Peace Rights, Women’s For and ICAN Their actions inspired a swathe of Libyan -Libyan women played a crucial role society – particularly the young – to spill in the revolution and were initially out into the streets and demand an end to part of mediation and transition ICAN’s What the Women Say briefs are dictatorship. Colonel Qadhafi quickly tried discussions, but have since been produced in association with: to crush the protests with violence. dismissed as stake holders by the . The MIT Center for International Protesters launched an effective media transitional government and Studies campaign calling for a no-fly zone, and for international actors. Global Network of Women a brief moment, the world’s attention was - Libyan women are fighting for Peacebuilders (GNWP) riveted on Libya. Institute for Inclusive Security (IIS) formal comprehensive investigations . Center for Women’s Global and justice for victims of sexual By March, the UN Security Council had Leadership, Rutgers, The State violence perpetrated within the University of New Jersey approved the no-fly zone to protect Qadhafi regime, during the . Women’s International League for civilians. The ensuing war – fought in the Peace and Freedom (WILPF) revolution and in the transitional air by NATO and on the ground by .
    [Show full text]
  • Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Page 1 of 5
    Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Page 1 of 5 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Home > Research Program > Responses to Information Requests Responses to Information Requests Responses to Information Requests (RIR) respond to focused Requests for Information that are submitted to the Research Directorate in the course of the refugee protection determination process. The database contains a seven- year archive of English and French RIRs. Earlier RIRs may be found on the UNHCR's Refworld website. Please note that some RIRs have attachments which are not electronically accessible. To obtain a PDF copy of an RIR attachment, please email the Knowledge and Information Management Unit. 27 November 2013 LBY104667.E Libya: Domestic violence, including legislation, state protection and support services (2011-November 2013) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa 1. Overview 1.1 Domestic Violence Sources report that domestic violence in Libya is a problem that is "serious" (Christian Science Monitor 14 Mar. 2013) or "significant" (Human Rights Watch May 2013, 25). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012 indicates that NGOs report the problem is "widespread," but also notes that there are no reliable statistics on the prevalence of domestic violence (19 Apr. 2013, 21). Similarly, in their 2009 concluding observations for Libya, the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern at the lack of statistics on the extent of violence against women and girls (6 Feb. 2009, para. 23). Freedom House describes Libyan society as influenced by "extremely conservative patriarchal traditions and tribal culture, which continue to foster gender discrimination" (2010, 2).
    [Show full text]
  • July 2012 1 Page
    The Voice of Libyan Women 2011– July 2012 1 Page © The Voice of Libyan Women August 2011 – July 2012 Preface Address: Zawiat El Dahmani, Tripoli. Libya Phone/Mobile: +218925409539 Email: [email protected] Website: www.facebook.com/thevoiceoflibyanwomen www.vlwlibya.org The Voice of Libyan Women (VLW) was initially founded in August 2011 as a result of the February 17 Revolution which renewed not only our hope for equality in Libya, but also renewed the hope of the Libyan society as a whole in their basic human rights, including women’s rights. This hope quickly translated into action, which VLW believes is the best method for any concrete improvement with regards to women’s rights. Although VLW has grown considerably since its founding, we remain a youth-led organization and have a strong base in our hometown of Zawia. As a group of young Libyan women from different backgrounds, our ultimate goal is to advocate for an increased investment into one of Libya’s greatest resources which unfortunately has yet to receive the attention it deserves: women. We focus our activities mainly on: improving the political participation and the economic empowerment of women in Libya. We are also active in advocating against gender based violence (GBV). For more information on VLW, or for a greater understanding of the current challenges faced by Libyan women today and possible solutions for the future, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] It is women, who lead families, bond communities and truly reconcile a country, and it is only through their investment that Libya will realize its true potential.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Economy of Marriage: Joanne Payton
    ‘Honour’ and the political economy of marriage Joanne Payton Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD, 2015 i DECLARATION This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed (candidate) Date: 13 April 2015 STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed (candidate) Date: 13 April 2015 STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed (candidate) Date: 13 April 2015 STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed (candidate) Date: 13 April 2015 Summary ‘Honour’-based violence (HBV) is defined as a form of crime, predominantly against women, committed by the agnates of the victim, often in collaboration, which are justified by the victims’ perceived violation of social norms, particularly those around sexuality and gender roles. While HBV is often considered as a cultural phenomenon, I argue that the cross-cultural distribution of crimes fitting this definition prohibits a purely cultural explanation. I advance an alternate explanation for HBV through a deployment of the cultural materialist strategy and the anthropological theories of Pierre Bourdieu, Claude Lévi-Strauss (as interpreted by Gayle Rubin) and Eric Wolf.
