WLP Annual Report - Women`s Learning Partnership

WLP Annual Report
July 2010 – June 2011
Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace
4343 Montgomery Ave., Suite 201
Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA
Tel: (1) 301 654-2774
Fax: (1) 301 654-2775
Email: wlp@learningpartnership.org
Web: www.learningpartnership.org
July 2010 – June 2011 Annual Report
I.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…...3
II.
Curriculum Development…………………………………………………………………………………………………...9
III.
Trainings……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
Select July 2010 – June 2011 Regional Trainings………………………………………………………….13
Additional Highlights of July 2010 – June 2011 Trainings…………………………………………....15
IV.
Organizational Capacity Building………….………………………………………………………………………...…19
Peer-to–Peer Strategic Planning Capacity Building Exchanges………………………………….…19
Technology Capacity Building and Information Exchange…………………………………………...20
Financial Capacity Building………………………………………………………………………………………….21
V.
Advocacy Campaigns, Networking and Outreach, and Movement Building……………………….22
Regional Campaigns…………………………………………………………………………………………………....22
Other Grassroots and National Human Rights Initiatives…………………………………………….27
Networking and Outreach…………………………………………………………………………………………..28
VI.
WLP Board, Staff, and Organizational Development………………………………………………………….35
Board and Staff………………………………………………….……………………………………………………….35
Financial Systems and Management……………………….………………………………………………….36
Awards and Recognition……………………………………..……………………….…………………………….36
VII.
Challenges……………………….………………………………………………………………………………………….……38
VIII.
Appendices……………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………...41
A. July 2010 - June 2011 WLP Trainings……………………….…………………………………………...42
B. July 2010 - June 2011 Select Photographs……………………….……………………………........48
C. July 2010 - June 2011 WLP Meetings and Outreach……………………….…………………….61
D. July 2010 - June 2011 Media Coverage……………………….………………………………………..68
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I. Executive Summary
Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) is dedicated to women's
leadership and empowerment internationally. We build networks that transcend national, religious,
ethnic, and cultural boundaries and work with independent partner organizations in the Global South,
particularly in Muslim-majority societies, to empower women to transform their families, communities,
and societies into a more equitable, peaceful world.
We believe there is no one right path to achieve this; however, for change to be truly lasting, it must
come about organically, from within. That is why we work with indigenous partner organizations
dedicated to women’s human rights, development, and peace to help them do what they do better. WLP
serves as a laboratory, catalyst, and champion, developing tools and programs requested by our partners.
Where links between like-minded organizations would strengthen both, we help build a bridge between
them – through meetings, joint projects, and/or international, regional, or national colloquia. When
technology offers the solution to linking individuals and organizations, we provide technology and
considerable training on how to get the most out of it. Where advocacy campaigns have been launched,
but could easily falter because of government crackdowns, political and social instability, or limited
resources, we offer support and expertise. And when our partners’ reports of rights abuses need
amplification, we help them spread the word to a wider, influential audience.
Women’s full participation in the political, economic, and social spheres is gradually gaining traction
across the globe. In the regions we serve, women and men, often at great personal risk, are pressing for
greater civic engagement and freedom. The political and cultural tensions between those advocating for
women’s human rights and those opposed are stark in many Muslim-majority societies, where many laws
and practices relegate women to second class status. Leading the feminist charge are thousands of highpotential individuals who are seeking routes to better, safer, and more equitable societies that respect
their rights while preserving the best of their traditional cultures. These are the women, men, and youth
who are a part of our partner organizations and who are engaged in advocacy efforts to bring justice and
human rights to their communities.
Over the past decades, far greater numbers of women have gained access to education in most of the
countries where we work. With increased consciousness of the unjust conditions under which they live
and of the need for collective action toward meaningful change, they are becoming increasingly adept at
using both traditional and modern means of communication to mobilize not only other women but also
men in support of universal rights. The youth in these countries, especially, representing over half the
population, have awakened to new possibilities and are eager to create a better world than that of their
parents. With new technology at their fingertips, they are not just imagining a different future but are
harnessing the tools to make it happen. These new information and communication technologies (ICTs)
have brought even remote areas closer together, raising awareness of social and gender inequalities
throughout the world.
Given these shifts, the nature of movements and movement building in the Global South is changing. This
past year especially, we saw organizing begin in virtual spaces, spill over to the streets, and morph to
more traditional forms of protest and collective action, creating new possibilities for strategizing. In early
2011, new information technologies enabled youth to communicate, share information, mobilize, and
evade authoritarian control, which in turn, generated large protests calling for democratic change in
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen in early 2011. In all these
movements, women played a pivotal role. WLP has supported such movements, believing that women’s
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participation is at the center of positive social transformation and that women’s empowerment is critical
to forming stable, sustainable democracies. That is why it is imperative that women’s participation and
leadership in such movements continue – and increase – at the decision-making bodies that determine
the structures and policies of the state.
OUR VISION: We work to achieve a just, peaceful world where women’s full human rights are realized
and protected.
OUR MISSION: Our mission is to develop and promote a vision and practice of participatory leadership by
building the capacities of feminist women’s rights organizations.
OUR GOALS: We strongly believe that women, working in partnership, will learn the skills and implement
the strategies needed to achieve our fundamental goals:
• Secure human rights,
• Contribute to the development of their communities, and
• Ultimately create a more peaceful world.
OUR OBJECTIVES: We work to realize our goals through these primary objectives:
• To increase the number of women taking on leadership roles and exercising participatory and
inclusive decision-making at family, community, and national levels; and
• To improve the effectiveness of civil society and women’s movements in Muslim-majority
societies and globally by strengthening the capacity of our partner organizations.
WLP is different from many other international organizations working for women’s leadership and
empowerment because we focus on training women using a participatory leadership methodology.
Though important, simply increasing the number of women in leadership positions is not sufficient to
realize gender equality, rights, and democracy. A qualitative change in leadership practice and goals is
also required. Participatory leadership promotes sharing power and respect for marginalized populations.
Inclusive and open conversations allow for a group dynamic that empowers the individual and mobilizes
democratic collective action.
OUR STRATEGIES: We accomplish our objectives by partnering with and facilitating the work of local
women’s rights organizations that empower women to participate in the political, social, economic, and
cultural decisions that affect their lives, through the following strategies:
• We create lasting, culturally-adapted multimedia curricula and learning tools in local languages
that foster leadership, political participation, and advocacy skills.
• We use a train-the-trainer model, online distance learning courses, and skills-building, leadership,
and empowerment programs for grassroots women in cooperation with our partners throughout
Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, to bring into the political process marginalized
and formerly silent, moderate women.
• We build our partners’ organizational, financial, and technological capacity and offer a space,
where they can share knowledge, strategies, experiences, and dreams, thereby exponentially
increasing the reach of our shared programs.
• We engage in campaigns and hold South-South and South-North dialogues on the challenges and
opportunities facing women in the Global South, particularly in Muslim-majority societies, to
expand and defend women's human rights and to build a culture of peace.
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We build coalitions, strengthen regional and international networks, and mobilize international
engagement to support movement building and advocacy campaigns and to ensure that gender
equality remains on the agenda of policymakers and civil society leaders.
We share the experiences of women organizers in the Global South, raise the visibility of their
work, and enrich the global debate on gender equality, rights, development, and peace through
our news releases, events, and publications.
OUR PARTNERS:
Women's Learning Partnership is made up of WLP International in the USA and WLP partners and
affiliates. Our partners include:
• WLP Afghanistan/Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL)
• WLP Bahrain/Bahrain Women Association (BWA) and Be Free Center
• WLP Brazil/Cidadania, Estudo, Pesquisa, Informaçao e Açao (CEPIA)
• WLP affiliate in Indonesia, Women and Youth Development Institute of Indonesia (WYDII)
• Iran/Independent network of scholars and activists
• WLP Jordan/Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J)
• WLP Kazakhstan/Shymkent Women’s Resource Center (SWRC)
• WLP Kyrgyzstan/Human Rights Center “Citizens Against Corruption” (CAC)
• WLP Lebanon/Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTD-A)
• WLP Malaysia/All Women’s Action Society (AWAM)
• WLP Mauritania/L'Association des Femmes Chefs de Famille (AFCF)
• WLP Morocco/Association Démocratic des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM)
• WLP Nicaragua/Fondo de Desarrollo para la Mujer (Fodem)
• WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB)
• WLP Pakistan/Aurat Foundation
• WLP Palestine/Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC)
• WLP Turkey/Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work (FSWW)
• WLP Zimbabwe/Women’s Self-Promotion Movement (WSPM)
2010-2011 SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES
The past year was momentous for WLP, our partners, and the grassroots women, youth, and civil society
activists whom we serve. Over 2,300 individuals participated in our innovative leadership, political
participation, and technology training programs, with thousands more benefiting from the skills acquired
in our workshops and lessons learned from our curriculum.
Since early 2011, we have seen historic and unprecedented changes toward democracy in the Middle
East and North Africa. In all these transformations, women and youth have been active participants, and
in some cases leaders and spokespersons in the movements for democracy and human rights. Now more
than ever, it is especially important that women and youth in these societies and across the region are
given the tools to enable them to participate in political leadership and advocacy, to ensure that
democracy doesn’t result in “one man, one vote,” and in only one election, but in more equitable
societies with equal rights for all. We are at a critical juncture, where the uprisings in many of these
countries could easily result in increased repression of women rather than increased political
participation and parity.
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Democracy movements and uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa created and continue to create
challenges as well as opportunities for partners in countries such as Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, and
Morocco. After facing significant security concerns during demonstrations, WLP Egypt intensified its
political participation trainings and civil society outreach with youth, who have been instrumental during
the democratic transition. WLP Bahrain continues to face security challenges and disruptions to programs
due to the ongoing unrest. Despite these challenges, WLP International has maintained secure
communication with all of our partners in the region, as well as others – from Africa to Central Asia –
facing similar challenges of violence and transition.
WLP is filling a critical need to ensure the participation of women and youth in this new context by
increasing our training activities at the national and regional levels with a particular focus on enhancing
political participation, building ICT skills for advocacy, and combating violence against women. It has
become apparent that in order for women and youth to effectively engage in the political process, they
must acquire the skills to leverage the technologies that are significantly shaping the social and political
sphere today. Given the particular momentum, ingenuity, and real-world effectiveness evident in online
youth movements that have shaken the Middle East and North Africa, WLP is well-positioned to respond
to the now urgent need to provide tools and opportunities, particularly for youth. This is especially true
for those youth with little contact with the viable civic organizations that support democratic transitions
that lead to equitable, peaceful societies.
Throughout 2010-2011, WLP increased its impact through our publications, programs, and outreach.
Highlights are listed below:
Developing Curriculum and Learning Tools for Participatory Leadership
• We published the Arabic and French editions of our political participation manual, Leading to
Action: A Political Participation Handbook for Women. We are finishing the translation,
adaptation, and review of the Persian edition of the manual and testing the Russian edition.
• We published the Arabic and English editions of the Young Women’s Learning Partnership
(YWLP) manual Yes I Can.
• We published the French edition of our ICT manual, Making IT Our Own: Information &
Communication Technology Training of Trainers Manual.
• We published the Russian edition of Leading to Choices: A Multimedia Curriculum for Leadership
Learning.
• We began developing a forthcoming manual on violence against women and a training manual
on women’s economic empowerment.
Training Women and Girls for Participatory Leadership
During this period, WLP trained over 2,300 people in 18 countries – Afghanistan, Bahrain, Brazil, Egypt,
Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Palestine, Senegal, Turkey, and Zimbabwe. Participants in the leadership trainings and ICT workshops
included grassroots women, youth, NGO leaders, civil servants, cooperative members, university staff,
and parliamentary candidates. Among training highlights:
• WLP Bahrain/BWA, in partnership with facilitators from WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A, organized a
workshop on political participation training using the draft Arabic edition of Leading to Action.
• WLP Egypt/FWID also began using the Arabic edition of the political participation manual, to
further promote political participation in preparation for Egypt’s upcoming elections.
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In August 2010, WLP Jordan/ (SIGI/J), in partnership with the Jordanian National Commission for
Women, held WLP’s second annual Youth Tech Festival in Amman. In June 2011, WLP
International and WLP Jordan/SIGI/J, held our third annual Youth Tech Festival in Amman, with a
focus on youth and women’s economic empowerment.
In August 2010, WLP Kazakhstan/ SWRC held WLP’s second Central Asia Regional Institute in
Shymkent.
WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB continued its leadership and political participation training outreach with
women politicians, university students, and justice system personnel.
Following the success of its Leading to Choices radio training program, WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC
began developing a national television broadcast.
WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights convened an Africa Regional Young Women’s
Leadership Institute in Accra, Ghana in June 2011, for 21 young women from Egypt, Ghana,
Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra-Leone, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and included participants from
WLP Egypt/FWID.
In January-February 2011, WLP International, in cooperation with Fahamu, brought together WLP
Morocco/ADFM and WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB to facilitate a Regional Francophone Institute for
Women’s Leadership and Training of Trainers in Dakar, Senegal, for 12 women from Burkina
Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and Senegal.
Building Organizational Capacity to Create Change
• In October 2010, Lina Abou-Habib of WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A joined WLP Morocco/ADFM staff in
Rabat to work on a long-term strategic plan to identify and clarify the vision, mission, priorities,
and strategy of the inheritance reform campaign for the next five years.
• WLP Egypt/FWID and WLP Jordan/SIGI/J continued their peer-to-peer exchange program
between the two organizations, focusing on enhancing training capacity and long-term strategic
planning.
• In April 2011, WLP Kazakhstan/SWRC and WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC convened a Regional Institute
and strategic exchange on women’s political participation in Central Asia in Shymkent,
Kazakhstan for 30 women leaders.
• WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights and WLP Zimbabwe/WSPM continued their
mentoring exchange program, with a team from BAOBAB conducting a site visit with WSPM staff,
board members, and past training participants to review WSPM’s draft strategic plan.
• WLP began development of a new multi-tier Online Learning Portal that will integrate interactive
learning technologies and self -contained social networking platforms.
Advocating, Networking, and Movement Building for Women’s Rights and a Culture of
Peace
• In September 2010, more than 110 men and women from around the world gathered at the
School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University for WLP’s day-long
symposium, Challenges of Change: Religion, Secularism and Rights.
• In conjunction with the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, in
February 2011, WLP and our partners co-organized three events, including WLP's symposium,
Celebrating UN Women: The Way Forward, attended by over 500 women leaders from around
the world.
• In May and June 2011, we convened regional dialogues among members of the Equality without
Reservation and Claiming Equal Citizenship campaigns to examine the state of women’s rights
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and the role that women can play in achieving democratic reform in the Middle East and North
Africa.
We supported important national, regional, and international campaigns to promote women’s
rights, reform of family law, and combating violence against women – including CEDAW and
Equality without Reservation, Claiming Equal Citizenship, One Million Signatures, and UN
Security Council Resolution 1325.
We held meetings with civil society leaders, policymakers, academics, and democracy experts
to raise awareness on issues affecting women’s human rights and democracy.
We further expanded our blog – Our Vision & Our Voices – with WLP partners from Bahrain,
Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe now
contributing as authors.
We issued human rights alerts and updates to our partnership listserv and our wider mailing list,
and increased our use of new media tools, such as social networks and blogs, to engage
individuals – especially youth – around the world in dialogue and advocacy for social change.
These alerts and updates were especially important for our partners in the Middle East and North
Africa, as women activists faced new challenges and undertook new initiatives in the wake of a
rapidly changing political climate.
From July 2010 – June 2011, we and our partners received over 200 citations in mainstream and
alternative media, including The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Newsweek,
BBC News, National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Mail, The Jordan Times,
Lebanon’s The Daily Star, Tradearabia.com, the Huffington Post, Khaleej Times, The Gulf Today,
Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News, Brisbane Times, Macleans, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Central
Asia Newswire, ABC News/This Week, CBS News, Afrique en Ligne, and Haaretz.com.
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II. Curriculum Development
Since its founding in 2000, Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) has been developing culture-specific
training and advocacy manuals for grassroots activists in the Global South that encourage women’s
leadership and promote human rights. WLP’s curriculum provides the core resource materials for our
participatory leadership trainings and advocacy programs.
We work toward gender equality by developing and implementing participatory, inclusive, horizontal,
and culture-specific leadership learning tools that foster women’s agency and full participation in the
private and public spheres. We develop our unique curriculum in cooperation with partner organizations.
Our interactive training manuals are the result of ongoing dialogue and consultation among members of
the Partnership; they build on real-life scenarios and case studies drawn from our own experiences and
those of women from organizations in our broader networks. Once WLP International produces a
prototype training manual, our partner organizations begin a process of cultural and linguistic adaptation.
This process involves holding a series of workshops and consultations with diverse populations and
supplementing scenarios and case studies as required to ensure the curriculum’s contextual suitability.
