Articles by admin

Guest post by Martina Sola

Our adventures continued together that night in this tiny town only a few kilometers away from the border of Serbia, a town which US President Barack Obama would later refer to as a place which “forever will be associated with the darkest acts of in history.”  Despite the experiences which haunt the minds of those who remain, we were greeted with great hospitality.  We dined with new friends in local restaurants and mixed with soldiers, locals, political dignitaries, and international visitors in simple cafés.  We were each different but had come for the same purpose and a valuable common bond was established. 

July 11^th marks the official yearly memorial ceremony for thousands who were killed in Srebrenica in July 1995.  This year, 520 people were buried along side another 5,000 already resting in the nearby village of Potocari.  2,000 people remain unaccounted.   One of the longest ongoing human excavation efforts in modern day history continues in surrounding areas. 

It was another fiercely hot afternoon and the town had now filled with thousands who had come to pay their respects.  We walked through mounds of dirt which had been dug to make space for the new caskets.  Despite the heat, women sat with their heads covered and bowed in prayer.  Men greeted one another and stopped to touch the caskets.  Politicians arrived with escorts, police kept close watch on the crowd, and all I could think was that this didn’t have to happen. 

The emotional day continued as we visited two large factories originally meant to be UN Safe Haven’s for refugees attempting to escape Serbian forces.   Tragically, they were no place for peace and instead marked the locations where families were dramatically torn apart.  All men and young boys were sent to their deaths, some women were thrown into buses, and others were kept behind to service the impulses of enemy soldiers.  We continued to a more remote area up narrow, curvy roads and onto nearby mountains which provided breathtaking views.  We met with two older women who had lost their entire families and had been participants of the Women for Women program.  They offered us simple, yet delicious homemade pastries and traditional Bosnian coffee.  We sat on their hand made rugs beside a tiny home where they showed us their garden and shared their stories.  At times their voices wavered and their eyes filled with tears. At other moments they teased each other and smiled warmly upon us.  Their hearts were broken but the strength of virtue in their spirit remained, and while they thanked us generously for our time, it was each of us who walked away with the gift of hope.

Onwards we went with our journey, returning to Sarajevo, a city filled with layer upon layer of history.  The streets were filled with exotic bazaars selling colorful scarves and glimmering copper coffee cups.  The beats of Bosnian music could be heard from nearby shops during the day and by night every corner buzzed with the voices of beautiful people.  It’s hard to imagine that this was a city under siege, but a look closer reveals scars in the forms of shell marks on buildings, eerily abundant gravesites, and wounds on the bodies or in the hearts of many who I spoke to. 

It’s been said that tragedy begets passion and progress forward can be seen.  Attending Women for Women International training centers in the heart of Sarajevo and in nearby Zenica provided examples of women who wanted to create.  It was visible in the form of the clothing pieces I saw being knitted in partnership with international fashion brands such as Kate Spade and Anthropologie.  It was visible in the enthusiasm of women who draped me with beautiful jewelry they had made by hand.  It was evident in the intensity of a legal training session regarding farming cooperative contractual agreements.  It was seen by the proud support of men waiting for their wives to finish their classes. 

We finished the week by attending the Sarajevo Film Festival and by taking part in an inspiring dinner with many of those we had met along the way.  Gifts were shared, speeches were given, business ideas exchanged, friendships forged, and vows declared to return again.

I think back upon the woman I met during my first evening in Srebrenica standing on the side of the dusty road.  An older man walked by the procession with tears streaming down his face.  She reached out to him and said,

“Don’t cry…everything will be OK.”  

This type of strength is a reminder that while we may not always understand the actions of others, we know where we are now and we have a choice.  Women for Women International provides opportunity and through such an organization I have received far more than I could ever give.

Over the next few months, WfWI’s new CEO Afshan Khan will be visiting each of WfWI’s eight country offices and sharing her experiences of the different people and places that are part of WfWI’s mission to change lives, one woman at a time. This is her first blog post on her journey.

In the past few days I have had the opportunity to travel to Afghanistan and see first-hand the impact of the work of Women for Women International. In a country that has recently been in the press for the brutal treatment of women, including the public execution of a young woman by the Taliban for alleged adultery, I witnessed the diversity of opportunities for women. As I met and spoke with women there, I was reminded that even in the harsh reality of a country where 90% of rural women are illiterate and maternal mortality is one of the highest in the world at 460 deaths per 100,000 live births (compared to 21 per 100,000 live births in the US) all the women had dreams of a better future for themselves and their daughters. Against all the odds, they had sought change and created opportunity so that as women they could define their destiny.

I found none of the passivity nor victimization that is so readily portrayed in the press – what I found were determined women, who broke barriers to enroll in WfWI’s program, where they learn to sustain an income, improve health and wellness, engage in family and community decision-making, and participate in social networks and safety nets. They continued to challenge the boundaries around them by opening their own business, forming networks or associations, and daring to dream of a future where they can readily earn an income, contribute to their families’ needs, send their sons and daughters to school, and act as agents of change in their own communities. This was the story of Zergona Sherzad a WfWI graduate who was producing women’s clothing and employed more than 80 women. It was the story of Raisa Jahn and Mehbooba Jahn who welcomed us to their modest home in Kabul where in the front room they had set up a very small beauty parlor where they cut hair, shape brows, and provide make-up to brides. They proudly showed us their products, and I watched as they carefully plucked the brows of their client.

Nowhere was this determination more apparent than in Istalif. There I met a young woman, Shazia, who had walked two hours from her neighboring village to try and enroll in WfWI’s program that will start in September. I cannot get the image of Shazia out of my mind, a young woman in her early twenties who no doubt had to seek the permission of her husband or her brother or her father to make the long trek from her village of Shurawa to Istalif, a verdant village in the hills surrounded by mountains. Her piercing eyes showed her determination as she told us she had walked for two hours to get to the enrollment session. With her blue burqa tossed over her head and her headscarf casually draped over her curls, she was adamant in her commitment to attend the yearlong training sessions. She spoke clearly of her burning desire to learn a craft that would give her the dignity of being a contributor to the household income, and allow her the opportunities to share her dreams, her hopes, and her fears beyond the confines of her home with other women whose imaginations went far beyond the four walls of their mud homes.