    [Show full text]
  • Libya's Untold Story: Civil Society Amid Chaos
    Judith and Sidney Swartz Director and Professor of Politics Libya’s Untold Story: Civil Society Amid Shai Feldman Associate Director Chaos Kristina Cherniahivsky Charles (Corky) Goodman Professor Jean-Louis Romanet Perroux of Middle East History and Associate Director for Research Naghmeh Sohrabi wo Parliaments and two governments1—neither of Senior Fellow Abdel Monem Said Aly, PhD Twhich is exercising any significant control over people Goldman Senior Fellow and territory; two coalitions of armed groups confronting Khalil Shikaki, PhD one another and conducting multiple overlapping localized Myra and Robert Kraft Professor conflicts; thriving organized crime, kidnappings, torture, of Arab Politics Eva Bellin targeted killings, and suicide bombings; and an increasing Henry J. Leir Professor of the number of armed groups claiming affiliation to ISIS (also Economics of the Middle East known as Da’esh): These are powerful reasons to portray Nader Habibi Libya as the epitome of the failure of the Arab Spring. The Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies country is sliding into a civil war, and a functional Libyan Kanan Makiya state is unlikely to emerge anytime soon. By all measures and Neubauer Junior Research Fellow standards, the Libyan democratic transition appears to have Sarah El-Kazaz, PhD been derailed. Junior Research Fellows Hikmet Kocamaner, PhD Asher Orkaby, PhD Yet notwithstanding these sorry aspects of Libya’s transition, there is a slow, David Siddhartha Patel, PhD less visible, but more positive change occurring in the midst of the country’s Jean-Louis Romanet Perroux chaos. It is not a change that is happening at the level of state institutions, and it is hard to see its fruits in the short term.
    [Show full text]
  • A Global Study on the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 View the Global Study At
    A Global Study on the Implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 View the Global Study at: http://wps.unwomen.org/en The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of UN Women, the United Nations or any of its affiliated organizations. For a list of any errors or omissions found subsequent to printing please visit our website. ISBN: 978-0-692-54940-7 Design: Blossom – Milan Printing: AGS Custom Graphics, an RR Donnelly Company ©2015 UN Women Manufactured in the United States All rights reserved A Global Study on the Implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 4 FOREWORD Ban Ki-moon United Nations Secretary-General Fifteen years ago, Security Council resolution 1325 this priority with its emphasis on gender equality and reaffirmed the importance of the equal participation respect for the human rights of all. and full involvement of women in all efforts for maintaining and promoting peace and security. In the The Global Study on the implementation of resolution years since, it has buttressed this decision by adopting 1325 is an important part of the United Nations six further resolutions on women, peace and security. global agenda for change to better serve the world’s most vulnerable people. As noted by the High- I am personally committed to implementing these Level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace resolutions. I have highlighted women’s leadership Operations and the Advisory Group of Experts for the in peacebuilding as a priority and appointed an 2015 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding unprecedented number of women leaders in the Architecture, changes in conflict may be outpacing the United Nations.