We have developed multi-lingual curriculum on participatory leadership, political participation,
evaluation, youth leadership, ICTs for advocacy, and advocacy against gender-based violence, among
other topics. Our handbooks, guides, videos, and multi-media materials have been adapted and
translated into 20 languages and are now being used in more than 40 countries by international, regional,
national, and local human rights groups and their constituents. We have made this curriculum available
online and distributed these resources widely at symposiums and other events.
In 2010-2011, WLP developed and published several new curriculum and learning tools:
• Yes I Can: Leadership for Teens WLP published the Arabic and English editions of Yes I Can, the
Young Women’s Learning Partnership (YWLP) leadership training manual for youth ages 13-17.
Developed in cooperation with WLP Bahrain/BWA, the manual includes interactive workshop
sessions that emphasize creativity, knowledge-sharing, and building partnerships, to help young
girls develop greater self-confidence, learn how to communicate effectively, build leadership
skills, and identify areas where they can exercise leadership.
•
Leading to Action: A Political Participation Handbook for Women: WLP published the Arabic and
French editions of the Leading to Action manual, adapted and translated in consultation with
partners from Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Palestine. Partners from Bahrain and
Lebanon tested the draft Arabic manual during a political participation training in Manama,
Bahrain, in August 2010. During the past year, WLP also completed translation, adaptation, and
review of the Persian edition of the manual. WLP partners in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan tested
the draft Russian edition during a regional exchange in April 2011.
•
Making IT Our Own: Information & Communication Technology Training of Trainers Manual:
WLP completed and published the French edition of our ICT manual. The manual includes
interactive learning guides, as well as videos on participatory facilitation techniques,
communication skills, and advocacy strategies.
•
Leading to Choices: A Multimedia Curriculum for Leadership Learning: WLP published the
Russian edition of Leading to Choices: A Multimedia Curriculum for Leadership Learning. This
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edition provides interactive, scenario-based activities and illustrative examples of how to create
participatory and democratic learning environments, how to implement successful advocacy
campaigns, and how to develop compelling messages for target audiences. It includes new video
and case studies filmed during WLP’s Central Asia Regional Training of Trainers Institute.
•
Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women: In cooperation with WLP
Nigeria/BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, WLP completed the draft Pidgin English edition of
the Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women manual during the past year.
The manual is being finalized for publication by the end of 2011.
•
WLP Translation Series: WLP began translating into Arabic the latest volume in our Translation
Series, Iranian Women’s One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality: The Inside Story, which
details the history, strategies, and values that brought together a diverse group of Iranian
women, men, and rights activists for the well-known women’s equality campaign. This valuable
case study describes a new model for grassroots movements in the 21st century that is especially
effective in societies where freedom of expression is stifled by autocratic governments or
influenced by radical fundamentalism. The English language edition continues to be used in
courses at the University of Southern California, Boston University, St. Joseph’s College, and the
University of Pennsylvania, among other institutions.
•
To support grassroots women, activists, and civil society organizations in responding to critical
social barriers to women’s full participation and engagement as equal citizens, WLP continued
drafting new thematic training manuals that further build upon our core participatory leadership
methodology:
o
To address the economic inequalities that frequently relegate women to the private
sphere, we continued developing our women’s economic empowerment training
manual. The manual includes interactive, scenario-based case studies on recognizing
women’s multiple economic roles and contributions and addresses how to build alliances
for economic rights and empowerment and how to mobilize individuals and groups to
advocate for greater legal equality for women in the workforce.
o
We continue testing and adapting our draft training manual on eliminating violence
against women and girls, which is key to creating both public and private spaces where
women can safely speak out and engage as decision makers. The manual addresses both
locally-based violence and conflict resolution with a focus on United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1325 and related international instruments. Such doctrines call for
gender parity in peacemaking processes, which is necessary for truly democratic, and
ultimately peaceful, political and social transformations. The manual is being produced in
consultation with WLP partners and experts in this area, including Asma Khader (WLP
Jordan/SIGI/J), Zainah Anwar (Malaysia, WLP board member), and Yakin Ertürk (Turkey,
WLP board member and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against
Women). It includes scenario-based case studies on violence in the home, workplace,
and community, with an emphasis on empowering women through choice, undoing the
shame and stigma associated with the cycle of violence, encouraging problem-solving
appropriate in the cultural context, and changing social norms and laws that support and
perpetuate inequality and gender-based violence.
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We distributed our publications widely to NGOs, activists, and scholars during public meetings and fora
such as our Challenges of Change symposium in September 2010 and the 55th Commission on the Status
of Women in February 2011. We are pleased to report that many new groups, scholars, and individuals
used WLP’s manuals and publications for use in skills building, leadership training, and activism this year,
including:
• ActionAid International Zimbabwe
• Bharatiya Stree Shakti, India
• Harassmap, an NGO dedicated to combating sexual harassment in Egypt
• Interfaith Vision Foundation, Cameroon
• Karen Demerry, working with Aboriginal women in New South Wales, Australia
• Leverage Trust, an NGO in Tamil Nadu, India
• New York University
• Northern Youth Networking Organization, Malawi
• ONG Neworld Foundation Inc., Benin Republic
• Youth Resource Centre, Peshawar, Pakistan
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III. Trainings
WLP implements trainings on participatory leadership, political participation, women’s human rights
advocacy, evaluation, and the use of ICTs. Trainings are dialogue-based and interactive, drawing on our
participatory leadership methodology, which allows grassroots women, youth, and activists a space to
experience the process of democracy. Workshop participants build tolerance and self-confidence through
a learning environment that emphasizes dialogue, negotiation, and consensus-building. Through the WLP
training process, participants learn how to identify a shared vision and engage in collective planning.
WLP continues to innovate in the form and content of its training program, organizing leadership,
political participation, youth, evaluation, and ICT workshops for grassroots women; national and regional
training of trainers for women NGO leaders; and online distance learning courses.
WLP’s National and Regional Training of Trainer Institutes are designed to build a cadre of trainers, who
will ultimately be able to conduct trainings in their respective countries and regions, thereby increasing
the number of women and youth who are trained with WLP curricula. During the 3-5 days, Institute
participants attend trainings hosted by a WLP partner organization to develop inclusive leadership
strategies that work within each respective community’s cultural, religious, and socio-economic context.
Participants reframe their understanding of leadership, practice participatory decision making, and create
work plans to mobilize their communities. WLP’s National and Regional Institutes allow us to have an
impact on organizations outside the Partnership, both in our partners’ countries and in surrounding
regions, further spreading the concept of participatory leadership and other democratic values and skills.
Moreover, through our Regional Hubs, WLP can reach even more people by replicating our partnership
model at the regional level. Several WLP partners that have a strong regional presence and institutional
capacity serve as Hubs, conducting national Training of Trainers Institutes and evaluations in neighboring
countries, which are hosted by organizations outside the formal Partnership. This builds the capacity of
the participating organizations to conduct further participatory leadership trainings and evaluation within
their respective communities.
In 2010-2011, we trained over 2,300 individuals, including grassroots women, youth, NGO leaders, civil
servants, cooperative members, university staff, and parliamentary candidates, through leadership and
political participation workshops, ICT trainings, and National and Regional Training of Trainers Institutes
in countries throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America, including:
• Afghanistan
• Lebanon
• Bahrain
• Mauritania
• Brazil
• Morocco
• Egypt
• Nigeria
• Ghana
• Pakistan
• Indonesia
• Palestine
• Jordan
• Senegal
• Kazakhstan
• Turkey
• Kyrgyzstan
• Zimbabwe
A full list of WLP’s July 2010 – June 2011 trainings, workshops, and Training of Trainers Institutes is
provided in Appendix A, and photos from select training events are provided in Appendix B.
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Select July 2010 – June 2011 Regional Trainings
Political Participation Workshop in Bahrain (August 7-9, 2010)
“’Political Participation’ concept became
WLP Bahrain/BWA, in partnership with facilitators from WLP
wider than what I used to understand; it
Lebanon/CRTD-A, organized a political participation workshop
means not only to participate in elections,
using the recently published Arabic edition of Leading to Action.
but it addresses a larger context of change.”
Bahraini workshop participant
The workshop was held in preparation for Bahrain’s October
2010 election, and offered participants an opportunity to discuss
ethical politics, networking, and alliance building, coming away with expanded concepts of women’s
political participation. Following the workshop, participants expressed a broadened sense of the
meaning of political participation, and an understanding that they could be active in the political process
not only as voters and candidates, but also as organizers and advocates for change.
Youth Technology Festival and Regional ICT Training of Trainers Institute in Jordan (August 2010 and
June 2011)
Further expanding WLP’s youth leadership and ICT work, WLP International worked with WLP Jordan/
SIGI/J to hold two Youth Technology Festivals during the past year. WLP’s Youth Tech Festivals are
designed as dynamic, hands-on opportunities to empower and build youth capacity on ICT for social
networking, human rights advocacy, team collaboration, and practical skills development. Using WLP’s
Making IT Our Own manual, the trainings focused on the themes of political participation (August 7-8,
2010, for 175 young women and men) and economic empowerment (June 4-8, 2011, for 100 youth).
Participants had the opportunity to sharpen their technical skills, as well as their capacity for strategic
messaging and outreach; to advocate for women’s issues in their communities; to improve their access to
the job market; and to educate themselves and others on the upcoming elections and women’s political
participation. Participants worked collaboratively to create a wide range of online advocacy campaigns
using social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, and creating live websites and animated
videos. Groups created slogans, designed posters and campaign logos, created skits, and used role play to
highlight local challenges and to reveal possible solutions while raising awareness.
Ahead of the June 2011 Festival, WLP and WLP Jordan/SIGI/J held a two-day Regional Training of
Trainers (TOT) Institute for facilitators from WLP partner organizations in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon,
Morocco, and Palestine. The TOT deepened participants’ skills and enabled them to practice and refine
sessions for the Youth Tech Festival. Participants focused intensively on social media for advocacy
tutorials, and showed great technical competency in understanding how to effectively utilize these tools.
Second Central Asia Regional Institute in Kazakhstan (August 28-30, 2010)
As part of an ongoing series of regional workshops, institutes, and
"…anyone can become a leader. Most
strategic exchanges, WLP Kazakhstan/ SWRC held the second
interesting were discussions on gender
equality, because it is the most urgent
Central Asia Regional Institute in Shymkent for 23 women activists
problem in our environment"
from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. Over
Gulmayra Baimakova,
three days of training, participants used WLP’s Leading to Choices
Central Asia Institute participant
training curriculum to discuss a horizontal approach to leading
their organizations, shared personal stories about leadership achievements and challenges, learned how
to effectively communicate with the media, and explored other tools for institutional strengthening and
outreach.
In evaluating the Institute, participants praised the training methodology, particularly the focus on group
work, creating projects, debates, questions for discussion, and leadership qualities. The “Active Safety
13
System for IT” session was one of the most valued by participants during the training, as it addressed a
key concern for activists in the region. Participants discussed how to protect information through secure
servers, secure text editor, encryption, and the correct way to delete and archive files. Participants’
action plans for post-Institute activities included expanding the trainings to include issues such as
domestic violence and leadership in the family, and collaborating on joint projects with members of other
local NGOs.
Francophone Regional Institute of Women’s Leadership and Training of Trainers in Senegal (January 31
– February 3, 2011)
WLP, in cooperation with Fahamu, a Senegalese NGO, WLP
“The training has improved my knowledge in
Morocco/ADFM, and WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB convened a
leadership, communication and advocacy,
Francophone Regional Institute for Women’s Leadership and
which are necessary tools to enter into the
Training of Trainers in Dakar, Senegal, for 12 women from
struggle for the promotion of familial
Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and Senegal. The
agriculture.”
Mariama Sonko, Director,
institute helped build the advocacy and communications
Association AJAC Lukaal (Senegal)
capacity of the “We Are the Solution Campaign,” which aims
to ensure that rural grassroots women’s perspectives and
needs are considered in the formation of agricultural policy in West Africa.
The Institute further expanded WLP’s outreach and programs in francophone West Africa and created a
space for rural women to discover and develop their own leadership abilities, strengthened
communications tools, and enhanced the advocacy and awareness-raising activities in support of the
campaign. In addition to building the capacity of the participants, the Institute prepared them to facilitate
leadership workshops in their own communities, organizations, and networks in support of their
advocacy and outreach goals. By the end of the training, participants collectively agreed on goals that
they would pursue over the next several months, including informing public opinion and strengthening
their own capacity and that of their organizations.
Africa Young Women’s Learning Partnership Training in Ghana (June 20-24, 2011)
WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB convened an Africa Regional Young Women’s Leadership Institute (YWLP) in Accra,
Ghana, from June 20-24, 2011. The Institute, themed “Young women re-defining and transforming the
leadership agenda in Africa: a strategic approach towards sustainable democracy and development in the
region,” convened 21 young women from Egypt, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra-Leone, Uganda, Zambia,
and Zimbabwe. The Institute laid the groundwork for empowering young African women through
training that promotes the principles of horizontal leadership and democratic practices. The Institute
encouraged participants to identify and develop a shared vision, cultivate communication and advocacy
skills, and to promote the use of innovative technologies for solidarity networking and campaigns.
Training sessions actively engaged all participants through role play, small group work, debates, and
plenary discussions that integrated participatory leadership training manuals, multimedia training and
capacity building curriculum, and other human rights materials. Diversity among the participants allowed
for rich conversations on trends in gender discrimination and gendered power dynamics across the
region – whether in the form of physical violence, such as female genital mutilation, or social and
economic discrimination, such as unjust inheritance laws or the failure to recognize women’s unpaid
labor.
A portion of the Institute was dedicated to movement-building skills using ICTs. The session included a
debate on the positive and negative impacts of globalization on women’s rights and participation. Young
women from WLP Egypt/FWID spoke about the effectiveness of social media in supporting the
14
democratic movement there, working both within and across borders to circumvent censorship and
restrictions. Institute participants formed three working groups to develop advocacy campaigns using
Facebook, blogging, and Twitter. Participants committed to building online solidarity by exchanging
information, writing, collecting, posting articles and alerts for support, and developing new strategies to
mobilize broader action. Among the immediate outputs of the Institute were a participant-driven Yahoo
discussion group and blog.
Additional Highlights of July 2010 –June 2011 Trainings
•
WLP Afghanistan/AIL held a leadership workshop at the Shakardara Boy’s High School in the
Shakardara District. Participants shared leadership stories from their community and discussed
the importance of leadership in bringing about positive change. Participants agreed that early
marriages must be eliminated, and suggested that regional discussions could be one way to
combat the problem. Participants also took a special interest in discussing banning landmines and
in drafting violence against women legislation.
•
WLP Bahrain/BWA held Young Women’s Learning Partnership (YWLP) workshop sessions for girls
ages 13-15 that focused on leadership, choices, and self-esteem.
•
WLP Brazil/CEPIA with the Association of Recyclable Material Pickers from Rio de Janeiro
(ACAMJG), held a Leading to Choices workshop for 68 women pickers from different
organizations from all over the country, including Amazonas, Pará, Sergipe, Pernambuco, Goiás,
Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia, and Paraná. The workshops focused on self-esteem,
empowerment, communication, and coalitions.
•
WLP Egypt/FWID incorporated information on the country’s political and electoral system in
WLP’s political participation manual Leading to Action (Arabic) in order to further promote
political participation in preparation of Egypt’s elections. Ahead of the constitutional referendum
in March, WLP Egypt/FWID hosted a workshop on “Civil Society & Constitutional Change.” The
workshop brought together representatives from various NGOs in eight governorates, who
discussed implementing a public awareness campaign on the need for creating a new
constitution.
•
WLP Jordan/SIGI/J continued to integrate the Leading to Choices training methodology with their
women’s rights education and advocacy programs, conducting trainings addressing CEDAW and
its implementation, and UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
•
Following the success of its Leading to Choices radio training program, WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC
signed an agreement with the Kyrgyz national television and radio corporation OTRK, for live
television broadcast of a political participation training series in the Kyrgyz language. The
programs focus on women's leadership and active political participation, highlighting success
stories and barriers to women’s equal participation in politics.
•
In addition, WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC held an awareness-raising workshop on domestic violence for
students at J. Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University. Following a screening of two documentaries
on violence against women, the students discussed the films and assessed women’s issues in
Kyrgyzstan. Many participants noted the prevalence of domestic violence, particularly in rural
15
areas. They discussed possible root causes including poverty, women’s illiteracy and instability,
lack of adequate legal protections for at-risk women, and the failure to enforce existing laws and
protections.
•
WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A held a series of Leading to Choices workshops for women throughout the
country who have been adversely affected by Lebanon’s discriminatory nationality laws. These
workshops continue to train and mobilize new grassroots activists to engage effectively in the
Claiming Equal Citizenship campaign.
•
WLP Mauritania/AFCF held a series of political participation workshops using the Leading to
Action political participation manual. The workshops, each lasting five days, focused on women’s
leadership skills and political participation.
