The Great Debate UK
Time to break the silence on injustices against women
- Giselle Portenier is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who focuses on human rights abuses around the world and a member of the Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival committee. The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters will host a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. Please tune in.-
Soon it will be that famous Ladies’ Day again, International Women’s Day, when the Western press packs their pages with stories—and it’s already started– either celebrating all we have achieved, or lamenting all that still eludes us—equal pay for work of equal value, glass ceilings, balancing work and family life, domestic violence, and so on.
And while these stories are worthwhile, as we head into the hundredth year celebrating International Women’s Day, the time has come to slow down this navel-gazing, change this narrow focus, and come to the aid of millions of women worldwide.
The time has come to break the silence, in a big, real, systematic and very public way, on all the human rights abuses endured by girls and women in the developing world in the name of culture and religion.
UN resolution on women, peace and security: anniversary worth celebrating?
- Donald Steinberg, Deputy President for Policy of International Crisis Group, is a board member of the Women’s Refugee Commission and served on the UNIFEM executive director’s advisory council. The opinions expressed are his own. -
Preparations are now starting for the 10th anniversary of the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. This groundbreaking resolution was passed unanimously in October 2000 to address abuses against women during armed conflict, including sexual violence and displacement, and to bring women more fully into conflict prevention and peacemaking.
from The Great Debate:
Obama and flawed logic on Cuba
-- Bernd Debusmann is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own --
The U.S. case for isolating Cuba and keeping it out of international meetings such as this week's Summit of the Americas sounds simple: the country doesn't have democratically elected leaders, it holds political prisoners, it violates human rights and its citizens can't travel freely. All perfectly true.
International Women’s Day – a chance to bring about positive change
– Ellie Bird is a Detective Superintendent with British Transport Police and Vice President of the British Association for Women in Policing. Throughout her 26 years service Ellie has worked in uniform, detective and headquarters roles, including as Operations Superintendent on London Underground with responsibility for policing major events such as the Tour de France and command for major incidents. Ellie has experience in policing child abuse and domestic violence investigations as well as public protection and serious crime. The opinions expressed are her own. –
As I read the newspaper today, I am reminded of the fact that thousands of women burn to death every year in domestic violence