Sweeta Noori, WfWI-Afghanistan’s Country Director, and I sat and listened to women as they identified barriers to building on the assets and skills they already possessed. They needed to create a market where women could sell and buy. In Afghanistan while women are often buyers in markets, they are traditionally not allowed to sell their goods. Men are the sellers in the markets. These women wanted help in setting up a local market for women, and they wanted to learn the business skills necessary to determine the costs of producing their goods and the market price at which they could be sold. A few of them had sewing machines but needed additional training so that their products would be of good enough quality to sell. Many of them had chickens and eggs but wondered what was a safe way for them to sell their produce, and how could they access the market? Sweeta patiently translated these concerns and many more. I listened and learned of the profound importance of adapting Women for Women International’s income generation programs to the cultural realities of each community we work in.

Several hundred women squeezed into the women’s community council in Istalif, a small building with wooden beams and concrete walls that had been built with support from a woman in Virginia. This small building allows women a place to meet and gives the WfWI enrollment team an opportunity to interview and screen potential candidates for our yearlong program.

In the room, three women carefully screened and interviewed each of the potential candidates. One of the head trainers tried to keep some semblance of schedule and order as hundreds of women jostled and pushed to be first in line and enter the room. It was a brutal reminder of how committed these women are to redefining their lives. Women for Women International in Afghanistan could make it possible for 245 women in this group to have that opportunity; others who squeezed into the room were put on a waiting list, and some may have to wait another year before they can join. The resources are not available to accept them all. Women for Women International will enroll more than 4,750 women in the core program in 2012. What this day made clear to me was that if Afghanistan could seize the potential of its women, they would surely change the image and the destiny of their country.

Learn more about how you can become involved and support Women for Women International’s work in Afghanistan.

Guest post by Martina Sola

It was close to 40 degrees Celsius outside.  Sweat had soaked through our clothing and dirt was blowing through our hair.  People were greeting one another with faint smiles and polite kisses on both cheeks. Bottles of water were being shared; the murmur of other languages mixed in with camera shutter clicks could be heard in abundance.   There was a sense of anticipation in the crowd that stood under the golden glow of the scorching sun, but this was no summer festival.  

“This is a shame on humanity,” softly spoke a middle-aged women standing beside me on a street near the town of Srebrenica.  Steps in front of us, dozens of caskets were being carried out of a factory which marked the former site of a failed UN Dutch peace haven.  Each casket carried by solemn, young men contained a few remains of their loved ones which had been discovered in nearby mass grave sites.  Each box was draped in green, a symbolism towards their faith which remained steadfast in spite of the horrific atrocities they had faced.  The woman standing next to me had been forced to watch the deaths of three of her brothers.  Her losses were in addition to another 8,000 men and children who were systematically killed in a matter of days in July 1995.  She had been held captive prior to their deaths, beaten and threatened.  With intent to remain respectful of her privacy and pain, I asked how was she able to not give in and reveal her brothers’ whereabouts? 

“Had I told them, they would have continued to abuse me just the same.”  

My heart skipped a beat.  I looked into her sad eyes with all the sympathy I could gather realizing the best I could do was just continue to stand beside her.  In that moment, any reservations I had about the foreign surroundings I had put myself in or the discomforts of the day were washed away.  I felt grateful for the opportunity from Women for Women International to not only gain first hand knowledge of a significant historical event, but be a symbol of support to those whose lives have been shattered.

I met fellow Women for Women supporters that afternoon in the town of Srebrenica.  Young women who had roots in America, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, and Bosnia had walked 120 kilometres from Tuzla to Srebrenica as a part of a larger internationally organized march for peace in commemoration of the victims of the area.  They walked near mine fields, mass grave sites, picturesque villages, and destroyed homes meeting interesting people along the way.  Most shared their passion, some did not…but they continued fearlessly forth alongside thousands of others proving that a greater good can reign.

Tomorrow a group of Women for Women supporters will embark on a journey to Bosnia and Herzegovina where Women for Women International opened its first office in 1993.  They will participate in the annual "March of Peace", a 120 km route through Bosnia and Herzegovina to Srebrenica, which commemorates victims of the 1995 genocide and have the unique opportunity to visit the Women for Women programmes in Sarajevo and Zenica. Read more.

Guest blogger: Martina Sola 

Martina Sola is a business woman, writer and committed supporter of Women for Women International. She lives in California and is part of the group visiting our programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She will be sharing her experiences here. 

Twenty years ago an international city fell under siege.  A city which had hosted the Olympic Games, rich with diversity was suddenly a setting for some of the worst acts of humanity in modern day history.  I have been to the region countless times to visit family. 

….a mere three hour drive upon curvy roads, across mountains, and along fields away from the entrance to a city which once displayed a sign with the words: 'Welcome to hell.'

The city of Sarajevo marks a unique point where the East meets the West and is the capital of a country which is home to my own Croatian, family roots.  I have seen the first hand remains of completely destroyed villages, I have heard the stories of lost lives, and I know the look of strain in a human being who has had their family and heart broken.   I was only a little girl when I last visited Sarajevo before the siege and now return as a woman with great curiosity and empathy for a place where horror has turned to hope.

Women for Women International is an organization that has had a piece of my own heart for three years.  Their work in war torn regions globally allows others in better circumstances to truly touch women in dire need.  The women of Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina are noble examples of those who have seen the face of evil and have managed to gather strength to rise above extreme adversities.  It is a great honor to join them on their journey. 

Earlier this year Women for Women supporters Valerie Boffy and Becky Bellworthy set off to summit Mount Everest and plant the Women for Women International flag of peace. We are now happy to announce that not only did they reach the summit, but Becky Bellworthy is now officially the youngest British woman ever to climb Mount Everest at only 19 years old!

To find out more about Becky's journey to Mount Everest read one of our previous blog posts and check out Becky's Everest 2012 page. You can also read about Becky's experience in this Daily Echo article. 

You can continue supporting Valerie and Becky by sponsoring them through JustGiving. 

copyright: Becky Bellworthy

For your chance to take part in the Women for Women International trek to Everest Base Camp in November 2012 (link coming soon) or to Bosnia in July 2012 please contact Izzy Clark at iclark@womenforwomen.org.uk. 

Last year nine of our supporters joined Susan Harper Todd in the first Women for Women International trek to Everest Base Camp, to raise awareness and funds for women in war-torn countries. This year one of the original group members, Valerie Boffy, will be joined by the youngest woman ever to attempt to summit Everest – Becky Bellworthy. Together they aim to reach the summit and plant a Women for Women International flag of peace.

