Tag:

womenrights

EXCLUSIVE; An increase in discrimination & violence against women in France©

by Narges Mohammadi January 28, 2023

FRANCE/ The assessment of the French advisory body published on Monday shows that the level of misogyny, discrimination; and violence against women in this Western European country has sharply increased to an alarming level.

The results of the High Council for Equality (HCE) surveys of 2,500 French citizens; indicate that many young men in this country consider discriminatory and violent behavior against women to be acceptable.

Sylvie Pierre-Brousslet, head of HCE, has asked the French authorities to pay attention to the attitudes and behaviors of men from an early age; including extensive action in education and the approval and implementation of stricter regulations in social media.

Nearly 80% of the French female citizens questioned in this survey said that they thought they were treated less well because of their gender.

The Assessment

The assessment of this institution adds: “Although most of the respondents to this survey condemn the principle of sexism, they do not refuse to implement it in practice. Despite the increasing awareness of French citizens about gender inequality, which is partly due to the movement “Me Too“; prejudice, sexual and gender stereotypes, and sexism are all still going on in daily life.

Brousslet also called for the creation of a high-level independent public institution; to combat gender-based violence in the world of politics. Further, he added to allocate more financial and human resources to the fight against domestic violence in France.

Based on this assessment; French society is still highly prone to gender bias in all aspects; and even some of the most violent manifestations of gender bias have intensified. While older men still adhere to conservative views about the roles of men and women in society, younger men sometimes show aggressive “ideological male superiority” tendencies.

This institution has also recommended the banning of gender toys for children; and the allocation of subsidies from the public resources of the government to companies obliged to progress and improve in the field of gender equality.

Actual Statistics

Nearly 20 percent of men aged 25 to 34 in this survey found it necessary to brag about sexual issues to gain respect in society, and 23 percent said that men must sometimes use violence to gain respect.

A quarter of the men asked, underestimating the importance of sexual violence, said that sexual assault is overstated.

Source: IRNA

January 28, 2023 0 comment

Europe Society

“Rotten to the core”; 5 Women express their views of the Met police

by Narges Mohammadi January 25, 2023

UK/The arrest of David Carrick, a serving Metropolitan police officer, follows a series of cases of abuse perpetrated by police against women in recent years that have called public trust into question.

Here, 5 women describe how their perceptions of the Met have changed in light of Carrick’s arrest; and other recent scandals involving serving officers.

Alexandra McTeare, 65

“I perceive the Met to be racist & misogynistic”

I have always perceived the Met police to be a racist and misogynistic organization; and have distrusted them throughout my life. My mistrust is based on my own personal experiences and that of friends. For example, on demonstrations at Greenham Common; I’ve had female friends who have been arrested and strip-searched for no good reason. I was at Greenham Common in 1983 and saw women charged by police on horseback.

However, events and inquiries over recent years have made me realize how inherent its attitudes are. I know we don’t want to create more layers of management; but the Met police should be reorganized into smaller entities where it will be easier to root out. Also, it would be easier to manage the appalling behavior of a number of its employees. I also recognize that the police, like health and social care where I used to work; have been deeply impacted by the 12 years of austerity that have necessitated significant cuts to personnel and weakened the organization’s ability to manage itself.

Kate, 40

“They need tighter vetting procedures”

I’ve worked in the police as a victim care officer and for a rape crisis service for about 10 years so I’ve always known that sexual violence is rife, especially across institutions that work with vulnerable people. But what’s shocking with the Met is how victims’ claims were dismissed even when there were multiple complaints about the same person.

That has been repeated because no one is held accountable when complaints are made against them. How other staff members collude with one another; sharing messages and images, makes it really scary for a woman, or anyone that’s experienced this, to go through these processes. This is why the stats of women reporting to the police are going down, it feels very unsafe.

We need tighter vetting procedures, a shift in culture and easier access for colleagues to raise concerns about people they’re working with.

Ellie Watson, 24, translator, London

“Discoveries about the Met in recent years have worsened my opinion of them”

I never had a particularly high opinion of the police as an institution in society generally, but discoveries about the Met in recent years have worsened my opinion of them even more. All of the news stories that have come out about Sarah Everard, the more recent police officer and Child Q are just absolutely horrendous.

I think we should be defunding them. I don’t think they should have the money and the power they have and that they should put that money into causes that would stop people going into crime in the first place, like education and levelling up society.

Anonymous, 74, London

“I do not trust the service”

I was brought up in the very middle-class West Country with no reason to doubt that the police were straight and fair. As far as one could see, people got picked up but not unnecessarily. In the past 30 years, I have had more personal work contact with – mainly Met – police and I have been shocked by the lack of respect expressed, quite openly, for people of colour and those who are “different” in any way.