•
In June, WLP Morocco/ADFM held a leadership and capacity building workshop for 32 staff from
Anaruz, a network of organizations/women’s shelters working with victims of gender-based
violence. The workshop adapted WLP’s leadership training strategies to help build the capacity of
Anaruz members to take on leadership and advocacy roles on HIV/AIDS issues. After the
workshops, members were better equipped to formulate strategic plans for HIV/AIDS programs
and learn more about related issues. The training addressed many challenges, including how to
approach social taboos and how to equip center counselors to bring about change, in addition to
providing support.
•
WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB conducted a series of political participation trainings that focused on
university students and female politicians. Using the Leading to Action manual, the trainings
provided opportunities to connect young women with experienced politicians. Two of the
sessions were evaluated in January, during which university participants shared the many ways
that they had taken on new leadership roles within their academic communities. BAOBAB also
continued leadership workshops and evaluations with judicial and police personnel.
•
WLP Turkey/FSWW continued its ICT training and MicroNet project for members of its women’s
cooperative network. Cooperative members gained important skills that improved their
technology capacity and have been able to use these skills to broaden their networks and expand
markets for their products.
•
WLP Zimbabwe/WSPM conducted a Women’s Leadership, Women’s Rights, and Gender
Education Training of Trainers Institute based on Leading to Choices. Participants included
women and men community and government leaders in Harare, many of whom had previously
attended a ICT training, basic leadership workshop, or vocational life skills training.
Transforming Views on Leadership
• At the conclusion of a leadership workshop in Afghanistan, participants shared that, prior to the
training, they did not consider service to one’s community as an act of leadership. After the
workshop, participants reported that they learned that a leader is anyone who takes action on
behalf of their community.
16
•
A workshop participant in Malaysia noted, “I found out that empowerment comes in different
forms. Now I have gained confidence to voice my opinions.” Another shared, “I have learned that
leaders need to understand others better and ensure that good communication takes place.”
•
WLP Morocco/ADFM convened a Training of Trainers workshop for women’s rights organizations
working to support land rights for women of collective lands. One participant stated that “such
workshops must continue, as they contribute to both the participants’ understanding, and to a
transformation of mentalities toward a democratic process.”
Gaining New Skills and Capacity Building
• Participants in a leadership workshop organized by WLP Afghanistan/AIL shared that they
benefitted from exchanging ideas and learning from different perspectives. Participants felt that
religious leaders and government officials would benefit from attending the workshop, believing
that change would surely follow.
•
WLP Bahrain/BWA conducted a grassroots political participation workshop for women in
Manama, facilitated in cooperation with WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A. Following the workshop,
participants expressed a broadened sense of the meaning of political participation. One
participant said that she began to understand that participation meant not just casting one’s
vote, but helping to work for change. Participants developed the skills necessary to contribute
more fully in civil society, and for some women, the training marked their entry into political
participation.
•
During a leadership training convened by WLP’s affiliate in Indonesia, Women and Youth
Development Institute of Indonesia (WYDII), a high school student in Surabaya remarked that the
training was particularly valuable and necessary for young women if they hope to become more
active in their communities as leaders. Another noted that the training made her feel more
confident about serving as the head of the student government at her school. She also noted that
the decision-making process is the responsibility of everyone, and that in order to be an effective
leader, one must be able to work with many people and be open to their ideas.
•
Following a leadership workshop with judicial and police personnel organized by WLP
Nigeria/BAOBAB, participants remarked on how the training had helped them to grow as
individuals and had given them increased confidence. One participant noted that following the
training, she had gained the confidence to return to school to finish her studies. Another stated,
“A lot of people now come to me as a resource. I’ve become known as a human rights activist.
There are so many cases that people bring to me, they even come to my house.”
•
WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB continued to share information with other partners in the region and
receive feedback on post-training outcomes. Core members of Sierra Leone’s 50/50 group, an
organization that works to increase women’s political participation, with whom BAOBAB
partnered with for the 2009 National Political Participation training in Sierra Leone, have been
further recognised and entrusted with leadership responsibilities based on their experience at
the 2009 Institute.
17
•
Following a ICT training held by WLP Turkey/FSWW in Aydin, several female cooperative
members noted having gained important skills that would improve their capacity to network over
the internet and access expanded markets for their products.
Creating and Implementing New Initiatives and Community Participation
• WLP Afghanistan/AIL reported that they had made progress with local women who participated
in tech trainings and who now use online groups to communicate with other women outside
Afghanistan, through sites such as World Pulse.
•
After attending a Leading to Choices training held by WLP Kazakhstan/SWRC in the rural
Ordabasy district, one participant, the director of the local school district, created an action plan
to develop leadership qualities among her troubled student population. Another participant, the
head of the economic and finance division in the district, plans to deal with conflict in the
workplace by initiating a program utilizing a horizontal, participatory approach to leadership.
•
Women who participated in WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC leadership trainings began organizing
additional leadership workshops and participating in elections, with some serving as election
monitors in October 2010. Additionally, leadership training participants from J. Balasaguni Kyrgyz
National University, I. Arabaev Kyrgyz State University, and Kyrgyz State Academy of Law
established new student activist groups and a university leadership network.
•
Nigerian Young Women’s Leadership Institute participants continued to utilize the internet for
debates and solidarity messages on various women’s human rights topics. Most recently,
members of the group have been active on WLP’s blog, addressing issues like youth civic
engagement and possible causes for apathy.
18
IV. Organizational Capacity Building
WLP is committed to strengthening the civil society capacity of our partners and enhancing their ability to
implement empowerment programs that in turn shape moderate, secular civil societies. We strive to
improve their capacity for strategic program implementation and evaluation, sustainable organizational
development, ICT, and human and financial resource management.
WLP uses a peer-to-peer model of strategic planning, mentoring, and exchange to share organizational
learning and best practices among our partners. This innovative program enables WLP partners, and
other NGOs and networks in the Global South, to approach organizational development in a manner that
is self-directed and that responds quickly and specifically to local needs. Partners in Egypt, Jordan,
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, and Palestine have successfully created comprehensive strategic
plans using this model and, in turn, are continuing to take on the role of facilitator with other WLP
partner organizations as well as within their own national networks. Similarly, our regional hub programs
include in-depth peer mentoring for institutional capacity building and systems development.
Peer-to–Peer Strategic Planning Capacity Building Exchanges
Egypt-Jordan
During the past year, WLP Egypt/FWID and WLP Jordan/SIGI/J worked together to complete the peer-topeer exchange program. FWID staff, board members, and volunteers worked with SIGI/J general
coordinator Asma Khader to develop its new strategic plan. Prior to the strategic planning sessions, FWID
executive director Enas El-Shafie met with Khader in Jordan to discuss the forthcoming exchange. ElShafie had the opportunity to meet with SIGI/J staff and learn more about the organization and its
programs.
Using FWID’s 2005-2010 strategic plan as a starting point, FWID and Khader mapped out a strategy for
the next several years. FWID’s new strategic plan outlines specific goals, including expanding the
geographical impact of FWID’s work, increasing its work with youth and university students, and
furthering its political participation workshops. During the program, Khader stressed the need for Muslim
women to leverage these initiatives in their efforts to advance women’s human rights.
FWID reports that the exchange program has been highly beneficial and enriching for the organization. It
has served to deepen relations between the two organizations and FWID is exploring more intensive
regional cooperation with SIGI/J in the future.
Lebanon-Morocco
As part of WLP’s peer-to-peer strategic planning and capacity building exchange activities, Lina AbouHabib of WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A joined WLP Morocco/ADFM staff in Rabat on October 15-16, 2010 to
work on ADFM’s strategic plan for a grassroots advocacy campaign on inheritance law reform. Through
this process, ADFM worked with Abou-Habib to identify and clarify the advocacy campaign vision,
mission, priorities, and strategy for the next five years. They evaluated Morocco’s political, socioeconomic, cultural, and religious trends and considered how these factors might affect the campaign
going forward. Workshop participants discussed and evaluated different action strategies, recognizing
that public debate was necessary to alter perceptions on such a sensitive issue. They agreed that change
in this area would require courage, persistence, and a technical understanding of the issue.
19
Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan
As part of WLP’s civil society mentoring and exchange
programs in Central Asia, WLP Kazakhstan/SWRC
and WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC convened a Regional Institute
and strategic exchange on women’s political participation
in April 2011 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Thirty women
leaders, including activists, journalists, students, as well as
local authorities and state administrators from
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan exchanged experiences and
developed strategies to enhance women’s political
participation in Central Asia. Participants shared their
respective work to advance women’s political
participation, promote government transparency, and to develop women's leadership in Central Asia.
They noted the importance of monitoring the government’s progress on developing and implementing
women-centered policies, analyzing the outcomes of local and national elections, and empowering
women to advocate for full political participation. CAC facilitators and previous Kyrgyz workshop
attendees shared with the Kazakhstani participants how they had successfully expanded the reach of
WLP’s participatory leadership trainings by adapting the curriculum for radio, television, and university
audiences.
Nigeria-Zimbabwe
WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB and WLP Zimbabwe/WSPM continued their mentoring exchange program. In
April, a two person team from BAOBAB conducted a site visit in Harare, Zimbabwe, where they met with
WSPM staff, board members, and previous leadership training participants. During the visit, the BAOBAB
team worked with WSPM to review its draft strategic plan. They decided to refine the organizational
vision and mission statements, and review in-depth the programmatic priorities and the thematic and
geographic scope, in light of political and economic challenges facing Zimbabwean civil society
organizations. The BAOBAB team shared their own experiences and institutional strategies for raising the
visibility and impact of BAOBAB’s programs, and worked with WSPM on strengthening its proposal
writing and individual giving campaigns. Given that WSPM, like many grassroots civil society
organizations, relies heavily on volunteer and intern support, the two organizations shared tactics for
attracting a committed base of volunteers. Finally, the BAOBAB team conducted an assessment of
WSPM’s ICT facilities on behalf of WLP and began working with WSPM on developing a networking and
media strategy that is responsive to local infrastructure limitations.
Technology Capacity Building and Information Exchange
WLP launched our redesigned website in December 2010, which has significantly increased our ability to
utilize cutting-edge technology, showcase our partners’ work, and post current political developments
and human rights alerts. The site’s user-friendly design now allows us to conduct stronger outreach and
serve as a better resource for the media, academics, students, and the public at large. New features
include streaming of WLP TV video clips, prominent homepage highlights of new editions to WLP’s Our
Vision & Our Voices blog, an updated map of WLP partner locations, a live Twitter feed, and a daily
collection of news articles on women from across the globe. The redesign has expanded the content in
our video and photo tabs, and allows users to visit WLP’s social networking sites, such as Facebook and
YouTube, with a single click of the mouse. These upgrades have proven helpful to WLP partners. For
example, WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB, through new social media tools, has used YouTube to support anti20
violence campaigns and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), and has crossposted blog posts on women’s political participation in the national elections, the jobs crisis, and poverty.
From July 2010 through June 2011, WLP’s newly redesigned website received 123,526 visits. WLP’s Our
Vision & Our Voices blog, along with our human rights and domestic law resources, were among the most
frequently visited web pages. More than 70 percent of our web traffic came from new visitors, and most
of our hits originated in Nigeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, India, Morocco, Egypt, Canada, and the United
Kingdom.
Over the past year, WLP has grown our social network constituency by nearly a quarter, with our base of
Twitter followers having increased by 50 percent. We facilitated live Twitter and Facebook feeds at WLP
events, taking questions from online participants, thereby expanding our social media network. WLP’s
Our Vision & Our Voices blog authorship has grown significantly, with new authors from across the
partnership providing on the ground perspectives of country developments. Notably, WLP had a series of
blogs posted by our partners and activists in the Middle East and North Africa during the Arab Spring. See
“Networking and Outreach” on page 28 for more information on WLP’s blog.
During this period, WLP began developing an Online Learning Portal, which integrates interactive
learning technologies and self-contained social networking tools, such Twitter and Facebook. The portal
will leverage new e-learning and social networking platforms, building on our previous eCourses and
established online presence. The portal will house virtual classrooms, including real-time video, voice,
and text exchange; include virtual role play within 3D interactive environments, using culturally adaptive
settings and participant avatars that engage WLP’s experiential, scenario-based workshop tools; enable
further dissemination and sharing of new and existing resources between the Partnership and other civil
society organizations; and support participant collaboration to create simple and effective policy and
public outreach platforms and campaign messaging. During our 2011 Youth Tech Festival in Jordan, WLP
identified 15 young volunteers to begin piloting the interactive learning tool.
Financial Capacity Building
Financial stability is essential to any organization’s efforts and influence, especially now, during a time of
global economic duress. For this reason, WLP has been working with our partners to build their financial
capacity, including further diversifying funding sources, strengthening internal systems, resource
management, and reporting. We surveyed our partners to assess their financial systems and procedures,
including accounting policies and reporting tools, in preparation for a financial capacity building training
for all WLP partners in September 2011. We will continue to work with our partners to deepen their
skills, resources, and knowledge necessary to strengthen their organizations’ reporting, finances, and
human capital outcomes.
21
V. Advocacy Campaigns, Networking and Outreach, and Movement Building
WLP advances women’s human rights through advocacy, networking, and outreach. Through our
partnerships, WLP supports and strengthens sustainable and effective grassroots women’s organizations
and other civil society organizations that promote democracy
“For women, democracy refers not only to
and women’s rights in the Global South, by building their
the full exercise of citizenship in the public
advocacy and networking capacities.
sphere, but also to its practices in
everyday life: at work, in the family, in
health, sexuality, and education. In this
Our participatory leadership methodology is integral to all of
sense, women’s struggle for democracy is
our grassroots women’s rights campaigns. Through our
also a struggle to redefine democracy
workshops, our partners work with their constituents to
itself.”
identify issues of local concern. Our partners investigate these
Jacqueline Pitanguy,
WLP Brazil/CEPIA Founder/Director
locally defined challenges, with on-the-ground research, focus
groups, and expert consultations. WLP trainings in leadership,
political participation, and ICT skills build the capacity of grassroots women and youth to advocate for
policies and legislative change to advance women’s rights. Through the workshops, activists develop
campaign strategies and build communication and leadership skills. These workshops and our leadership
methodology are crucial for advancing our collective advocacy efforts, like the Claiming Equal Citizenship,
Equality without Reservation, and family law reform campaigns.
To integrate the campaigns further into our activities and work within broader coalitions, the Partnership
continues to share and assess strategies for regional advocacy campaigns, networking, and movement
building. WLP International facilitates opportunities for our partners and other women’s rights activists
from the Global South to be heard on the international stage through networking, outreach, and
organizing international events. We raise the visibility of our partners’ work using various ICT vehicles,
including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, e-newsletters, and email blasts. Further, we facilitate strategy
exchanges among partners to enable the sharing of best practices. We use our relationships to open
doors for our partners. We promote the engagement of activists from the global south in networks such
as the International Women’s Democracy Network (IWDN) and Association for Women’s Rights in
Development (AWID) to amplify women’s voices, which are needed to shift inequitable power
distributions and bring women’s issues to the fore. Through our interactive conferences, alternative
media, and web resources, we have become a place where activist and grassroots women connect, as
well as a space where South-South and South-North dialogue occurs.
From July 2010 – June 2011, WLP engaged in a wide variety of campaign activities, networks, events, and
outreach to further women’s rights:
Regional Campaigns
CEDAW and Equality without Reservations
Among WLP’s regional women’s rights advocacy campaigns, WLP’s Equality without Reservation
campaign calls for the elimination of reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the Arab region and full enforcement of its provisions, as well
as the ratification of CEDAW’s Optional Protocol. This campaign has become a rallying point around
which legislative reform is now becoming viable, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.
Campaign activists are responding to the regional transitions of the Arab Spring and advocating for
renewed and enhanced commitments to women’s rights and the equal participation of women in the
reform process.
22
Campaign highlights are listed below:
• In November, WLP Jordan/SIGI/J conducted a workshop for 35 civil society representatives on
lifting reservations to CEDAW. Participants agreed that CEDAW is critical for gender equality and
ending discrimination against women. They discussed the legal, political, and religious rationale
given for Jordan’s reservations to Articles 9, 15, and 16 and recounted how Jordanian civil society
organizations have been working to lift these reservations. Of significant importance to
participants was lifting Article 15, because it covers a wide range of liberties, including freedom
of movement and choice of residence.
•
Following WLP Morocco/ADFM’s intensive advocacy efforts, in spring 2011, Morocco formally
withdrew all of its reservations to CEDAW and signed the Optional Protocol. This development
was significant, coming after years of advocacy by women’s rights organizations, including the
Equality without Reservation campaign, which includes WLP Morocco/ADFM at its forefront. This
success along with commitments in the new Constitution to keep national law consistent with
international commitments, further enables women’s rights organizations to pressure the
government to rectify ongoing discrimination.
•
In June, WLP Morocco/ADFM and Equality without Reservation campaign members convened a
coalition meeting in Rabat on Women and Democratic Transitions in the Middle East and North
Africa. Representatives from civil society, women’s rights organizations, international
organizations, the public sector, and the diplomatic corps from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria,
and Tunisia discussed how to promote the status of women during the Arab Spring, including
strategies for achieving the withdrawal of reservations to CEDAW.