    [Show full text]
  • Women's Political Networks
    Women’s Political Networks Defining Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Fostering Change Lucina Di Meco WOMEN’S POLITICAL NETWORKS THE COMPLETE GUIDE Women’s Political Networks: Defining Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Fostering Change Acknowledgements I’d like to gracefully acknowledge all the politicians, gender experts and managers of political networks who generously took part in this study, sharing with me their experiences and thoughts regarding women’s political networks. In alphabetical Gwen K. Young, Director order, they are: Achol Williams, Aida Balamaci, Ajla van Heel, Alessia Mosca, Anita Perez Ferguson, Anna Burke, Aretha Frances, Caroline Hubbard, Federiga Bindi, Marie Principe, Funke Baruwa, Gabriela Jakovleva, Gabriella Borovsky, Hanane Ennadir, Hilary Program Associate Anderson, Krishanti Dharmaraj, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Jessica Berns, Jessica Althea Lloyd, Grounds, Jessica Huber, Joanna Maycock, Joyce Banda, Kah Walla, Kent Da- Program Coordinator vis-Packard, Khadija Idrissi Janati, Khatoun Haidar, Kristin Haffert, Kristen Sam- Ellysse Dick, ple, Kudzai Makombe, Lana Ackar, Lesia Radelicki, Lia Quartapelle, Lindy Wafula, Communications Assistant Margarita Percovich, Maria Eugenia Valverde, Maria Ysabel Cedano, Mahnaz Afkhami, Mary Balikungeri, Massimo Tommasoli, Melanne Verveer, Randi Davis, Special thanks to Gwen K. Sandra Pepera, Susannah Wellford, Sonia Palmieri, Sonja Lokar, Susan Markham, Young and Marie Principe Teina Mackenzie, Valeria Fedeli, Valerie Dowling, Vivian Roza, Zeina Hilal. In for editing this publication and to Ellysse Dick for the addition, I’d like to acknowledge Karine Lepillez, who read the manuscript and design and layout. provided critical comments and Elyse Gainor, who kindly proofread it. Finally, a special thank you goes to Gwen Young, Director of the Global Women’s Leadership About the Initiative and Women in Public Service Project at the Wilson Center, who believed in the importance of this research and made it possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Achieving Rights, Resisting Backlash Pre-Meeting and Strategy Sessions Report Women’S Rights and Transitions to Democracy: Achieving Rights, Resisting Backlash
    Women’s Rights in Transitions to Democracy: Achieving Rights, Resisting Backlash Pre-Meeting and Strategy Sessions Report Women’s Rights and Transitions to Democracy: Achieving Rights, Resisting Backlash Pre-Meeting and Strategy Sessions Report The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) is an international feminist, membership organization committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights. AWID’s mission is to strengthen the voice, impact, and influence of women’s rights advocates, organizations, and movements internationally to effectively advance the rights of women. Authors: Association for Women’s Rights in Development and Women’s Learning Partnership Design & Layout: Ben Spivak 2013 Association of Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) This publication may be redistributed non-commercially in any media, unchanged and in whole, with credit given to AWID and the authors. Published by Association of Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) in Toronto, Mexico City, Cape Town Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) consists of WLP International , operating from the U.S., and 20 autonomous national and regional partner organizations in the Global South, particularly in Mus- lim-majority societies, dedicated to women’s advancement. WLP produces culture-specific curricu- lum and implements participatory training to empower grassroots women and men. WLP has pub- lished culturally adapted handbooks, guides, videos, and CDs in 20 languages, which are being used in 45 countries. All of our education and training material are produced in collaboration with our part- ners to be relevant, accessible, and culturally appropriate. WLP’s peer-to-peer capacity building ac- tivities bolster civil society organizations’ ability to impact decision-making at the community, national and! international levels.
    [Show full text]
  • “It's Dangerous to Be the First”
    SAFERWORLD PREVENTING VIOLENT CONFLICT. BUILDING SAFER LIVES SAFERWORLD PREVENTING VIOLENT CONFLICT. BUILDING SAFER LIVES REPORT SAFERWORLD PREVENTING VIOLENT CONFLICT. BUILDING SAFER LIVES “It’s dangerous SAFERWORLD toPREVENTING VIOLENTbe CONFLICT . BUILDINGthe SAFER LIVE S first” Security barriers to women’s public participation in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen October 2013 “It’s dangerous to be the first” Security barriers to women’s public participation in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen SAFERWORLD OCTOBER 2013 Acknowledgements This report was written by Joshua Rogers, Hannah Wright, and Saleem Haddad with contributions by Marwa Baabad and Basma Gaber. It is based on research conducted by the Alliance of Arab Women, the Voice of Libyan Women, and Partners for Democratic Change Yemen, in cooperation with Saferworld. The authors would like to thank colleagues at Saferworld, as well as Rosy Cave, Claire Yorke, Dr Fatemah Khafagy, Dr Mediha El-Safty, and Dr Hoda Badran for comments and review. They provided invaluable comments and clarifications. All views and any remaining errors in the report are the sole responsibility of the authors and Saferworld. This report has been made possible by a grant from the Arab Partnership Fund of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. © Saferworld, October 2013. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without full attribution. Saferworld welcomes and encourages the utilisation and dissemination of the material included in this publication. Contents Executive summary i Introduction 1 1. Women’s safety and security concerns 3 1.1 Fears of armed conflict and crime 4 1.2 Targeted violence against women 7 1.3 State security provision: Part of the problem 12 2.
    [Show full text]