Becky's first attempt to summit Everest last year ended in disappoinment and frustration as she was taken ill and forced to abandon the expedition. This year she is determined to finally conquer the summit, realising her dream of becoming the youngest British woman ever to have achieved the feat at only 19 years old.

Their journey began earlier this month and you can keep up to date with their progress on Becky's Everest 2012 page, or on the Everest Trek section of the Women for Women International UK blog. As well as achieveing incredible personal goals, Becky and Valerie are climbing to raise valuable funds for the programmes we run in war-afflicted countries – show your support by sponsoring them through their JustGiving page.

We look forward to reading about their progress over the coming days and wish them both the very best of luck!

The 8th End of the Pier International Film Festival (www.eotpfilmfestival.co.uk) took place on Saturday 11th February, at the Butlins’ Conference Centre in Bognor Regis. Women for Women International Director of Marketing Communications, Maria Andrews, was invited to represent As if I am Not There writer and director Juanita Wilson and lead actress Natasha Petrovic, who were unable to attend.

Juanita Wilson received the Best Director of a Feature award for the film at the End of the Pier International Film Festival Grand Prix. Juanita provided Maria with her acceptance speech: 

"Thank you for this award which I am deeply honoured to accept on behalf of my team. I am sorry we cannot be here in person but I really appreciate the work you do at this festival, bringing films like this to an audience here. Without all your hard work and commitment, stories like these would simply not get told. So many, many thanks. I accept this award on behalf of my creative team – Nathan Nugent, Tim Fleming and my main producer James Flynn without whose support and skills this would and could never have been made. Finally, I dedicate this award to the up to 60,000 brave women of Bosnia, whose courage to speak out about their experience has resulted in rape being officially recognised as a war crime for the first time ever in our history”. 

Natasha Petrovic received the Best Performance in a Feature award. Natasha made her on-screen debut in 2007 in a Macedonian film called Shadows – in 2009 she landed the lead role in As if I am Not There, which premiered in 2010. The film has gathered many great reviews; ‘Powerful’ – Sunday World, ‘Astounding’ – The Sunday Times, ‘A superb film’ – Irish Examiner, as well as numerous awards and accolades. Natasha’s own performance has earned her international recognition in the USA, Italy, Ireland and the UK. She was thrilled to accept the award and thanked everyone involved in supporting the film and story of the women of Bosnia. 

The film itself tells the story of a young woman from Sarajevo whose life is shattered the day a young soldier walks into her apartment and tells her to pack her things.

Rounded up with the other women from the village and imprisoned in a warehouse in a remote region of Bosnia, she quickly learns the rules of camp life. The day she is picked out to 'entertain' the soldiers, the real nightmare begins. Stripped of everything she ever had and facing the constant threat of death, she struggles against all the hatred she sees around her. It's when she realises that surviving means more than staying alive that she has to make a decision that will change her life forever.

The story is based around the real life war and genocide that occurred in Bosnia during the early 1990s. During this time rape and torture were systematically used as weapons of war. Rape camps, like the warehouse mentioned in the film, saw women as young at 15 or 16 subjected to mass rapes by soldiers after being forcefully removed from their homes and families. The psychological and physical scars left by this abuse are still visible today, but many of the women affected found the strength and courage to speak out about the crimes they endured, and it is thanks to them that for the first time ever, rape was prosecuted in international courts as a war crime. Despite being over 15 years since the end of the war, the horrific acts that many women were subjected to see them still struggling to rebuild their lives. Films like As if I am Not There are important to bring global attention to the suffering of women in Bosnia during the war, and also to remind people that its affects are still felt by many of them today.

To learn more about As if I am Not There visit the website, or watch the official trailer for the film.

To find out how you can help a woman survivor of war in Bosnia to rebuild her life, visit the Women for Women website.

Photo: Maria Andrews and Bryan Gartside with the 3 awards for the As if I am not there film.

Anni Abel first heard about Women for Women International at the hairdressers!

“I was reading an issue of Marie Claire and there was an article interviewing Zainab, the founder, talking about her story – which was in itself quite incredible – and then how she decided to start up this charity. It just sounded absolutely amazing! I was inspired by this courageous and go-getter woman who, in her basement, set up her own charity to help other women.”

Since reading that article back in 2006, Anni has transformed the lives of five women, their families and their communities, by supporting them through the Women for Women training programme in Rwanda, Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“I’m not the richest person in the world, I’m not the poorest person in the world, but I want to do something more with my life and I feel it’s quite important to help women. I know there are lots of fantastic charities that focus on all sorts of aspects, but I’ve not heard of many that really focus on helping women. Who, after all, are 50% of the world’s population and are the people who support children and the elderly. 

Helping women and being in contact with them, the fact that Women for Women International really urge you to write and communicate and build a relationship for the year that you sponsor a woman really appealed to me.

I am helping this one person and she can tell me how she is getting on; I can learn something about her and I can see my money doing good at the same time.

I’ve sponsored five women since 2006, when I started, and they’ve been from lots of different places. I’ve had two lovely ladies from Rwanda, two equally lovely ladies from Nigeria and lastly a lovely lady in Bosnia & Herzegovina. So, I’ve had a chance to learn a bit about all of these different cultures and different countries."

Anni explained that writing your first letter to your sister can be a challenge. She always asks how they are finding the training and what they are learning. 

“I remember writing my first letter and it’s quite difficult in a way, because you think: ‘I don’t know anything about this person – apart from the sheet you get which tells you her name, how many children she has, where she lives’ – and you’re conscious of whether it’s going to mean anything to her when I say ‘I work in an office’. 

I remember getting my first letter. I’d sent off my letter and then one day there’s this envelope that comes and says, ‘A letter from your sponsor sister’ and… I bawled my eyes out! 

You really feel like you’ve done something worthwhile and you’ve made a connection with someone. It’s just wonderful – the feeling is indescribable and I think more people should do it!” 

And whilst sponsors are encouraged to send messages to their sister, sometimes you don’t get a reply:

“Some of the ladies don’t write at all, so you have to be prepared that you are sending letters into the void and sometimes you get a tiny note that says: 

Dear Sister Anni,

It gives me pleasure to put down these few words. How is your health? You have made me to blossom again at 40 years old.

Thank god for you and god bless you.

Yours faithfully

Maria

When I get these few lines, it’s all worth it.