•
WLP has been actively engaged with the U.S. CEDAW Task Force, a coalition of organizations and
activists advocating for U.S. ratification of the Convention. During the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee hearing on U.S. ratification in November, WLP submitted an official statement
calling for swift approval. This was a wonderful opportunity for WLP, along with many other
international women’s rights organizations and activists, to show solidarity with domestic
women’s rights organizations on this important issue. WLP International and WLP partners in
Afghanistan, Brazil, Lebanon, Nicaragua, and Pakistan, all submitted official statements
affirming the importance of U.S. ratification to the work that we conduct on the ground.
Claiming Equal Citizenship
The Claiming Equal Citizenship campaign, which calls for reforming nationality laws to allow women
married to non-nationals to pass citizenship rights on to their families, is active in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt,
Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco, among other countries in the region. Even amid historic transitions
throughout the region, activists for equal nationality rights made significant progress toward reform
during the last year. WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A is in the vanguard of the campaign, and its activism through
leadership trainings, events, legislative and judicial advocacy, and online outreach helped lead to the
2010 decree granting “courtesy” residency to foreign husbands of Lebanese women. In Tunisia, which
has often led the region in terms of women’s legal equality, the Cabinet reviewed a new draft law
granting citizenship to all minor children born to Tunisian mothers, regardless of their place of birth or
father’s nationality. Libya passed a similar reform, with potential loopholes in enforcement remaining to
be negotiated. In Egypt, building upon past reforms of nationality laws, a new decree was issued granting
equal nationality rights and entitlements to the children of Egyptian women married to Palestinian men.
In addition, WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A hosted a coalition meeting for members of the Claiming Equal
Citizenship and the Equality without Reservation campaigns. This coalition met in Beirut to discuss how
23
the Arab Spring has impacted, and will continue to impact, women and women’s rights. With WLP, the
coalition circulated a press release addressing women’s participation in the Arab Spring and the emerging
critical issues for women in the region. Throughout the year, the campaign maintained a vibrant online
and traditional media presence, mobilizing and raising awareness among both expatriates and grassroots
activists, bridging online and face-to-face advocacy.
Related and other campaign highlights:
• In September, WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A issued a statement celebrating the final enactment of the
2010 decree granting “courtesy” residency to husbands and children of Lebanese women
married to non-Lebanese men. The statement called on these women to settle their families’
legal status with the Directorate of General Security and offered legal and administrative
counseling to those in need. WLP re-circulated the statement through our Our Vision & Our
Voices blog and social media networks.
•
In October, WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A held a leadership workshop in the Burj Chemaly refugee camp
in connection with the Claiming Equal Citizenship campaign in south Lebanon. This workshop was
the first in a series of workshops to unite and mobilize women’s rights organizations and
grassroots activists from all over the country. Twelve women attended the workshop, which
focused on building collective action around a unified vision and goals, and on effective
communication with the media and political leaders.
•
In December, WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A held a panel discussion at Saint Joseph University in Beirut
to address women's nationality and full citizenship rights. The panel was part of a full day of
activities to celebrate International Volunteer Day. The activities, which included petition signing,
side discussions, and a film screening, aimed to mobilize students in support of the Equality
without Reservation and Claiming Equal Citizenship campaigns.
•
In May, WLP International and WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A circulated a campaign statement
celebrating the new Egyptian decree that allows women married to Palestinian men to pass
Egyptian nationality on to their children. Since the reform of the nationality law in 2004, these
women have been excluded from this reform, and in many cases, have had to resort to the
courts.
•
In June, WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A brought together 100 Claiming Equal Citizenship campaign
members to organize an advocacy event on the campaign. The event came in the wake of the
appointment of a new Lebanese government and the concern over Lebanon's commitment to
the full implementation of CEDAW, especially with regard to reforming family and nationality
laws.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and Violence against Women
WLP’s campaign to stop violence against women includes grassroots, national, and regional research,
advocacy programs, and action plans for raising awareness of United Nations Security Council Resolution
1325 (UNSCR 1325). Our work supports local advocacy efforts to implement effective domestic legal
protections and institutional services, build national and regional networks against gender-based
violence, mandate women’s full participation in the peace-building process, and promote state
responsibility to end violence against women.
24
Campaign highlights include:
• WLP Jordan/SIGI/J convened two training sessions for young women, ages 18-25, on sexual
violence. Some participants had been victims of sexual violence, while others were considered to
be at risk of becoming victims. The trainings focused on identifying sexual violence, motives and
consequences of such violence, and legal protection for victims of sexual violence in national
legislation.
•
In July 2010, WLP Jordan/SIGI/J held a workshop on UNSCR 1325 and UNSCR 1820, which
addresses sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict areas, in cooperation with the Princess
Basma Center in Sahab, Jordan. At the session, 16 women and men from various civil society
organizations learned about the resolutions and their objectives and legal limitations.
Participants learned the importance of monitoring and the need for effective implementation
procedures.
At the same conference, SIGI/J convened a human rights training for 30 women and men from
Sahab villages that addressed the sexual assault of women with disabilities. The training included
an overview of violence against women; various forms of sexual assault; international legal texts,
including UNSCR 1325 and 1820; and the position of the Jordanian Penal Code on sexual assault
crimes, including moral and ethical crime designations under “rape,” “disgracing,” “temptation
and depravity,” and “incitement to debauchery.” In small working groups, participants presented
case studies on sexual assault and debated degrees of culpability. The discussion of rape cases
and the concerns of fraud indicated the need for ongoing discussion of and sensitization on the
topic of sexual assault.
•
In November, WLP Jordan/SIGI/J held a roundtable discussion on UNSCR 1325 and women’s role
in peace-building, convening 22 women from different civil society organizations. These women
discussed the importance of increasing women’s decision-making roles in conflict prevention and
resolution and identifying conflict and crisis responses that are not inherently biased against
women’s rights and equality. The panel strongly encouraged states to adopt policies and
procedures that increase women’s participation in public decision-making mechanisms.
•
In November and December, WLP Jordan/SIGI/J contributed to national and international efforts
in support of “16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence,” that reached 78 women and girls
from different youth and social organizations in Amman and Al Balqa. SIGI/J shared papers on
important legal, legislative, and economic developments affecting women in Jordan, including
domestic violence laws, amendments to the penal code, and labor law stipulations on the
criminalization of sexual harassment. Participants praised changes in women’s rights legislation
and recognized the role played by civil society in achieving these successes. Some proposed that
violence against women is commonplace and easily obscured by other social problems, which
suggests that eradication of violence is also incumbent on the alleviation of poverty and
unemployment.
•
WLP Malaysia/AWAM conducted trainings for corporations, service providers, schools, and
government agencies on gender, women’s rights, and sexual harassment in the workplace. A
prominent corporation contracted AWAM to help roll out an internal anti-harassment policy.
AWAM developed a sexual harassment module and conducted a series of trainings for the
company’s senior staff.
25
•
WLP Morocco/ADFM created a training session focused on gender bias in the Moroccan Penal
Code with regard to sexual violence, specifically the differentiation between virgins and single
versus married women, and the value of public security over individual freedom.
•
In November and December, WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB participated in the “16 Days of Activism
against Gender Violence” campaign. BAOBAB staff held a street campaign in Lagos state,
distributing gender-based violence education and communications materials, while encouraging
the public to raise awareness about women’s human rights. By holding a training that focused on
gender-based violence, BAOBAB worked to raise the awareness of this issue among key
constituent groups, including police personnel and boys.
•
WLP Pakistan/Aurat Foundation’s violence against women advocacy campaign remains
extremely active. Aurat released two major studies on violence against women that have been
widely cited in both domestic and international media outlets. The first focused on the increasing
reports of violence against women, reflecting a possible increase in this crime, and the
prevalence of honor killings. The second report drew attention to the fact that poor and middleclass women were more often victims of gender-based violence, calling it a major health and
human rights concern in Pakistan. Aurat was especially vocal in condemning the federal Sharia
court’s decision to repeal clauses of the Women Protection Act, calling for the Parliament and
Supreme Court to take action on the matter. In addition, Aurat advocated for implementation of
sexual harassment legislation and UNSCR 1325, and denounced police abuse.
•
WLP Palestine/WATC edited and finalized a manual on UNSCR 1325, which explores concepts
embodied in the resolution and culturally contextualizes the topics within a Palestinian
framework. The manual will be used to raise awareness on the issue and its implications for
Palestinian women. Using the manual, WATC organized a UNSCR 1325 training for 50 female
participants, including members and volunteers of WATC’s grassroots committees and staff from
other women’s organizations.
Family Law Reform
In Muslim-majority societies, laws governing minimum marriage age, divorce, child custody, and freedom
to travel, work, and decide location of residence have a tremendous impact on women’s lives. WLP’s
partners engage in regional exchange and advocate for family law reform, drawing from the efforts of
Moroccan activists who, in 2004, successfully advocated for a reformed family code.
Campaign highlights from WLP partners include:
• WLP Bahrain/BWA, with the Bahrain Women’s Union and the Commission of Competent
Lawyers, submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Justice calling for marriage law reform.
Currently, the laws are adjudicated in Sharia courts and apply only to the country’s Sunni
minority. Implementing the proposal, which improves the legal status of women, would create a
similar set of laws applicable to the Shia population.
•
WLP Jordan/SIGI/J researched and convened several events related to national legislation,
including the recently amended personal status law and the 2009 anti-trafficking law, which
prohibits trafficking and mandates sentences of up to 10 years for violations such as forced
prostitution and underage trafficking. In addition, SIGI/J reached more than 85 women and men
26
through workshops that focused on the personal status law, which was held in four
Governorates.
•
WLP Morocco/ADFM began to study three aspects of the Moroccan family code (Moudawana):
divorce, alimony, and property rights of goods acquired during marriage. The purpose of the
study was to determine implementation status and to identify the barriers that women face in
asserting their rights. The study is part of a concerted effort by Moroccan civil society
organizations to investigate the obstacles to full realization of the Moudawana six years after
enactment.
One Million Signatures Campaign
WLP continues to collaborate with activists, academics, and human rights organizations to raise
awareness of the increasing dangers facing Iranian human rights defenders; promote the goals of the
women’s equality movement; and securely exchange learning tools and information with activists who
remain in the country. Judicial due process in Iran continues to deteriorate, particularly among political
prisoners. Women, student activists, artists, journalists, and bloggers are increasingly targeted by
authorities as threats to the regime. Women’s rights websites, including Change for Equality and The
Feminist School, are frequently censored, and women activists are among those facing harassment,
disproportionate sentences, and harsh treatment and isolation while detained. Many high profile
campaign activists who remain in the country, such as Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani and Bahareh Hedayat,
have been beleaguered for questioning and in some cases have been arrested. In September, campaigner
Shiva Nazar Ahari was tried and sentenced to 6 years in prison and 74 lashes, indicative of the
increasingly harsh sentences facing women's rights activists. In January, campaign activist and human
rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a 20-year ban from travel or
practicing law, bringing international attention to her situation. WLP called attention to these
developments through our online networks, posting over 50 human rights updates and alerts in support
of the campaign.
Other Grassroots and National Human Rights Initiatives
Many of our partners engage in national and grassroots
women’s rights advocacy in addition to participation in the
Partnership’s regional campaigns. These initiatives make a
difference for women in those communities, and utilize
WLP’s participatory leadership trainings and methodology to
empower grassroots women and youth to advocate for
change in their own lives.
"We will not stop. We will multiply the
sit-ins until the opening of a serious
and constructive dialogue on this
issue with the heads of this
department."
Woman leader in Guich lands to Soir
Echos (Moroccan daily general news)
Highlights include:
•
In July 2010, WLP Morocco/ADFM mobilized hundreds of women from the collective and Guich
lands to gather in front of the Moroccan Parliament in Rabat. These women came from all over
the country to protest the obstacles and opposition that they encountered in their fight for equal
rights to their land. During a previous leadership training, WLP Morocco helped the women
develop a strategy for the sit-in, which was one of the movement’s first actions.
27
In October, the activists held two additional sit-ins that were well-organized and that received
significant press coverage. During the first sit-in, more than 300 women from Guich lands
congregated in front of the Directorate of Rural Affairs in Rabat. ADFM and the network for
women's rights in collective and Guich lands mobilized journalists and national media to cover
the event. Activists from the Guich lands had strong advocacy skills because they had
participated in previous ADFM trainings. In addition to mobilizing hundreds of women, grassroots
activists created their own slogans and signs, and notified the authorities that they would be
occupying the area non-violently.
•
In September, the Moroccan “Springtime for Dignity” Coalition, which seeks to reform the
country’s penal code in accordance with women’s rights, wrote a letter to the Minister of Justice
about the progress of reforms. In late September, the coalition worked with a group of legal and
human rights experts to develop a public memorandum listing their requests. The coalition sees
this work as the first stage in a wider effort to reform Moroccan criminal law.
•
Last year, WLP Palestine/WATC launched the From Youth to Youth: Empowering the Young for
Social Change campaign, which uses participatory methodology. Each year, participants choose a
theme that is relevant in their community. This year they chose “dropping out of school.” During
the campaign, participants held 150 awareness meetings in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and
convened 50 workshops to discuss the effects of the wall and checkpoints on the right to
education. In total, nearly 900 girls and boys, activists, women, and civil society leaders
participated in the campaign.
Networking and Outreach
International Women’s Democracy Network (IWDN)
Since 2004, WLP has been the Secretariat of the International Women’s Democracy Network (IWDN).
IWDN provides virtual and face-to-face platforms for grassroots women to gain knowledge and share
information on issues relating to women’s political participation and democracy. IWDN simultaneously
builds coalitions and allows collaboration among members towards the creation of representative
democracies. IWDN events are held in connection with the World Movement for Democracy, National
Endowment for Democracy’s international network of individuals and organizations, who share the
common goal of promoting democracy.
Highlights from the IWDN initiative include:
• In October, WLP communications and program associate Catherine Harrington participated in a
World Youth Day for Democracy panel discussion at American University, in Washington, DC,
hosted by the World Movement for Democracy. During the event, WLP discussed our programs
targeting youth and the vital role that youth play in democracy movements worldwide.
•
WLP Jordan/SIGI/J continues to focus on an election law that passed in May, which granted
women 12 seats in parliament, twice as many as the year before. SIGI/J has held numerous
trainings on national legislation, elections laws, internal regulations of the Jordanian House of
Representatives, and on enhancing the role of parliament to support women. Their efforts were
extremely successful – three long-term members of WLP Jordan/SIGI/J and three participants of
WLP’s leadership trainings were among the 13 women elected to the Jordanian parliament
during the November 9thelection.
28
•
WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB, IWDN regional focal point, conducted outreach through the Gender and
Affirmative Action group, of which BAOBAB is a Steering Committee member. In June, the group
met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives (lower parliament) to encourage womenfriendly legislation. In addition, the group stressed the need for women to be appointed to
principle officer positions and for elected female representatives to chair standing committees of
the House, in accordance with the 2006 National Gender Policy.
•
In June, WLP President Mahnaz Afkhami participated in a meeting of the World Movement for
Democracy’s Steering Committee in Vilnius, Lithuania, where she reported on the progress of the
International Women’s Democracy Network (IWDN).
•
On June 30, Afkhami spoke at a one-day event on “Women Enhancing Democracy,” co-chaired by
the Presidents of Lithuania and Finland, which was attended by NGOs, national executives and
parliamentarians, and European Union, United Nations, and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe officials.
Events
On September 21, 2010, more than 110 women and men from around the world convened at Johns
Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies for WLP’s day-long symposium, Challenges of Change:
Religion, Secularism and Rights. The event included four panels – “Religion, Culture and the Challenges
of Change,” “Building a Culture of Peace in Multiethnic/Multi-religious Societies,” “Legislating Public and
Private Spaces,” and “Claiming Our Rights through Nonviolent Movement-Building” – with women
leaders from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East, who addressed the challenges of
promoting diversity while striving for increased human rights. Speakers discussed the impact of
unproductive rhetoric, such as "clash of civilizations," and the implications for gender justice; the
correlation between domestic violence and violence in the community, nation, and internationally; and
strategies for mobilizing communities to bring about non-violent, positive change.
Symposium panelists included former president of
Catholics for a Free Choice Frances Kissling, then
United Nations Population Fund executive director
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, former United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Yakin Ertürk,
Ford Foundation program officer and former executive
director of Human Rights Watch Women’s Rights
Division LaShawn Jefferson, Rutgers University law
professor Karima Bennoune, Musawah project director
and former executive director of Sisters in Islam Zainah
Anwar, Fund for Global Human Rights founding executive director Regan Ralph, founder and director of
WLP Brazil/CEPIA Jacqueline Pitanguy, general coordinator of WLP Jordan/SIGI/J Asma Khader, South
African Human Rights Commission deputy chair Pregs Govender, Children’s Defense Fund founder and
president Marian Wright Edelman, and WLP founder and president Mahnaz Afkhami.
