Subject: [fem-women2000 779] Women's Globalnet #190: Women Worldwide Celebrate IWD 2002
From: iwtc <iwtc@iwtc.org>
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 17:11:00 +0000
Seq: 779

IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #190
Initiatives and Activities of Women Worldwide
By Anne S. Walker 

April 10 2002

WOMEN WORLDWIDE CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2002

PLEASE NOTE: This issue of IWTC Women's GlobalNet consists of 
information from the UNDP Gender in Development Programme (GIDP) Gender 
Beat  #34. If you would like to receive Gender Beat in the future, 
please contact Asako Osaki at asako.osaki@undp.org.

We thank UNDP/GIDP and congratulate them for their efforts to 
disseminate information on women and development activities.

__________________________________________________

Countries around the world observed International Women's Day (IWD) on 8 
March 2002. Here are some exciting reports from UNDP's field-based 
colleagues on how their countries celebrated the IWD 2002. We wish to 
extend our appreciation to those who contributed to this issue! 

Highlights of the UN events can be found at: 
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/confer/events/IWD2002/ 

***Asia and the Pacific*** 
Bhutan 
ART, ESSAY AND POETRY COMPETITION AS WELL AS LAUNCHING OF GENDER PORTAL 
SITE: The UN System in Bhutan organised a nation-wide art, essay and 
poetry competition on the topic of "Women in Bhutan" in collaboration 
with the National Women's Association of Bhutan.  More than ninety 
entries were received from across the kingdom, and the winners were 
selected based on originality, composition, technique and overall 
impact.  The winning entries were displayed at an art exhibition in the 
capital, Thimphu, where Her Majesty the Queen Ashi Sangay Choden 
Wangchuck, UNFPA's Goodwill Ambassador in Bhutan, was the guest of 
honour. 

Another highlight of the festivities was the launching of the Gender 
Portal Site in Bhutan entitled, "Pho Mo Dra Nam" which means gender 
equality in the national language, Dzongkha.  The website 
(www.undp.org.bt/gender) is a one-stop shop for the UN's gender 
activities and initiatives and provides useful links to gender and 
development related sites.  Six women trainees, who were trained in the 
creation of a health portal site under the project "Information Network 
for Good Governance", designed the website. For more information, please 
contact: Seeta Giri  at <seeta.giri@undp.org> 

Fiji 
CELEBRATING FIJI'S ACCOMPLISHMENT AS THE FIRST PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRY TO 
REPORT TO CEDAW: Fiji presented its first report to the CEDAW Committee 
on January 16th, 2002. Thus, Fiji became the first Pacific Island 
Country to report to the Committee a truly historic event for women's 
rights in the Pacific! 

The celebration began with a devotion, hymn and official opening address 
by Adi Lady Lalabalavu Mara, former First Lady of Fiji and President of 
the Soqososo Vakamarama, the association for Fijian women. A number of 
other speakers representing the government and the UN spoke about the 
essential role women play in efforts to support good governance in South 
Pacific Forum member countries. 

Also held on March 8 was a lunch sponsored by the Fiji Women's Rights 
Movement and the Fiji Association of Women Graduates. At the lunch, the 
NGO representatives to CEDAW in New York talked of their experience in 
presenting Fiji's CEDAW Shadow Report. They gave an excellent overview 
of the role of NGOs in the reporting process and noted the importance of 
having an NGO delegation present in order to lobby members of the 
Committee of Experts for CEDAW. Members of the NGO delegation intend to 
share their experiences with others who are beginning to write their 
country's CEDAW reports. 

The Fiji Women's Crisis Centre staged a  candlelight vigil for survivors 
of sexual assault and a panel discussion with open forum on Marital 
Rape. The panel provided a range of legal, institutional, and personal 
perspectives on the subject. All in all, the events held to commemorate 
IWD this year demonstrated that women in Fiji, like women around the 
world, refuse to sit back and be victimised by discrimination. They know 
there is a lot to do, but they are clearly up for the challenge. For 
more information, please contact: Sarah Whitfield 
(sarah.whitfield@undp.org) 

India 
POTPOURRI OF EVENTS TO CELEBRATE IWD AND TO PROMOTE GENDER AWARENESS: 
The UN Interagency Working Group on Gender & Development organised IWD 
around the international theme of "Afghan Women: Opportunities & 
Responsibilities" as well as this year's theme, "Women for Peace and 
Development." Highlights included: 

* Expressions for Peace of children from formal and non-formal schools, 
college students, NGOs and agencies. Some wrote; others painted... 

* Street plays featuring pertinent issues related to women and girls by 
children from Prayas and members of Alanar. 

* Posters focusing on women displayed on the UN lawns by the various 
participating agencies. 

* White Ribbon Day -- promoting a world where women and girls can live 
free from fear of violence; white ribbons were distributed to all 
participants with a short write-up on its significance. 

