A huge step forward for women living in war situations

Finally the United Nations has recognized that women are at the forefront of war's atrocities, and that their bodies are constantly used and abused for military and political reasons. This UN resolution will hopefully lead to a higher scrutiny from the international community on war-driven areas and less impunity for sexual crimes committed during war.

BBC article:

UN classifies rape a 'war tactic'

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7464462.stm

Bye Bye Cyd

Beautiful Cyd Charisse leaves this world, taking with her the most beautiful pair of legs of all times, and off course, grace, talent and charm like little few remains...

BBC Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7460370.stm

Last days in Aceh- Episode 2

Yoga Retreat- Sabang Island, 13th/14th of June
Photos by Bastien!

Last days in Aceh- Episode 1

In exactly 16 days we will leave what has been our home for three and two years... Here are last pictures of moments, friends, ect.. in this place that we have come to love!
Erwin on lobster night

Our indonesian family... Putri, Huzna and Rizal

Nos cherissssssssssss....Jude et Sam

Avec mes collegues Judith et Julia

Le plus beau bebe du monde!

The Traditional Acehnese wedding hat... for men

Lobster night!

Visit to Amna's classroom

Abel and Triangle staff

In exactly 16 days we will leave what has been our home for three and two years... Here are last pictures of moments, friends, ect.. in this place that we have come to love!

Carol en Indonesie...

Bien qu'il lui ai fallu quatre jours pour se remettre de son dernier vol avec une compagnie locale (elle travaille a Air France), Carol nous est arrivee motivee pour manger des fruits bizarres, faire des calins a des varans, et etre bercee par les cinqs appels a la priere journaliers..
Treve de plaisanteries, elle etait surtout la pour rencontre la famille d'Amna, et nous avons passes de chouette moments tous ensemble!

Rizal, Carol et Elli

Rizal

Abel, emily, rizal, huzna et Erwin

a droite, les soeurs d'amna, latifah et huzna

repas traditionnel chez Rizal et Elli

Beautiful Pictures from Aceh/Indonesia

Picture from a friend of ours.... follow the link!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gonzo440/sets/72157600252939950/

Reportage

D'anciens soldats israéliens racontent les dérives de l'occupation à Hébron

LE MONDE | 30.05.08 | 14h23 • Mis à jour le 30.05.08 | 14h23

TEL-AVIV ENVOYÉ SPÉCIAL

Alangui à la terrasse d'un café branché de Tel-Aviv, vêtu d'un tee-shirt à fleurs, d'un pantalon de toile et d'une paire de sandales, Doron Efrati, 23 ans, n'a pas véritablement l'allure du bidasse sans scrupule capable de tirer du lit une famille entière de Palestiniens à la pointe de son fusil. C'est pourtant ce qu'il a fait à l'occasion de son service militaire effectué entre 2003 et 2006 en Cisjordanie. "On débarque en douce dans un quartier, on jette des pierres ou une grenade assourdissante contre la porte d'une maison et on hurle : "C'est l'armée, ouvrez !". Ensuite, on fait sortir tout le monde dehors et on fouille de fond en comble l'intérieur. Une fois qu'on a fini, on passe à une autre maison et ainsi de suite pendant une bonne partie de la nuit. L'idée, c'est de saisir des armes ou du matériel de propagande, mais surtout de maintenir la population palestinienne dans un état de peur permanente. Comme disent les chefs, "il s'agit de manifester notre présence"."

Dégoûté par ce qu'il a vu et vécu, Doron a décidé de parler, à l'inverse de la plupart des conscrits israéliens, qui s'empressent de partir sous les tropiques pour mieux oublier. Son témoignage figure avec une centaine d'autres dans un livret publié il y a quelques semaines par l'organisation Breaking the Silence (Rompre le silence). Depuis sa création en 2004, cette association, financée par l'Union européenne, a récolté les témoignages d'environ cinq cents anciens soldats, témoins des abus, petits ou grands, vicieux ou criminels, perpétrés par les troupes d'occupation israéliennes dans la région d'Hébron. Des exactions encouragées par le statut très particulier de cette cité qui abrite le tombeau d'Abraham et dont le centre est noyauté par 800 colons juifs, barricadés derrière un dédale de barrages militaires qui pourrit la vie des 160 000 autres habitants de la ville, tous Palestiniens.

