Mois : août 2008

Linked with 2080 land cases treated in Mozambican city in 18 months.

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

Zaida Cabral, born in 1951 in Maputo (Mozambique), is an educationalist. She is currently an education advisor for the Danish NGO Danida in the Mozambiquan capital Maputo. She has a master’s degree in education and has served as a researcher and as national director of primary education at the ministry of education. She was also a member of parliament. Her focus is on empowering women and the girl-child. She is one of the most prominent educationalists in Mozambique … (1000peacewomen 1/2).

She says: « I believe in education. If people have access to education, they can make a difference in their lives, Particularly women » … and: « “Children in Mozambique grow up in their mother tongue, which is the language of their community. Once they start going to school, the language of instruction is Portuguese, which they don’t understand at all. Entering school this way is a traumatic experience for our children” … and: “It was so difficult to convince the parents. They want their children to speak Portuguese as soon as possible, the language which is perceived as superior. Parents think that when their children speak the vernacular, they will remain as poor as they are.” Even the government was not supportive. “I was accused by people in the ministry that I wanted to delay the children’s development. But I just wanted to make it easier for the child.” … and: “I feel very frustrated in many aspects of my professional life. Most people in authority are not interested in changing things. But I think I am a fighter. I believe we can achieve lots of things in life by being honest, fighting for our ideals and not thinking of ourselves, but the next generation and the women. People deserve a better life. » (1000peacewomen).

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Zaida Cabral – Mozambique

She works for the Danish International Development Agency DANIDA ActionAid.

Diaporama: GENDER EQUALITY AND EDUCATION IN MOZAMBIQUE.

Find her name on Google Book-search.

(1000peacewomen 2/2): … Those white papers with signs on it did not mean much to Teresa. The 30-year-old village woman had seen them regularly for years in her husband’s wallet. That was before she ever had the opportunity to go to school. But efforts were made by the government of Mozambique and international organisations to educate rural women, and Teresa managed to learn to read after she turned 30. As a result, her husband was in trouble. Teresa discovered that those papers she had found over the previous years were letters from her husband’s lover.

When Zaida Cabral narrates the story Teresa herself had told her, pride flickers in her eyes and a big smile forms on her lips. “Teresa realized that her husband had cheated on her for long. But as a literate woman, she was now able to make her own decisions”, Zaida comments. Her conviction is clear: “I believe in education. If people have access to education, they can make a difference in their lives. Particularly women.”

The 53-year-old mother of two grown sons knows what she is talking about. Her way to being one of the most prominent educationalists in Mozambique was one of struggle. Born in a poor Muslim family in the capital Maputo, she could only complete four years of primary education. It was not until she was 19 that she was able to further her studies by attending evening classes while working during the day. She got married, had two sons and had to keep on working as a secretary, librarian and accountant. At age 28, she began studying education science. In 1995, aged 44, Zaida obtained a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Stockholm in Sweden.

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

When the Children’s Center « Nadjeschda » (hope) began to work with abandoned children in 1989, hardly anyone in Kyrgyzstan knew what future these children would face. In the village where the children were to be cared for, feelings of fear, hate, and aggression arose. It was difficult to find people to help. However, it eventually became possible to improve the health of these children and help them become part of society. The Kyrgyz public was made aware that these children are human beings who can be helped. A journalist dubbed the Children’s Center Nadjeschda « Island of Brotherly Love » … (1000peacewomen 1/2).

She says: « These disabled, rejected, so-called ineducable children show us adults what we so often forget in our daily struggle: without love between people our lives would be cold and barren » … (1000peacewomen).

Impressum.

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Karla-Maria Schälike – Germany and Kyrgyzstan

She works for the Children’s Center Nadjeschda (see more next paragraphe).

