In Mexico, abortion rights strictly for the books.

PIP: This paper characterizes the Mexican abortion laws using the case of a girl aged 14 years, Paulina Ramirez Jacinta, who was raped, became pregnant, and chose to terminate the unwanted pregnancy, yet was denied an abortion. This case clearly showed that Mexican abortion law, despite its legality, is highly restrictive in nature and, in a way, violated the human rights of Paulina. Even though it permits first-trimester abortion procedures for rape victims or women whose lives are endangered by the pregnancy, many pregnant women still resort to illegal abortion. To further aggravate the restrictive nature of the law, Baja California state Rep. Martin Dominguez Rocha made a proposal to eliminate the rape exception in the state's penal code. The case of Paulina will be handled by the lawyers at the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy in order to arrive at a settlement favorable to Paulina.^ieng

Peruvian case submitted to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

PIP: On April 12, 2000, the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (CRLP), the Center for Justice and International Law and three Latin American women's rights organizations filed a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleging human rights abuses in Peru's health care system. The petition alleges violations of the woman's right to informed consent to medical treatment, as well as the rights to life, health, privacy and nondiscrimination. The initial petition was filed in 1999 following the death of a Peruvian woman from a rural area who underwent a sterilization procedure at a public health clinic. The woman agreed to a sterilization after being told that she was violating a national limit on family size by having more than 5 children and was at risk for prosecution by the government. The woman eventually died from complications and lack of proper treatment. Staff attorney Luisa Cabal is representing CRLP as a co-petitioner, with the assistance of fellow attorney Carla Avni.^ieng

Settlement for Peru women's rights case.

On March 6, 2000, the Peruvian government accepted international responsibility for the rape of a poor indigenous woman by a doctor in the country's public health care system. This rare concession--and the settlement--represent a striking victory for the victim and for abused and oppressed women in Latin America who rarely receive acknowledgement of their rights. The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (CRLP), along with the Latin America and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights and the Center for Justice and International Law, reached a settlement after bringing this first-of-its-kind women's human rights case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The government agreed to provide the victim, Marina Machaca, with psychological care for as long as she needs, as well as land and materials to build a house and property in a public marketplace to sell her wares. In addition, the doctor who raped her was dismissed. Peruvian officials also agree to study the creation of centers for sexual abuse victims, and to review and implement proposals to revamp the health service and judiciary systems in regard to women throughout their country. Luisa Cabal is the CRLP staff attorney who represented Machaca in this international arena.

Endangering women's health for profit: health and safety in Mexico's maquiladoras.

PIP: This article focuses on the situation of women in Mexico's maquiladoras (assembly plants). There are approximately 1 million Mexicans working in over 4000 maquiladoras in which violations of worker's human, labor, and health rights exist. The specific dangers of work in maquiladoras and the double burden of domestic and factory work that women already bear all contribute to a wide range of health hazards for women. These workplace hazards include toxic chemicals, unsafe equipment, poor workstation design, and excessive heat or cold, poor ventilation and lighting, harmful noise levels, and dangerously high production quotas. Since most maquiladoras illegally dump hazardous waste and spew contaminants into the surrounding environment, residents of maquiladora communities are exposed to additional health hazards simply because they live near the plants. In response to this problem, workers have organized themselves into community-based groups and democratic unions. The need for worker-controlled organizations was emphasized because workers who are organized have greater possibilities of addressing their concerns about health, safety, wages, and job security than those who are not.^ieng

Chile shadow report to the United Nations sheds light on women's rights.

PIP: Three Chilean women's rights organizations and CRLP presented a Shadow Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The 25-page Shadow Report indicates in summary the disappointment of the Chilean women in their government. Although Chile has emerged from its history of military dictatorship and is taking its first steps toward returning to a democratic-style of government, the military and the Catholic Church still exert a very strong influence, especially when it comes to policy making. Chilean people especially women, continue to be tyrannized by repressive attitudes, laws, and policies. This tyrannization is exemplified by the rampant discrimination against women in the prisons and the punishment of those undergoing illegal abortions. In short, women have no rights in Chile, and the government has not done enough to eliminate discrimination against them.^ieng

Now is the time for all good women.