"Ça m'est souvent arrivé de prendre la relève de collègues affectés à un barrage et de découvrir que des Palestiniens y sont bloqués et menottés depuis des heures, parce qu'ils ont soi-disant manqué de respect aux soldats", dit Iftakh Arbel, 23 ans, une autre recrue de Breaking the Silence. Des humiliations, qui à la lecture du fascicule de l'association, apparaissent comme routinières. Il y a, par exemple, ce marchand d'accessoires automobiles chez lequel des soldats viennent se servir sans payer et dont ils menacent de fermer le magasin s'il ose déposer plainte. Il y a aussi cette unité qui, un jour de désoeuvrement, décide de casser les vitres d'une mosquée pour déclencher une émeute et s'offrir une tranche d'"action". Et puis ce "jeu" que décrit l'un des témoins, consistant à arrêter quelques passants dans la rue et à les étrangler à tour de rôle tout en surveillant sa montre. "Le gagnant est celui qui met le plus de temps à s'évanouir."

Mais il y a plus grave. Le témoignage numéro 49, donné par un soldat qui entend conserver l'anonymat, décrit en détail le passage à tabac d'un jeune lanceur de pierres par un officier israélien. "Il l'a démonté, il l'a mis en pièces, raconte le témoin. Le gamin ne pouvait plus tenir sur ses jambes. Nous, on regardait, indifférents. C'est le genre de truc que l'on faisait tous les jours (...). A la fin, le commandant a mis le canon de son arme dans la bouche du gosse, juste devant sa mère, et a déclaré que la prochaine fois qu'il l'attrapait avec une pierre à la main, il le tuerait."

Iftakh Arbel a touché de près ce processus d'aliénation qui transforme un bon gars en butor. "Tu alternes huit heures de garde et huit heures de repos pendant dix-huit jours. Ça t'épuise, tu t'ennuies à mourir. Tu te mets à haïr les colons à cause de toutes les horreurs qu'ils commettent et les Palestiniens aussi, parce que leur existence est la raison même de ta présence à Hébron. Alors tu essaies de t'occuper. Tu contrôles un Palestinien sans raison. Et s'il ose protester, tu te retrouves à le frapper, juste parce que tu as le pouvoir."

Parfois le défouloir se solde par la mort d'un Palestinien. "C'était dans le camp de réfugiés d'Al-Fawwar, au début de l'année 2004, raconte Doron Efrati. Un gamin avait balancé un cocktail Molotov sur nos Jeep. Dans une situation pareille, la consigne c'est de viser le haut du corps, c'est-à-dire de tirer pour tuer, même si ce n'est pas dit explicitement. Le temps que l'on sorte de nos Jeep, le gamin avait disparu. Sur ordre de notre chef, une embuscade a été tendue. Le gamin a finalement été abattu par un sniper, plus de quarante minutes après avoir lancé son cocktail Molotov. Le commandant de la brigade a voulu ouvrir une enquête, mais l'un de ses supérieurs l'en a dissuadé."

En réaction à la sortie du livret de Breaking the Silence, l'armée israélienne a parlé de "brebis galeuses", "de témoignages anonymes invérifiables" et insiste sur son souci de juger tous les forfaits dont elle a connaissance. Fin avril, deux gardes frontières qui avaient tué un Palestinien en 2002, en le projetant hors de leur Jeep qui roulait à 80 km/h dans les rues de Hébron, ont été condamnés à six et quatre ans de prison ferme. Une sanction tardive, excessivement légère et surtout trop rare, selon Iftakh. "Il faut que les Israéliens comprennent que leur tranquillité a un coût moral exorbitant, dit-il. Actuellement, ce sont les jeunes appelés qui le paient. Mais bientôt, c'est toute la société qui sera corrompue."

Benjamin Barthe

GTZ Outing Day at Ujong Batee

GTZ in Aceh is represented by one huge Program, the Aceh Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Program (ARRP), itself representing five projects (on of them being ERMF for which I work for). ARRP organised a huge outing day at a beautiful beach in Banda... and off course the ERMF staff were the only ones to end up in the water... fun day!

Matthias the Traitor (only Georgina was suppose to go in...)

After the plunge with Matthias and Geo

A proud William before loosing the game

Nanda in action (but we lost anyway...)