… After this meeting and visit, Bermet took us to the “Children’s Rehabilitation Center‘s Umut-Nadjeshda”: If parents in Kyrgyzstan are confronted with the birth of a disabled child a heavy fate is in front of them. These children find themselves isolated from the community and a few people are interested in their fate. Many disabled children are admitted as retarded and all kindergartens or schools close their doors to them. It was Karla-Maria Schälike, living in Kyrgyzstan, but a native German woman, started this Centre where mental and physically disabled children with help of adults, sign, draw, study, work and have fun as all children in the world do. The Nadjeshda Children’s Center is a home for 60 children and teenagers, aged between 2 and 21 years. They are regarded as “worthless, discarded children”. They work with these children using therapeutic pedagogical methods, including elements of the Waldorf pedagogy and that of Janusz Korczak. The result is that with time around half of the “uneducable” are able to move into the state institutions … (full text).

… Sichtlich berührt stellte Karima Hartmann die Friedensfrau Karla-Maria Schälike vor und befragte sie zu „Nadjeschda“ („Hoffnung“), einem Zentrum für ausgesetzte behinderte Kinder, das Schälike 1989 nach dem Tod ihres Sohnes in Kirgisien gegründet hat. Offen berichtete sie von den Schikanen und Einschüchterungsversuchen der örtlichen Behörden, die das Projekt jahrelang begleitet haben – aber auch von dem Stolz und der Freude, die es ihr bereitet, „ihre“ Kinder dort aufwachsen zu sehen … (full text).

(1000peacewomen 2/2): … “In the Children’s Center Nadjeschda I experience daily how the buds of my vision for a loving future shared by children and adults living together blossom, in the Children’s Center Nadjeschda I experience daily how the buds of my vision for a loving future shared by children and adults living together blossom,” says Karla-Maria Schälike. This is her account of how this center came about: In 1977, I was awarded a scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to attend the Pushkin Institute in Moscow.

Continuer la lecture de « Karla-Maria Schälike – Germany and Kyrgyzstan »

Linked with Global Partnership for the Prevention of armed conflict GPPAC, and with Center for Education, Counselling and Research CESI.

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

Before the war, Dragica Aleksa lived comfortably with her husband and two children on their farm in the village of Berak. The war in 1991 tore mothers and their children from their families, and Dragica and her son were not spared. Her family was reunited in another village later, but after the war, in 1998, Dragica returned to Berak. She joined the Center for Peace, Nonviolence, and Human Rights and took part in its Active Listening project. The result was her collection of « Stories from Berak. » Dragica also actively worked to find missing persons and in peace building efforts. Dragica Aleksa was born on 3 August 1952 in Svinjarevci, a small village in eastern Croatia. After attending primary school she went to a high school in Vinkovci … (1000peacewomen).

She says: « The past is memories, the future – hope. And only present moments give us the opportunity to do something for ourselves and others ».

download: Stories from Berak.

Predstavljene kandidatkinje za Nobelovu nagradu za mir.

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Dragica Aleksa – Croatia: sorry, the photo on this link of this peacewomen page cannot be downloaded, and I found no other one in the internet.

She works for the Center for Peace, Nonviolence, and Human Rights.

Since she had good grades, her parents expected that she would study economics or medicine. But Dragica wanted to study forestry, a field largely reserved for males and which her parents opposed. So instead of going to the university, Dragica married a farmer. Since then she and her husband engaged in agriculture in Berak.

Life was not easy, but she and her husband worked hard and even applied innovations, so they were quite successful economically. She was contented although she differed from the usual woman peasant in her love for reading, an activity largely considered a waste of time. She enjoyed talking to people but rarely felt that they truly understood her.

That is why she turned all her joy and sadness, hopes and fears into writing. She did not care any more what other people would think. In her own world she could write freely, unlike the « peasant woman who is not supposed to write. » Life went on as usual. She had two children and thought that life was good. She had many friends that she could always rely on.

Then the year 1990 came. Incomprehensible things began to happen. The once forbidden ultra-nationalist songs were being sung more and more frequently and loudly. The news on television and in the papers was about the impending war. People could not understand how and why there should be war. Dragica thought that if there should be war, it would certainly not be in Berak.

But on 30 September 1991, two men from the village came and told her that she and her eleven-year-old son had to leave for a couple of days. All the women and children from the village had to leave in a transport that was organized for them. Through a forest and across the fields they drove to a village 30 kilometers away.

