Her Daily News

The Namibian Businesswoman of the Year 2007 prize was awarded to Rhiana Potgieter, owner of the Shadonai Beauty School. This article on AllAfrica.com stated the awards were given during a banquet on Friday, October 12. Also taking home awards were Helene Vosloo, winning the category of Community and Government, and Margaret Bennett, winner of the Private and Corporate Sector category.

In the announcement of the nominees, Desere Lundon-Muller stated the Businesswoman of the Year program was started 12 years ago to honor the “women whose achievements, commitment and vision have made them leaders in their chosen fields of endeavour.” Telecom Namibia and Castle Brewing Namibia are sponsors for the event, and the Namibia Economist newspaper serves as the organizer.

In an interview with the Namibia Economist, Potgieter said she started the school with just five students and no accreditation. Today, she has 20 full-time and 40 part-time students, and is accredited through the Namibian Training Authority as well as international organizations. “I definitely have an enormous impact on their lives and this is the biggest responsibility of all,” she says.

Women in Namibia are beginning to gain more equal status in some areas, but those living in rural regions still face many hardships and discrimination. In A Physical Educator’s Perspective of Namibia, Africa, Bonnie J. Reimann explores the major issues still affecting women’s rights. The greatest of these issues continues to be HIV/AIDS, with the number of young women living with the disease estimated to be more than twice that of young men. In addition, many widows find themselves suddenly having their property taken away by male family members after the death of a husband. This fact sheet on women’s rights in Namibia may shed some light into this situation faced by agricultural, rural women:

Namibia is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

The Constitution of Namibia guarantees equal rights for women and provides for affirmative action to redress past imbalances. However, the Constitution also states that all laws in force at independence remain in force until repealed or amended by Parliament, and that customary and common laws also remain valid, as long as they do not conflict with the Constitution or statutory laws. Thus many discriminatory laws that affect rural women remain intact, including those that limit women’s control over property and access to land over property and access to land and credit.

Reimann stated, “This lowered economic status can encourage high-risk behavior such as engaging in unsafe sex for money, housing or food for women and their children. It becomes evident that the cycle of poverty, HIV/Aids transmission, and gender disparity will be difficult to break.” During her visit to Namibia, she also toured the education programs offered to girls to women in the country. While there are some quality programs in place, the women of Namibia need access to much more. Strong business leaders like Potgieter and the other winners offer the hope that perhaps the gender disparity explored by Reimann, although difficult, can be overcome.

To read how other international women are overcoming oppression, check out Afghanistan City Helping Women Own Businesses.

women, businesswomen, Namibia, Namibian women, women’s rights

Afgha.com has reported that five women-owned stores in the city of Mazar-e Sharif are doing well. The women’s affairs department helped the women set up their retail shops, something almost unheard of in Afghanistan.

The success of these lady-owned and operated business led to the provincial governor laying the foundation stone for the Women’s Garden, a planned shopping center for 200 more stores. Men as well as women will be allowed to shop there, though it was pointed out that, “officials say their behaviour will be closely monitored.” As expected, there have been some disagreements among religious leaders over the rights of these females, but there are many local clerics who see it as a positive step.

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I actually found this clip while searching through the online site Lankaweb, a news and opinion site on Sri Lanka. The video clip features Arab-American psychologist Wafa Sultan on an Al-Jazeer broadcast. Clearly, her views expressed in the video could put her life jeopardy. At the same time, her speech is a bold statement made by a woman who has seen and studied both the effects of oppression and of freedom, not just in the war between Iraq and America, but for women around the world.

The best explanation ever

Here is One impressive woman making a huge difference with her powerful and amazing statements on Al jazeera television. The woman is Wafa Sultan, an Arab-American psychologist from Los Angeles. I would suggest watching it ASAP because I don’t know how long the link will be active. This film clip should be shown around the world repeatedly !

Watch video

women’s news, international woman, video, women’s rights

Pratibha Patil was elected India’s first female president on Saturday. Though the office is viewed as mostly ceremonial, the election is seen as a positive step for the country’s girls and women. You can find the full story in Sydney Morning Herald article. With America facing the opportunity to elect it’s own first female head-of-state, it makes me if a country that claims to be a progressive as ours is ready for such a change. Only the next year will tell if we are.

women, politics, elections, India, president

Turkey’s Brothels Produce Two Election Candidates

Two former prostitutes are running for seats in Turkey’s July 22 election to raise awareness about the stigma sex workers face in the nation. With little chance for political victory, they say their goal is to change society instead.

How could this not catch my eye? The cover story on Women’s eNews is a compelling one indeed. This prostitution system that is in place in parts of Europe is unfamiliar to most Americans. There, prostitution is government-run in such countries, offering health benefits and even retirement. But the downside to such a life, as mentioned in the article, is that you forced to register with the police. Such a record is used when running background checks on you and your family members and is used as a way to screen out undesirables.

In a way that is similar to the United States, there is a negative stigma that surrounds workers in the industry. In a way for them, it is a catch-22 because their government funds the occupation, along with benefits and retirement but society treats the workers as outcasts. I find it ironic that in society that mostly consist of strict Muslim’s, prostitution is even a legal way to earn a living.