The finale for the day was the screening of "Kandahar" directed by 
Moshen Makhmalbaf and based on the real life experiences of a young 
Canadian-based Afghan journalist. The film was followed by a panel 
discussion. For more information, please contact: Chinnamma Varghese 
(chinnamma.varghese@undp.org) 

Iran 
FUNDING FOR INCOME-GENERATING PROJECTS FOR AFGHAN WOMEN: The message of 
the UN Secretary General was read at three public gatherings by the UNIC 
Representative.  Also, UNDP along with other UN agencies contributed 
funds to recruit an NGO that will initiate income-generating projects 
for Afghan refugee women in Iran in the context of the UN Theme Group on 
Gender and Development. Each member agency of the Theme Group will 
contribute US$500. For more information, please contact: Ahmad Salari 
(ahmad.salari@undp.org) 

Nepal 
CELEBRATING THE PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT 11 AND WORKING TOWARD THE GENDER 
EQUALITY ACT: For the first time, the Government of Nepal and the UN 
System in Nepal jointly celebrated IWD.  Under the theme of "Women's 
Rights and Peace," a mass rally was organised and a function at City 
Hall in Kathmandu.  The function honoured the first Nepali women in the 
following categories: the first headmistress of a school, the first 
woman to join the HMG/Civil Service (officer level), the first woman to 
join the military and the first disabled (blind) woman to pass the 
school-leaving certificate exam.  Three individuals were recognised for 
their continued work on gender equality and the advancement of women; 
the honourees included a male journalist at the national daily newspaper 
and two women, one a social worker and the other an elected woman ward 
representative. The day was complemented by an exhibition of Nepali 
goods and handicrafts produced by women and displayed outside the 
auditorium of the City Hall. At the district level, rallies were held 
along with an essay competition on the theme of Women's Rights and 
Peace. 

The government announced the formation of a Women's Commission, and the 
House of Representatives passed the 11th Amendment, guaranteeing equal 
property rights and conditional abortion to women by a majority vote of 
147 to 1. The passage of this legislation has taken 8 years. For more 
information, please contact: Bharati Silawal (bharati.silawal@undp.org) 

***Latin America*** 
Chile 
PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE MINISTER OF WOMEN TO CELEBRATE IWD: The eight 
UN Agencies represented in Chile organised a joint press conference with 
the Minister of Women.  The UNDP Resident Coordinator gave an overview 
of the status of women in both Chile and the world and mentioned how 
important it was for Chile to ratify the Optional Protocol to CEDAW.  
FAO made a presentation on rural women in Chile and Latin America, and 
the Regional Director for the Economic Commission for Latin America and 
the Caribbean spoke about the work being done in Afghanistan on gender 
issues.  There was a wide array of government activities during the 
entire week prior to March 8, which included meetings with business 
women and visits to women working in the fishing industry. For more 
information, please contact: Claudia Corvalan 
(claudia.corvalan@undp.org) 

***Africa*** 
Malawi 
IWD ACTIVITIES FOCUS ON WOMEN PROACTIVELY RESPONDING TO FOOD CRISIS: 
With Malawi in a state of food insecurity, IWD events focused on 
children in hospitals where malnutrition and food-deficiency related 
illnesses are on the rise and, in some cases, have reached crisis 
proportions. The UNDP Resident Coordinator together with the Deputy 
Minister of Health and Population and two women Cabinet Members, 
distributed fortified meal flour, known in Malawi as 'Likuni Phala,' and 
maize flour to paediatric units at the hospital. 

Malawi also held exhibitions of women's economic activities as well as 
local women's success stories.  The displays were in the form of drama, 
poem recitals and songs promoting and espousing the national theme, 
which was "Economic Empowerment of Women: Promoting Women's Full Access 
to and Control over Productive Resources." 

On the eve of 8th March, the First Lady and the President issued a 
national broadcast about the significance of IWD whose events were 
widely covered by the print and electronic media. For more information, 
please contact: Esnath Kalyati (esnath.kalyati@undp.org) 

*** Arab States *** 
Jordan 
SUCCESS STORIES BOOST THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY FESTIVITIES: Six 
women from various parts of Jordan, each of whom has made a difference 
in their communities by becoming professionals in traditionally 
male-dominated jobs, addressed government and NGO representatives who 
gathered at the Greater Amman Municipality. Highlights included:

* The first athlete to win a gold medal for Jordan in the Paralympics, 
who said: "My aim was to eliminate the shame and disgrace some families 
feel towards their disabled children.  I wanted to demonstrate that 
disabled people are as capable and determined as everyone else in our 
society." 

* The first woman public university vice-president and dean spoke of her 
role in founding a nursing school that put Jordan on the medical map. 

* A cardiologist and three women activists received accolades for their 
tireless efforts in fighting poverty, and for establishing a development 
project at a refugee camp in Madaba and setting up a community 
development centre in Shobak. 

Her Royal Highness Princess Basma, who acted as patron of the event, 
said: "Let us see this day as a celebration of the magnitude of women's 
potential. It is a time to realise that women's issues are no longer 
marginal."  The event concluded with an exhibition on "Businesswomen and 
Women Entrepreneurs" and an art exhibition by women entrepreneurs. For 
more information, please contact Amal Tartir (amal.tartir@undp.org) 

***Europe and the CIS*** 
Uzbekistan 
UZBEKISTAN CELEBRATES THE PUBLICATION OF GENDERED NATIONAL STATISTICS AS 
WELL AS A GENDER MAINSTREAMINING HANDBOOK: In Uzbekistan, the 8th of 
March is an official holiday.  This year, UN agencies devised a joint 
advocacy action that included a round table to honour Uzbek women. It 
was attended by parliamentarians, Deputy Prime Minister of Women's 
Affairs, NGOs, academics, and the media. The round table proved to be 
the perfect opportunity to present the collection of newly released 
statistics entitled "Women and Men of Uzbekistan" produced by the State 
Department of Statistics with joint support from the Asian Development 
Bank and UNDP. Also presented was the UNDP RBEC Gender Mainstreaming 
Handbook. The event received wide coverage in the national and local 
media. For more information, please contact: Dona Abdurazakova 
(dona@uzci.net) 

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