It’s very important to me to feel that I’m actually helping and assisting other people, who aren’t necessarily people that I know – this feeling that, somewhere in Rwanda, there’s a lady and her family who are able to not go to bed hungry every night, that they are going to be able carry on and have a better life. 

And it’s not just been ‘here’s some money, go and buy some rice or cassava’, but it’s also that they have been given training and tools and that this lady can use these tools to help her family, and she’s very likely to also use those tools to help another woman, so that it spreads out and it’s nice to feel that you’re part of that web and connectivity.

Mediatrice learnt how to knit and she said that one of the other women in the group was then teaching her also how to do basket weaving. Terese started a poultry small-holding, so she got six chickens and said they were growing well. My sister in Bosnia is learning about herb cultivation to make teas and drinks, together with her husband. They learn all sorts of things: health, training, hygiene classes, women’s rights. They all enjoy going to the classes, they’ve said they enjoy being together and discussing their problems together – helping each other out and coming up with solutions. 

So who knows, maybe one day I’ll be wearing a jumper made by one of my sisters!”

For the last five years, Anni has supported five women and their families and communities through the Women for Women programme. Looking through Anni’s six years of correspondence with these women was a very humbling and moving experience. Anni has made connections and forged friendships with people in countries she has never been to. She has gently offered help, encouragement, a world of possibility and a better future for women and their families.

“All I can say is ‘Do it!’ It is just amazing!”

Watch the video below to see highlights from the 2011 bridge event in Kabul, Afghanistan. This was the first Bridge event held in Afghanistan, with women from all over the country marching to show their government, and the rest of the world, that they demand peace and equality.

By Kuber Sharma

 Yes I am writing this blog post on the Women for Women website. But I would prefer to write it for ‘Men For Women’. Don’t ask me ‘why?’. Ask me ‘why not?’. Isn’t it time that men don’t just say to violence against women but also actively work to stop violence against women. Most men whom I know, given even the teeniest bit of encouragement, would love to do that. It’s just that they don’t know what, how and why.

 Because there are barriers. Just take the women rights community for example. Working within the gender activist circle in Delhi over the past few years, I have realized that most gender violence and women rights organizations here are almost completely female staffed. Sure there are men, but usually in administrative or accounting roles. And I have a problem with this. Not sure if this is usually due to an organizational mandate or its just a series of incredible coincidences. But that’s the reality. Maybe, what we need is affirmative action to include men to fight for women’s rights, and to fight against violence against women.

 That old strain of ‘anti-man’ feminism needs to be buried now. If we constantly blame an entire gender and see all of them adversaries, very little will be achieved. Men are not the problem. Ok a few of them are. But the 99.9 per cent of them are actually part of the solution. We just need to include them. All it takes is simple communication that leads to impactful collaboration. It’s all about sharing your perspective and getting to know the male point of view. In most cases that I have seen, this simple exchange of thoughts brings about the much-needed clarity and eventually leads to positive change. Remember gender affects and controls men too. The big difference is that the men’s problems are never talked about.

 I consider myself a second-generation feminist (my father’s a feminist historian and mum’s a Marxist activist) but even then never imagined that I’ll end up being a women’s rights activist. My parents didn’t encourage me because they never expected me to be allowed into the pink club. But times they’re a changing. Now for almost two years, I have worked alongside a group of excited and exciting young men; and women to question and stop gender based violence at a small social media campaign called Must Bol. And I think that the most crucial aspect of our success was the fact that we were primarily a male group, talking mostly to a male audience. When women talk to men, they generate sympathy. When men talk to men, a lot of empathy comes out.

 No, I don’t think men can take singular leadership in the crusade to end violence against women, but they can surely play a very important role. Don’t tell them off. Include them. Let’s be men and women for women.

Kuber Sharma is a digital & media enthusiast. As a filmmaker, his body of work is around ethnographic portraits of urban India. As a Social Media practitioner, he works with online campaigns towards social change. Kuber lives in Delhi and outside the media domain, enjoys Body Pump. Follow him at twitter.com/koobear 

Women for Women International were invited to be part of the Aspire Leadership for the Future Conference 2011, organised by the founder & CEO Dr Samantha Collins and her team.

The two day conference (29th to 30th November) focused on ‘life, work, world’ – where inspirational international speakers from a multitude of different fields from politics to charities, business to academia came together to inspire over 250 delegates.

During the conference there was time for delegates to experience and immerse themselves in The Life (less ordinary) room where you could reflect, revive and review for 2012 and beyond; The Work (that matters) room is where you could gain access to the latest workplace research, debate issues, share knowledge and hear case studies; The World (of difference) room explored the broader community and world perspective, understanding how you can make a difference to economic, social and political world issues. This room featured Women for Women International and Sweeta Noori, Afghanistan Country Director –where delegates could sign a banner of peace to support the women in Afghanistan and sign up to be a sponsor. The banner was presented to Sweeta by Cherie Lunghi at the finale of the conference. And Aspire has set a challenge to find 1000 inspirational women to support a woman in Afghanistan by International Woman’s Day on the 8^th March 2012. Is that you? Please learn more here

Your donation to help women survivors of war in Afghanistan, like Zharquona, will be worth twice as much!

On Monday 5th December any donations to Women for Women International will be matched by
the Big Give. Find out more and sign up for a reminder email.

Wednesday 23^rd November

Gina Fuller, Grassroots Campaigns Intern, talks about her experience coordinating an exciting MP action in parliament to support Afghan women’s rights activists:

As up to 90 states prepare to gather in Bonn, Germany this December, Women for Women International are taking action to make sure women’s rights and women’s participation in peace negotiations are not an afterthought.

On Wednesday I joined various organisations, including Amnesty International UK, Womankind and ActionAid in asking MPs to show their support for Afghan women by having their picture taken in front of a wall of miniature kites. These kites were just some of the 8,500 made by activists of all ages, all bearing messages of peace and solidarity for Afghan women. Stood in a room in the Houses of Parliament at 11.30am, none of us could have guessed that 80 MPs would show up to have their picture taken in support of our campaign. Many of the MPs spoke of how important it is to secure women’s safety in Afghanistan, and to make sure they play a significant part in peace building in their country.  All of this took place on the same day we were told that 30% of the Afghan delegation are women, a wonderful first step in the right direction.