ERMF girls

Financial Times (UK): Aceh at risk of economic collapse

Financial Times (UK)

April 15, 2008

Aceh at risk of economic collapse

By John Aglionby in Jakarta

A failure to develop agriculture and other sustainable economic activities in Aceh threatens to destabilise the Indonesian province over the next year, the author of a study of areas devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami warned on Monday.
Craig Thorburn, from Monash University in Australia, said tensions could be exacerbated by the unreasonably high expectations of provincial and district leaders, combined with their low capacity to deliver economic growth and resentment over the allegedly inequitable distribution of funds to ex-combatants after the end of a 29-year separatist conflict in 2005.
The uncertainty, heightened by national and local elections next year, has resulted in investors staying away from the northern tip of Sumatra island. Some 168,000 people were killed and 500,000 left homeless by the earthquake and tsunami that affected 14 countries around the Indian Ocean.
Dr Thorburn said 14 companies had signed significant deals but none had actually invested.
“There’s a great risk in the next couple of years,” he said at the launch of a multi-donor report on assessing local capacity and reconstruction assistance. “People are adopting a wait-and-see attitude [towards investing] to see if [the province] blows.”
Agriculture is likely to absorb most survivors currently in reconstruction, but recovery efforts in the sector are “barely getting under way”, the report says, because fields remain largely unrehabilitated since people have sought more lucrative short-term employment.
A World Bank report on Aceh published last week reached similar conclusions. It warned that because of “scant evidence of private investment in the primary or secondary sectors of the economy ... there will be upward pressure on the unemployment rate”, while food imports increased for the third consecutive year in 2007.
Dr Thorburn forecast that Aceh would have a bright future if economic and social collapse could be avoided over the next two years.
The assessment report, involving input from the Australian and Indonesian governments, United Nations, Oxfam, Muslim Aid, and Catholic Relief Services, concludes that much of the housing reconstruction was too hurried, without sufficient community input or co-ordination. The result is that, in many areas, up to 40 per cent of newly built or repaired houses are uninhabited.

A Father's inspiration...

Indonesia: Muslim bridge-builder?

Interesting BBC article about Indonesia's role in the Middle East... At a time when Palestinian children are being killed with no consequences, it would be nice to see Indonesia stand up to its responsibilities and try to mediate talks or whatever there is left to mediate...

Indonesia: Muslim bridge-builder?
BBC World News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7269017.stm

Israel's deputy foreign minister has called on Indonesia to play a more active role in the Middle East. The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Jakarta asks whether the government will listen.

Boire la tasse c'est rien

Je realise que je ne vous avais jamais dit ce que je pouvais bien faire ici pour soigner cette brioche naissante et persistante.
J'ai bien essaye de trouver un endroit ou nager mais ca s'est avere vite difficile.
Il y a l'ocean mais tout de suite on nage plus, on fait du snorkeling ou on survie ou on meurt noye (une quinzaine d'expatries noyes en 2006-2007, alors qu'ils nageaient pres du bord). Et il ne faut pas y aller seul au cas ou. Et il faut faire une petite demi heure de route. Donc l'ocean pour nager seulement on oublie, surtout pour un nageur confirme certes mais de piscine, ou les seuls obstacles sont les nageurs du dimanche, l'ancien sportif qui pense que toute la piscine est a lui et qui ne comprend pas pourquoi on lui rend les coups de coude, ou le gamin qui sautent de n'importe ou encore la mamie qui s'obstine a nager dans la ligne "rapide" et qui ralentit tout le monde.
J'avais trouve par hasard la piscine de Banda Aceh. On m'avait parle d'une ancienne piscine, taille olympique (que je n avais pourtant pas apercu par avion), dont l entretien avait ete abandonnee suite au tsunami mais qui allait bientot rouvrir selon differentes sources... on m'indique la ruelle, je me precipite, je demande "swimming pool" et on me repond "yes miss". Je dis "can I go?" en indonesien, et la on me repond en riant comme une baleine "sur! on y va ensemble si tu veux! l'eau est comme ca!" en pointant l'eau de la rigolle a cote... En fait la piscine a ete abandonnee depuis le debut du conflit... il y a 30 ans...
Ensuite on a deniche une mini-piscine type 12m de long en forme ovale avec des faux palmiers. Mais non seulement le prix de l'entree est equivalent a celle de la piscine olympique en France, et en plus ils mettent la tonne d'anti-bacterien-virus du futur. Quand tu sors de l'eau, les yeux sont rouges, la peau est blanche. On dirait un lapin de laboratoire.
Enfin on allait aussi un moment ds un mini-lac au pied d'une falaise, une retenue d'eau e fait de la riviere qui suivait apres. Mais la retenue d'eau a ete rationnalisee au bout d un moment avec un beau mur en beton, et l'eau utilisee pour le village d a cote. Beaucoup moins romantique, et encore une fois c est tout petit, ca va va pour faire joujou mais pour nager... Et puis le jour ou j ai vu long long serpent traverse la riviere en aval, j ai eu un petit frisson et un grand doute quand a la faune et flore qui pouvait s'apenouir dans cette eau pas si transparente que ca.

