Our Bodies, Ourselves (176 page)
Read Our Bodies, Ourselves Online
Authors: Boston Women's Health Book Collective
In recent years, more attention has been paid to the idea that to overcome poverty in developing countries, more must be done to invest in the health, education, and empowerment of girls (see, for example, Half the Sky Movement [halftheskymovement.org] and The Girl Effect [thegirleffect.org]), reinforcing the strategies that a number of women's organizations have been supporting for decades.
The Global Fund for Women (globalfund forwomen.org), for instance, advances human rights by channeling resources into women-run organizations worldwide working toward women's economic security, health, education, and leadership. It trusts local activists to come up with solutions that best address the needs of their own communities and countries. Since 1988, it has awarded grants to more than 4,200 women's groups in 171 countriesâfrom helping the multicultural feminist organization The Fiji Women's Rights Movement (fwrm.org.fj) address inequalities in Fiji's legal system to supporting the work of Labrys (labrys.kg), a group advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Kyrgyzstan
.
In Mexico, Semillas (semillas.org.mx) does similar work, awarding grants to organizations that work in four primary areas: human rights, women and work, sexual and reproductive rights, and gender violence. Learn about other women's funds around the world at the International Network of Women's Funds (inwf.org) and the Women's Funding Network (wfnet.org), both of which act as umbrella organizations, linking women's funds together.
Website: iwhc.org
In September 2009, the Indonesian government passed a new health law that expanded reproductive health services for women. Prior to its passage, abortion was essentially illegal. The new law allows access to abortion in cases of rape or when the life of the woman is threatened. While far from perfect, it's an encouraging start in a country lacking comprehensive reproductive health care for women.
One primary advocate of the new law was the Jakarta-based Yayasan Kesehatan Perempuan (YKP), or Women's Health Foundation, which works with health workers and the Indonesian
government to promote women's rights. Funding from the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) helped YKP get its message across to policy makers and community leaders and influence the government's decision to pass the law. The IWHC is also helping YKP promote other reproductive health issues, including increasing access to emergency obstetric care by trained midwives or birth attendants to reduce the maternal mortality rate.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: AWID
Looking to work on international women's issues? The Association for Women's Rights in Development (awid.org), a feminist organization dedicated to advancing gender equity and sustainable development through a network of researchers, activists, academics, and policymakers around the world, publishes new job openings around the world. Sign up to receive the weekly email at awid.org/get-involved/jobs.
Since 1984, the IWHC has distributed more than $16.5 million in grants to organizations advocating women's rights and health in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The organization aims to have both a local and a global impact by focusing on two areas that are occasionally at odds: local activism and international policy. In addition to working closely with community and regional organizations and networks in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and Latin America, the IWHC has collaborated with other global women's health and rights organizations to influence United Nations deliberations. It also has served as an intermediary between UN agencies and local and grassroots advocates on key issues regarding reproductive and sexual health. The IWHC's collaborations with the World Health Organization focus on access to safe abortion services, sexuality and sexual health, and reproductive health and rights.
The IWHC also runs an informative blog, Akimbo (blog.iwhc.org), that provides coverage of global news and policies related to women's health and rights. On the anniversary of
Roe v. Wade
in 2011, one of Akimbo's contributors posted a video about a dangerous abortion procedure that cost a woman her life in rural India. The video stressed that, even in places where abortion is nominally legal, it is not necessarily safe or accessible. The video and post underscored the importance of continuing to advocate for better access to safe abortion procedures and reproductive health care for women worldwide.
Social networks and new technologies have made information incredibly accessible, and the participation of a multitude of voices has made generating awareness and support for women's issues a more organic and dynamic process. At the same time, the challenges facing the women's health movement are formidable, and the political atmosphere in the United States has seldom been this volatile.
Regardless of the ever-changing ways we organize and communicate, and despite the nature and complexity of our present challenges, we can find our strength where we have always found itâin community. Together we stand a greater chance of addressing immediate issues while also taking on entrenched stereotypes and power structures.