PIP: This article recommends national and international strategic actions to further the universal implementation of women's human rights. The article begins by tracing the development of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) from the work of female UN delegates who fought to couch the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in language that included women to the 1993 world conference on human rights when the little-known convention gained attention. The article then describes the CEDAW articles that provide an effective framework for implementation of women's human rights. After noting that the more than 160 ratifying countries must submit periodic reports on implementation to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the article points out that the International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW) was founded in 1985 to promote CEDAW implementation. IWRAW activities include publishing a newsletter, submitting independent information to the UN, disseminating the results of the UN review, and encouraging nongovernmental organizations to publish their own "shadow" reports to balance government self-reports. The article then details the following additional actions to foster implementation: 1) assuring that ratifying countries meet reporting obligations, 2) educating the public about CEDAW and women's rights, 3) recruiting and promoting candidates for election to the UN Committee, and 4) researching and reclaiming women's history, especially the evolution of women's human rights.^ieng

Unity in diversity and adversity: Venezuelan women's struggle for human rights.

PIP: This article on the efforts of women in Venezuela to gain access to their human rights opens by noting that the most significant gains in this 80-year struggle have occurred in the past 20 years because activists 1) consistently framed women's issues as critical to attaining the goals of social justice and democracy, 2) built flexible coalitions among diverse groups of women, and 3) kept the issue before the public. The next section offers an historical perspective for these contemporary strategies by locating their origins in women's participation in political movements to end dictatorships and repression during the 1920s and tracing women's advancement from the gaining of the full right to vote in 1947 through the 1995 establishment of the National Council on Women. The article continues with a look at how the human rights agenda was reframed in the 1990s to include issues of violence against women and political participation and to increase public recognition of these issues. Consideration of new opportunities and continuing challenges focuses first on how spaces were created for new discourses by an erosion of confidence in public officials and a series of national protests and then on the related opportunity of a rapid rise in nontraditional presidential candidates. Next, the article details efforts to increase women's political participation as a human right and defense of democracy and to promote the idea that freedom from violence (poverty, sexual harassment, physical and emotional abuse, control over sexuality, rape and incest) is a human right. The article concludes by reemphasizing the importance of adopting a flexible style of networking and of recognizing that legislation merely provides the basis for action.^ieng

Fighting for human rights: women, war and social change in Zimbabwe.

PIP: This article considers whether women's importance to the success of the Zimbabwean liberation struggle that took place from 1966-80 resulted in the fulfillment of the promises of the male resistance leadership to replace traditional patriarchal subjugation with equality. The introduction notes that the answer to this is complex because actions taken that were beneficial to women were taken for gender-neutral reasons and, therefore, left the patriarchy intact. Women have also gained because their participation in the struggle helped them learn to question assumptions and understand basic human rights, but the goals of the liberation struggle have not been realized for women. The article continues to apply a human rights perspective to an examination of Zimbabwean women's legal status, representation in government, empowerment through education, economic participation, and access to health and welfare. The conclusion of the article points out that not only have women not achieved full human rights in Zimbabwe, there have also been disturbing examples of a backlash against female emancipation including 1) the government-authorized arrests of women who happened to be walking around at night in September 1983, 2) calls for the repeal of laws beneficial to women, and 3) incidences when female university students were publicly stripped of their modern garb (this led to a 1998 protest by more than 100 women).^ieng

Gender equality is a human right. Empowerment, women and human rights, past, present and future.

PIP: This analysis opens by noting that the fact that women's equality is a human right is gaining universal acceptance and by outlining some of the major events that have marked recognition of the concept of human rights and women's rights. The analysis then considers the history of how humans have subsisted on earth in hunter-gatherer societies, horticultural (hoe-based, shifting cultivation) societies, agrarian (plow, permanent cultivation) societies, industrial societies, and information and technological societies. Next, a theory of gender stratification is applied to each situation to show how gender stratification depends upon who has control of economic resources (not who does the most work or even who legally owns the resources). Thus, women and men enjoy equality and cooperation to survive in foraging societies, men dominate in horticultural and agrarian societies, and women begin to regain ground in industrial societies. The analysis also takes into account macro- and micro-level "discount" factors that affect the amount of leverage a woman can get from money earned. The next section of the analysis deals with present conditions and notes that women can achieve equal rights via economic empowerment in combination with macro-level changes. This section also explains how "sexism kills" and considers the economic factors affecting violence against women. The article goes on to quantify progress to date, with a focus on women's gains in education, health, work and income, and political equality as well as slower gains in ratification of pertinent international treaties. The article concludes with an optimistic view of the future as the information age allows women to gain more power.^ieng

The REFLECT approach to literacy and social change: a gender perspective.