Alors les solutions qui deviennet regulieres sont le badminton dans le campound de la Banque Centrale Indonesienne, ou je me fais exploser a chaque match joue depuis 6 mois par les indonesiens, meme le directeur qui affiche une belle cinquantaine d'annees. J'ai compris au bout d un moment qu'ils beneficiaient d un meilleur matos que moi, ce qui ne compte pas pour beaucoup en natation (peu importe le slip) mais enormement au badminton. Apres avoir cherement acquis une raquette de qualite, je perds de beaucoup moins du double...
Il y a aussi le surf, enfin le body board. On a un spot pas loin magnifique, ou la vague est reguliere et se deroule bien. Pas parfait pour apprendre car ca peut etre gros, mais comme je sais nager ca va. Je survie.
Je n en ai pas parle avant, car le surf est une belle lecon d'humilite. Je ne vais pas vous faire du Keanu Reeves ds point break, mais qu est ce que j ai ramasse mes amis! La vague est belle et reguliere car elle est sur du reef, et non du sable. Et y a de quoi prendre du plaisir car elle fait bien ses 2m en general. Apres tout c'est que de l'eau! Mais non, c est beaucoup plus, c'est une force un truc de fou! Donc depuis que j en fais, j ai bien sur panique au point que j ai cru que je me noyais, pris dans le courant en revenant mais ne m en rendant compte qu au bout de 20minutes, disloque dans les vagues comme jamais ca ne m est arrive les jours de mauvaises mer en Mediterannee... Bref, l'ocean c est plus fort que toi, meme avec tes petites palmes et ta petite experience de water-polo.
Quand la vague met une claque, on peut pas se defiler en partant en courant dans sa chambre.
C'EST DANGEREUX CE SPORT!
Mais qu est ce que ca fait du bien! ca vide un grand coup, on prend des coups de soleil, on revient le gout sale dans la bouche et le squelette eprouve et fatigue et c'est bon.
Voir photo de la vague ci apres.

La Vague

Study finds Acehnese suffer high rates of conflict Trauma

Jakarta, 15th June 2007. Almost two years after the Helsinki peace accord was signed, Acehnese civilians continue to suffer a high rate of combat trauma, the International Organization for Migration and Harvard researchers have found in the first Aceh-wide study of conflict related trauma and depression.

The assessment which evaluates the mental health needs of people affected by the 29-year conflict between Indonesian security forces and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), was conducted with assistance from Syiah Kuala University, the Indonesian Health Department and funded by the World Bank, the Decentralization Support Facility, Harvard University and IOM.

The assessment conducted in high-conflict communities across 14 districts of Aceh, found that 35 percent ranked high on symptoms for depression, 10 percent for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and 39 percent for anxiety.

Nearly three quarters (74 percent) of the randomly selected sample of the 1,972 civilians from 105 villages report living through combat, 28 percent have experienced beatings, and 38 percent had a family member or friend killed during the conflict.

Civilians in South Aceh and along Aceh's East coast experienced even higher rates of traumatic events, and as a consequence display high levels of symptoms for mental illnesses. For example, 41% of villagers surveyed from the south and west coast suffered high rates of depression symptoms, 43% anxiety symptoms and 14% PTSD symptoms.

A Psychosocial Needs Assessment of Conflict-Affected Communities in 14 Districts of Aceh was not designed to catalogue or identify groups or individuals allegedly responsible for causing trauma.

But the reports authors say that this traumatized portion of Aceh's population could be possible triggers for further violence, if left untreated.

