Catégorie : 1000 women Peace Nobel 2005

Linked with Women on Waves, and with An Interview with Rebecca Gomperts.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « Induced abortions are one of the most common medical interventions in the world: out of around 46 million abortions performed annually, 20 million are illegal and unsafe ». (1000PeaceWomen).

Working as a ship’s doctor on Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, as a freelance abortion doctor in several clinics and the writing of the novel Flotsam are only some examples of this. Her three talents come together expressly in her latest iniative, the founding of Women on Waves, a Dutch non-profit organisation devoted to the cause of women’s rights and health. (full text).

She says also: « Of course I realized when I got back how many problems I would come across if I wanted to put this idea into practice. But the more research I did, the more this issue crawled under my skin and would not let go. So many women are dying and being denied the most fundamental part of human existence, namely to decide about their autonomy, their bodies, whether and when they want to have children ». (1000PeaceWomen).

Rebecca Gomperts – Netherlands

She works for Women on Waves.

Read: I had an abortion. (full text).

Read: Rebecca Gomperts Is Trying to Save the World for Abortion. (full text).

Rebecca Gomperts works with local women’s groups to prevent unsafe abortions and empower women to exercise their human rights to physical and mental autonomy. In 1999, Rebecca Gomperts founded the organization, Women on Waves, which operates a mobile abortion clinic on a ship. Despite threats and protests from anti-abortion groups and governments, it has sailed to various countries where abortions are illegal. While in harbor, the ship provides contraceptives, information, and counseling. After sailing into international waters, early medical abortions are provided safely in the clinic.

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Linked with Three organizations working for Peace and Human Rights on the Åland Islands, and with Don’t blame the victims.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « Getting involved in peace work was a long process for me. Politics came first. Then I felt the threat of a nuclear holocaust so frightening and so hopeless. I got involved in the peace marches through Europe in the eighties and met so many different people who wanted to act for peace instead of shrugging their shoulders and doing nothing. I did not want to become cynical. It is healthier to have hope. With time I have come to think that the most important thing is the process of working together. The main obstacle to peace is the conception that war is somehow inevitable. That concept is built into the patriarchal structures of our society, and the people who uphold it are probably the ones who are themselves ready to use violence to achieve their goals. If you believe violence is a solution, it becomes one. For example, the real reason for the war in Iraq is to make some of the men in the Bush administration even wealthier. I have achieved my goals in cooperation with other people. No one changes the world alone. And you have to live by your beliefs. To be credible you have to show through your interaction with other people that you both respect and love them. Since I am a politician I have worked on many different levels. The most important one is the local level, where it is possible to put ones ideas and visions into practice. The Åland Islands Peace Institute, Emmaus-Åland and the local peace group have become a part of my home, my group of people ». (1000PeaceWomen).

Barbro Sundback – Finland

She works for the Ålands fredsinstitut / Åland Islands Peace Institute,
for the Emmaus Åland (in finish) / Peace Association-Emmaus (in english),
and for the Finnish Music Information Center (Fimic).

Summing up her conviction Barbo says: « I have a strong belief in justice and democracy and the good in the world. I also believe that trust is an essential component in any peace-building process. I was once in Kyrgyzstan, talking with groups of leaders from Nagorno-Karabach and Azerbaijan. There was no trust and no respect between the participants, and they were not interested in autonomy as a way to solve their differences. Finally the leader of the Nagorno-Karabach group smiled at me and said, ‘Ok, autonomy can be a good solution, but then we have to become a part of Finland, not Azerbaijan’. There was no trust ».

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She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « The main thing is not to give up! There is always a way out, even in the most complicated situation ».

She says also: « There were a lot of hindrances and mistakes, however, we gradually surmounted them and learned not to make them again, experience is the best teacher ».

They said us: « What do you need to go out for? Just sit at home like you did in the Soviet Union. Continue to sit, or go live in special hostel for invalids ».

Asipa Musayeva – Kyrgyzstan

She works for the Independent Association of Disabled Women.

Asipa Musayeva is the president of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Independent Association of Disabled Women of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Since 1989, she has accomplished a great deal for the organization and for disabled people, protecting their rights and advocating for them on a national level. She has successfully lobbied for laws to increase opportunities for disabled people to work and participate in society. Asipa conducts seminars, training courses for leaders, particularly from rural areas, on the importance of civil and economic rights for people with disabilities.

