Recently, here at BooTrib, we covered what the U.N. deemed the 10 most under-reported stories. Let’s unofficially feature diaries on women’s issues for the next many days. Send me an e-mail if you’d like your diary about women’s issues so categorized. (susanhu at earthlink . net). Write about anything you want!
I intend this to be as much about healing here as it is about raising awareness. I’ll start with a newsletter I received. These aren’t suggested topics, just links to stories I thought would interest you:
WELCOME TO IWPR’S WOMEN’S PERSPECTIVES No. 002, June 02, 2005
LOVE, AFGHAN STYLE Women are still being used as currency in the marriage
market. By Parwin Mohmand in Kabul
NO RIGHTS FOR SHARIA WIVES: Dagestani women who enter into polygamous
marriages risk losing everything – even their children – when their husband
tires of them. By Polina Sanayeva in Makhachkala
And, don’t miss the “Sisters Grimm” story below:
Here’s a fun story via Alternet’s PEEK:
Shakespeare-was-a-woman theorists step aside: “Once upon a time women created fantastic stories and fables while men took the credit. Unfortunately this isn’t a fairy tale (or a shocker),” writes Jessica, who quotes from a Discovery Channel feature: “
The Brothers Grimm have received credit for ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Snow White,’ ‘The Frog Prince’ and other famous fairy tales, but now some scholars believe women provided the German brothers with these stories and many others.
“The Brothers Grimm did end up giving credit to one woman, an educated middle class woman named Dorothea Viehmann. But the brothers described her as being an uneducated, kindly old ‘peasant woman,’ to reinforce a folksy charm that the brothers hoped to imbue their books with. Nice.” (Feministing)
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IWPR’S WOMEN’S PERSPECTIVES No. 002, June 02, 2005 – Cont.:
GEORGIA: SAD PLIGHT OF UNDERAGE BRIDES Teenage Azerbaijani girls in Georgia
often have no choice but to marry young. By Ramilya Alieva in Kaspi
KAZAK WOMEN SOLD AS SEX SLAVES Women from southern Kazakstan are being
forced into prostitution both at home and abroad. By Gaziza Baituova in
Taraz, southern Kazakstan
SHUTTLE TRADERS RISK ALL Kyrgyz women travel across the region to support
their families, despite being bullied and harassed en route. By Gulnura
Toralieva in Bishkek
SECRET DIVORCES UNDERLINE WOMEN’S POWERLESSNESS Men are illegally divorcing
their wives without them knowing. By Aso Akram in Sulaimaniyah
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“The Women’s Reporting & Dialogue Programme will seek to strengthen the capacity of local media and individual journalists to cover gender issues through training and information provision.”
The Women’s Reporting & Dialogue Programme – currently covering non-Arab Muslim countries – will seek to strengthen the capacity of local media and individual journalists to cover gender issues through training and information provision. It also seeks to create a regional network of female journalists whose high-quality output will provide a much-needed source of comprehensive information on gender issues in the regions.
Following two productive round tables events held in Kabul and Bishkek, we held a successful regional conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. This provided a valuable opportunity for journalists participating in the project to share experiences and expertise, as well as receiving training and guidance.