"These memories are alive in the community, and they have the tremendous power to reproduce that violence. These traumatized individuals can become stressors for the rest of their community," said Professor Byron Good, one of the reports authors, from the Harvard's School of Social Medicine.

The report calls on the Indonesian government to fund desperately needed mental health services, as well as on the international community involved in Aceh's post-tsunami reconstruction to incorporate psychosocial care as part of their programmes.

"This report shows that many civilians in Aceh, where one of South-East Asia's long running conflicts has raged until recently, are in urgent need of specialized mental health care," said Professor Good.

"Developing a mental health system that reaches these traumatized individuals, who are often located in remote, widely dispersed villages, is essential for Aceh's future," added Professor Good.

In response to results from this study, the World Bank, with funding from the British government's foreign aid agency, DIFID, has agreed to fund IOM's outreach mental health programme in Bireuen and North Aceh which will target 3,000 individuals, in ten sub-districts, over 12 months.

"This unique mobile programme, which provides both basic health care and psychosocial care, will provide an important service to remote villages in two of Aceh's most conflict-affected districts," said Steve Cook, IOM's Indonesian mission chief.

In response to the results of a 2006 assessment of Aceh's mental health needs, which revealed that civilians in three districts displayed levels of combat-related trauma comparable to the Bosnians in the Balkan war, and Afghanistan, IOM launched a six-month outreach health programme in Bireuen. Since January 2007, the mobile clinics, which work together with the government community health centres or puskesmas, have targeted 14,000 civilians, and treated 581 patients suffering mental illnesses.

Copyright © IOM. All rights reserved.

How did women fare in 2007?

 How did women fare in 2007?

This article offers a glimpse at a few of last year's gains and setbacks for women all over the world.

By Kathambi Kinoti

Last year saw three female presidents come into power. In Argentina, left-leaning Cristina Fernandez was elected president, becoming the country's second ever woman to occupy its highest office. In her inaugural speech, Fernandez vowed to ensure the conclusion of the numerous human rights abuses cases arising from the dictatorship era from 1976 to 1983. Her election means that South America now has two women presidents; Fernandez and Michelle Bachelet of Chile. Pratibha Patil was appointed President of India in July of 2007. She was a compromise candidate for the job and not everyone linked her appointment to progress for women's rights. A columnist in the Asian Age newspaper wrote: 'Don't mock our intelligence and call it a victory for women. It is a selfish victory for the Congress party and its leadership.' [1] Nevertheless, Patil set a precedent as India's first female President. In Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey was appointed President.

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former Prime Minister who recently returned from exile, was assassinated on December 27, 2007. Bhutto, who was her country's first female Prime Minister, was set to run for office in the country's upcoming elections. Her assassination precipitated riots and political turmoil. In February, Zil-e-Huma Usman, a female provincial Cabinet Minister from Pakistan's Punjab region was also assassinated. Her assassin, who confessed to the crime, told police that 'women should not hold important positions.'[2] In May, the country's tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar was forced to resign after 'hardline Islamist clerics branded her 'obscene' for hugging a man after a charity parachute jump.' [3] Another female politician in Afghanistan, Malalai Joya was suspended in what she described as a political conspiracy, after she said that Afghanistan's parliament was 'worse than a stable.' [4]

Women's participation in politics was the subject of a fatwa (religious edict) from Egypt's Grand Mufti in February 2007. In the fatwa, which generated vigorous debate, the Grand Mufti said that 'nothing in Islamic principles prevents women from holding high institutional positions and even becoming president...Islam gives equal political and social rights to men and women.' [5] The president of the Fatwa Commission of the al-Azhar University however drew attention to socio-political realities saying that even if Gomaa's fatwa is backed by valid arguments, in fact what he says is not viable, given the political and social situation.' [6]

Kenya's general elections held on December 27, 2007 saw fifteen women elected to parliament, a record for the country whose previous parliament had only nine elected female members, and nine nominated members out of a total of 222. The number of women in parliament is likely to rise after the different political parties nominate more women as required by the state's constitution. Despite this relative progress, in terms of women's representation in parliament, Kenya continues to lag behind its neighbours in eastern and central Africa.