As to attitudes about women, what we have been seeing and hearing is unspeakable. I do not trust the service and I think that reform is overdue. But while we have the current government, and particularly the home secretary, I have little faith in what reform might bring.

“My feelings about the police haven’t changed”

My feelings about the police haven’t changed, because we already knew about their negative bias towards other minorities, such as the high rates of stop and search for black people. It actually is naive to think that misogyny is not an inherent part of the culture, too. I appreciate rape and sexual abuse is not the same as “everyday misogyny”, but the covering up of it, by colleagues and those in power, does involve that.

There are certain crimes I simply would not report to the police, being female. I would also insist on seeing a female officer, if the need arose. My own personal interactions with the police have always been OK. So … my comments are not based on my own personal experience. They’re based on my knowledge of reading the press and my knowledge of being a social scientist.

It’s very hard to whistle-blow for anybody in the police. But I don’t know how they can reform something like this. That sort of locker room language, that’s the kind of thing that you can’t fix with one conversation. You can’t just chuck everybody out and start from scratch.

Source: Guardian

January 25, 2023 0 comment

North America Society

“We Will Not Be Beaten”; New Documentary Unveiled

by Narges Mohammadi January 11, 2023

“We Will Not Be Beaten”; is a title of a newly-released documentary produced by the Press TV Agency. The documentary has been produced based on documents that were collected and released by the US media. These documents show the rates of domestic violence against women and the violation of women’s rights in the United States.

According to our statistics, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines in the US every day. Moreover, 1 in every 3 women in America experience rape and physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Domestic violence against women has seen an alarming uptick in recent years in the United States; especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. A report by the Council on Criminal Justice found that reports of domestic violence in the US have jumped by over 8 percent during the pandemic lockdown.

This documentary says that the high rate of violence against women in the US has been recognized as a public health concern. with the US media contributing to making domestic violence appear unimportant to the public. Experts say, given such realities on the ground; the US cannot be a role model for women’s rights in the world.

Source: Press TV News Site

January 11, 2023 2 comments

Europe Society

“Vulnerable boys are drawn in”; Schools fear of Social Media

by Narges Mohammadi January 10, 2023

The notorious TikTok ‘influencer’ may be in jail, but his ‘terrifying’ ideology has already taken hold in classrooms, teachers say

When Abbie Marsh (not her real name) overheard a 15-year-old boy in the West Midlands school she works in; praising Andrew Tate, the social influencer known as the “king of misogyny”. She asked him if he understood Tate’s views on women. The boy replied: “Well, men are better than women, so he’s right.” His friends all nodded in agreement.

Marsh reported the conversation to her school’s head of safeguarding. She says misogyny is rife, even among students as young as 12, and is convinced Tate’s videos are fueling it.

“I don’t think the staff are fully aware who Tate is and what he stands for,” she adds. “I worry for the girls around these boys.”

Where is Andrew Tate now?

The 36-year-old British American is in custody in Romania after being arrested with his brother, Tristan; on 29 December as part of an investigation into human trafficking, rape and organized crime. But while the spotlight has switched to his activities in eastern Europe, schools in the UK are fearful Tate’s boosted media profile in the last few weeks could make his influence stronger than ever.

Many parents may be hearing about Tate for the first time, but schools across the country say he is already a hugely familiar figure to many of their pupils. Many are giving teachers training on how to talk to students about him. Some are holding special assemblies, or using personal social and health education lessons to encourage students to question the content he puts out.

Teachers say boys are often sucked into his “glamorous” ultra-macho world by more benign content on fast cars or fitness. But in his videos he also says women are a man’s property, cannot do jobs as well as men, and belong at home. He thinks rape victims should “bear responsibility” for their attacks and boasts about seeking out 18-year-old girls because they are “fresh”.

Plans on neutralizing this poisonous atmosphere

Michael Conway, whose company Men at Work trains school staff on talking to boys about these issues, says: “Algorithms make it possible for someone like Tate to be hugely well known to 14- to 18-year-old boys”

Conway has run sessions in 50 schools on online misogyny. Teachers have raised Tate’s influence in every one. One teacher talked about a lesson on sexual consent in which a boy quoted Tate, saying if a woman went out alone at night and was attacked it was her fault. Conway says teenagers also mention Tate as a form of “micro-aggression” towards female teachers.

In one session Conway discussed the sexist meme “make me a sandwich”, used by some men on social media to belittle women. “A female teacher said: ‘I’ve got a lad in year 10 who always writes MMAS at the bottom of my homework,’” he says. “She hadn’t known what it meant until then. But he was trying to humiliate her.”

Conway believes Tate is “grooming” young men in a similar way to terrorist groups or gangs, and his image of “conspicuous success” woos boys desperate for a connection.