PIP: The introduction to this article on the participatory learning approach to literacy and social change known as REFLECT locates the origins of the approach in the philosophy of Paulo Freire and notes that REFLECT was developed by ACTIONAID in pilot projects in Uganda, Bangladesh, and El Salvador and is now used in 25 countries by 90 groups. REFLECT considers gender equity integral to social change, analyzes the causes of inequalities, creates a process for examining social stratification, addresses conflict as a reality, is an evolving process that embraces innovation, recognizes the importance of individual transformation, and seeks an equitable practice of power at all levels in the process. The article describes how REFLECT sessions are conducted and how they result in women's increased mobility, increased participation in family and community, and changes in the gender division of labor. Examples show how REFLECT sensitizes men as well as women to gender issues, especially if the implementing agency is gender-aware. The article then contrasts the "primer method" of literacy training promoted by the "Women in Development" model to REFLECT's "Gender and Development" (GAD) approach that links literacy to empowerment, raises community consciousness of women's subordination, and creates local-global links. The article concludes by discussing ways to strengthen the GAD/feminist approach in REFLECT, given the fact that it is possible to avoid gender issues in most discussions.^ieng

Local initiatives: USAID / Peru supports national legislation on domestic violence.

PIP: This brief article describes the activities of USAID-funded groups that promote gender equality and the protection of women and children against domestic violence in Peru. The Peruvian legislature passed Public Law 26260 in 1993, which addresses the issue of domestic violence. The Movimiento Mujers Peruanas Manuela Ramos received support from USAID to develop a registration, protection, redress, and referral system for women who suffer domestic violence. A campaign was conducted that used leaflets and radio and television to educate women about the new law and their rights under it. USAID also supported the Ombudsman's Office for Women. This office instituted a national study on domestic violence that will provide a database for monitoring reductions in domestic violence expected from the new law and the campaign. ReproSalud has a reproductive health project that USAID is funding. This group as well as 18 other groups function under an umbrella group, the Manuela Ramos. The target is poor women living in disadvantaged rural and urban areas, who are at greater risk of domestic violence. Manuela Ramos conducted participatory, qualitative research that helps women rank their reproductive health needs. All 18 organizations found domestic violence to be a reproductive health problem. One organization identified it as the most serious problem, and one that contributes to complications during delivery. Manuela Ramos works to make men more aware of the negative impact that domestic violence has on women.^ieng

Training and capacity building for the empowerment of women.

PIP: Because training is a powerful way to promote the intellectual and professional growth of people and the process of behavioral change, the International Labor Organization Training Center in Turin has engaged in hundreds of training activities to enhance the socioeconomic status of women over the past 17 years. An emphasis on the human rights of females in accord with International Labor Standards has led the Center to create an information kit on "Women Workers Rights" that has been disseminated worldwide through training programs. The shortage of remunerated jobs has meant that improving socioeconomic conditions for many women depends upon creating a supportive environment for women's entrepreneurship and self-employment. Therefore, the Center adopted the interventionist strategy of offering training activities that considered policies and strategies to develop women's entrepreneurship. The Center has also collaborated with many other organizations in the production of multimedia modular training packages that deal with such topics as 1) women and new and renewable sources of energy; 2) women, environmental management, and sustainable development; 3) the eradication of female sexual mutilation; 4) a socioeconomic gender analysis; and 5) the rights of women workers. The Center will also contribute to the advancement of women as it undertakes management of the UN Staff College and continues to support implementation of the recommendations of the Fourth World Conference on Women.^ieng

Interview. Maria Isabal Plata, executive director of Profamilia, talks to Caroline Sweetman about the work of the organisation in Colombia.

PIP: In this interview, Maria Isabal Plata discusses the work of the nongovernmental organization Profamilia in Colombia. Since its founding in 1965, Profamilia has assumed direct and indirect responsibility for nearly 70% of family planning (FP) and reproductive health activities in the country. These activities are complemented by a legal service program, an evaluation and research program, and a documentation center. In Colombia, women gained equal rights under the law in 1974 and a constitutional prohibition on discrimination in 1991, but sex stereotypes still dictate responsibility for family chores. When women realize their economic and social rights, poverty and inequalities will diminish. Thus, it is crucial to safeguard reproductive and sexual rights and ban violence against women. The traditional concept of family forces a disregard for the rights of family members and allows societies to oppose the interests of women. The aftermath of the UN Fourth Women's Conference in Colombia will be to work towards achieving full citizenship for women and democratic societies. The experience women's groups had at the conference has created a situation in which grassroots organizations can consider beginning to work with development organizations to achieve some of these goals.^ieng

[Girls of today, women of tomorrow]. / Ninas de hoy, mujeres de manana.