Conflicts around the world continued to take their toll on women in 2007. The situation in Darfur came no closer to resolution, with women bearing the brunt of the death, destruction, rape and hunger that came in the wake of the conflict. The Democratic Republic of Congo continued to see large scale sexual violence against women and girls. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported on the rape and recruitment of girls and young women by irregular armed forces such as the ultra-rightwing United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Leaders of these paramilitary groups reportedly force them to provide sexual services and do domestic work. [7] In February, it was reported that Mynamar's military has been guilty of killing, raping and torturing with impunity ethnic Karen women. [8] Disputes over the result of the presidential elections in Kenya have led to political turmoil. Hundreds of people have been killed, tens of thousands have been displaced, and there has been an upsurge in the rape of women and girls. [9]

In April 2007, the United Nations war crimes tribunal passed a landmark judgement against a Bosnian Serb military policeman for participating in the notorious campaign of rape against Muslim Serb women in the town of Foca in 1992. The indictment against the policeman for the first time charged rape and sexual enslavement as a crime against humanity.

Last year was tumultuous for women's rights defenders in Iran, particularly from the beginning of July. A number of them took part in the One Million Signatures Campaign that seeks to educate women in Iran about their rights and to reform laws that discriminate against women. Several women's rights activists were arrested as they collected signatures in support of the
campaign. When some of them refused to sign an agreement to stop their activities, they were charged with 'actions against national security' and transferred to prison. Other activists were arrested when they participated in peaceful demonstrations for women's rights. International pressure helped in securing the release of most of these activists, albeit under stringent bail conditions for many of them. [10] It was reported that in Zimbabwe security forces were routinely sexually abusing and otherwise torturing women human rights activists who demonstrated against human rights abuses, forced evictions and food shortages in the country. [11]

Abortion continued to be a major women's rights issue in 2007. Pro-choice groups in Nicaragua lobbied their Congress in vain to overturn a no-exceptions law passed in 2006 that banned all abortions even where the woman's life is at risk. It was reported that the ban has had a devastating impact on women's health and lives' with women being afraid to seek even health services that are legal. [12] In Portugal, after a referendum, abortion laws were reformed. Abortion is now authorised for pregnancies that are up to ten weeks old. In cases of rape, abortions are permissible up to 16 weeks into gestation and where the foetus is found to have a congenital malformation or incurable disease, up to 24 weeks. However a number of women were unable to take advantage of the new laws due to 'conscientious objection' by doctors. [13] The European Union's highest human rights court challenged Poland's restrictive laws on abortion when it awarded a Polish woman damages after she was denied abortion services in
spite of health risks. Mexico City's legislature in April agreed to allow abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Mozambique also considered legalizing abortion, pushed by its health ministry which argued that unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in the country. At the end of 2006, Togo had amended its laws to allow for abortion resulting from rape or incest.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women from driving. In September a group of Saudi women formed a committee to lobby for women to be allowed to drive. The action of the group, though it has not yet resulted in a reversal of the law, highlights the fact that no women's rights gains should be taken for granted.

__________________
Notes:

1. Quoted in 'India's first female president sworn in.' Reuters Africa, July 25, 2007.
2. 'Cabinet Minister Killed in East Pakistan.' Guardian Unlimited, February 21, 2007.
3. 'Female Afghan and Pakistani politicians forced from office.' Guardian Unlimited, May 23, 2007.
4. See note 3.
5. Quoted in 'Fatwa over women in politics stirs controversy.' AKI Italy, February 5, 2007.
6. See note 5.
7. 'Women Suffer Abuse Behind the Front Lines.' Inter Press Service News Agency, January 23, 2007.
8. 'Myanmar military accused of raping ethnic Karen women.' Guardian Unlimited, February 12, 2007.
9. 'Scores in hospital after rape ordeal.' Daily Nation, January 2, 2008.
10. Radio Free Europe, November 17, 2007.
11. 'Zimbabwe police torture women activists.' Reuters Africa, October 10, 2007.
12. 'Over their Dead Bodies' Human Rights Watch, 2007.
13. 'Epidemic of Conscientious Objection to Performing Abortion. Inter Press Service, July 20, 2007.

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AWID is an international membership organization committed to gender equality and a just and sustainable development process. AWID facilitates an open exchange among researchers, practitioners, policymakers and others in order to develop effective and transformative approaches for improving the lives of women and girls worldwide. If you are not already a member of AWID, please visit our web site at www.awid.org to find out more.
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The Association for Women's Rights in Development
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