Schools proceedings

A teacher at a primary school in north London agrees. “It’s the most vulnerable and socially awkward boys that are drawn in and given a sense of belonging to something that is very dangerous.” She describes an “extremely vulnerable” 10-year-old “praising Tate and parroting his vile ideas” as “terrifying”. The school’s lessons on respect “can’t compete with the tidal wave of misogyny online”, she adds.

Helen Hinde, assistant head at Meols Cop high school in Southport, has shared training resources on Tate with other schools, and asked her staff to be alert to any mention of him. “Boys are attracted to him because he tells them he is successful and rich. He is selling a lifestyle,” she says. “When we mention his hatefulness towards women, some excuse it as simply creating a successful life for yourself.”

But she is “determined” to educate her pupils about the darker implications of what he is saying. “We don’t want to blame young people. We want them to learn to question the attitudes they encounter online.”

Other reactions

Ben Karlin, who advises teachers on Twitter about how to counter Tate’s influence, says: “It’s important to try to explain what he’s doing and why. Yes, he’s successful and rich, but he made his money off you. Acknowledge that not everything he says is hateful: that’s his whole tactic.”

Karlin describes Tate’s influence as “grooming on a massive scale” and insists schools must talk about him, as well as explaining how he has “gamed” the social media platforms and exploited their algorithms. “He may go to prison, but there will be another one playing the same game,” he adds.

Thomas Michael, deputy safeguarding lead at a school in the West Midlands, says schools must have open conversations with boys about the issues Tate champions. “I told our year 9 boys that I grew up in a male-dominated family where aggression was celebrated. I got into fights. Then I realised I had to change. I asked them ‘Does that make me less of a man?’”

But he warns that some well-meaning schools are only boosting Tate’s popularity. “There are lots of videos on TikTok of kids recording assemblies on Andrew Tate and they are loving making fun of it,” he says. “He tells them teachers don’t want them to hear the truth. Schools are doing his job for him.”

Source: Guardian

January 10, 2023 0 comment

Asia Politics

ARTICLE/Afghan female activists say why women’s representation matters

by Narges Mohammadi January 10, 2023

The Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021 erased years of hard-won progress towards national peace and security. In the year since, the ruling has systematically erased women from Afghan society. What they did was mandating face coverings in public, excluding women from most jobs, banning girls from high school; and dismantling all institutions that protected and promoted the rights of women and girls. And yet, regardless of all these, Afghan women continue to resist towards this situation.

Fawzia Koofi, Habiba Sarabi and Maryam Rayed have devoted their careers to building peace in their home country. Fawzia and Habiba represented the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during peace talks with the Taliban in 2020. Maryam headed a department in the State Ministry of Peace. All three are now in exile.

Their first-hand accounts showcase the importance of women’s representation and leadership and what their absence can mean for a country.

Fawzia Koofi: “Women will never give up“

The first girl in her family to go to school. Fawzia Koofi went on to become the first woman Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Afghanistan, as well as one of the four women negotiators sitting face-to-face with the Taliban to negotiate the country’s future in 2020. A life-long fighter for democracy and the rights of Afghan women and girls, Fawzia is now in exile.

Services for Afghanistan

I was a member of the Parliament of Afghanistan for fifteen years. Every day, I was campaigning for women’s participation in public decision-making and in the peace process. I was organizing gatherings, working with political leaders, international organizations and civil societies to ensure that women were included. Eventually they were. For the Intra-Afghan talks, launched in the aftermath of the Doha Agreement, four out of the 21 members of the Islamic Republic’s Negotiation Team were women. I was one of them.

As most wars are led by men, it is men who believe they are the only ones who can talk about peace. Seeing a woman in the negotiations room was something neither of the sides of the table were used to seeing. Every day, my presence was a form of resistance, emphasizing that women have a rightful place in all decisions impacting their country.

But it was not enough that I was in the room; it is not enough that we are at the table. We also need to be included in all conversations affecting our country, and our views must be meaningfully considered. As a woman, I saw first-hand how women can bring diverse views to the peace table, how women can enrich discussions. As somebody who grew up politically in the last 20 years, who has access to information, who knew what happened to our country, I had more knowledge about the economy, security, institutions, and democracy. The gap between the women negotiators and the Taliban was not only a generation gap, but it was also an information gap. And this makes women’s participation in peace processes even more important.

What did you do after the takeover of Kabul?

Since the take-over of Kabul, I cannot adjust to the fact that in the twenty-first century we still have to talk about women’s education or their right to work.

But I must. And over the last year, along with my sisters, I focused on ensuring Afghan women are united and have platforms they can use to continue advocating for all their rights – beyond education and work. Last year, we advocated for the inclusion of women in the design and distribution of aid in Afghanistan, and now women are part of these structures.

We worked with UN Member States to make UNAMA’s mandate stronger, to ensure it included a strong focus on Women, Peace, and Security. Women of Afghanistan, worked with the Human Rights Council to create a Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan to monitor human rights violations in Afghanistan.