Continuer la lecture de « Dragica Aleksa – Croatia »

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

Binda Pandey (born 1966) has been involved in Nepal’s trade union movement for the past 15 years as an activist and educator. She is a leader of the iron and chemical workers’ unions, and the driving force behind most publications brought out by Gefont, one of the largest confederations of Nepalese trade unions. Responsible for many women joining trade unions and fighting for their rights, she currently plays an active role in the movement for the restoration of democracy in Nepal. (1000peacewomen).

She says: … « After being admitted at the school, I used to need to take care of my family as well as domestic animals, because elder sisters had already married and brothers were in city. For the purpose, collecting fodder and grasses as well as fetching water for cattle in the morning as well as in the evening during out time of the school, used to be routine work. Similarly, I used to need to work in the land in the weekend and holiday. Anyhow, I should consider myself lucky enough for the educational opportunity in compare to my elders sisters as well as other village girls in my age, regardless how difficult it was » … (full long text about herself).

It is said: Labor activist and educator Binda Pandey has brought many women into Nepal’s active trade union movement, and is sticking her neck out for the restoration of democracy in Nepal.

A website in Nepalese language.

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Binda Pandey – Nepal

She works for the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions GEFONT (on wikipedia, the GEFONT-homepage beeing blocked by a virus, as mentioned), and for the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mines and General Workers’ Unions (Icem.org).

AIT alumna from Nepal Nominated as a Single Entity for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005.

Find her name on Google blog-search.

She says also (about on quotas for the participation of women in trade union decision-making structures and meetings): … « They are, without a doubt, very useful in developing countries, where it is very difficult for a woman trade union leader to gain acceptance. Although the delegations attending international trade union congresses are more mixed than in the past, it’s still rare to see a woman getting up and speaking, because there are still too few of them in the posts of general secretary and chairperson. I’m convinced that it would be even more difficult without quotas for women (and young people), which is why this system has to be maintained, and even strengthened, for some years to come. The ITUC Constitution demands at least 30% female participation in trade union delegations and meetings, but women represent 40% of the ITUC’s membership. So why not demand 40% female representation in delegations and meetings? ». (full interview text).

1000peacewomen … Unfazed by teargas shells, batons and rubber bullets, Binda Pandey (born 1966) is at the vanguard of those fighting to restore democracy in Nepal. This firebrand trade union leader was arrested and released three times in 2004 for campaigning for democracy on the streets of Kathmandu. Since February 1, she has been on a government watchlist, and is disallowed from leaving Kathmandu valley.

Continuer la lecture de « Binda Pandey – Nepal »

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

Zuleika Alembert (1922) started her political militancy fighting against the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas during the Estado Novo (New State – second phase of Vargas’ first government – 1937-1945). She was elected constituent deputy for the state of São Paulo, affiliated to the Communist Party of Brazil. She fought for the formulation of a specific public policy for women. She was one of the founders of the State Council for the Female Condition in São Paulo. Since 1992, she supports eco-feminism. At age 83, living alone in Rio, Zuleika Alembert is a woman that exhales physical strength and, above all, an impressive intellectual knowledge when it comes to defending the union between the preservation of the environment and gender equality … (1000peacewomen 2/2).

She says: « Today, I am aware of the fact that women will not be free until the environmental problem is solved. As long as I have a strand of life, I will dedicate it to these two causes ».

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Zuleika Alembert – Brazil

As a congresswoman, she defended the Christmas bonus that led to the 13th salary benefit. As a militant of the Communist Party in the 40’s, she began supporting the incorporation of gender matters to the Marxist battle. For many years, she considered herself a “Marxist that used to study women’s problems”. In 1980, she accepted a feminist identity inside the party and, three years later, when she left the party, she dedicated herself exclusively to the cause.

Her militancy as a communist began when she was a congresswoman in the 40’s. She lost the right to fulfill her term of office when the Communist Party was classified as illegal. Between 1951 and 1954, she was the general-secretary of the Communist Youth.

Ten years later, the military coup persecuted her and so she carried on her mission illegally. Exiled, she militated against the Vietnam War, helped other Brazilians that had been exiled and was one of the creators of the Committee of Brazilian Women Living Abroad – to help refugees that arrived in Paris, running from the military coup that brought down Salvador Allende from the presidency of Chile.