In a world plagued by ethnic and religious clashes, where
extremists increasingly strive to impose their beliefs and
lifestyles on all, participants agreed that the need is greater
than ever for rational discussion about the universality of
29
“I reserve the right to reject the idea that my
choices are limited to accepting either Glenn
Beck or sharia.”
Karima Bennoune
human rights, tolerance of differences, and transforming cultures of violence into cultures of peace.
In conjunction with the 55th session of the Commission on the
Status of Women in New York, the Partnership co-organized
three events. On February 26, over 500 women leaders from
around the world convened for WLP's symposium, Celebrating
UN Women: The Way Forward, at the New School for Social
Research. UN Women executive director Michelle Bachelet
commenced the day-long symposium, who spoke to the
realities women face throughout the world and offered visions,
hopes, and strategies for UN Women, which was established
"Women’s strength, women’s
shortly before the event. During the symposium, participants
industry, women’s wisdom are
explored how the women’s movement, particularly in the
humankind’s greatest untapped
Global South, could further its cause, including with
resource.”
constructive dialogue, interaction and collaboration. WLP
Michelle Bachelet, Executive
announced its commitment to working with and supporting UN
Director, UN Women
Women. Additionally, WLP shared the event in real time
through Twitter and Facebook, taking questions from online participants.
During the session, two WLP partners held parallel events. WLP Bahrain/BWA organized a panel
discussion on new, egalitarian interpretations of religious texts that uphold women’s rights, which aimed
to support activists’ efforts towards legislative reform. WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB held a panel that focused on
fundamentalism as a barrier to women's political participation and leadership.
WLP Meetings
WLP International met with many with civil society leaders, policymakers, academics, and democracy
experts to discuss women’s human rights and democracy, including: Joan Hadden, project manager at
TerraFocus; various Iranian activists and academics; U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
Melanne Verveer; Ugandan democracy activist Anne Bwomezi Mugisha; Aziz Mekouar, Moroccan
Ambassador to the United States, and Mbarka Bouaida, Moroccan Parliamentarian and Chairwoman of
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Defense and Religious Affairs; Dr. Fawzia Al Hani, human
rights activist from Saudi Arabia; Nadereh Chamlou, senior advisor at the World Bank; senior staff at the
Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Michelle Bachelet, UN Under Secretary-General heading UN Women;
Rawwida Baksh of the Canadian International Development Research Centre; Farah Karimi, executive
director of Oxfam-Novib; Wendy Harcourt of the Society for International Development Forum; Clare
Winterton, executive director of the International Museum of Women; Aruna Rao, executive director of
Gender at Work; former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell; Marya Stark, co-founder and board chair
of Emerge America; president of the Wilson Center, Jane Harman; Lilia Labidi, Tunisian Minister of
Women’s Affairs; Moushira Khattab, former Minister of Family and Population for Egypt; Michael Posner,
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State; June Zeitlin, director of the CEDAW Education Project at the Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Farzaneh Milani, chair of the Asia Institute at the University of
Virginia; and Jensine Larsen, founder and CEO of World Pulse magazine.
WLP International shared with other civil society organizations and activists our ongoing work in support
of their democracy and equality efforts. These activities included conversations with Iranian activists in
exile; meetings with National Endowment for Democracy Reagan-Fascell Fellows and two Turkish U.S.
Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program participants; and discussions with WLP
Egypt and other local civil society organizations about how to strengthen their networks and outreach.
30
In addition, WLP International participated in various symposiums and panel discussions, including the
University of Maryland conference “Toward a Culture of Civil Liberties, Human Rights and Democracy in
Iran,” the Women Donors Network Annual Conference, the annual Swedish Forum for Human Rights,
World Movement for Democracy’s World Youth Day for Democracy panel discussion, and the “Cooperation for Change: Moving towards a Non-Discriminatory Society” working group at Uppsala
University’s European Coalition of Cities against Racism Conference in Sweden.
See Appendix C for a complete list of WLP Meetings.
Social Networks and Online Outreach
WLP further expanded our blog – Our Vision & Our Voices – now with contributions from our partners in
Bahrain, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe. We
continued to post blogs about the ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan that followed the ousting of the
president. Tolekan Ismailova, executive director of WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC, used WLP’s blog to raise
awareness of the atrocities that had been committed and to call for an international investigation. Other
blog activity included posts from our partners addressing women’s political participation, recent
campaign updates, and reflections on the One Million Signatures and Claiming Equal Citizenship
campaigns. Additionally, WLP president Mahnaz Afkhami shared her hopes for a new kind of democratic
revolution in Egypt and throughout the region, drawing from her own experiences from the 1979
revolution in Iran.
WLP further broadened its outreach by increasing the frequency of our email blasts, including a video
message from the Partnership commemorating International Women’s Day and an email about the
passage of U.S. Senate Resolution 109, which honors the women in the Middle East and North Africa who
have bravely taken part in protests for democratic reform. The latter email was also available in Arabic,
with translation from our partner in Lebanon. In May, we circulated an update on a meeting convened by
WLP Morocco/ADFM and the Equality without Reservation campaign, celebrating the Moroccan Minister
of Women’s Affairs announcement that the country would lift its CEDAW reservations and adopt the
Optional Protocol.
eNews
WLP circulated eNews editions 27, 28, 29, and 30 among our network, highlighting major WLP events,
news, and outreach.
Issue 27 highlighted outreach activities, including full video coverage of our “Challenges of Change”
public symposium in September and links to videos of the day's panel discussions, covering topics like
religion, secularism, and women's rights; building cultures of peace in multiethnic and multi-religious
societies; and successful movement building. This edition also covered partners’ experiences using WLP’s
newest political participation training curriculum Leading to Action and integrating it into youth and
technology programs; national and regional training institute highlights; and ongoing efforts to raise
funds in support of WLP Pakistan/Aurat Foundation’s flood relief activities.
In December, WLP disseminated the 28th edition of our eNews newsletter, in which WLP partners shared
their perspectives on the status of women’s political representation. This edition included a report from
WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A executive director Lina Abou-Habib on the success of her recent peer-to-peer
strategic planning work with WLP Morocco/ADFM on its inheritance law reform campaign. In addition,
WLP celebrated former United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) director Thoraya Obaid’s new role as
31
WLP board chair, the election of three WLP Jordan/SIGI/J members to the country’s parliament, and
another landmark decision by the Moroccan government to support women’s land rights after a
concerted advocacy campaign led by WLP Morocco/ADFM. Also, this eNews described WLP’s active role
in advocating for U.S. ratification of CEDAW. WLP International and many partners submitted an official
statement in support of U.S. ratification of CEDAW to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee in
November.
The 29th eNews edition featured a series of articles written by WLP partners in the Middle East and North
Africa about the Arab Spring and an article by President Mahnaz Afkhami reflecting on the Iranian
revolution. The newsletter included videos of speakers’ presentations at WLP’s symposium during the
55th Commission on the Status of Women, and shared partner news, including WLP Jordan general
coordinator Asma Khader’s appointment to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s three-member
committee to investigate human rights abuses in Libya. Several WLP board members and partners were
named in “Women Deliver 100,” including Thoraya Obaid (Saudi Arabia), Zainah Anwar (Malaysia), and
Jacqueline Pitanguy (Brazil).
The 30th eNews edition featured a presentation on the third annual Youth Tech Festival in Amman,
Jordan, including YouTube clips from participants’ advocacy projects. The edition included an interview
with WLP Board Member and Harvard Divinity School Professor Leila Ahmed on her new book that tracks
veiling trends and politics in Egypt and the U.S. In addition, this edition highlighted the publication of our
new youth leadership manual, Yes I Can in Arabic and English; included an editorial by WLP
Palestine/WATC president Nahla Qourah, who reflected on the repercussions of the Arab Spring in
Palestine; and launched WLP’s International Youth Day Contest.
Media Mentions
WLP received over 200 citations in mainstream and alternative media, including The International Herald
Tribune, Voice of America, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Malaysia’s The
Star, Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News, Pakistan’s The News, the Jordan Times, and Lebanon’s Daily Star. A full
list of media coverage can be found in Appendix D.
Highlights include:
•
Since December 2010, the media cycle has consistently followed developments of the Arab
Spring. WLP President Mahnaz Afkhami has given myriad interviews on the matter, with a
particular focus on the essential contributions of women’s rights movements throughout the
Middle East and North Africa. Afkhami underscored the need for women’s groups to assert their
rights during this time of transition. She often applied her own experiences working as Iranian
Minister of Women’s Affairs during the revolution and reiterated that after 1979, the regime
slowly chipped away at what were some of the most progressive women’s rights laws in the
region. Afkhami spoke on Radio Farda (the Iranian branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty),
National Public Radio, or NPR, openDemocracy’s 50.50 Inclusive Democracy, and she frequently
appeared on BBC Persian, including the program Pargar.
•
Afkhami is frequently interviewed about the situation in Iran. She has addressed the death of
Iranian Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi, the struggles faced by those transitioning to life in exile, stoning
and other consequences of adultery, human rights violations, the state of political prisoners, and
Iran’s family laws as they pertain to women’s rights on Radio Farda, the BBC News, the Christian
Science Monitor, and the Italian Press Agency.
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•
WLP Board members Leila Ahmed and Yakin Ertürk, WLP Jordan/ SIGI/J general coordinator
Asma Khader, WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A executive director Lina Abou-Habib, and Afkhami joined for
three independent interviews with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio program The
Current and NPR’s Tell Me More and the Forum on the importance of the women’s rights
movement during this time of transition in the Middle East and North Africa.
•
WLP Afghanistan/AIL leadership and teacher education programs were cited in the New York
Times, The Star Phoenix, Brisbane Times, The Age, and the Sydney Morning Herald.
•
Asma Khader and WLP Jordan/SIGI/J were frequently cited in The Jordan Times, and were
mentioned in The National, IOL News, MedIndia, and Zawya, commenting on Jordan’s personal
status law, teen marriage, and electing Jordanian women to parliament.
•
Tolekan Ismailova, executive director of WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC, received significant media
attention ranging from local outlets such as 24.kg to international media such as Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty, BBC News, Voice of America, Turkish Weekly, and Ferghana regarding her
time in exile at the end of 2010, following escalated threats on her life due to her human rights
work. Additionally, Ismailova received attention for speaking out against the status of Kyrgyz
prisons and her promotion of government transparency, following the 2010 coup and the
implementation of a transitional government.
•
WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A’s ongoing advocacy in support of equal nationality rights, support for
increased women’s political representation, and advocacy on family law reform received wide
coverage in the Daily Star. WLP Lebanon was also cited in Women’s eNews and Now Lebanon.
•
WLP Malaysia/AWAM received significant media attention for its women’s rights work,
specifically its violence against women initiatives. AWAM was cited in Malay Mail, Malaysiakini,
Free Malaysia Today, and The Star.
•
Numerous articles on WLP Mauritania/AFCF’s human trafficking and slavery work appeared in
print and online publications, such as Mauritanie Web.
•
WLP Morocco/ADFM received numerous citations concerning a variety of topics, including the
country’s constitutional reform process, the status of women’s rights in the country, and the
organization’s work in support of land rights for rural women.
•
WLP Pakistan/Aurat Foundation is frequently cited in both major national and international
media outlets, including The News International, Pakistan Observer, The Gulf Times, and The
Washington Post, for its research on gender-based biased violence and activities, and advocacy
on women’s and minority rights, civil liberties, women’s political participation and peacebuilding.
WLP continued to expand on its communications strategy and brainstorm on ways to increase its
visibility and outreach capacity. During an intensive review session, WLP reported on how we have
increased our Facebook, Twitter, and blog activities to raise the Partnership’s visibility and the public
awareness of critical women’s rights issues and developments. Fenton shared possible ways to better
connect with media professionals and the importance of building relationships with media over a
33
sustained period of time. The discussion has proved helpful in shaping WLP’s outreach strategy going
forward and served to increase our internal capacity, especially in the promotion of our public events.
34
VI. WLP Board, Staff, and Organizational Development
From July 2010 through June 2011, WLP strengthened its Board and staff and enhanced its administrative
and management systems:
Board and Staff
In 2010, WLP welcomed Thoraya Ahmed Obaid (Saudi Arabia) as chair of WLP’s board of directors. Dr.
Obaid is the former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and executive director of the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). As UNFPA executive director, she introduced a focus on culture to the
Fund’s development work, linking gender, the universal values of human rights, and the values of human
worth. She served as chair of the UN System High-level Committee on Management, the principal interagency body for coordinating management matters. She was previously director of UNFPA’s Division for
Arab States and Europe and deputy executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for
Western Asia. A recipient of numerous awards, in 2004, Forbes named her among the world’s 50 most
powerful Arab women. She is also profiled as one of 100 Muslim Builders of World Civilization and
Culture in Notable Muslims. She has a doctorate degree in English Literature and Cultural Anthropology
from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
In October 2010, Rakhee Goyal stepped down as longtime WLP executive director. Jennifer Pendleton,
then senior associate for advocacy, was appointed to this position. Pendleton joined WLP in 2007 as a
program associate. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in public policy studies from Duke
University. Her work has included collaborating with a Ghanaian NGO on a community‐based campaign
for health care access among impoverished urban migrants and improving post‐conflict legal responses
to gender‐based violence during the Rwandan genocide. Prior to joining WLP, Pendleton served with the
United States Peace Corps in Morocco, working with a group of rural women to form a small business
enterprise and coordinating gender and development programming with local and regional Moroccan
associations.
In December 2010, Usha Venkatachallam stepped down as WLP director of innovation and technology. In
January 2011, WLP welcomed Abdul Khan as director of technology. Khan coordinates all technologyrelated advancements for WLP and provides internal staff technology support. He works to ensure that
WLP continually utilizes technology in the most effective manner, in order to fully leverage best business
practices while setting the trend for our partners. Khan holds a computer science and network
engineering degree from George Mason University. Before joining WLP, he was an IT manager with the
National Minority AIDS council, where he provided support for the agency’s technology division and
served as a technical resource point for community-based organizations that worked with the agency.
In November 2010, WLP welcomed two new program associates, Anne Richardson and Vivian Nguyen.
Richardson liaises with WLP partner organizations in Africa and the Middle East and helps coordinate
joint programs in these countries. She received an M.A. in international education from the George
Washington University, where her research focused on education in Muslim-majority societies and
education in development. She also holds an M.Mus. in music composition from the San Francisco
Conservatory, and a B.Mus. from the Oberlin Conservatory. She served as director of a community arts
organization and as an arts educator for more than ten years. Prior to her studies in education,
Richardson served with the Peace Corps in Morocco, working with rural women artisans to form a small
business enterprise and coordinating entrepreneurial efforts among artisans’ cooperatives.
35
Vivian Nguyen liaises with WLP partner organizations in Africa and Central Asia and helps coordinate
programs in these countries. A graduate of the Peace Corps Master’s International program through
Rutgers University, Nguyen holds an M.P.A. in international development and public service and a B.A. in
political science from Douglass College. After serving in the Peace Corps as a community health agent in
rural Niger, where she organized and implemented young girls’ empowerment and life skills projects, and
promoted maternal and child health best practices, she worked as a program specialist at the Peace
Corps. Nguyen raises awareness on refugee issues with the Refugee Experience organization.
Financial Systems and Management
WLP had a successful financial year in FY 2011. In keeping with WLP’s objective to “grow without
growing,” we continued to focus on investing resources to grow partner organizations and expand
programmatic activities. We typically support our partners in developing relationships with donors, raise
the visibility of our partners through international and regional conferences, and help our partners
develop sound financial practices.
WLP used 91 percent of its revenues on program activities, while keeping fundraising and general
administrative expenses at 9 percent. Of the program funds, more than 70 percent was spent directly on
partner organizations and partner-related programs in the Global South.
Expenditure allocations for WLP’s four program areas are as follows: curriculum development (22
percent), training (59 percent), strengthening civil society (7 percent), and women’s human rights
advocacy and movement building (12 percent).
Awards and Recognition
•
WLP Afghanistan/AIL executive director Dr. Sakeena Yacoobi was named the 2010 Schwab
Entrepreneur of the Year in Asia at the World Economic Forum in Beijing; received the Global
Heroine Award from the University of the Pacific; and was inducted into the Enterprising Women
Hall of Fame.
•
WLP Bahrain/BWA received the UNICEF Regional Award for Media on Child Rights in November
2010, for their production of three short films, entitled "Mom…Dad…I deserve love, lets share it
together." The films focus on the emotional abuse of children and were sponsored by ABC Bank.
•
The State Legislature of Rio de Janeiro honored WLP Brazil/CEPIA’s on its 20-year anniversary and
recognized its work to promote women's human rights and combat violence against women.
•
WLP Jordan/SIGI/J general coordinator Asma Khader was chosen to serve on the three-member
committee of the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate human rights violations in
Libya.
•
WLP Lebanon/CRTD-A executive director Lina Abou-Habib was elected to chair the Association
for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) board.