To continue this momentum we need to keep Afghan women’s rights on the agenda throughout the Bonn II International Conference and after. Any agreements made at Bonn must explicitly call for women’s rights in Afghanistan to be protected and for Afghan women to meaningfully participate in all peace processes.

———-

If you would like to learn more about women’s involvement in peace building then please join Women for Women for their Empowering Women to Empower Nations event at SOAS on 2^nd December, with special guest Sweeta Noori, Women for Women Country Director for Afghanistan. For more information please click here.

If you would like to find out about Women for Women International’s current internship opportunities, please find them posted on chairtyjob.co.uk here.

The London Women for Women International student societies invite you to an important discussion featuring special guest Sweeta Noori, Afghanistan Country Director for Women for Women International.

Date: 2nd December 2011
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: SOAS Khalili Lecture Theatre
            Thornhaugh Street,  Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG – map

On the eve of the Bonn Conference, where representatives from 90 countries will meet to discuss transition, peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, Women for Women International opens a dialogue in London examining the disregard for Afghan women’s rights in the political sphere, and where the future may lie.



Over the last 30 years Afghanistan has experienced tremendous and violent changes in both its political and social structures. The largest impact of these upheavals has been felt by the women of Afghanistan who have had their basic rights hindered and suppressed. Women for Women International is an organisation that work in Afghanistan, giving women the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies.



The discussion will be chaired by Kate Nustedt, Executive Director of Women for Women International UK, and include Shelagh Daley from the Gender Action for Peace and Security coalition, and another guest speaker TBC. 



This event is free, however all donations collected on the evening will go directly to supporting Women for Women International's work in Afghanistan. For more information about Women for Women International please click here.

Severely injured during a bombing, neither Nadia’s father nor her mother could work. The burden of scraping together an existence fell to nine-year-old Nadia.

Desperate to bring money and food to her family, she disguised herself as a boy to work as a labourer on construction sites, as an animal herder and a hawker at local markets.

When she enrolled in the Women for Women programme and learnt about her rights, income generation and support networks, Nadia realised that she held the power to change her life and sustain her family. Nadia soon started working as a vocational trainer and is now saving money to go to law school.

With your support, we can help even more women and girls like Nadia achieve economic security, stand on their own feet and take an active role within their families and communities. You can double your impact by donating through the BIG GIVE on Monday, 5 December, 10:00am.

Read more about the Big Give campaign & sign up to receive a reminder email on the 5 Dec here: http://ow.ly/7ecx5

Chris Jackson ran 12 marathons in 12 months and took part in the longest kayak race in the world to help women survivors of rape and war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

This is Chris' speech at the award ceremony:

Thank you very much for this award. I never thought I’d win this, especially when I read that only 3% of cosmo readers said they liked a man with a moustache….

In all seriousness….. 

I’m not the one who deserves this award and won’t be keeping it. I’ll be buying some bubble wrap and sending it out to the women I met in Congo.

Many women in the Congo have spent their life running from fear, suffered the cruelest attacks, but still get up in the morning and remain strong and work, work to pay for their child to go to school. It should be those beautiful, courageous and resilient women that are recognised for their determination. Women like Solange, Alice and Genarose.

From my time out there, the one thing that helped was for the women to know that people, women like them in the UK were aware, so that they did not feel alone, forgotten or further stigmatised.

I’d like to thank Cosmo for helping to spread awareness about the Congo. It is an excellent recognition of the work that Women for Women do in the Congo and the fantastic film work of Millie Harvey.

I made a promise to myself, after visiting Congo the first time, that i would make people aware of the plight that many women and children had suffered. When you’ve sat and listened to ordeal that many women have gone through, running a marathon is nothing. Today is another step in making more people of the impact of the conflict on women in the Congo. But it isn't enough and I’ll keep running till one day they won't have too.

Earlier this year Afghanistan was identified as the most dangerous country to be born a woman. Violence against female public officials, dismal healthcare, rising poverty and a dramatic increase in assassinations of women are only a few of the realities Afghan women face daily.

“Women who do attempt to speak out or take on public roles that challenge ingrained gender stereotypes of what is acceptable for women to do or not, such as working as policewomen or news broadcasters, are often intimidated or killed." Antonella Notari, Guardian.

 Afghan women, like you, have the right to work and secure a safe and happy environment for their families and for future generations to come. Recent studies have shown that the life expectancy for an Afghan woman is a mere 44 years, 12% of Afghanistan’s women are literate and 40% of Afghanis are unemployed. The women have a powerful desire to overcome these difficulties that face them in order to provide security, peace and happiness for their children.

 “With every gain enormous obstacles persist. We have 25% women in parliament but conservative extremists retaliate, threatening the brave women who do seek leadership. We are building bridges and schools every day but women are not safe enough to walk across alone, nor are girls sure that they will not be attacked if they dare to fill the schools.” Sweeta Noori

Please, send a message of inspiration and encouragement to the Women in Afghanistan and show your solidarity. Women for Women International and The Aspire Foundation aim to present 1000 of your support messages to the women of Afghanistan by handing them to Sweeta Noori (Women for Women Afghanistan Country Director) at the finale of the Aspire Leadership for the Future Conference on 29^th – 30^th November. Sweeta Noori will then deliver the messages to the women who are participating in the Women for Women programme and who will enormously appreciate your support and encouragement. Help to boost their optimism and realisation that they are the future and they can bring about change.

Sweeta has, in her work as Country Director of Women for Women International, assisted over 20,000 women in Afghanistan through the Women for Women programme encompassing financial assistance, rights education and vocational skills training.

The Aspire Leadership for the Future Conference is a 2-day event organised by the internationally renowned coaching company for women Aspire, and its sister non-profit organisation, The Aspire Foundation, who provides pro-bono mentoring, campaigning and leadership development to women working in charities that impact women and girls around the world. Over 30 innovative speakers, including Sweeta Noori, Baroness Verma (government spokesperson on equalities and women’s issues), Lindy Wafula (CEO and Founder, Project Africa) and Dr Smantha Collins will give access to new thinking through inspirational talks, panel discussions, networking forums and presentations. 

Pictures just in from the first days of the Women for Women International Everest Base Camp Trek Challenge. For more information and to read Major Gifts Officer for Women for Women International,  Nora Russell's Everest Diary click here. 

by Nora Russell, Women for Women International UK Major Gifts Officer

Learn more about the Everest Trek campaign. 

With less than one month to go, the countdown to Women for Women International’s first Trek to Everest Base Camp has truly begun.