Another disturbing fact is that many of these women do not chose their occupation. Like the two women discussed in the article, both were sold by their families into prostitutions as young girls. They are then forced to work to pay off their sale price. Once their debt is paid, they are free to leave. Unfortunately, society is not welcoming them with open arms.

These women admit that the chances of winning are slim to none, their goal goes beyond votes. Their goal is to raise awareness about the inhumane way women are treated under the government controlled prostitution business. They also want to show that they aren’t bad people as their society would have you believe. If they are able to at least get people thinking about the problem, that is the first step to change.

women, prostitution, Turkey, government, sex, politics

The running of the bulls in Spain. An event internationally known for its exciting atmosphere and historic traditions. From what I have seen and heard it sounds like good fun for all right? Well a women’s group this year isn’t happen with the festivals tradition of running only bulls. They are calling for cows to run as well. Yes, that is right, an anonymous group is calling for the equality of the bulls and the cows. The article in the Washington Post shows the women are quite serious about their stance.

Of course the notion is being dismissed as absurd since women and men are both allowed to run with the bulls. But is it so far-fetched to think that cows should be allowed to participate as well? It might actually be safer for the participants since they won’t have to worry about being shanked with a bull horn.

I guess the point that this group is trying to make is that gender equality doesn’t extent to the animal kingdom. Even if the idea is a little out there, I think the point was to make people take notice. At the very least, it got a laugh.

bulls, cows, running, Spain, gender equality

Talk about a man’s world. An article in the People’s Daily Online shows that China is the most gender imbalanced nation in the world right now. Currently, there are 37 million more males than females. And the ration of girls born compared to boys is at 100:116 and expected to climb. The story cited three major reasons for the problem: “a long period of paying more attention to men than women, an incomplete social security system, and the abuse of ultra sound technology.” That is a polite way of putting it I think. Years of systematically aborting, murdering and neglecting baby girls seems like a more direct way of stating the cause.

Because of the growing problem a number of laws have been implemented to curb the problem. Just to name a few: “ Population and Family Planning Law, A Regulation on Banning Non-medical Need of Identifying the Gender of a Fetus, and Sexually Discriminative Artificial Suspension of Pregnancy. The Care for Girls Activity was also launched to advocate the idea that men and women are equal, in order to deal with the gender imbalance.” So the conclusion can be drawn that the country is taking positive steps to educate their citizens.

It still leaves me to wonder how difficult it will be to break the tradition. Boys are favored because they will care for their parents when they are older, while women will marry into another family and do nothing to support their family. If that tradition alone changed there wouldn’t be much of a problem. Women could grow up and get an education and help support her parents the same as her male counterpart if women were given the opportunity for success the same as men. Another issue raise in the article was social security. These parents rely on their sons to take care of them when they are older because the government has nothing else in place. Wouldn’t some sort of social security program or retirement education benefit in this case?

China is headed down a slippery slope if changes aren’t made in how women are viewed. They aren’t just risking the present security of the women and children that will become the victims of the societal chaos but they are also risking their future. If some have forgotten how valuable women are to a society let me refresh you memory: women are the ones that carry, birth and raise the children, male and female. So this leaves a society such as China’s in a catch-22. In order to continue their sexist traditions of valuing men over women, they will need to take a step back and start valuing women enough to close the gender gap.

women, China, gender, abortion, human trafficking, social security

Frustrated with the lack of representation of women in their government, a group of Australian women have launched a predominantly female political party. The party is called What Women Want and was launched in Brisbane, Australia today. The party wants the opportunity to enhance women’s roles.

The party was launched by Justine Caines, a mother of six, who is running as a party candidate, has been lobbying for improvements in maternity leave provisions. Though the party is female-centered, it does have 38 male members who support the groups goals and ideas the same as the other female members. The party has plans to run Senate candidates in each state and territory and wouldn’t rule out running a male candidate.

So, what could this type of mentality mean for other countries around the world? A successful campaign with a female-centered party could mean a change in the way political parties as a whole are viewed. These types of parties might be able to find a way to focus less on candidates and more on the issues. Eventually,this party may not be just viewed as a party that is focused on women’s issues but a party that is working toward a common goal of equality and fairness within the government. The stigma of being outside of the norm male in politics might lose it’s negative connotation if it is shown to move toward change in a positive way. We wish them the best of luck.

Source: Women launch political party - LAURA ANDERSON, AdelaideNow.com

women, politics, political parties, Australia, female, Brisbane

The abortion discussion in America is often times different from those of other countries. In Mozambique it is a question of protection of women’s lives. Too often women seek abortions in this country, where it is illegal, only to suffer serious injuries and even death because of improper procedure. These illegal abortions are the third leading cause of maternal mortality in Mozambique. For a country with the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, the measure will offer women a chance to seek procedures in proper facilities. The Feminist Daily News has the rest of the story.

women, abortion, Mozambique, international, mortality, maternal

In our modern, fast-paced society, work can seem more like burden than a privilege to most women. But to a group of women in the small desert oasis of Siwa, Egypt, work brings them the kind of independence that is almost unheard of in their culture. The Time story discusses how these women are now contributing to the global economy and are able experience a world they have never known thanks to their traditional skills.

women, international, independence, society, Egypt, culture, traditional, Time