36
•
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani awarded the ‘President’s Medal-Mohtarma Fatima
Jinnah, 2010' to Nigar Ahmad of the Aurat Foundation (WLP Pakistan) for her contributions to
Pakistani women’s empowerment.
•
WLP Board members Thoraya Obaid (Saudi Arabia), Zainah Anwar (Malaysia), and Jacqueline
Pitanguy (Brazil) (also executive director of WLP Brazil/CEPIA) were included in "Women Deliver
100," a list of prominent leaders, whose work has had a global impact.
37
VII. Challenges
During July 2010 – June 2011, WLP and our partners experienced difficulty as a result of violence and
political instability, crack downs on civil society, and extremism. Protest movements and uprisings in the
Middle East and North Africa have created and continue to create challenges as well as opportunities for
our partners in countries such as Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco. For example, after
facing significant security concerns during demonstrations, WLP Egypt intensified its political
participation work with youth, who have been instrumental during the democratic transition. WLP
Bahrain/BWA in particular, continues to face security challenges and program disruptions due to the
ongoing unrest. WLP International has maintained secure communication with our partners in the region
and continues to support their outreach efforts with human rights alerts, news updates, and blog posts
from partners and affiliates on the ground.
In Bahrain, the pro-democracy demonstrations that began in February 2011 led to a brutal crackdown by
the government, including intervention by troops from neighboring Saudi Arabia. On March 15, roughly
one month after the demonstrations began, the government declared a “State of National Safety,”
tantamount to a state of emergency. Although the restriction was lifted on June 1, the country has
remained in a state of de facto martial law. Since the crackdown began, human rights organizations have
identified an increasingly pervasive climate of fear in the country, citing reports of arrests, detentions,
torture, and disappearances. According to a local human rights agency, more than 1,000 Bahrainis are in
detention, including many women. During the height of the protests, pro-government forces targeted
hospitals that treated injured demonstrators, arresting many doctors, nurses, and other medical
personnel and charging them with assisting protestors. While much of the violence has tempered, the
situation in Bahrain remains critical.
In early 2011, pro-democracy protests in Egypt succeeded in removing President Hosni Mubarak from
power. Yet, Egypt is at a critical juncture in terms building a true democratic system and ensuring human
rights for all. Many from the Mubarak government remain in power, and the party itself is one of the best
organized political groups in the country. Religious tensions have increased in the power vacuum,
resulting in clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians. Progressives in the country have expressed
anxiety over a potential increase in the power of radical religious groups. At the same time, in this rapidly
changing environment, WLP Egypt/FWID, NGOs, youth, and individual activists across the country are
working to ensure successful transitions to a democracy, where the rights of every citizen, regardless
of gender or religion, are honored.
The situation for human rights defenders and women’s rights activists in Iran has grown increasingly
dire. The last six months have seen a sharp increase in the number of executions, especially those of
political prisoners. In many cases, executions are carried out without due process or notification to
families. While increasing numbers of women’s rights activists have been forced into exile, many who
remain have been subjected to increased harassment and arrest, longer prison terms and sentencing of
lashes. Many have been denied access to their families and lawyers. Human rights defenders, such as the
attorney and One Million Signatures campaign member Nasrin Sotoudeh, have become targets and
government censorship continues to impair communications and restrict access to prominent human
rights websites.
Since January, demonstrations in Jordan have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai and
amendments to articles in the constitution. Jordanian protestors stood in solidarity with their Tunisian
and Egyptian counterparts and rallied against corruption, authoritarianism, high prices, and poor living
conditions. In response to the protests and other uprisings in the region, King Abdullah dismissed the
38
prime minister and appointed Marouf Bakhit to form a new government that would focus on political and
economic reform. Despite the concessions made by the government, protests continued into the spring.
WLP Jordan/SIGI/J general coordinator Asma Khader, Senator Leila Sharaf, and Representative Abla AbuElbeh met with the Royal Commission, established to amend the constitution, to review and consider
amendments. They expressed disappointment in the failure to appoint any women to the 10-member
commission and outlined measures needed to bring equality to Jordanian women.
Central Asia has become one of the most difficult places for civil society organizations to work. Freedom
to assemble, free press, and internet accessibility have eroded throughout the region. Government
crackdowns and political and ethnic violence in neighboring countries raised concerns about possible
border closures. These impediments created challenges for grassroots and NGO activists throughout the
region traveling to WLP’s second Central Asia Regional Institute. WLP's former partner in Uzbekistan,
Tashkent Women's Resource Center, in cooperation with WLP Kazakhstan, organized WLP's first Central
Asia Regional Institute in 2005. Kyrgyzstan reeled from political turmoil following a coup in April and an
outbreak of ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in early June. WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC Tolekan Ismailova
also spent part of the year in exile, following escalated threats on her life and attempts to silence other
human rights activists. Nevertheless, WLP was to convene the Central Asia Regional Institute in August,
though Tajik invitees were unable to travel to the event.
Religious extremism and a developing relationship between the government and fanatics continue to
pose serious challenges and even physical threats to WLP Mauritania/AFCF staff. AFCF executive director
Aminetou Mint Moctar has been personally threatened by extremists for her outspoken advocacy against
human trafficking and her support of slaves and domestic servants – especially those underage. She has
fearlessly called attention to government corruption, while maintaining communication with high level
officials to advance women’s rights. Additionally, food insecurity, exacerbated by a recent drought and
the presence of Al Qaeda, contribute to the challenging environment faced by AFCF.
While Morocco, in many ways, is leading the way for women’s legal rights and reforms in the Middle East
and North Africa, many significant challenges to gender equality remain. Of note is a recent government
study that found that 63 percent of women had experienced some form of violence (including
psychological violence) in the past year alone, and 23 percent had been sexually assaulted at some point
in their lives. On the other hand, there have been positive developments that suggest that the
government is committed to further advancing women’s rights beyond reforms made in the 2004 family
law. Morocco has seen other notable developments: in January 2010, the Jmaa Saknia tribe officially
integrated women in the list of beneficiaries to be compensated for future lands sales; and in October
2010, the Ministry of the Interior affirmed the government’s decision to grant land rights to Soulaliyate
women equal to that of Soulaliyate men.
During the past year, WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB has remained consistently engaged with online social media,
despite periodic outages and subpar network infrastructure in the region. Bridging the connectivity divide
between the urbanites, who have access to better infrastructure, and rural-dwellers, who comprise
BAOBAB’s grassroots workshops, has remained, perhaps, the most significant obstacle. Mobile
communications are a viable, but expensive alternative, and as such, low-income, grassroots women are
disproportionately priced out of from buying cell phones. WLP continues to work with partners such as
BAOBAB, who face these challenge, looking ahead for possible solutions to improve the Partnership’s
outreach and the evaluations of the grassroots trainings.
39
Outbreaks of violence in Nigeria have continued to cause security concerns, affecting travel and
occasionally delaying programs in parts of the country. Due to the reports of violence in the north during
the post-election period in April, WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB had to reconfigure a planned evaluation program
in Kano, and instead, conducted a systematic leadership training evaluation via telephone.
Despite intensive media campaigns and efforts by civil society organizations, including WLP
Nigeria/BAOBAB, to encourage women to run for political positions, April elections posed a significant
challenge for female candidates. Two participants – including a woman who had vied for a seat in the
Abia State House of Assembly (State Parliament) during the April 2011 elections – reported that female
candidates were told to step down in order to cede positions to men during primaries. Attempts to file
complaints were met with bargaining and coercion by authorities.
Continuing unrest in Pakistan resulted in the assassination of two moderate government officials. In
January, Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer was shot by one of his police guards, due to his opposition to
the country’s anti-blasphemy laws. In early March, Minister of Minority Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti was
assassinated by suspected Islamic militants. Both men were vocal supporters of religious freedom and
women’s rights, and their assassinations are seen as setbacks to moderate civil society. Following these
events, WLP Pakistan/Aurat Foundation joined other NGOs in protesting the assassinations of both men.
Additionally, in July, Pakistan suffered from the worst flooding in its history, significantly weakening the
country’s infrastructure. Many lost their homes and continue to need assistance.
40
VII. Appendices
Appendix A:
Appendix B:
Appendix C:
Appendix D:
Schedule of WLP Trainings July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011
Select Photos July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011
WLP Meetings July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011
Media Coverage July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011
41
Appendix A
Schedule of Trainings: July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011
Afghanistan – Sar Asia
Village
Afghanistan – Kabul
Training
National TOT
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
LTC Evaluation
Afghanistan –
Shakardara
Afghanistan – Kabul
Leadership
training
National TOT
Afghanistan – Herat
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
National ICT TOT
ICT workshop
Country
Afghanistan – Herat
Afghanistan – Kabul
Afghanistan – Herat
Afghanistan – Kabul
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan – Herat
Afghanistan –
Shakardara
Bahrain – Manama
National ICT TOT
Evaluation
National
Leadership TOT
evaluation
Political
Participation
Bahrain – Manama
YWLP
Bahrain – Manama
Leadership
training
Participants
33 participants
35 participants (21
women and 14 men)
41 participants (25
women and 16 men)
44 participants (40
women and 4 men)
31 participants (3
women and 28 men)
35 participants (21
women and 14 men)
18 women
participants
27 women
participants
38 participants (18
women and 20 men)
8 women
6 participants (4
women and 2 men)
6 participants (4
women and 2 men)
23 participants
Dates
December 19–23, 2010
December 13–25, 2010
16 women
participants, in
preparation for
parliamentary
elections; facilitated
by WLP
Lebanon/CRTD-A
20 girls age 13-15,
session on “Who Can
be a Leader?”,
Leadership and
Choices, and SelfEsteem
15 women
participants
August 7–9, 2010
42
December 25, 2010 – January 4,
2011
January 23 – February 2, 2011
January 26, 2011
January 26, 2011
January 30 – February 3, 2011
March 12–19, 2011
March 26 – April 2, 2011
April 3–7, 2011
April 17–19, 2011
April 17–19, 2011
April 17–19, 2011
September 15–29, 2010
November 6–13, 2010
Bahrain – Manama
Bahrain – Manama
Brazil – Nilopolis
Brazil – Paraná
Brazil – Paraná
Brazil – Paraná
Egypt – Qalyubeya
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt
ICT
ICT
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
Political
Participation
Leadership
training
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
Ghana – Accra
Indonesia –
Bojonegoro
Indonesia –
Bojonegoro
Indonesia – Surabaya
Regional YWLP
YWLP
Jordan – Amman
National
YWLP/ICT TOT
Jordan – Al Mafraq
Political
Participation
Leadership
training
Jordan Al Zahra’a
Jordan – Al Ramtha
Jordan – South Barn
Jordan – Al Tafileh
Jordan
Jordan – Central Badia
YWLP
YWLP
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
YWLP
10 women
10 women
17 women working at
the Citizenship
Secretariat of Nilopolis
Municipality
15 participants
12 participants
68 participants
14 participants (8
women and 6 men)
NGO representatives
from 8 governorates
NGO representatives
from 14 governorates
NGO representatives,
media, political party
representatives
21 women and girls
25 female secondary
school participants
25 female secondary
school participants
25 female secondary
school participants
175 participants (88
women and 87 men)
Youth Technology Fest
and Training of
Trainers
52 women and girls
January 26–29, 2011
February 8, 2011
July–September (weekly
meetings)
January 10, 2011
February 1 – April 1, 2011
June 8, 2011
September 28–30, 2010
March 2011
March 29–31, 2011
April 19–21, 2011
June 20–24, 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
August 7–8, 2010
October 5, 2010
30 secondary school
students, boys and
girls
30 participants
October 6–7, 2010
35 participants
December 26, 2010
15 participants
December 28, 2011
25 women
participants
14 women
January 11, 2011
43
October 13, 2010
January 1 – March 31, 2011
Jordan – East Jordan
Valley
Jordan – East Jordan
Valley
Jordan
Jordan – Al Zarqa
Jordan
Jordan – Amman
Jordan – Amman
Kazakhstan –
Shymkent
YWLP
YWLP
ICT
YWLP/VAW
training
YWLP/VAW
training
ICT Regional TOT
Regional
YWLP/ICT
Regional TOT
Kazakhstan –
Shymkent
Kazakhstan –
Shymkent
Kazakhstan –
Shymkent
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
Regional Political
Participation
Institute
Kazakhstan –
Shymkent
Kyrgyzstan
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
YWLP/VAW
training
Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek
YWLP/VAW
training
Lebanon – Rashaya
ICT
participants
20 women
participants
25 women
participants
16 participants
21 youth participants
January 1 – March 31, 2011
January 1 – March 31, 2011
June 1, 2011
June 1, 2011
28 youth participants
June 1, 2011
25 participants
77 youth participants
– Youth Tech Festival
23 women’s rights
advocates from
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan and
Azerbaijan
22 women
participants
19 women
participants
30 women
participants: activists,
journalists, students,
and local authorities
26 women
June 4–5, 2011
June 6–8, 2011
Radio training
15 participants
August 28–30, 2010
October 27, 2010
April 5–7, 2011
April 15, 2011
June 2–4, 2011
June 2010 – June 2011
January 10, 2011
13 participants
January 15–16, 2011
20 second-year
students at Arabaev
Kyrgyz State
University
80 students at J.
Balasagyn Kyrgyz
National University at
the Faculties of
Journalism and Public
Advertising
15 women
cooperative members
May 2011
44
May 2011
September 1 – October 1, 2010
Lebanon – Rashaya
ICT
Lebanon – TaalabyaBaalback
Leadership
training
Lebanon – Baalbeck
Leadership
training
ICT
Lebanon – Zahleh
Lebanon – Baalback
Leadership
training
Lebanon – Nabatieh
ICT
Lebanon – Zahleh
ICT
Lebanon – Al
Baddaoui
Lebanon – Nabatieh
Leadership
training
ICT
Lebanon – Tripoli
Leadership
training
Mauritania –
Nouakchott
Political
Participation
Mauritania –
Nouakchott
Political
Participation
Mauritania –
Nouakchott
Political
Participation
Mauritania –
Nouakchott
Political
Participation
Mauritania – Ksar
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
Leadership
training
Mauritania –
Nouakchott
Mauritania – Teyarett
Morocco – Rabat
13 women
cooperative members
10 women;
Mainstreaming LTC in
the Nationality
Campaign
15 women NGO
representatives
12 women
cooperative members
13 women
participants, in
collaboration with the
Makhzoumi
Foundation
14 women
cooperative members
12 women
cooperative members
12 women NGO
representatives
14 women
cooperative members
32 participants –
CRTD-A staff and NGO
members
25 women
participants, members
of local NGOs
25 women
participants, members
of local NGOs
25 women
participants, members
of local NGOs
25 women
participants, members
of local NGOs
25 participants
November 1– December 1,
2010
November 3–4, 2010
25 participants
May 2011
25 participants
June 2011
ADFM staff and
volunteers
October 30–31, 2010
45
December 1, 2010
December 1, 2010
December 20, 2010
January 1 – February 1, 2011
January 1 – February 1, 2011
February 1, 2011
February 1 – March 1, 2011
March 1, 2011
August 12–15, 2010
August 17–21, 2010
August 22–26, 2010
August 28 – September 2, 2010
April 2011
Morocco – Rabat
Morocco – Errachidia
Political
Participation
Leadership
training
Morocco – Rabat
Political
Participation
national TOT
Morocco – Errachidia
Leadership
training
Nigeria – Abia
Political
Participation
Political
Participation
Leadership
training
Nigeria – Abia
Nigeria - Jos
Nigeria – Lagos
YWLP
Nigeria – Kogi
Leadership
training
Nigeria – Abuja
LTC Evaluation
Nigeria – Abia
Political
Participation
Evaluation
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
Pakistan
Palestine
ADFM board and
members
20 participants (17
women and 3 men
from collective lands)
10 participants from
the Soulaliyates
network (women of
collective lands)
32 women counselors
from the Anaruz
network of women's
shelters
30 women university
students
30 women politicians
and political aspirants
21 women,
nonacademic staff at
university
25 Teenage boys
selected from
secondary schools in
Lagos state
60 women university
students and political
aspirants
7 women law
enforcement and
justice officials
51 women politicians
and university
students
36 participants
November 27–28, 2010
15 participants
Fall 2010 (reported this period)
February 12–13, 2011
May 13–14, 2011
June 16–17, 2011
July 21–23, 2010
July 24–27, 2010
November 8–10, 2010
December 2–4, 2010
February 7–13, 2011
April 13–14, 2011
June 8–9, 2011
April 26 – May 8, 2011
Palestine
Leadership
training
45 participants
Fall 2010 (reported this period)
Senegal – Dakar
Leadership
Institute
12 participants
January 31- February 3, 2011
46
Turkey – Samsun
Turkey – Duzce
ICT
Zimbabwe – Harare
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
Leadership
training
National TOT
Zimbabwe – Harare
ICT
Zimbabwe – Harare
ICT
Zimbabwe – Harare
National TOT
Turkey – Eskisehir
Turkey – Istanbul
19 women
cooperative members
(part of the MicroNet
project)
6 women participants
4 women participants
20 women
participants
11 participants (9
women, 2 men)
13 participants (10
women, 3 men)
9 participants (6
women, 3 men)
25 participants (21
women and 4 men)
47
June 1 – July 15, 2010
December 1, 2010-March 1,
2011
December 1, 2010-March 1,
2011
December 1, 2010-March 1,
2011
December 9–11, 2010
December 2010
January – March 2011
April 27–29, 2011
Appendix B
Select Photographs: July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011
Political Participation Workshop
Manama, Bahrain
August 7-9, 2010
48
Youth Tech Festival
Amman, Jordan
August 7-8, 2010
49
Central Asia Regional Institute
Shymkent, Kazakhstan
August 28-30, 2010
50
Peer-to-Peer Strategic Planning
Rabat, Morocco
October, 2010
51
Political Participation Training
Abia, Nigeria
July 21-27, 2010
LTC and Gender training for boys
Lagos, Nigeria
December 2-4, 2010
52
Leadership and ICT Trainings
Turkey
Fall 2010
53
WLP Brazil/CEPIA
Gender-Based Violence Law
November 24, 2010
54
WLP Zimbabwe/WSPM Income Generation Training
Harare, Zimbabwe
November, 2010
55
Women's Political Participation and Leadership panel
WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB
th
55 Commission on the Status of Women parallel event
February 24, 2011
Panel on Women’s Rights
WLP Bahrain/BWA
55th Commission on the Status of Women parallel event
February 25, 2011
56
WLP International event
Celebrating UN Women: The Way Forward
55th Commission on the Status of Women parallel event
February 25, 2011
57
Political Participation Training in Shymkent, Kazakhstan
WLP Kazakhstan/SWRC and WLP Kyrgyzstan/CAC
April 5-7, 2011
58
Regional Institute for Training of Trainers in Information and
Communication Technology for Social Change
Amman, Jordan
June 3-5, 2011
Third annual Jordan Youth Tech Festival, Amman, Jordan
June 6-8, 2011
59
60
Appendix C
Schedule of Meetings and Outreach: July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011
•
On July 6, WLP President Mahnaz Afkhami spoke with Joan Hadden, project manager at
TerraFocus, regarding the role of women as peace-builders in wartime and post-conflict societies.