The aim of our 10 Everest trekkers is to connect and to mobilise women around the world in support of a common goal: to create a more peaceful and equitable world for everyone. It’s not just about raising funds for our programmes, but about generating awareness of the need for real investment in women in order to bring about sustainable peace and development.

The group will be taking a chain of prayer flags up to Base Camp with them bearing messages from women all over the world; women from different backgrounds and walks of life but with a united voice. Some of the flags have been made by the participants in Women for Women’s programmes, displaying their visions of a peaceful and prosperous future. Others will carry messages of support, solidarity and hope from Women for Women’s supporters from the UK, the USA and around the world.

In August, we launched our ‘Bearing the Flag for all Women, Everywhere’ campaign by sending out chains of handmade prayer flags to publicise the trek and generate support. Smaller versions of the traditional Nepalese flags were inscribed with messages from each of the trekkers, expressing their motivations and hopes for the trek. A group of hard-working volunteers did an amazing job of hand-writing the messages onto 500 flags! The trekkers’ personal messages of strength and solidarity echo Women for Women International’s firm belief that ‘one woman can do anything, many women can do everything’.

Get involved with our campaign!

You can add your own message to the chain of prayer flags that will be carried up to Everest Base Camp. Send a message of support for the women in our programmes, or share your own vision for a better world.

Email iclark@womenforwomen.org or tweet your message to @womenforwomenUK using the hash tag #WFWEverest. You can donate towards the trek fundraising goal online or text TREK20 followed by your donation amount to 70070.

Join us and our partners No women, no peace. and Channel 16 on Twitter this Peace Day.

On Wednesday 21st September, tweet your questions to Afghan women's right activists about the state of women's rights in Afghanistan. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the challenges and realities faced by Afghan women.

The questions generated by this Twitter action will be used in a video interview with prominent Afghan women's rights activists, including Wazhma Frogh, recipient of the 2009 International Woman of Courage Award.

Send through your questions on Peace Day (21st September) via Twitter using #AfghanWomen and @womenforwomenuk

Kosovo Blog – Nora Russell, Major Gifts Officer – Women for Women International UK

Women for Women UK Major Gifts Officer Nora Russell traveled to Kosovo in June. She has written about her experiences and the women she met. 

Day 4 – Thursday 24th 

Our final day, and it feels like we have been here so much longer – everyone has been so accommodating and welcoming and the group are tired but also so happy to have met the women they sponsor. Our last trip before dashing to the airport is to visit a vocational skills class which is a mixed group of women from many different communities Albanian, Ashkali and Egyptian. I meet Igballe Behluli who recites a poem she has written about her schooling and leaves us with these words;

 ‘The End of Primary School’

At the end of primary school I received a message,

They are stopping me from going to school.

I was very sad, I started to cry.

The books and school bench was awash with my tears.

Walking down the road I tore up my notebooks in frustration.

I didn’t deserve this.

But truthfully, my father did not do this on purpose.

It was the war and there was poison in every school.

Now I am happy, my dream is fulfilled.

My children go free to school. 

Read Nora's "Notes from Kosovo" series by checking out the following links: 

Notes from Kosovo Day #1

Notes from Kosovo Day #2

Notes from Kosovo Day #3

We are very happy to announce that Lisa Shannon, founder of Run for Congo Women, will be joining us for the Adidas Women's 5K Challenge on September 11th!  All those who raise more than £500 will receive a free signed copy of her book, A Thousand Sisters. Read more about Lisa Shannon's story, featured in Runners World here

By registering to Run for Congo Women at the Adidas Women´s 5k Challenge 2011 you will be supporting the Women for Women programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo, enabling women affected by conflict to rebuild their lives. 

We ask participants to raise at least £150, enough to provide one women with Life-Skills Training equipping her with the knowledge and self-confidence to become an agent of sustainable and lasting change within her family and community. So far the Run for Congo Women movement has been able to fundraise, with the help of our amazing runners, more than £85,000 enough to support more than 550 women in our programme in the DRC.

REGISTER FOR THE ADIDAS WOMEN´S CHALLENGE 2011 here

Date: Sunday 11th of September 11th

Location: Hyde Park

Distance: 5k

Fee: £15 (£5 of this goes directly to Women for Women. The remaining £10 pays your registration fee).

RUN FOR CONGO WOMEN AND JOIN THE GLOBAL MOVEMENT TO HELP END GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO! 

Kosovo Blog – Nora Russell, Major Gifts Officer – Women for Women International UK

Women for Women UK Major Gifts Officer Nora Russell traveled to Kosovo in June. She has written about her experiences and the women she met. We will be sharing her travel notes over the next month, so check back next week for more.

Day 3 – Thursday 23^rd June 2011 WOC Opening

A gloriously sunny day started with the official opening ceremony, where the newly appointed Country Director of our Kosovo Office – Iliriana Gashi  was joined by Carol Jackson from the Private Equity Foundation as well as Molly Cronin from Sharon Davis Design Studios who for Women’s Opportunity Centre, Prishtina.

The Official ceremony which featured speeches from Iliriana Gashi, Carol Jackson, Molly Cronin and Ramize Rexhepi , a graduate of Women for Women’s year long programme in Kosovo. 

Carol said ‘I have been inspired by your resilience and determination. Our CEO Shaks Ghosh can’t be with us today but she sends her congratulations. The Private Equity Foundation was delighted to fund this centre and it will be a leading light for women in Kosovo. I know from my visit that this centre is an excellent hands. I have learnt so much about the amazing work of Women for Women International’ 

Molly Cronin added that ‘this is not just a building – it will be a safe space for women to meet and share and continue their learning.’

Iliriana thanked the trainers of the Women for Women programme, ‘Thanks to our trainers who go 4 or 5 times a week to remote villages, in snow or sunshine to deliver our programmes and support women with literacy and vocational skills’ After hearing Besa’s story earlier this week, I truly believe this too.

Next to speak is a graduate of our programme, Ramize Rexhepi , who chose to specialise in horticulture and food processing and has now set up her own women’s cooperative producing pickles, Burek, and Ajar.

Ramize said ‘In the beginning I was only interested in learning about gardening, but through the Women for Women course I decided to take some of my produce to market and on the first try I made 46 euros. It was so good to be able to buy things for my family and now I led a cooperative of women making food for sale at market. I can only say – Women, participate in as many fairs as you can! ’

The ceremony was closed with a beautiful rendition of ‘Songbird’ by singer and UK supporter of Women for Women International – Laura Comfort

After the ceremony I had the chance to catch up with Ramize and hear her story of moving from Survivor of the war to active leader of a 17 woman strong cooperative.

