SOME GOOD NEWS in the world 19 -12 - 2011
Good News in Argentina, Kenya, Hungary, Uruguay, Russia, South Korea, Iraq and Morocco.
The Catholic Church held accountable in court
On September 13, 2011, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute the Pope, the Vatican Secretary of State and two Cardinals for rape, other forms of sexual violence, and torture as crimes against humanity.
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The gender identity bill was partially approved by the majority after five hours of debate. This law allows citizens to change their name and sexual identity without court permission. The president of the General Legislation Commission, Vilma Ibarra from the Nuevo Encuentro Party said: “This is an initiative which will bring respect and dignity to the transsexual people, which includes our Constitution and the human rights treaties that have been incorporated into it.”
Members of the Argentine Federation of Lesbian, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals (FALGBT), the Travesties, Transsexuals and Transgender Association (ATTA), and the National Front for the Gender Identity Law in the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA) were present during the session and celebrated the preliminary approval.
The part of the law which reached no agreement was that which relates to minors receiving hormonal treatment and sex change with the consent of their parents.
If this bill passes any person older than 18 years old, would be able to change (without asking permission from any authority) not only the first name, sex and picture (so they will correspond to their gender identity) on their identity card, they will be able to change on demand their birth certificate and these changes will remain confidential. Furthermore, it would be no request of sex change surgery to make these changes, and if the person wants to submit to surgery or hormonal treatment as long as they are older than 18, won’t have to ask permission from any authority, and these is not all.
Suggestion: Read the Bill and Smile.
Coast Women in Development congratulates our president Mwai Kibaki for signing into law the FGM Bill that was submitted to parliament by Mt. Elgon MP Fred Kapondi. The Female Genital Mutilation Bill 2011 which was accepted on 8th September 2011 now creates an act of parliament that prohibits the practice of female genital mutilation and safeguards against violation of a person’s mental or physical integrity through the practice of female genital mutilation.
Amendment to cut the budget for abortion services repealed
One of the coalition parties in the Hungarian government tried to introduce an amendment to Hungary’s budget for 2012 that would delete the amount set aside for subsidizing abortions. Activists gathered signatures from several organizations and on December 13 their efforts were accompanied by success:
“The Government did not support the proposal of the two MPs, which was joined by Jobbik (far right party), so the Parliament did not vote on it, which means that the proposal to cut the money for abortions was repealed”.
A law that would have made illegal for any person to write a book, to publish an article or to speak in public about being gay, lesbian, bi or transgender was repealed thanks to Human rights defenders around the Russian Federation.
Victory for a woman who suffered sexual harassment in her workplace!!!
Mrs. Park was fired because she complained about being subjected to sexual harassment in her workplace. Then, Mrs. Park in a remarkable effort to get justice went the distance that many others hadn't dared to go. She held a Sit-In protest of 150 days asking for the punishment of the offenders and for her reinstatement.
Recently, she won a small victory, the ministry of Labor considered the mental pain that she endured (thanks to the advocacy of Network for Glocal Activism) as an industrial accident, so it was decided that the ministry would pay her medical expenses and allowances: “It was the first time that the victim's mental pain after sexual harassment regarded as an industrial accident”.
And more recently, she won a bigger victory:
Hyundai Globis (the logistic company of Hyndai Motor), Hyungjin Company (the sub-contractor), KMWU (Korea Metal Workers' Union) and she signed an agreement.
According to the agreement, Hyungjin Company has to;
- To dismiss the offender on January 31th and to reinstate her February 1st.
- To pay wages for the months that she was unfairly dismissed.
- To prohibit any disadvantage at the workplace
- To ensure the buyout of employment
- To prepare comprehensive measures to prevent recurrence of sexual harassment
- To set up the program to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace
For more information please write Network for Glocal Activism glocal.activism@gmail.com
Reaping the Results of Three Decades of Feminist Activism: Constitutional Reforms in Morocco Set Precedent of Institutionalizing Gender Equality. With the advent of what is now referred to as the Arab Spring, Morocco witnessed lesser street protests compared to other countries. However, the social unrest in the region, coupled with the reform process that had already started in 2001, accelerated changes toward further inclusion and realization of rights.
A key landmark is undoubtedly the national referendum over the reform of the Constitution which took place in July 2011. The newly approved Constitution by and large responded to the key demands of the feminist movement in Morocco.
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Iraq
Disabled women in Iraq are among its most vulnerable citizens, have been treated as invisible and have suffered from serious marginalization. That’s why VIWO, Voice of Independent Women, has focused on the leadership and empowerment of disabled women. VIWO has held two conferences the first on July 7th - the first conference in Iraq concerning disabled women and the second in the Middle East - and a second conference on December 1, 2011 on the occasion of the International Day of disabled people, with 150, representatives from PM Ministers, Human Rights NGOs and Disabled People’s NGOs present.
Conference Recommendations:
1) Iraq shall sign and ratify Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
2) The parliament shall legislate national laws concerning disabled people with emphasize on women that should take an active role in its formation. Legislating national law should guarantee the enjoyment of the rights enumerated in the Convention.
3) To establish a higher disability commission, in order to conduct a comprehensive review of current legislation. This should involve civil society and persons with disabilities and their representative organizations.
4) To fix a special quota in the parliament for disabled people, so they could highlight their issues and influence the formulation of policies to their benefit.
The bill on Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy is now discussed in the Senate Health Committee.
Bill’ characteristics:
There is a period up to 12 weeks to interrupt the pregnancy voluntarily.
Outside this period, the new rule covers cases of fetal malformations and the risk of health of the mother.
It regulates conscientious objection for health team members only, not for public or private institutions which have to guarantee the service.
It also includes the participation of a guardian or representative for the case of minors or people without the ability to decide for themselves.
To prevent Uruguay from becoming the regional place to perform abortions, the new law provides approval for the interruption of pregnancy only to women who have been in the country for no less than 42 weeks.