Author of eight books, she has just published a collection of articles called « Women in History – The History of Women ». Zuleika sustains that, in the search for gender equality, democracy is a fundamental aspect. “As long as, in Brazilian politics, only 10% of the elective positions are occupied by women, we will not be able to say that democracy is a reality.”

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

Letizia Battaglia, Sicilian, born in 1935, is a photographer. With her camera she captures Sicilian life: the cruel violence of the Cosa Nostra and the deep pain of Mafia victims. With her photographs, she breaks the « omertà », the silence that surrounds the Cosa Nostra. Although she has received death threats, she keeps taking pictures. From 1991 to 2001, as head of the environmental department, she tried to improve living conditions for the inhabitants of Palermo. With women from the anti-Mafia organization Mezzocielo (Half the Sky), she fights against inhumanity and injustice … (1000peacewomen 1/2).

She says: « My land free from the Mafia: this is my dream, this is my struggle » … and: “I am angry and will most likely die angry” … and: “We Sicilians suffer,” says Letizia Battaglia. “We live in Italy, in Europe, but this is a war and we are not free. That is not an exaggeration. That is the reality. The Cosa Nostra deals in weapons, drugs and people. It demands so-called protection money from businessmen. It obtains public works contracts by fraud and sells highly toxic waste. The Mafiosi make billions » … (1000peacewomen 1/2).

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Letizia Battaglia – Italy

She works for Mezzocielo.

Letizia Battaglia (born 1935) is a Sicilian photographer and photojournalist. Although her photos document a wide spectrum of Sicilian life, she is best known for her work on the Mafia … (wikipedia).

The video: Letizia Battaglia, 5.14 min, added December 27, 2007.

Photogalleries: In mostra Letizia Battaglia; and Foto di Letizia Battaglia; and 1999 Life Time Achievement; and Letizia Battaglia: Bildmaterial der Dr.-Erich-Salomon-Preisträgerin 2007.

Images results for Letizia Battaglia by Google images-search.

Se says also: … « The Italian Government has stopped the State’s fight against the Mafia. And the Mafia has stopped its war against the State. But the Cosa Nostra has not disappeared. Rather, it has become invisible and changed its strategy. They don’t have to shoot anyone anymore. They already have all the power and are stronger than ever. Policemen and district attorneys confirm this terrible allegation » … (full text).

Documentary: BATTAGLIA, by Daniela Zanzotto.

… Der Dr.-Erich-Salomon-Preis der DGPh geht dieses Jahr an die Fotografin Letizia Battaglia, die sich ganz dem Kampf gegen die Mafia verschrieben hat … (full text).

Vita di una fotografa antimafia: « Lotta, amore e gioia », Intervista a Letizia Battaglia di Elena Ciccarello (an interview in Italian).

Continuer la lecture de « Letizia Battaglia – Italy »

Linked with AKHA.net; and with Articles for Indigenous Peoples on our blogs.

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

Sinuan does not know exactly when she was born. In 2005, she estimates that she is around 40 years old. Born in Huay Ung, on the Burmese border, her parents moved to Laos when she was young. Her family moved often to find good land to till, so Sinuan had no chance to go to school. Sinuan works as a field officer for the Rural Development Project which operates in the mountainous northern area of Laos, responding to the needs of the tribal communities who live there. The project is supported by the German International Technical Development Agency … (1000peacewomen 1/1).

The Akha are an ethnic group which originated in China and Tibet. Most of the remaining Akha people are now distributed in small villages among the mountains of China (where they are considered part of the Hani by the government, though this is a subject of some dispute among the Akha themselves), Laos (where they are considered Lao Sung), Myanmar (Burma), and northern Thailand, where they are one of the six main hill tribes … (full text).

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Sorry, I found no specific photo of Sinuan, of the Akha tribe in Laos, but a picture of an elderly Akha-women.

She works for the Rural Development Project.