PIP: In many countries, girls are discriminated against in nutrition, education, health care, and other areas, to the detriment of their personal development. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with promoting women's rights have come to regard the problem of girls' rights as very serious. Attention to girls in the past was focused on adolescent pregnancy or on social problems such as violence or child prostitution. But in the view of the NGOs, gender equity will be impossible to achieve as long as discrimination against girls continues. In addition, limiting the opportunities of girls will inevitably limit their potential contributions to society. The UN General Assembly in September 1989 approved the Convention on the Rights of Children, the principal goals of which were to eliminate malnutrition, preventable diseases, and illiteracy. The World Conference on Children in 1990 was attended by representatives of over 150 countries, who specified concrete goals. Measurable progress has occurred. UNICEF estimates, for example, that 2.5 million fewer children died on 1996 than in 1990, but it is probable that over half of the children in Latin America and the Caribbean live in poverty. In 1990, nearly 1 million children under age 5 in the region died of preventable diseases, and some 7 million were estimated to be malnourished, 1 million seriously. Infant mortality rates indicate that most countries of the region have improved their health status, but the rate has apparently increased in Haiti, Bolivia, and Peru. The Pan American Health Organization and the Demographic and Health Surveys have accumulated data indicating that excess mortality has occurred among girls 1-4 years old in at least 9 countries of the region. Some evidence suggests that health care is less likely to be sought for girls than boys. Domestic violence and sexual abuse are a serious problem for girls and women, but many countries continue to avoid the issue. The 1993 UN Declaration of Human Rights, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, and the 1995 UN World Conference on Women in Beijing all approved measures for protection of girls. The Platform of Action approved in Beijing specified actions to be taken by governments and NGOs to end discrimination against girls.^ieng

"We need a mechanism to report abuses of women's human rights".

PIP: This article discusses the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This convention is the only instrument protecting the human rights of women at the international level. However, even if the convention was the best possible women's human rights documentation, there was no mechanism for reporting the abuses. The women's movement has long been pressing for the approval of the mechanism like the Optional Protocol, because they believe that the Protocol would fulfill the need in allowing the individual and collective accusations of human rights abuses. It means that a woman or a group of women can go to the committee and denounce an action as discriminatory. The committee can only receive reports and make recommendations, whereas having a Protocol would allow the committee to direct complaints, be able to investigate them, and make more specific recommendations. Those countries ratifying the CEDAW don't automatically agree to the Protocol, thus it is the country's discretion to either comply with the Protocol or not. There are also those who are against the Protocol and claim ironically that an Optional Protocol for Political and Civil rights already exists. But such mechanisms do not work for women's rights. What is most needed now is to lobby all national delegations to push the 5th Commission of the United Nations' General Assembly to approve the budget for the protocol.^ieng

[Notes on some reproductive self-determination possibilities in Latin America]. / Apuntes sobre algunas posibilidades de autodeterminacion reproductiva en America Latina.

PIP: Some current directions of action and research concerning women's reproductive rights in Latin America are examined, with particular emphasis on the institutional context created by the Catholic Church, which has exhibited little flexibility in regard to the processes of reproductive self-determination. In the past 15 years, the concepts of health and reproductive rights have transformed representations and social practices related to reproduction. The work begins by analyzing several terms that preceded health and reproductive rights, attempting to demonstrate how they have helped perpetuate the subordination of women. The terms birth control, family planning, responsible parenthood, and maternal and child health have reflected contemporary social practices, playing a role in establishing reproductive norms and standards of care. The questioning by women's groups of the activities of family planning organizations is examined in this light. The doctrines of the Catholic Church pertaining to reproductive self-determination, and some progressive alternatives to official doctrine from within or outside the Church, are next analyzed. The work of groups of Catholics in Brazil and elsewhere who are struggling to reconcile Church teachings with alternative visions of autonomy and human rights in the reproductive sphere are described. Current research is described on attitudes of Catholic women in different contexts who question the relevance of Church teachings on reproduction, contraception, and abortion to their problems of daily life.^ieng

[Advances in women's rights]. / Avances sobre los derechos de la mujer.