Our work was to ensure the travel ban continues to be imposed on the Taliban. I have been working with women inside of Afghanistan and with those who are in the region to see how we can be their voice. I have established an Afghan Woman Coalition for Change, which is an advocacy platform for women inside and outside the country to work together.

The world can learn from Afghanistan’s experience on Women, Peace, and Security. Women must be involved from the beginning in any peace negotiation, and they must be involved in a meaningful way. And women will never give up.

They will continue to resist, to ask for their demands, to ask for their liberty. The international community must continue to use their leverage to advocate for the return of the women’s right to political participation, for the return of the rule of law, for the return of the democracy we lost. People around the world should continue to stand in solidarity with us, to use their platforms to raise our voices, to push their government to do more for the people of Afghanistan.

What now?

I am no longer in my country, and I lost my political and social status, I lost my identity, but I did not lose my hope. We are a very hopeful nation. It is the constant demand of our people for a better life that gives me hope.

Habiba Sarabi: I believe we can get our country back

Habiba Sarabi is a pharmacist by profession and a politician by choice. After serving as Afghanistan’s Minister of Women’s Affairs, she became the country’s first woman governor. During peace negotiations with the Taliban, Habiba was appointed Deputy Chair for the High Peace Council—alongside four other women negotiators. Now in exile, she is focused on motivating the younger generation to finish the fight.

My family has been involved in politics for the past 50 years. During the first rule of the Taliban, I fled to Pakistan where I was working with Afghan immigrant children on education. I had to come back to Afghanistan and return to politics and work for the women in my country.

Services to Afghanistan

I was first Minister of Women’s Affairs, then I was appointed as the first woman governor. Then I was the Deputy Chair of the High Peace Council and ultimately appointed to negotiate peace with the Taliban in the Doha peace process.

I was in Doha when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. And I could not go back to Kabul. At the beginning, I was disappointed and depressed. But I soon realized that the fighting is not over. I realized I must motivate our new generation of young Afghan women to fight back. I soon became busy again—advocating, networking: not only for women, but also for the Hazara minority, my community.

When faced with violence, when faced with discrimination, when faced with genocide, I had to rise and advocate—for my rights as a woman, for my rights as a Hazara woman.

When the National Action Plan 1325 was launched, civil society in Afghanistan was very active. Their advocacy for women, peace and security, and especially for having more women in the peace process, resulted in thirteen women members of the High-Peace Council—and I was the Deputy Chair.

It also resulted in four women appointed as negotiators on behalf of the Republic in the intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban—and I was one of these four women. Our role as peace negotiators was to both advocate for women’s rights and to represent the whole population of women in Afghanistan. Our role was also to be present in every part of the negotiations, from the economy to security.

In our advocacy, we were using the constitution a lot—women’s rights are granted in the Constitution—and we wanted the Taliban to accept the Constitution as it is. They never did.

How was negotiations with Taliban?

Talking to the Taliban was not easy, but we were tolerant. As women, we were often ignored: sometimes the doors would be shut for us, sometimes we were left out. But the four of us had a rule—to make sure we represented women in every single part of the negotiations, in every single meeting. We also had another rule—to engage with civil society inside Afghanistan.

Every time we had a break from the negotiations, we would go back to Kabul and consult with civil society, consult with women. It was our responsibility to take their views from inside the country to the negotiations table.

I experienced the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan twice. But last year it was different. Before, we did not know what the Taliban could do, what their ideology was. But this time we did. And this time we had everything we so hard worked for: institutions, hundreds of women-led NGOs. Our government was far from perfect, but we had a system in place—a system we could fix and work within.

This time, we lost everything. It felt like our work for decades was in vain; it felt like the time, the energy, the hard work, everything just vanished. For weeks, I could not work, eat, think—above all, I could not go back home. As for millions of Afghans who are suffering right now, the impact of the takeover was huge on me.

The women who are taking to the streets and shouting for their rights have given me hope and reminded me that when there is commitment, impossible is possible. And they are not shouting for women only—they are also shouting for the men who cannot raise their voice; they are shouting for all of us, for all Afghans.

How do you think that this whole fiasco will end?

We need to tighten the connections—the networks between women inside the country and women outside the country. Furthermore, we also need to document everything that is happening to women; we need to put an end to violence in all forms, especially violence against women.

Many people left Afghanistan, but the country’s voice is louder than ever. Our history has proved this wrong. During the time of our King, women could go to universities. For the last twenty years, Afghan women leaders brought a lot of change to our society.

As Governor of Bamiyan, I doubled the presence of girls in schools—this was a huge change in the mindset of our community. People were accepting that women can be mayors, can be governors, can be ministers.

And a woman will be President of Afghanistan one day.

