This week, Document Women has gathered stories about women continuously seeking safety for themselves and their communities, as well as breaking free from patriarchal roles.
- United kingdom
The British government is trying to tackle digital abuse with the passing of its landmark Online Safety Bill. In the legislation, a “duty of care” responsibility has been placed on tech platforms that allow users to post content, including social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and video-sharing sites such as YouTube, OnlyFans and Pornhub.
As such, the companies would have to prevent the distribution of material promoting racism, terrorism and child abuse, while also protecting children from viewing “harmful” material and adults from “legal but harmful” content.
However, rights groups note that the bill fails to mention violence against women and girls or make specific recommendations to ban online abuse against women and girls.
Read more here;
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/survivors-of-online-sexual-abuse-fighting-for-justice/
2. Pakistan
Women only markets? While women in rural Pakistan have always reared animals, taking care of nutrition, milking and vaccinations and keeping their barns and sheds clean, taking the animals to market for sale is considered a man’s job
For the first time ever, hundreds of women were seen trading animals at Marui livestock market – Pakistan’s first women-led livestock market.
It was organized by the Tando Allahyar district government and local NGO the Research and Development Foundation (RDF) to encourage more women into the livestock sector as part of a six-year Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress project to strengthen small-scale agribusinesses and reduce poverty in Sindh and Balochistan provinces, run in partnership with the International Trade Centre and the World Trade Organization.
Read more here;
3. Brazil
A recent study looking at how small fishing communities in Brazil have coped with the pandemic found that female leaders often took on vital roles in ensuring their communities’ subsistence, and in helping to prevent contagion.
As the COVID-19 pandemic stifled activities in Ilha de Maré community off the coast of Salvador, Brazil. Eliete Paraguassu, a 42-year-old shellfish harvester, mobilised her community to erect physical barriers, preventing tourists from trying to visit the island despite the pandemic.
The women’s group led by Paraguassu established partnerships with NGOs and a local university, and members were trained to keep the community protected from the virus. They received and distributed donations of face masks and hand sanitiser, and treated people with traditional medicine.
Read more here;
4. Sierra Leone
The death of a young woman in Sierra Leone almost immediately after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) has revived calls to end the practice. The body of 21-year-old Maseray Sei was found in December, a day after the FGM occurred. Sei’s family said that after the procedure Sei complained of a migraine and was in pain. Activists working on the case believe FGM to be the cause of the complications. The family are now pressing for a postmortem.
Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world, with 9 out of 10 women and girls aged between 15 and 49 affected, according to UNICEF.
Read more here;
5. Nepal
People in Nepal stage protests against the imposition of luxury tax on menstrual products, tampons. Previously, the Nepal government had committed to making efforts to bring the price of menstrual pads and tampons down. However, after months of inaction against the imposition of the tax, the youth activists resorted to peaceful protests on Friday.
The protests in Nepal began after the House of Representatives approved a replacement bill amending the annual budget plan of 2021/22.
Read more here;
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/nepal-youth-activists-demonstrate-against-imposition-of-luxury-tax-on-menstrual-products-articleshow.html