Ramize cultivates everything she needs, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and I took part in all the trainings available, particularly the food processing course and a course on making 13 different types of cheese. The most difficult parts of the training was the literacy classes as during the war she had missed a lot of schooling.

Now she is in a group of 17 women and they are trying to get funds to increase the ability for them to unify their production, so that the goods can be marketed easily and they can increase production.  When she first started taking produce to market her family were bemused, they asked ‘What is the fair for? They felt it was a shameful activity for a woman to sell goods at market and were worried people would laugh at me’ 

Ramize laughs, ‘Now we have no problem and it is seen as normal, in fact now my family are always asking – when are you going to the next fair?’ Her father is so impressed that he has given the cooperative  5 km square to support the development of their business, which they hope to build a processing factory for pickling and preserving . She says her most profitable product is the jars of Ajar, a red pepper paste and Pinxhur and similar product that is made from Tomatoes.

The guests then shared a lunch of traditional Kosovar food, catered by graduates of the Women for Women programme and were able to browse a women’s product fair, featuring handicrafts, food and honey. 

Supporters then also had the opportunity to tour the new WOC facilities and visit different training activities and classes in a open house, including an opportunity to view our Life Skills classes, Vocational Classes and letter writing. 

After the Opening ceremony we took a bus trip to the Old city of Prizen, walking to the top of the City Fort, once built by the Ottomans. Our guide tells us how she and her family were unable to leave the city during the war (unlike many of the city residents) and that as an 8 year old child she watched how the city burned and the fear this struck in her.  

Ramize Rexhepi, WfWI-Kosovo graduate, addressing the attendees at the inauguration of the first Women's Opportunity Center in Kosovo. 

Article by Melanie Blewett

Sexual violence against women continues to plague the DRC despite increasing international awareness and assistance on the ground. Melanie Blewett examines why.

It’s a hot afternoon in Bukavu, South Kivu. A group of women are sheltering from the sun outside the Women for Women International’s office in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Amongst the sound of clicking knitting needles the women are telling stories, continuing an age-old Congolese tradition practiced already by generations of women before them.

Among them sits 24-year old Lucienne. Like all women here she has her own story to tell.

Lucienne was just 19 when she was kidnapped from her home, raped and held captive for three and a half months as a sex slave.

“My husband was away when members of the Interahamwe, terrorist militia, broke into the house where I was staying with my sister-in-law. They tied my arms behind my back with a rope. When we got to the bush, they pulled me down to rape me in front of my brother. As he hid his face in shame, they struck him with a gun and pulled him away to kill him.”

Sexual violence against women in the DRC is widely considered to be the worst in the world. The American Journal of Public Health has recently calculated that some 1,100 women are raped there each day. Rape results in victims contracting HIV amongst other diseases or unwanted pregnancies.

Not surprisingly, the history of the DRC has been riddled with war that continues in spite of a peace accord signed in 2003 and 17,000 UN peacekeepers deployed in some of the most critical areas. Rape is systematically used as a weapon of war and has continued to be used as a means of control in post-conflict zones. Rape here fuels poverty, keeping women powerless to control their own lives, meaning they are unable to improve their own social and economic status or that of their community. To make matters worse, rape victims are often ostracized by their husbands and male leaders in their community.

One man is systematically bucking the trend: Dr Denis Mukwege, winner of the King Baudouin International Development Prize 2011, is an experienced gynaecologist who operates on women who have suffered serious damage to their reproductive and digestive systems as a result of sexual violence. He has also become a leading voice on the situation in the DRC. He believes that all too often silence is simply a means of condoning the violence, saying: “Qui ne dit, mot consent” (“silence means consent”). Women for Women International helps men to speak out through their ‘Men’s Leadership Programme’ aimed at training male community leaders to change their perceptions on the role of women in their communities.

A major stepping stone in placing sexual violence on the international political agenda has been the appointment of UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, whose role has been to bring the subject to the UN Security Council. Ms Wallström states that a ‘naming and shaming’ of perpetrators is planned as part of a new comprehensive strategy by the UN to target sexual violence against women. However, the UN has come under considerable criticism regarding the impact of its actions locally, which are represented on the ground by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Where were the UN peacekeeping force during the mass rape of Walikali in August last year? Based just 15 km away they did not intervene to stop the violence.

Howard Mollett, Conflict Policy Advisor at NGO CARE International believes that one of the greatest challenges to changing the status quo in the DRC is linking diplomatic decisions to humanitarian needs on the ground: “The MONUSCO peace-keeping force had only one person based near to where the violence happened who could speak the local language. So when the violence started up there were no communication channels.”

He notes that launching prosecutions on the international level can expose the stories of women which may conflict with the interests of the women victims on the ground.

“Many women don’t always want to come forward, or if they do they are at greater risk.”

The challenge is reconciling the top-down with the bottom-up: “There has been encouragement from the UN to strengthen early warning systems such as by giving mobile phones to communities. But when rebel groups find this out then the victims are targeted again. We must integrate early warning systems in a way that is sensitive to the risks of the people on the frontline.”

Giving these women the choice to have a voice is the first step towards change and development. Women will need to continue to make their stories heard, as will Congolese men: it needs to be the international community’s responsibility to ensure those narrating are also understood. 

Photo: Fiona Hill (DRC) 

Kosovo Blog – Nora Russell, Major Gifts Officer – Women for Women International UK

Women for Women UK Major Gifts Officer Nora Russell traveled to Kosovo in June. She has written about her experiences and the women she met. We will be sharing her travel notes over the next month, so check back next week for more.