Maryam Rayed: Now is the time for solidarity

Born during the Taliban’s first rule, Maryam Rayed is a human rights advocate who once served as the Deputy-Director for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights at the State Ministry for Peace in Afghanistan. Now in exile, Maryam is a Fulbright Scholar studying governance and democracy at Georgetown University.

Services to Afghanistan

Women’s rights are at the forefront of my work—be it my research or my activism. In the State Ministry for Peace, my job was to bring peace to a country that suffered decades of war. I was building a shared narrative of what peace could look like within Afghanistan.

If you talk about peace and justice, you must make sure that half of the country’s population is part of that process. It is not just common sense. There is research that shows that when women are engaged in decision making processes, in leadership roles, countries have more peace. We cannot ignore this research.

But back in those days, the cause we were working for kept us going; back in those days the hope for a better future was never in short supply. I worked for peace in Afghanistan until the last day I was in the country.

What happened after Taliban’s takeover?

When Afghanistan collapsed, I had just left the country to pursue my education as a Fulbright scholar in the United States; to arm myself with knowledge and skills that would help me better serve my troubled but beautiful motherland. I could not even imagine that this educational journey would turn into a political exile and that returning to home would become a dream.

For the first six months, I focused on making sure that many of the women who were vocal, who were critical of the wrongdoings of the Taliban—activists, politicians, journalists and women judges—were safe. I knew Afghanistan was not safe for them anymore; I knew that in the best-case scenario they would lose their strong voice.

When it comes to the women’s movement, there is a global tendency to believe things are moving forward. What happened to Afghanistan is a lesson to the world: that progress on women’s rights is fragile everywhere. We lost everything in one night. But abandoning Afghanistan was never an option for me. From the US, where I am now living, I started supporting the women’s organizations still working in Afghanistan.

No peace brought by compromise is ever sustainable. Why we should include women in decision-making processes should not even be a question anymore. And this is why, under the Taliban, the Women, Peace, and Security agenda is more needed and more urgent than ever. All elements of the agenda are crucial: without protection and participation, you cannot prevent conflict.

How did Afghan women live?

While the world focuses on opening schools for girls—which is one of the most urgent needs—they must remember that Afghan women did not fight for a place in classrooms only. They fought for their full rights: they fought for a place in politics, they fought for a place as leaders of organizations, as leaders of their communities. They took part in rebuilding the country with pride—risking their lives—and have had remarkable achievements. Let us not decrease the cause of Afghan women to just classrooms.

I came to the US as a young woman from a democratic country I was representing. Working to elevate Afghan women’s calls for peace was a noble calling for me; it was my main motivation.

Two thirds of the population in Afghanistan is under the age of 25—a generation that is different in their way of thinking, that shares common values and interests with youth around the world, that believes in democracy and freedom and is ready to do their part in building that world.

How did you felt over Taliban taking over your country?

Overnight, I lost my identity and everything I was once proud of. I lost my hometown, my country. I am now stateless, soon to become a refugee. What happened to me, what happened to Afghanistan, is not a women’s struggle alone; It is not a country’s struggle alone—it is a shared responsibility.

If history taught us one lesson, it is that what happens in one part of the world will impact the whole world. What we were fighting for, it was not just out fight, it was a fight for democracy, for values that have global applicability. Now is also the time for solidarity: a global sisterhood. Women’s movements around the world should stand in solidarity with women in Afghanistan and with all women living under authoritarian regimes and raise awareness about what these women are going through.

Source: UNWomen.org

January 10, 2023 1 comment

Europe Society

Germany’s baby steps on Women executives shows Equality lagging

by Narges Mohammadi January 8, 2023

The share of women on the management boards of Germany’s biggest companies surpassed the 20% mark for the first time last year; progress that still leaves Europe’s biggest economy lagging in the gender equality charts.

Of the 22 new board members of companies in the benchmark DAX Index appointed in 2022, half were female, according to a survey published by Ernst & Young on Thursday. That took the total share of female representation to 21.2%. Cast the net wider to include the 50 members of the MDAX Index for medium-sized enterprises and the 70 smaller companies that make up the SDAX Index, and the proportion drops to a more sobering 15.5%.

Top German Companies’ Slow Progress on Gender Equality

Share of female management board members at 40 DAX firms

While that marks a significant increase from a meager 4.9% in 2013; progress is slow, Markus Heinen, EY’s head of People Advisory Services for Western Europe said in a statement.

“The trend is still very subdued,” he said. “Progress could and should be faster. Currently, there are seven men for every woman sitting on management boards.”

Almost half of the companies surveyed count no women at all on their management boards. Female chief executive officers are similarly underrepresented — only nine of 160 companies were led by a woman.

One high-profile CEO appointee, Carla Kriwet — who took the helm of dialysis care provider Fresenius Medical Care AG in October 2022 — unexpectedly departed after just two months on the job over differences in strategy.