The conversation focused largely on the ongoing situation in Kyrgyzstan and the work of WLP’s
partner there.
•
On July 8, Afkhami and then WLP executive director Rakhee Goyal spoke with Hadi Ghaemi,
director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, regarding possible cooperation
on organizing an international dialogue on “opening closed societies,” with participants from
Eastern Europe, Latin America, South Africa and Iran.
•
On July 27, Afkhami and Goyal met with U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
Melanne Verveer to brainstorm ideas and discuss solutions for issues impacting women in the
Middle East and North Africa. Afkhami participated in a follow-up conversation with Ambassador
Verveer on July 29.
•
On August 16, Afkhami and Goyal met with Ugandan democracy activist Anne Bwomezi Mugisha,
regarding her plans to run for public office and strategies to increase women’s political
participation there. They discussed workshops using WLP’s Leading to Action manual to provide
training for voters as well as candidates.
•
On September 22, WLP staff met with Asma Khader (WLP Jordan; Jordanian National Commission
for Women), Zainah Anwar (Sisters in Islam – WLP Malaysia), and Yakin Ertürk (former UN Special
Rapporteur on Violence Against Women) to discuss themes and focus areas for the new WLP
manual on ending Violence Against Women.
•
On September 28, Afkhami and then WLP senior associate for advocacy Jennifer Pendleton met
with a 10-person delegation of Turkish women NGO leaders who were taking part in the U.S.
Department of State International Visitors Program. The group discussed issues facing women in
the United States, Middle East, and North Africa, and WLP’s Turkish language manuals and
resources, with a particular focus on how WLP’s training curriculum and programs can be used by
activists working on violence against women.
•
On September 29, Afkhami was interviewed by Cyrus Kadivar, an Iranian author who is writing a
book about the last days of the Iranian monarchy. The interview focused on Afkhami’s work in
the pre-revolutionary government and the impact of the improved status of women on
mobilizing radical elements against the government.
•
On September 29, Afkhami met with Aziz Mekouar, Moroccan Ambassador to the United States,
and Mbarka Bouaida, Moroccan Parliamentarian and Chairwoman of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, National Defense and Religious Affairs. Afkhami discussed the work of WLP’s Moroccan
partner regarding women’s rights, particularly in the area of family status code reform and equal
right to land ownership.
61
•
During September, Afkhami had several conversations with Professors Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak and
Mansour Farhang to assist in organizing an international conference on creating a culture of
democracy and human rights in Iran.
•
On October 1, Afkhami, Goyal, and Hayes met with Dr. Fawzia Al Hani, a human rights activist
from Saudi Arabia and a colleague of WLP Bahrain executive director Wajeeha Al-Baharna. The
conversation focused on women’s human rights in the gulf region.
•
On October 1, WLP program and communications associate Catherine Harrington attended a
roundtable on Women and Political Reform in Morocco with Moroccan MP and Chair of the
parliament’s Committee of Foreign Affairs, National Defense and Religious Affairs Mbarka
Bouaida at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. Following the event, Harrington
interviewed Bouaida for a piece published on WLP’s blog about Bouaida, women in politics, and
women’s rights in Morocco.
•
On October 12, Pendleton attended a meeting of the CEDAW 2010 Task Force, which is working
toward ratification of CEDAW in the United States. The discussion included both domestic level
legislative advocacy initiatives and potential interventions by international organizations such as
WLP.
•
On October 20, Harrington attended a dinner hosted by the New America Foundation on
women’s empowerment in the Middle East. The event, attended by former first lady of the
United Kingdom Cherie Blair, U.S. Ambassador-at-large for Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer,
journalists, and NGO representatives, provided WLP with the opportunity to further raise
awareness of our work among policy makers and contribute to discussions on best practices for
women’s empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa region.
•
On October 21, Afkhami met with Sussan Tahmassebi of the One Million Signatures campaign in
Iran to discuss the evolving situation of the threats and limitations to women's activism there,
and the possibilities of supporting the movement through international pressure.
•
On October 21, Afkhami chaired the Global Council Meeting of the International Museum of
Women via web conference.
•
On October 25, Afkhami met with Dr. Jahangir Amuzegar, distinguished Iranian academic and
economist, about opening closed societies and the chances for effective human rights activism.
•
On October 26, Afkhami spoke with Nadereh Chamlou, Senior Advisor at the World Bank, about
businesswomen in Muslim-majority countries and their role in bringing about empowerment.
•
On October 29, Afkhami spoke on the panel “The Origins and Evolution of the Women’s
Movement in Iran” at the University of Maryland conference “Toward a Culture of Civil Liberties,
Human Rights and Democracy in Iran.” During the same conference, Afkhami spoke at a plenary
session on the origins and evolution of women’s movement in Iran and moderated a panel
entitled “Women’s Rights and the Concept of Cultural Relativism.”
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On November 6, Afkhami spoke at the Women Donors Network Annual Conference in
Philadelphia on WLP programs for women’s empowerment.
•
On November 15, Afkhami delivered a keynote address entitled “Leading to Action – Women and
the Politics of Participation” at the annual Swedish Forum for Human Rights in Orebro,
Sweden. She also spoke on a plenary on women’s empowerment and political participation.
•
On November 16, Harrington participated in a panel discussion at American University as part of
World Youth Day for Democracy. During the event, which was hosted by the World Movement
for Democracy, she outlined programs targeting youth and the importance and power of youth
movements, particularly in the developing world.
•
On November 17, Afkhami spoke at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, on women’s democracy
promotion in the Middle East and North Africa region.
•
On November 18, Afkhami participated in a parallel working group entitled “Co-operation for
Change: Moving towards a Non-Discriminatory Society” at the European Coalition of Cities
against Racism Conference at the University of Uppsala.
•
On November 18, Harrington attended the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on U.S.
CEDAW ratification. WLP International and WLP partners in Afghanistan, Brazil, Lebanon,
Nicaragua, and Pakistan, all submitted official statements affirming the importance of U.S.
ratification to the work that we conduct on the ground. WLP continues in its wider effort to
support the full ratification and implementation of CEDAW in our partner countries through
supporting our partner-executed CEDAW advocacy campaigns and by raising awareness of the
importance of the convention through WLP outreach.
•
On November 19, Afkhami spoke with a group of NGO leaders about WLP’s programs and
curriculum at the headquarters of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in
Stockholm.
•
Also on November 19, Afkhami spoke about women and democracy promotion in Muslimmajority societies to senior staff at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a roundtable
discussion hosted by Swedish Democracy Ambassador Maria Leissner.
•
On December 1, Afkhami participated in a discussion with Dr. Michelle Bachelet, the new UN
Under Secretary-General heading UN Women, on the new women’s issues at the United States
Department of State. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer chaired
the session, in which Deputy Assistant Secretary Suzanne Nossel and Dr. Esther Brimmer,
Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, also participated.
•
On December 22, Afkhami spoke with Rawwida Baksh of the Canadian International
Development Research Centre and Wendy Harcourt of the Society for International Development
Forum in Italy regarding a project to document the history and genealogy of knowledge-building
within international and regional feminist movements from the late 1960s to the present.
63
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On January 5, Afkhami spoke with Rawwida Baksh, program leader for Social and Economic Policy
at the International Development Research Centre in Canada regarding a project focusing on
transnational feminist genealogy.
•
On January 13, Afkhami met with Shervin Hadjilou and two colleagues from the Near East Affairs
Desk at the Department of State regarding developments in the region as well as challenges
faced by women there.
•
On January 19, WLP Executive Director Jennifer Pendleton spoke with Geeta Misra, executive
director of CREA and Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, international coordinator of the Global Network of
Women Peacebuilders, as part of an ongoing institutional collaboration project, “M&E in
Practice,” which focuses on developing and refining models of monitoring and evaluation that are
responsive to the needs and experiences of organizations working on women’s issues.
•
On February 21, Afkhami met with a group of Iranian activists living in New York City to discuss
ongoing strategies to combat human rights abuses in the region.
•
On February 22, Afkhami met with Farah Karimi, executive director of Oxfam-Novib, to discuss
strategies for inclusion of women in the transitions following unrest and revolution across the
Middle East and North Africa.
•
On March 4, Afkhami met with Farzaneh Milani, chair of the Asia Institute at the University of
Virginia, to discuss exchanges between academics and activists working on the Middle East and
North Africa.
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On March 13, Afkhami delivered a keynote address to the Feminist Majority Foundation’s annual
global forum, which took place at George Washington University in Washington, DC, with more
than 800 young feminist activists in attendance.
•
On March 25, Afkhami spoke with U.S. Ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issue Melanne
Verveer regarding the current political upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa, specifically
challenges facing women in the region.
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On March 30, Afkhami participated in a video conference, organized by Nadereh Chamlou of the
World Bank, with several women leaders from Lebanon, Turkey, Tunisia, Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan
regarding recent events in the Middle East and North Africa. Afkhami shared the experiences of
women following the Iranian revolution and lesson for women in the emerging democracies.
•
On March 31, Afkhami spoke with Clare Winterton, executive director of the International
Museum of Women, regarding upcoming exhibitions and her role as Chair of the museum’s
Global Council.
•
On April 7, Afkhami and Pendleton met with Sally Blair, director of Fellowship Programs at the
National Endowment for Democracy, and three Reagan-Fascell Democracy program fellows to
discuss WLP’s work to expand women’s political participation in the Global South.
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On April 13, Afkhami and WLP program associate Anne Richardson met with Sarap Cagatay and
Remziye Tural, two women leaders from Turkey visiting the United States as part of
the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, to discuss their program on
rural women’s participation in development and to explore areas of possible mutual
cooperation.
•
On April 14, Afkhami met with Carole Moore, chief librarian at the University of Toronto,
regarding collaboration on a project to collect the oral history of WLP partners and to archive her
papers and documents.
•
On April 14, Pendleton and Harrington spoke with Rebecca Chaio, co-founder of Harassmap,
about the means by which this dynamic anti-harassment communications campaign in Egypt has
evolved and expanded, and to explore opportunities for Harassmap organizers and volunteers to
utilize WLP programs to strengthen institutional capacity for this rapidly expanding grassroots
initiative.
•
On April 19, Afkhami met with Aruna Rao, executive director of Gender at Work, regarding
strategies for an upcoming publication focusing on gender equality and organizational change.
•
On April 19, Afkhami attended a Council of Women World Leaders event at the Aspen Institute
entitled “Leading the Way: Lessons from the Boardroom and Beyond” for a brainstorming session
with the former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and several high level U.S. corporate and
political leaders.
•
On April 20, Afkhami spoke with Marya Stark, co-founder and board chair of Emerge America,
about WLP’s efforts to empower women and increase political participation across the Global
South.
•
On April 21, Afkhami chaired a meeting at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
featuring Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi. The discussion focused on Iranian human rights
abuses in light of the 2009 post-electoral unrest in that country. While there, Afkhami moderated
an informal discussion among Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi and a small group of journalists,
academics, and activists.
•
On April 29, Afkhami spoke with Radwan Ziadeh, visiting scholar at Carr Center for Human Rights
at Harvard University, as part of a plenary entitled “Freedom Now? Human Rights in the Arab
World and Beyond” during the 2011 Global Forum of the American Jewish Committee. The
forum, which took place in Washington, DC, brought together nearly 1,500 people, including
world leaders, prominent scholars, and members of the NGO community.
•
On May 2, Afkhami participated in a meeting hosted by Jane Harman, President of the Wilson
Center, with Tunisian Minister of Women’s Affairs Lilia Labidi, former Minister of Family &
Population of Egypt Moushira Khattab, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner,
among others, to discuss the evolving situation in the Middle East and North Africa and chances
for democratic development and enhancement of women’s status following the transitions.
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On May 6, Afkhami attended the “Empowerment of Women and Girls through Sports” event at
the U.S. Department of State, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on the importance
of competitive sports for the development of women’s leadership capabilities.
•
On May 17, Pendleton spoke with Mirna Adjami of the UNHCR Division of International
Protection Statelessness Unit about recent progress of the Claiming Equal Citizenship campaign,
and possible joint advocacy in connection with the anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the
Reduction of Statelessness.
•
On June 14, Afkhami spoke with June Zeitlin, director of the CEDAW Education Project at the
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, regarding the content and participants of a
possible Senate hearing on the Arab Spring and Women’s Rights in July.
•
On June 15, Afkhami participated in the Advisory Committee meeting of the Women’s Rights
Division at Human Rights Watch in New York City. The meeting focused on domestic violence in
Turkey, transitions in Tunisia, and women’s human rights concerns across the Middle East and
North Africa.
•
On June 15, Afkhami spoke on a panel discussion entitled “Women, Activism, Technology” at the
Grantmakers Without Borders annual conference in New York. During the panel she shared
about WLP’s work to empower women and youth with information technology skills and
discussed the potential of social media to play a role in movement-building.
•
On June 21, Afkhami spoke with Tonny Filedt-Kok, a member of the executive board of OxfamNovib, regarding possible collaboration between WLP Egypt/Forum for Women in Development
(FWID) and Soroptimist International’s Egyptian contingent.
•
On June 22, Afkhami met with Jensine Larsen, founder & CEO of World Pulse magazine, regarding
WLP’s advocacy efforts, publications, and resources, and how World Pulse can collaborate in the
future to help promote women’s empowerment.
•
On June 23, Richardson participated in an event at the International Forum for Democratic
Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy, entitled “From the Grassroots to the Nation:
Promoting Women’s Rights and Political Participation in Cameroon.” The event featured a
presentation by Anne-Stella Fomumbod, Reagan-Fascell Democracy fellow.
•
On June 28, Afkhami participated in a meeting of the World Movement for Democracy’s Steering
Committee in Vilnius, Lithuania, where she reported on the progress of the International
Women’s Democracy Network (IWDN).
•
On June 29, Afkhami participated in an informal working group meeting focusing on gender
equality and promotion of the rights of women at the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
Vilnius. Other participants included U.S. Ambassador Melanne Verveer and Lithuanian ViceMinister of Foreign Affairs Evaldas Ignatavicius.
•
On June 30, Afkhami spoke as part of a panel discussion entitled “Women’s Economic
Independence” during the Community of Democracies meeting “Women Enhancing Democracy:
66
Best Practices” in Vilnius, Lithuania. Moderated by U.S. Ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s
Issues Melanne Verveer, the panel also included Finnish ombudsperson Eva Biaudet, President of
the Bangladeshi Women’s Chamber of Commerce Selima Achmad, and Lithuanian academics. The
event was co-chaired by the Presidents of Lithuania and Finland, and attended by several
presidents, speakers of parliaments, cabinet officers, academics, media, and international nongovernmental organizations.
67
Appendix D
Media Coverage: July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011
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The News International, “2009 Another Dismal Year for Women,” July 1.