PIP: Colombia's Constitutional Court has frequently dealt with the theme of women's rights in its pursuit of the inalienable human rights recognized in the Colombian Constitution of 1991. Equality remains a goal, as inequalities persist. The Constitutional proposal to end the historic situation of inferiority suffered by women authorizes the adoption of positive measures to correct de facto inequalities, compensate past abuses, and promote true economic and social equality. The Court has decried the invisibility and lack of social and economic recognition of domestic work. It has declared that the right to health carries the right to medical protection of reproduction and to necessary treatment. The reproductive autonomy of women has been supported with the declaration that prison regulations cannot impose the requirement to control fertility as a condition of conjugal visits, because it constitutes an arbitrary intrusion into private life and a disregard of the social functions of motherhood. The Court has also ordered the reintegration of pregnant adolescents expelled from educational establishments. It has ordered immediate protection for women suffering from aggression and abuse at the hands of their husbands or partners. These pronouncements are unprecedented in Colombian jurisprudence. The high court merits recognition by women, whose basic rights it has begun to protect.^ieng

Family Care International's well-kept secret.

PIP: The majority of the work of Family Care International (FCI), the Safe Motherhood conference planner, is geared toward community-based action through technical assistance to partners who are developing national policies and model program strategies. In Nigeria , FCI works with the Women's Health Unit of the University of Nigeria, College of Medicine in Enugu and a consortium of local women's groups to develop safe motherhood education and training in the community. Focus group discussions with community members have revealed the effects of attitudes, practices, and community dynamics on women's use of reproductive health services; these results will be used in the future training of midwives, traditional birth attendants, and Safe Motherhood Monitors (community women who give personal health education, monitor pregnancies, and refer women at risk to health workers). In Mexico, after a national Safe Motherhood conference (February 1993) in Cocoyoc, FCI assisted in the formation of a national, multisectoral committee to encourage and support improvements in women's reproductive health and rights. The committee has brought government and women's groups together; its future plans include efforts to assist lawmakers in reviewing laws that affect reproductive health and to improve the ways in which health services are delivered, health staff are trained, and women are treated. One-third of the FCI 1994 program is dedicated to technical assistance to program planners, policymakers, and legislators. Another one-third will go to creating resource materials for health education, beginning information, education, and communication (IEC) programs, and interpersonal counseling. FCI works with groups and agencies in 10 countries.^ieng

Reproductive rights and responsibilities.

PIP: Rosiska Darcy Oliviera, Executive Secretary of the Coalition of Brazilian Women from Non-governmental Organizations for Population and Environment, stresses the need to view population control as a political problem rather than just a technical problem of demographic organization. At present, science, technology, and capital separate the work in much the same way that the master slave relationship of colonialist times did. The vast majority of the excluded are from developing countries in the South and, from a market perspective, these outcasts serve no purpose to global processes. Relegated to the margins of society, outcasts are often forced to turn to illegal activities such as drug trafficking and prostitution to survive, and these behaviors are used to bolster racist ideology. Improving the quality of life for all men and women requires a global alliance to overcome this social apartheid. If women are to exercise their reproductive rights, women's health programs must extend their focus beyond contraception to include education that empowers women to make real choices and a material base that permits access to a spectrum of safe methods.^ieng

[Women, gender, and the Constitution]. / Mujer, genero y Constitucion.

PIP: Although all the constitutions of Latin America directly or indirectly acknowledge the juridical equality of the sexes, these patriarchal societies continue to maintain institutional power in male hands and to neutralize legal actions favoring women. International instruments such as the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, approved by the UN in 1979, have given a firmer basis to policies and actions to improve the status of women. Obstacles to full equality of Latin American women are rooted in economic and sociopolitical factors, but lack of true political will also plays a significant role. A number of new laws in the past several years as well as the new Constitution have improved the legal position of Colombian women. The new Constitution recognizes fundamental rights that may be claimed directly before a judge, and social, economic, and collective rights requiring legislative development. Article 43 of the new Constitution states that women will not be subjected to any form of discrimination. Another norm states that women will enjoy special assistance and protection before and after childbirth, in recognition of the social functions of maternity. Article 43 also states that women who are heads of households will receive special assistance, but the corresponding regulations have not yet been promulgated. The mechanism of tutelage has become an important recourse that has been used in several cases in which fundamental rights of women have been violated or threatened because of their sex. The order of tutelage has been used in cases of adolescents expelled from school for pregnancy and of abused wives, as well as to force recognition of the social and economic contributions of housework.^ieng