Source: Bloomberg

January 8, 2023 0 comment

Asia Politics

Dictatorship using the slogan “WomanLifeFreedom”©

by Narges Mohammadi December 10, 2022

The Iranian Vice President of Women and Family Affairs, in regards with the US resolution and their request to remove Iran from the UN Commission of Women; said: “In the name of “women”, they dictate and do not allow women to raise their issues. These false claimants even go as far as they can, just in order to cancel the membership of women in an international organization.

Vice Presidency of Iran

Ensiyeh Khazali – Iranian Vice President for Women & Family Affairs

Ensiyeh Khazali, at a ceremony for Iranian National Student’s Day, talked about the American resolution and their request to remove Iran from the Women’s Commission. She said: “It’s apparently there to raise women’s voices. Furthermore, if this voice is not in accordance with their policies; or if it causes multiple voices and breaks their arrogant voice, they will literally suffocate it”.

Khazali clarified: “Iran became a member of this commission last year with 43 votes out of 54 members of the Women’s Commission. Last year, we had a good activity in the meeting of the Women’s Commission. However in 2022, considering the lies that were spread by foreign media press regarding the recent uproars in Iran; stating that women were getting killed by the government. Although they claim that, they support women’s rights, they are actually violating women’s rights with their actions. It is worth mentioning that, there action which is mainly carried out by foreign agencies; are all under the leadership of the United States of America.

Spokesperson of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Additionally, the Spokesperson of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Naser Kanaani in response with this matter; mentioned: “We condemn any misuse of internal developments, to put on more political pressure. As a member of the United Nations, Iran has become a member of the Women’s Commission in a clear election with the most votes. America and some European countries are trying to put pressure on Iran’s membership in this structure; which is an action against the free vote of countries in international structures.
This action is on the way of questioning the voting rights of countries. If the American government and some other countries manage to exclude Iran from this commission; in line with the policy of applying pressure, they have practically created a heresy. This process does not help to promote human rights.”

Not forget to mention that the American authorities are still insisting on this matter. Yesterday, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has again emphasized her opposition to Iran’s participation on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “The Iranian government should not be on the @UN_CSW – an international body dedicated to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Removing Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women is the right thing to do.”

December 10, 2022 0 comment

Asia Culture

A look through the rules of Women’s clothing in different religions and Era’s©

by Narges Mohammadi November 10, 2022

Cover or hijab is a title that is mentioned not only in Islam, but in all historical and religious periods, and many Western and European theorists have addressed this issue. With the industrial revolution’s begining, the world slowly moved towards using women instead of men in factories, because women’s wages are lower than men’s and they have less expectations from the employer.

Why hijab?

This is a question that most teenagers and young people gave thousands of answers about. In fact, the arrow of the most deviations in the young generation is towards beliefs and religion, which the enemies of every society also focus on and ask, in the time of Greece, Cyrus, Aryans, Zoroaster was there any such thing like “hijab or cover”, that we want o follow it now?

This type of cover, the so-called hijab, which has Arabic roots, emerged after the advent of Islam and is specific to Muslims, but the evidence and what is mentioned in history indicates the complete covering of women and men in every historical and religious period. It may have faded at some point in time, but there was full coverage for both men and women.

The theory of various western and foreign people about women’s clothing and status in society

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French theorist, states that the resemblance of women to men causes men to dominate women, men have their own clothing, and if women want to wear the same clothing in the same way, this leads to freedom for women.

Victor Hugo mentions the freedom of women as “slavery” and says that “slavery has been abolished in Europe for many years, but slavery continues in Europe and is imposed on women in another form that is called prostitution”.

In a book called “Feminist in America” was mentioned; when we allowed a woman to do anything and the hijab was also free; sexual harassment and violation increased, which in fact this shows, a society that declares war against shame and modesty is the enemy of women.

Will Durant says about the position of women; “When a woman shows up for a job, she does not need insurance or a thousand rights and entitlements that are given to men, and so many capitalists are crying out to defend women’s rights so they can get them under their own power. Furthermore, before and after the Middle Ages, women were considered to be higher than animals and lower than humans”.

Former American President John.F. Kennedy said, “I am not hopeful for the future of this society, because its youth have turned towards promiscuity.”

In response to the type of women’s freedom, Gandhi says; Whenever a woman seeks freedom, she is exposed to a new danger and becomes a toy and a tool of men’s lust. I prefer the human race to be destroyed than to remain and become inferior to any animal by turning a woman or the most delicate divine creature into lust.

Hijab in other religions

Ancient Greece

Women in ancient Greece had a hijab like a veil, a long dress that covered their entire body. Their clothing also indicates that when their girls and women went to the market or crowded places, they covered themselves from the eyes of men and wore a large cloth like a scarf.

By reviewing the historical documents before B.C., there was a tribe living by the Black Sea with very wild people, half of their race was Mongolian and the other half was European, their life was tribal and they spent most of the time in chariots.