Secours Catholique, “Tolekan Ismailova menacée de mort au Kirghizstan,” July 1.
The News International,” “The Gender Reform Action Plan…,” July 3.
The Express Tribune, “Women Stripped of Retribution,” July 5.
Newsweek, “Women Will Rule the World,” July 6.
Next, “Groups Campaign for Rights Bill,” July 6.
24.Kg, “Citizens against Corruption does not confirm Ismailova fled Kyrgyzstan,” July 7.
The Daily Mail, “Indonesian Embassy Organizes Fun Gala for Noble Cause,” July 7.
The News International,” “Members of the Violence Against Women…,” July 7.
24.Kg, “Ismailova: I hope the threats against me will attract MIA’s attention,” July 8.
Central Asia Online, “Tolekan Ismailova flees Kyrgyzstan, citing threats,” July 8.
The Jordan Times, “National Coalition formed to support women candidates,” July 9.
Ammon News, “Hundreds of cases go unreported,” July 9.
Worldwide Faith News, “CPWR Courage Meets Compassion,” July 9.
The Daily Times, “’Black Day’ Observed Against Punjab Assembly Resolution,” July 11.
Tradearabia.com, “Poverty-trap child brides,” July 11.
iStock Analyst, “Rights group in citizenship row,” July 13.
The News International, “Polytechnic institute for women in Rawalpindi soon,” July 14.
IOL News, “Teen marriage a restless topic in Jordan,” July 15.
The Jordan Times, “Women’s groups welcome amendments to penal laws,” July 15.
MedIndia, “Activists Cry Foul at Teenage Marriage in Jordan,” July 17.
Daily Times, “PPP always raises voice for women’s rights: Taseer,” July 21.
Next, “Women most affected during crisis,” July 23.
The Daily Star, “Women’s gains in elections still marginal despite gains,” July 24.
Jordan Times, “Jordan: Training to make women candidates more competitive,” July 25.
L’Orient-Le Jour, “Des raisons socioculturelles retardant la pleine participation des femmes à la
politique,” July 27.
Tatimma, “IN FOCUS: Claiming Equal Citizenship: Lebanese Women’s Right to Full Citizenship,”
August.
The Star, “Continuous Crusade,” August 1.
The Star, “Rape, a growing statistic,” August 1.
Dawn, “Violence Against Women,” August 2.
The Express Tribune, “Two Women Abused Every Hour in Pakistan,” August 2.
Huffington Post, “Afghan Women’s Movements Deserve More from the West,” August 3.
The News International, “Anti-terror Act Should Be Blind Towards Children,” August 4.
The Nation, “President’s Medal Fatima Jinnah, 2010 conferred,” August 7.
The Jordan Times, “IT tools key to motivating young voters,” August 8.
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The Daily Star, “Beirut workshop calls for greater national unity,” August 10.
Malaysiakini, “Special school for pregnant teens not a good idea,” August 12.
Dawn, “Violence against women,” August 12.
The News International, “Call for Declaring Pakistan Secular State,” August 12.
Express Tribune, “Violence against women: Highest number of reported cases in Punjab,” August
14.
Khaleej Times, “Workshops for women married to foreigners planned,” August 16.
Mmail, “NGOs: Do more to protect sexual harassment victims,” August 16.
Turkish Weekly, “Dinara Oshurahunova: Problem of Trust between Two Ethnic Groups in
Kyrgyzstan,” August 16.
Justmeans.com, “Pakistan Flood: Social enterprises providing help now,” August 18.
The Star, “Sisters doing it for themselves,” August 19.
Radio Free Europe, “Prominent Kyrgyz Rights Activist to Sue Ombudsman,” August 19.
The Star, “NGOs slam Nasrudin over jibe,” August 20.
Ameinfo.com, “Umniah sponsors Second Youth Tech Forum,” August 22.
Mmail, “Flexi-hours, office daycare get thumbs up,” August 27.
Newsline, “Might or Right,” August 29.
Brisbane Times, “Afghan Women ‘Depend’ on Foreign Troops,” August 30.
The Age, “Afghan Women ‘Depend’ on Foreign Troops,” August 30.
Sydney Morning Herald, “Afghanistan needs education: teacher,” August 30.
Jordan Times, “Lack of funding hurting women candidates – activists,” September 1.
Punch, “One year after court judgment, Nigerian women still need letter of consent to get
passport,” September 4.
Jordan Times, “Zoabi, Thomas being punished for views on Palestine,” September 7.
Macleans, “Same story, different ending,” September 8.
Dawn, “Aid and NGOs,” September 8.
Times of India, “Tianjin Takeaways: Serious Challenges, Complex China,” September 16.
Ferghana, “Ismailova: The investigation of southern events is strategic,” September 18.
CP-Africa.com, “BAOBAB: Extending Nigerian women’s rights through Sharia law,” September 22.
Jordan Times, “Coalition pushes to seat more women in Parliament,” September 27.
Jordan Times, “New Personal Status Law strengthens Jordanian family,” September 28.
Daily Times, “Police an instrument in hands of the influential: minister,” October 7.
SvD, “Requirements for the regime in Kyrgyzstan,” October 11.
Trade Arabia, “Bahrain closing the gender gap,” October 13.
Daily Star, “Campaign for equal citizenship for women steps up pressure,” October 15.
24.Kg, “Tolekan Ismailova: I came back because I couldn’t keep out…rights of my counterparts
trampled,” October 18.
The WIP, “Legal and Social Acceptance of Polygamy Destabilizing Families,” October 19.
Dawn, “NGOs complain to Gilani about poor relief work,” October 19.
AsiaOne, “Forcing employee out of work for pregnancy a violation of law,” October 20.
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “Prominent Human Rights Defender Returns to Kyrgyzstan,”
October 20.
The Daily Times, “The Menace of Child Abuse,” October 20.
Zawya, “Debate continues over Personal Status Law,” October 20.
New York Times, “Dr. Greg and Afghanistan,” October 20.
Daily Times, “Report calls for progressive taxation to overcome flood challenge,” October 21.
Dawn, “Women in the lead,” October 21.
Maroc Journal, “Le succès du Code de la famille au Maroc est révolutionnaire,” October 21.
Central Asia Newswire, “Prominent Kyrgyz human rights advocate returns,” October 25.
The Canadian Press, “Jordan approves new family law; activists say bill a step forward, but not far
enough,” October 25.
Zawya, “JNCW to lobby Parliament to endorse Personal Status Law,” October 25.
Jordan Times, “Personal Status Law disappoints women’s movement,” October 30.
Jordan Times, “JNCW to lobby Parliament to endorse Personal Status Law,” October 26.
24.Kg, “Bloody events in south Kyrgyzstan – result of criminal inactivity,” November 1.
Huffington Post, “Judaism and Global Justice: A Conversation with Ruth Messinger,” November 1.
Huffington Post, “Opportunity Collaboration Equals Transformational,” November 2.
Jordan Times, “Women will play key role in next Parliament,” November 2.
IPS News, “Poll Win Gives Women Candidates a Push,” November 4.
Star Tribune, “Jordan’s women face uphill battle to get elected in conservative desert kingdom,”
November 8.
The Express Tribune, “Marked rise in police torture, rape cases,” November 9.
The National, “Jordanian women count on each other to win Parliament,” November 10.
Recordnet.com, “From Afghanistan to Stockton,” November 16.
Voice of America News.com, “Clashes Erupt at Trial for Ousted Kyrgyz Leader,” November 17.
BBC News, “Trail of ex-Kyrgyzstan president Bakiyev opens,” November 17.
AFP, “Justice Eludes Cambodian Attack Victims,” November 17.
The New York Times, “When Donations Go Astray,” November 20.
The Gulf Today, “Kounila Kao,” November 20.
Free Malaysia Today, “Sexist Photo Captions Unbecoming of a Newspaper,” November 25.
Malaysiakini, “Media Please, Women Athletes Not Sex Objects,” November 27.
The Star, “United Against Violence,” November 28.
Jordan Times, “Ministry will work with, not against, women’s movement,” November 30.
The Express Tribune, “Women’s Rights,” November 30.
The Express Tribune, “Can Wife Beating Ever Be Justified,” November 30.
ABC News, This Week, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” December 5.
Gulf Daily News, “Amend Nationality Law,” December 8.
Ammon News, “Professional Associations Remain a Man’s World Despite Increased Women’s
Membership,” December 10.
24.Kg, “Tolekan Ismailova says about conflict in Kyrgyzstan…,” December 10.
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Malay Mail, “Longer Maternity Leave Not the Best Answer,” December 10.
Free Malaysia Today, “PM Should Clarify Contradiction on Child Marriages,” December 10.
24.Kg, “Ismailova: Abuse of power in law enforcement in Kyrgyzstan…,” December 13.
Free Malaysia Today, “Criminal Justice System Is Failing Victims of Sexual Crimes,” December 10.
24.Kg, “Human rights advocates confirm rapist gang operates in Osh,” December 14.
Vanguard, “World Human Rights Day: NBA, others tack FG,” December 16.
The News International, “Government Urged to Challenge FSC Decision on SC,” December 25.
Daily Times, “Citizens for Democracy Meet at PMA House,” December 27.
Jordan Times, “Despite positive changes, more remains to be done,” December 30.
Malaysiakini, “Stand Up Against Hatred and Threats Against LGBT,” December 30.
The News International, “Rains Fail to Dampen Civil Society Campaign Against FSC,” December
31.
Radio Free Europe, “Kyrgyz President Honors Veteran Rights Activists,” December 31.
The Daily Star, “Activists Gear up for 100th Year Since 1st Women’s Day March,” January 1
Gulf Daily News, “Pioneering Bid to Fight Abuse,” January 4
The News, “Alarming Increase in Incidents of Honour Killings,” January 5
The News, “$40 Million USAID Grant to NGO,” January 7
Zawya, “Bahrain Polytech Supports UN Day for the Elimination of VAW,” January 11
Malay Mail Online, “NGOs call for RCI to explain Teoh’s death,” January 11
Gulf Daily News, “Plea to Change Citizenship Law,” January 11
The Sun Daily, “Honda Partners UNDP in Offering Scholarships,” January 12
The News, “Poor, middle class,” January 12
Hürriyet Daily News, “Women’s Cooperatives to be legally recognized, Turkish ministry says,”
January 14
The Wall Street Journal, “ Channeling the City’s Varied Voices,” January 20
Hürriyet Daily News, “State Department extends funding to four Turkish women’s NGOs,”
January 24
Gulf Daily News, “Women urged ‘make your voices heard’,” February 4
The Jordan Times, “New Cabinet likely to win public confidence but task monumental,” February
10
Mauritanie Web, “Counseling center for women victims of violence to open,” February 24
Eurasianet, “Kyrgyzstan: Privatization Initiative Generates Transparency Concerns,” February 24
Mauritania Web, “Des militants antiesclavagistes en grève de la faim,” February 25
Mauritania Web, “Reprise d’un movement de protestation contre un cas d’esclavage,” February
27
Mauritania Web, “Fin d’un movement…contre une esclavagiste…” February 28
New Straits Times, “2 Malaysians among world’s ‘100 most inspiring people’,” March 3
The Daily Times, “Countrywide protests against Bhatti’s killing,” March 3
Allvoices.com, “100 of the World’s Most Inspiring Women,” March 3
News Day, “WSPM calls for women’s empowerment,” March 6
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Malaysiakini, “M’sian women a long way from equality,” March 8
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “Uzbek Activist Returns U.S. Award to Protest Honoring of
Otunbaeva,” March 8
The Jordan Times, “King, Queen discuss Jordanian women’s issues with activists,” March 9
Afriquejet, “Five man panel to probe CJN Salami, Nigeria,” March 10
Voice of America, “UN Commission to Investigate Abuse in Libya,” March 12
The Express Tribune, “DHA case: Police have not arrested ‘influential’ rapists,” March 12
24.kg, “Ismailova says Otunbayeva intervenes into proceedings in Kyrgyzstan,” March 15
Gulf News, “Human rights investigation panel to meet in Geneva,” March 15
The Daily Star, “Tourism Ministry advertising campaign criticized as sexist,” March 15
The Jordan Times, “Libya human rights mission tough – Khader,” March 15
24.kg, “Ismailova: Kyrgyz prisons threaten national security and public safety,” March 15
The News, “MPAs dance their hearts out to celebrate Women’s Day,” March 16
North Jersey.com, “Bahraini women discuss culture at forum,” March 17
Maghrebia, “Mauritanian activist talks about women as agents of change,” March 18
L’Orient le Jour, “Koullouna lil Watan, un documentaire de Carol Mansour sur le droit à la
nationalité,” March 18
Dawn, “Policy for home-based workers sought,” March 20
The News, “Indian Delegation plants Tree of Hope,” March 22
Daily Times, “Peace between India, Pakistan vital to end violence, poverty,” March 22
WeNews, “Arab Women in Revolution: Reports from the Ground,” March 24
Afrique en Ligne, “Mauritania anti-slavery activists go on hunger strike,” March 26
Women’s eNews, “Lebanon Protesters Take Aim at Family Law System,” March 28
Free Malaysia Today, “Enough of sexist remarks, Nazri,” March 28
24.kg, “Ismailova: The state should solve prisons’ problem through talks,” March 28
Monsters and Critics, “Malaysian lawmaker says women drivers ‘slow’ and ‘oblivious’,” March 29
Free Malaysia Today, “Bung Mokhtar is an utter disgrace and should resign,” March 30
Hurriyet Daily News, “Turkish Mother of 12 Looking to Expand with Microcredit,” April 2
International Herald Tribune, “Violence against women: Raped once, violated twice,” April 5
Maghrebia.com, “Mauritanian activists push for action on slavery,” April 7
Hurriyet Daily News, “Turkey’s Changemakers: Senem Gul empowers women,” April 8
Associated Press, “UN says Libya human rights investigation will cover all sides,” April 8
The West Australian, “UN rights investigators to start probe in Libya,” April 8
Global Fund for Women, “Nationality Laws Sweep Middle East,” April 8
24.kg, “Tolekan: Dushebaev should step down,” April 14
Maghrebia, “Mauritania child maids ignite social debate,” April 15
Today’s Zaman, “Foundation supports female entrepreneurs across Turkey,” April 17
Daily Times, “Various seminars organized at Jashn-e-Faiz,” April 18
Newser, “Greg Mortenson Scandal May Be ‘Tragedy’ for Girls,” April 19
Daily Outlook Afghanistan, “Joya: Western media darling, irrelevant in Afghanistan,” April 19
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Malay Mail, “NGOs: Target ex-husbands’ EPF funds for maintenance payments,” April 25
UN News Centre, “Libya: UN human rights panel begins investigation,” April 27
Scoop, “Libya: UN panel begins investigation,” April 28
Hurriyet Daily News, “Turkey’s Changemakers: Selma Demirelli empowers women to economic
independence,” April 29
The Nation, “NGOs demand review petition in Mai case,” April 30
The Nation, “May Day moot for solving female workers’ problems,” May 1
News 24, “Libya investigators wrap up field probe,” May 4
Dawn, “Govt move over universal primary education sought,” May 4
Dawn, “Legal aid centres for 5 districts in Sindh,” May 5
The News, “Labour bodies call for implementation of right to education,” May 5
Daily Times, “Conference commemorates female peasants, workers,” May 7
The Guardian, “Women in Morocco are losing ground to tradition, prejudice and male greed,”
May 10
AFP, “Des Marocaines militent pour l’egalité home/femme dans la Constitution,” May 16
News Day, “Education key to women’s empowerment,” May 16
50.50, “Rape in Pakistan: the real verdict,” May 17
The Daily News Egypt, “Social media creating social awareness in the Arab world,” May 19
Malaysiakini, “Rape at all time high, gov’t looks the other way,” May 20
The Malay Mail, “One rape case every 15 mins’,” May 20
Free Malaysia Today, “Sexual violence has reached epidemic levels,” May 23
CBS News, “UN: Qaddafi forces committed war crimes,” June 1
All Africa.com, “Libya: International Commission of Inquiry Releases Report,” June 1
MSNBC.com, “Both rebels and Libyan forces committed war crimes, UN panel says,” June 2
The Star Phoenix, “Women’s mentorship program reaches far into Afghanistan,” June 3
Associated Press, “Prosecutor claims Gadhafi provided Viagra to promote rape,” June 9
The Canadian Press, “At UN, Gadhafi regime denies charges of crimes against humanity and war
crimes,” June 9
The National, “Qaddafi regime denies war crimes, says rebels are cannibals,” June 10
Haaretz.com, “Is the Palestinian Authority doing enough to stop honor killings?,” June 16
The Daily Star, “Women’s groups press for unity on rights and nationality law,” June 18
24, “Kyrgyz activists urge authorities to pay attention to recommendations,” June 20
ISD/Ghana.gov, “Africa Regional Young Women’s Leadership Institute Underway,” June 21
Now Lebanon, “Civil society and the new cabinet,” June 21
Vanguard, “We have a lot of sit-tight leaders in Africa – Chibogu,” June 25
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