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Linked with Medica mondiale, and with Self-immolation by oppressed Afghan women is rising.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: For bosniac woomen: « I want to break the taboo and tear down the wall of silence. For the dignity of tortured women », and for afghan women: « There is a conspiracy between men in the families, in the police, in the judicial system and in the mosques, putting women at their mercy. Violence is everywhere, but the women have never experienced anything else and cannot even recognize and name this as violence. They just say: ‘I feel bad' ».

She says also: « Sexual violence is a part of all wars, but throughout the world it is not discussed, its victims forgotten. However it is the most serious kind of attack on the intimate self. Survivors of war and torture need medical, psychological and therapeutic support, to return to their daily lives and rediscover their dignity. And that is why I wanted to do something ».

And she says: « I have seen many hospitals in developing countries, but I have never experienced conditions as in Kabul ».

Monika Hauser – Germany

She works for Medica Mondiale.

Monika Hauser, an Italian citizen and gynecologist, born in 1959 in Switzerland, is a gynecologist and director of the women’s aid association Medica Mondiale in Cologne, Germany. In 1992, in the middle of the Bosnian war, she opened a therapy center in the city of Zenica for women victims of rape and war trauma. Now more than 80 Bosnian women doctors, nurses, therapists, and other professionals work there. She also founded projects for victims of sexual violence in Kosovo, Albania, and Afghanistan. Medica Mondiale supports local women’s organizations in other countries, including Indonesia, Iraq, and Congo.

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She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

It is said: « She lights up in the Colombian night, she is like a constantly erupting volcano, Luz Perly Córdoba Mosquera is a mother, peasant, student, trade union worker and a fighter for life ».

She says: “They try to silence the voice of the people, but we will never give up the dream of real peace for Colombia. In this fight, we have nothing to lose; on the contrary, we have everything to gain”.

About growing of coca she says: “It is the only alternative left for the Colombian peasants by the Colombian State. It is the only way they have to avoid dying of hunger. It is irresponsible, immoral and not very ethical to accuse them of being drug traffickers”.

Read: La Unión Europea preocupada por las amenazas a organizaciones de derechos humanos en Colombia, 16.6.2006.

Read: Derechos Humanos en Colombia, 24 de junio de 2006.

Luz Perly Córdoba Mosquera – Colombia

She works for the National Federation Union of Unitarian Farming (no website-mentions), and for the Arauca’s Peasants Association (Read: Colombia Solidarity Bulletin Nº 10, Version Espanol).

Committed to the core of the fight against the injustices suffered by her people, she is an international representative for her country. She never rests. She leads, organizes and manages collective efforts that work towards the fulfillment of a dignified life. “I am writing these short but deeply felt words from the bottom of my heart, which in spite of these mouldy walls and these rusty chains with which they try to imprison me, beats faster than ever in the cause of liberty,” wrote Luz Perly Córdoba after her first year in the Prison del Buen Pastor in Bogotá, Colombia, where she was arrested and charged with rebellion and planning to commit a crime. “My case was planned by the authorities as a political punishment and this has been evident from the beginning to the end of the process. The aim was to maintain me under arrest for the longest possible time”.

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Linked with O PROGRAMA DE ASSISTÊNCIA INTEGRAL À SAÚDE DA MULHER (PAISM) EM GOIÂNIA, with Open letter to the Vatican, and with O Coletivo Feminista Sexualidade e Saúde.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « Three decades ago, discrimination and violence against women were not socially noticed. There have been important advances: women’s role in society is growing, and they know their rights better ».

Read: Relatório Final: VIII Fórum Interprofissional para Atendimento Integral da Mulher Vítima de Violência Sexual.

Read: Campanha dos 16 Dias de Ativismo de combate à Violência contra a Mulher.

Maria José de Oliveira Araújo – Brazil

She works for the Programa de Assistência Integral à Saúde da Mulher (Paism),
and for the Coletivo Feminista Sexualidade e Saúde.

Doctor Maria José de Oliveira Araújo (born 1949) is the coordinator of the Women’s Health Division of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. On the front of national politics, she puts into practice the ideals that guide her career: sexual and reproductive rights and humane and respectful care for women during their entire life, from puberty to menopause.

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She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « How to love? What to love? Who to love? I found the answers in society, with the people, and for that, I give thanks to God. This was the way ».

She says also: « One day I stayed in the middle of the march instead of walking beside María Soledad’s parents as usual. Journalists asked me: Sister, have you quarrelled with the Morales? No, I answered. What has happened, is that the Morales are the symbol of justice and I am here in the middle because now the whole of Catamarca is crying out for justice for so many other cases ».