In their ideology, a woman was a valuable being and they always kept her behind the doors, away from the eyesight of other men. Even in Ancient Greece, women were not present in all public settings and only went out of the house if they were visiting relatives and friends, or attending religious festivals.

Women’s hijab in Ancient Iran

Perhaps the most difficult conditions for women in Iran were specific to the time period of Ancient Iran, because women were not allowed for their faces to be seen except for their fathers, brothers and husbands, even this issue is well documented on the wall of historical paintings that have been left from that era. This matter is quite understandable.

According to what is mentioned in historical documents, apart from wearing a long dress, women wore an abaya or a chador (veil) so that their face and body could not be seen, in other words, women in Ancient Iran wore something that looked like two shirts. Women were like this in the Sasanian era, when the Zoroastrian religion was popular in Korea, even during worship, their men and women wore white veils on their faces so that they could not be seen.

Women’s hijab in Judaism

In the moral principles of “Talmud“, which is one of the most important religious books and in fact written jurisprudence and code of Jewish life, it is stated: “If a woman violates Jewish law, for example, he went among the people without any headcover, or just wondered about in public streets, or had heart-to-heart convo’s with men, or their voice was so loud that, when she spoke in her house, her neighbors’ could hear her words, then the man had the right to divorce her without paying any dowry”.

Women’s hijab in Christianity

It is stated in the Bible; Paul clarified in his letter to the Corinthians: “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of a woman is a man, and the head of Christ is God. Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head. But also any woman who prays with a bare head disgraces her head; thus, this is how to shave.

Because if a woman does not wear it, she should also cut her hair, and if it is ugly to cut or shave a woman’s hair, she should wear it; Because man is not from woman, but woman is from man, and man was not created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, a woman should have dignity on her head because of the angels. Judge in your heart, is it appropriate for a woman to pray to God uncovered?

In Bible, in Paul’s epistle, he says to Timotheus: “And also let their women dress in modesty and chastity, not in finery and gold and pearls, but as women who fight for religion do righteous deeds”.

A woman is an eternal gem if …..

No religion has described a woman as beautiful and valuable as Islam, a woman who has the highest status of humanity in the eyes of God, so why do we sometimes forget that a woman is not a commodity but has duties that are performed with all delicacy and not with a male’s violence!

November 10, 2022 0 comment

Asia Politics

IN DETAIL; China’s Women Protection Law-For employers

by Narges Mohammadi November 8, 2022

China amended its Women’s Protection Law on October 30, 2022, aiming to give women stronger protection against sexual harassment and gender discrimination. This law will take effect on January 1, 2023, the law has added several provisions that shall impose new requirements on businesses regarding female employee management. We discuss the key implications of the new Women’s Protection Law for employers in China.

The exposure draft for the Women’s Protection Law amendment garnered more than 700,000 comments during the seeking opinion stage, making it the legislative document that was commented the most in recent years. The law was amended in 2005 and 2018, respectively, after being first enacted in 1992.

What are the key changes in China’s new Women’s Protection Law?

Several articles contained in this revision involve the protection of the rights and interests of women employees, which deserves the attention of employers. Below is a list of the key changes.

Eliminate gender discrimination in the hiring process

Despite the widespread condemnation of sexism, gender discrimination in China’s hiring practices is a common occurrence. The new Women’s Protection Law makes more effort to eliminate gender bias in the hiring process.

The document stipulates a list of behaviors that employers must not engage in during the recruitment process, including:

Restricting a job offer to men or specifying that men will be given priority.
Inquiring or investigating the marital and maternal situation of women job applicants.
Requiring pregnancy tests as an entry physical examination item when applying for a job.
Making marriage or maternity status a condition for recruitment and employment.
Refusing to hire women on the grounds of gender or raising the standards for the recruitment process of women in any other way.

In addition, the new Women’s Protection Law incorporates gender discrimination in the workplace into the scope of labor security supervision. Should an employer violate gender-equality provisions, the human resource and social security authorities shall order it to make corrections. If the employer refuses to make corrections or the circumstances are serious, they shall be fined no less than RMB 10,000 but not more than RMB 50,000. Through this, the non-discrimination-related provisions in the new Women’s Protection Law are expected to be better implemented in practice.

Employers are suggested to double-check whether the above behaviors exist in their recruitment process and if so, make corresponding compliance adjustments according to the requirements of the new Women’s Protection Law.

Protect female employees’ birth rights

The new Women’s Protection Law stipulates that “the employer shall not, due to marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, breastfeeding, and other circumstances, reduce the wages and welfare benefits of female workers, restrict the promotion, promotion, evaluation, and employment of female workers of professional and technical titles and posts, dismiss female workers, unilaterally dissolve the labor (employment) contract or service agreement”.