When weâwith our endless variety of backgrounds and experiencesâare willing to cross boundaries to listen and learn from one another, anything is possible.
IN TRANSLATION: WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
Courtesy Women's Rehabilitation Center
A WOREC community health provider in session.
Group:
Women's rehabilitation Centre (WOREC)
Country:
NEPAL
Resource:
Hamro Sharir, Hamro Ho (Our Body, Ourselves)
, a set of five Nepali booklets based on
Our Bodies, Ourselves
Website:
worecnepal.org
Since 1991, Our Bodies Ourselves' partner in Nepal, the Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC), has been central to the country's civic progress and political transition from a monarchy to a fledgling democracy. WOREC fights against many forms of gender violence, including early marriage and sexual trafficking, and promotes the health rights of women at both the community and the national level. In 2007, WOREC was part of a coalition responsible for the inclusion of reproductive health rights in Nepal's interim constitution, and it is now working to ensure that the same rights are included in the country's final constitution. The group also worked with government officials on a national health strategy focused on women. More recently, WOREC collaborated with partners and policy makers on gender and violence training for twelve district governments and nonprofit organizations across the country.
The organization has published five booklets based on
Our Bodies, Ourselves
, adapted to the needs of women and girls in Nepal. Prior to publication, WOREC used the information in a nationwide outreach at health fairs, clinics, and health centers to educate women and girls about their bodies and the influence of cultural and social factors on their well-being.
Challenging the status quo in a deeply patriarchal society has often placed the organization's members in danger. The group has advocated on behalf of rape survivors to bring perpetrators to justice and educated Dalits (a socially and economically disadvantaged group) on their right to fair wages.
Attacks on WOREC have included physical and sexual intimidation, verbal abuse, and death threats. With little support from law enforcement authorities, WOREC continues to put itself on the front line to bring health information to thousands of women and girls across the country.
The nature of WOREC's work, coupled with ongoing intimidation and limited support, has often left members demoralized and isolated in their activism. This is sobering, and it demands renewed commitment to holding perpetrators accountable, so activists who defend women's rights can do so with dignity and safety.
© B. Heidkamp
It wasn't until I went to a social justice conference that I fully grasped the longevity of the struggle of which I am only the latest small part. I knew that many women had come before me, of course, but to see the generations interacting at this conference was a revelation to me. We have to keep listening and challenging and supporting each other. It's a long road. But I get goose bumpy thinking of going forward with so many amazing women, of all ages and backgrounds, and I'm grateful that they are my friends and allies.
For additional recommended resources, visit the Our Bodies Ourselves website, ourbodiesourselves.org/book/library.asp.
Accord Alliance: AccordAlliance.org. Promotes the health and well-being of people and families affected by disorders of sex development (DSD). Has replaced the Intersex Society of North America, which closed in 2008.
Bobel, Chris.
New Blood: Third-Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation.
New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2010.
Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research: Cemcor.ubc.ca.
Loulan, JoAnn, and Bonnie Worthen.
Period.: A Girl's Guide.
Minnetonka, MN: Book Peddlers, 2001.
MRKH Organization: information and support to those with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, mrkh.org.
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Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health.
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North Carolina Office on Disability and Health: fpg.unc.edu/~ncodh/publications.cfm. Provides booklets and other information on women's health, including reproductive health care.
Planned Parenthood Info for TeensâGoing to the Doctor: plannedparenthood.org/info-for-teens/our-bodies/going-doctor-33816.htm.
Scarleteen: Find-a-Doc: scarleteen.com/find_a_doc.
Stewart, Elizabeth G., and Paula Spencer.
The V Book: A Doctor's Guide to Complete Vulvovaginal Health.
New York: Bantam, 2002.
VaginaPagina: vaginapagina.com.
Vaginaverite: vaginaverite.com.