And she says: « When anxiety overcomes me, I pray and pray because I cannot lose my courage. I must have courage like the courage of Jesus. In 1998 they organized a national march and finally they managed to get a just trial and two of the guilty people were arrested. Argentina began to understand the value of public protest ».

Martha Pelloni – Argentina

She works for The Santa Teresa Foundation.

Martha Pelloni is an Argentinean nun who has dedicated her life to sowing tiny seeds. She leaves them in the souls of the people she fights for and of the people she has taught to fight. She knows that from these seeds, trees will grow and that these trees will bear fruit. She has many times moved enormous mountains with her faith, for example, when she suffered from cancer or when she challenged the impunity with which a little girl was raped and murdered in the province of Catamarca. Her fight, daily and untiring, has not stopped for two decades. At the end of the eighties she left her religious habit on the hospital bed and put on her the hospital coat. She was suffering from cancer and spoke to God, saying, « Sir, I want to change my life. If I can go on with it, I will not waste one minute of my time ». And her God listened to her and the cancer retreated. Since then, Martha Pelloni has dedicated her life to sowing seeds. « I think that every morning is like a resurrection ».

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Linked with FEMNET, The African Women’s Development and Communication Network, and with ECOSOCC The Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « Sustainable peace cannot be established without the participation of women and girls ».

And she says: « My dream is to fight against social injustice, especially when it is directed against women ».

Mama Kotie Doumbia is a Malian politician and a member of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union, representing West Africa. The Economic, Social and Cultural Council is an advisory body of the African Union charged with overseeing the development of those particular areas within the continent. To this end 10 Sectoral Cluster Committees were established to highlight these areas.

Read: World Social Forum Spotlights Africa’s Challenges, March 2, 2007.

Mama Koite Doumbia – Mali

She works also for Union Nationale des Travailleurs du Mali UNTM, and for Femnet, The African Women’s Development and Communication Network.

Mama Koité Doumbia, born in Thiès, Senegal, in 1950, holds a higher diploma in youth training. She is particularly well-known for her long support of union causes and her determination to find ways to re-inforce the capacities of national women’s NGOs in the area of training, speaking, communication, and leadership. She is married and has five children.

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Linked with The Guizhou University, China.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She is the vice dean and researcher of the Guizhou Provincial Agricultural Science Institute, vice chairperson of the Guizhou Scientists Association, vice president of the Guizhou Agricultural Association, and an executive member of the Chinese Agricultural Association.

She says: « Seeing my farmer friends bidding poverty goodbye, and my scientific projects bringing them profits ? nothing could be more exhilarating than this ».

She says also  » … that nothing could bring me more happiness than seeing the peasants become wealthy and her projects bringing them benefits ».

Guilian Li – China

She works for the Guizhou Agricultural Science Institute, Guizhou University.

Li Guilian graduated from the Department of Gardening, Agricultural University, Guizhou Province in 1964, specializing in fruit and vegetables. Li Guilan was born in Huayin City of Shanxi Province in 1942.

She has been engaged in researching and promoting vegetable-growing technoloies for 40 years. Farmers in over 20 counties and cities of the province now grow vegetables all year round, resulting in better incomes, the development of agricultural plastic sheeting, chemical fertilizer, pesticide, vegetable seeds, restaurants, hotels and transportation.

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Linked with (added Sept. 09, 2007) A re-compilation of texts and blogs for indigenous peoples.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « Everything can be achieved, bit by bit, little by little ».

She says also: « I want peace, not war and that women should not suffer violence. That is my fight as an indigenous woman for all of us. Already as a girl these thoughts were in my mind. But at that time they were just dreams. I think that the world is big and that we have to fight for everyone ».

And she says: « It is called el Bhote, with only a few hills and a few trees. Previously we had more. We have reforested a bit. It is very dry; we have no wells for irrigation. There is potable water but sometimes it does not function for eight up to fifteen days. I have learned during my training that where there are trees there is also rain. My community is very hot and very cold. There are times that are very, very cold and times that are very, very hot. My village is one of extreme temperatures. We sow maize, beans, pumpkins, broad beans, but without water you cannot irrigate. At home I wake up to make tortillas, to wash and to take care of my little animals. I am with them for a while and then I look for something to eat. When I go away I leave everything in the care of my children. Nothing stops me ».

Macedonia (Doña Mace) Blas – Mexico

She works for Fot’zi Ñañhu A.C.

Macedonia Blas is a Ñañhú (Mexican indigenous ethnic group) woman whose first child died when she was only 18 years old. She did not know how to take care of a little baby and, in her community, there were no doctors and there was no money. Later on, she had 11 more children.

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