The 2018 version of the Women’s Protection Law only stipulated that “the employer shall not, due to marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, breastfeeding, and other circumstances, reduce the wages of female workers, dismiss female workers, and unilaterally dissolve the labor (employment) contract or service agreement”.

In comparison, the new Women’s Protection Law is a big step further toward protecting female employees’ birth rights and addressing gender equality in performance reviews and promotions.

Prevent sexual harassment

Chinese law specifically forbids sexual harassment in the workplace, and Article 1010 of the Civil Code stipulates that employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and provide appropriate channels of complaint.

The new Women’s Protection Law defines sexual harassment as the form of verbal remarks, written language, images, physical behaviors, or other actions against the will of women.

Specifically, women who are victims of sexual harassment are encouraged to:

Lodging complaints with relevant units and state organs.
Reporting the case to the public security bodies, or filing a civil lawsuit in the people’s court, requesting the perpetrator to bear civil liability in accordance with the law.

On the other hand, the revised Women’s Protection Law makes clear that it is the legal obligation of employers to take measures to prevent sexual harassment, including:

Formulating rules and regulations prohibiting sexual harassment.
Specifying the responsible department or personnel.
Carrying out education and training activities on prevention and stopping sexual harassment.
Taking necessary security and safeguard measures.
Setting up complaint telephone, mailbox, etc., and unblocking complaint channels.
Establishing and improving investigation and handling procedures, timely handling of disputes, and protecting the privacy and personal information of the parties concerned.
Supporting and assisting female victims in defending their rights according to law and providing psychological counseling to female victims when necessary.
Other reasonable measures to prevent and stop sexual harassment.

Moreover, the new Women’s Protection Law stipulates that the employer could be subjected to criminal litigation should they fail to take reasonable measures to prevent and stop sexual harassment, and the directly responsible person and other directly liable persons shall have sanctions imposed on them according to law.

Considering the increasingly stringent requirement of sexual harassment prevention under the new Women’s Protection Law and the potentially tremendous and negative impact of sexual harassment cases on businesses, employers in China are suggested to clearly define what types of behaviors are inappropriate and establish a strict anti-harassment code and culture for their businesses.

Protect the privacy and personal information of women

The new Women’s Protection Law also provides stronger protection of women’s privacy and personal data. Article 28 states that:

Media reports on incidents involving women should be objective and appropriate and should not infringe on women’s personal rights and interests.
It is forbidden to demean women through mass media or other means.
Women’s photos must not be used without consent in advertisements, trademarks, exhibition windows, newspapers, periodicals, books, audio-visual products, electronic publications, networks, etc.

Women who are victims of the above-mentioned violations are entitled to apply to the people’s court for a personal safety protection order.

Where do women in China stand in the workforce?

Recent studies proposed that the participation of women in the workforce in China has substantially decreased over the past 30 years, falling to 60.5 percent in 2019 from 73.2 percent in 1990. Economic reforms that caused disadvantages for women, such as a rising gender wage gap, a shortage of childcare and eldercare choices, and a recurrence of old prejudices about women’s labor, have likely contributed to this.

Wage gap

Despite much progress, there is still a sizable salary difference for women. According to a survey by the employment website Zhipin.com, the average income for urban men in Mainland China in 2019 was 22.5 percent higher than that of women. In other words, women in China made 84 percent of what men made for comparable employment in 2019.

The barriers women encounter in some industries account for part of the salary disparity, as Chinese women find it extremely challenging to enter some professions. Some sectors in China, such as the military and some sciences, still impose restrictions on women, which may have long-term effects on their career growth. Moreover, such jobs are also typically paid higher salaries.

Female leadership

According to data from MSCI’s annual Women on Boards report, the average female directorship for Chinese companies stood at 13.8 percent in 2021, compared to 22.6 percent globally and 14.5 percent for developing economies.

However, China performed better in comparison to other neighboring economies, such as Japan and South Korea, where women made up 12.6 percent and 8.7 percent of board directors, respectively.

In 2021, only 6.4 percent of the companies’ CEOs were women, while women CFOs stood at 26.3 percent – above the worldwide average.

What is China doing to increase female workers’ participation?

As the country struggles to deal with a demographic problem, a string of gender-related scandals have also sparked public outcry over gender inequality. Consequently, in 2021, the government unveiled a new 10-year plan, the Outline of Women’s Development in China (2021-2030), with a strong emphasis on employment rights. The document proposed 75 main goals and 93 supportive measures, covering key areas including health, education, and the economy.

The Outline suggests that by 2030, the basic national policy of equality between men and women will be thoroughly implemented, and the institutional mechanisms to promote equality between men and women and the all-round development of women will be innovated and improved, as part of the government’s major efforts to eliminate discrimination and improve the status of women in China.

Source: China-Briefing News

November 8, 2022 1 comment