Watch this videos: Akha Festival, 6.21 min, added March 17, 2008; Akha Swing Festival, 2.49 min, added November 20, 2006; Akha TV 6 Amue Athu, 32.55 min, added April 15, 2007; Akha TV 4 Akha Crab Hunt, 22.50 min, added February 09, 2007; Akha Children Sing, 4.51 min, added December 26, 2006; Akha: Queen’s Royal Project Rips off Hooh Yoh Akha’s Land, 2.08 min, added December 11, 2006.

She says: « I shall wage war against traditional culture that subjugates Akhan women » … and: « All the curses are dumped on Akhan women, men are good for anything, but women are often treated badly. Men have rights, but women have nothing”.

… The Akhas, often by the Thais called ‘Egor’ (a derogatory name) have one of the lowest status levels in Thailand. There are even other hill tribes who look down on them. Originating from Tibet, the Akha migrated south into Burma, Laos and Thailand more than a century ago, along with the other hill tribes. Persecution under the military regime in Burma caused many more to arrive in Northern Thailand as refugees over the past few decades, and though many have lived here since childhood they remain stateless and subject to exploitation from drug lords, abuse by corrupt and immoral police, as well as being considered worthless peasants by many Thai people … (full text The real story of Thailand’s Akha tribe, by Paul Horstermans, March 16, 2006).

(1000peacewomen 2/2) … “I shall wage war against traditional culture that subjugates Akhan women”. This beautiful, yet audacious remark, was made by a forty-year-old woman from the Akha tribe. Sinuan, whose indigenous name is Eusue, resides in Ban Huaykaem, Muang Singha District, Luangnamtha Province.

Continuer la lecture de « Sinuan – Laos, Akha tribe »

Elisa Gahapon del Puerto has passed away … (just this mention on her 1000peacewomen 1/2-page) …
… but not any mention of her dead’s date, nor how she died !!! Nothing in any online-news or articles. Was this all about a brave women on this planet ??

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

Elisa Gahapon del Puerto, a social worker, had spent more than two decades forging peace and healing the wounds of war in the province of Basilan. Her efforts had led to a continuing dialogue among warring rebel factions such as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group. Under the Prelature of Isabela and the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF), she implemented programs and services to address the people’s urgent needs such as health, water supply, housing, literacy, environmental conservation and peace advocacy. Elisa del Puerto was born (1957) to an upper middle class family. Her mother was a nurse; her father was head of a private company in Maluso. Her childhood was almost idyllic. Basilan was then a quiet place to live in, where Muslims, Christians and Yakans, the indigenous people of the place, went about their daily lives peacefully and in harmony … (1000peacewomen 1/2).

She said: « I am childless but I have 40,000 children. The children in Basilan suffer the most from this senseless war and they need all the love and help we can give them ».

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Elisa Gahapon del Puerto – Philippines (1957- *).

She worked for the Christian Children’s Fund CCF.

… This peace was shattered by events that presaged the declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines in 1972. And so, while Elisa’s older siblings were afforded a college education in Manila, she was forced to stay behind and quit school. “You see,” she said, “I, myself, am a victim of this conflict.”

Undeterred, Elisa at 17 took on a job cooking for soldiers stationed in their town. She recalled with amusement her early efforts to earn her own money. Soldiers took pity on this earnest young woman and agreed to have her to cook for them. “Actually, it was my grandmother who cooked. I just brought the food to the soldiers,” she recalled.

There were times when the soldiers would let her go with them to various places in the province. Impressed by the unspoiled beauty of the places she visited, Elisa vowed to stay and help keep peace in her home province.

With her earnings from catering, she resumed her studies, switching from Political Science which she started at the Ateneo de Zamboanga, to Social Work at the Zamboanga State College (now Western Mindanao State University) She felt that social work would be of useful if she was to keep her vow to do her share in building peace in Basilan.

At 19, even as a student, she served in the Prelature of Basilan doing community organizing at the request of Bishop Querexeta, who nurtured her youthful idealism. She got deeply involved in adult literacy work, rehabilitation and peace building from 1977-1990.

Continuer la lecture de « Elisa Gahapon del Puerto – Philippines (1957- *) »