Day 2 – Wednesday June 22^nd 2011

  Life Skills Training in Henc

Henc is a small village, with a few shops and a primary school – which is where we meet. This year is the first year Women for Women has worked with women in the village and in fact it is the first year any NGO has come to offer support. We met a class of women who have recently enrolled on the programme and are here for their second week of training. They are so positive, so excited for the opportunity to learn, and they want to know all about our lives. What do we do in the UK, what can we achieve. Julie shares her day to day life with then and it seems pretty normal to us all but to these women, who before this programme very rarely left the house, for them it is almost unimaginable. Their stories are heartbreaking and many of us cry. When they find out that one of our group has recently met the sister she sponsors you can see the excitement in their faces, stretching their heads to see this lucky woman. Besa tells us that it is often not the money they care for but the letters that is held so dear. Besa leads the class in some of the key words that they will hear repeatedly during the course of the year, safe (this is a safe place, to share all you want to, it is confidential it is a place of friendship), sister (your sister is the woman who sponsors you, who you may not ever meet, but who is always supporting you and cheering for your success on the other side of the world), participation (here Besa wags her finger – ‘you must participate! Participation is not just about turning up to class and signing you name! It is taking part in the discussion, sharing and listening and learning together), listening (particularly active listening) What wonderful words to remember  and guide us in life let alone a one-year class. I wonder what they will feel like and think of the programme one year on?

One of the women comes up to me and says ‘Thank you for bringing me here, this is the first time I have had the chance to come and visit the school where my children go, it is only 500 metres away but I never go out, the children always go on their own.’

By the time the class is over the local kids have heard who has taken over their school for the day and are waiting for us outside for pictures and shy smiles.

In the afternoon we head to a village near Mitrovica, a town which is still divided between Serbs and Albanians and where some of the most brutal atrocities of the war took place. Mitrovica is the town where everyone was a refugee, and men were taken out of their homes and shot in front of their families regardless of age.

Here we are greeted by the most amazing spread of delicious food and drink and are hosted by an all women’s Bee Keeping Cooperative. The Cooperative has grown from some initial funding from the Herman Miller Foundation and with support from our Income Gerneration Coordinator, Faruk Beqa.  The Cooperative is made up of 40 women from Runik and 35 in Prekaz and together they have survived through their first winter with their beehives only making a few loses.

Initially, the cooperative lacked everything they needed to start a successful business, from protective clothing to a computer. By pooling their resources and money saved from their sponsorship contributions they have been able to set up an office with computer and printer and to hire equipment that they all share such as the centrifuge for separating the clear honey out from the bees wax and the lower quality honey. 

by Karak Mayak, South Sudan Country Director, Women for Women International 

Today, the world welcomes a new country into the global family: the Republic of South Sudan. In a historic referendum last January, roughly 99 percent of people living in Sudan’s southern regions voted for independence from the Northern government. For a country that endured Africa’s longest civil war–a brutal campaign of violence in which 4 million were displaced, 2 million were killed and 2 million women were raped–this vote represented the first opportunity for southerners to articulate their own vision for the future, in peace.

On this Independence Day, there is much work to be done, and women can lead the way forward. Women in our programs are courageously tilling their fields to feed their families and investing in the education and protection of future generations–building the foundations of an emerging civil society that is the bedrock of a stable nation. WfWI-Sudan agriculture trainer Rebecca Yar says she prays for a nation that upholds the dignity of the human person, putting an end to what she describes as the “cruelties of the past.” For her, the kind of commercial farming programs Women for Women is conducting in the countryside are laying the groundwork for a self-sufficient country, while opening needed sources of food and income in South Sudan’s under-developed rural areas.

As South Sudan continues down its path to peace and prosperity, the international community must take steps to protect women’s rights and provide space for them to share in articulating the future vision for this emerging country. “This is the end of a war, but it is only the beginning for my new country,” says Mayik, “we cannot do it without the women, and the women cannot do it alone. The violence must stop. Women must be supported in our efforts to create a peaceful future for our families, communities and this new country, starting today.” 

Article taken from Africa.com/blog

Kosovo Blog – Nora Russell, Major Gifts Officer – Women for Women International UK

Women for Women UK Major Gifts Officer Nora Russell traveled to Kosovo in June. She has written about her experiences and the women she met. We will be sharing her travel notes over the next month, so check back next week for more.

Day 1 – Tuesday  June 21^st 2011

   We meet a group of exited supporters, including representatives from the Private Equity Foundation and Neal’s Yard Remedies, at the departure lounge in Gatwick, London. The short (3 hour) flight to Kosovo is filled with expectation and the knowledge that as soon as we land it will be all systems go! Bette Anne, one of our group members will be meeting her sponsors sister, I will be taking a smaller group to visit the Green market and find out more about everyday life in Prishtina and my Director, Brita will be leading the rest of the group through the centre of Prishtina. I am excited to meet my colleagues in Kosovo, who have never hosted a group visit before and have been so helpful over the phone in planning this trip.

As we fly over Kosovo, you can see the strips of land, divided into thin sections. I am shocked to learn that in this country of such fertile land, 80% of the food is imported and in the past year food prices have risen 50%. For the average family on an income of 250 Euros per month this has had significant effect upon their ability to afford the ‘luxuries’ of school books and a nutritionally balanced diet. More and more families rely upon remittances from relations working abroad.

I meet Faruk Beqa, WfWI Kosovo Income Generation Coordinator and Vehbi Kllokoqi, the Income Generation Manager and they take myself, Lauri Pastrone and Simon Wheeler, our photographer to visit the local Green Market. The Income Generation staff teach women to grow vegetables for their own family nutrition and then to expand and sell some of their produce in markets like this one. Vegetables fetch 10 times more than standard crops of wheat and corn which are more staple and popular with farmers.  Main crops include vegetables, strawberries and cherries in June. They also teach our participants how to grow onions, potatoes, carrots and cucumber and peppers, a favourite for pickling in preparation for the harsh winters. Cabbage is also popular as it is the main ingredient of a local cabbage & salt water drink prepared especially for the winter months.

The day ends with a beautiful and traditional meal of many courses on the hills overlooking Prishtina and as the sun sets Besa, one of my Kosovo colleagues takes courage in telling me her own story of experiencing the war, which officially started in 1997, but which was the result of many years of segregation of the two communities – Serbian and Albanian Kosovars.  

Besa was 16 years old when the war began, she was living with her parents, her nine year old brother and her grandmother. When Serbians entered their home they were given 3 minutes to pack and leave. Her parents were taken to a village and Besa, at 16, took on the responsibility of getting her grandmother and brother across the border into Macedonia. They took a bus. And then the bus broke down and they walked across the border, setting up a makeshift shelter amongst the other 500,000 refugees who had fled Kosovo into Macedonia. They stayed there for 5 days until they were able to take a place on Germany’s quota for refugees. Besa says she chose Germany as it was the closest to Kosovo and easier to get home. She was always thinking of returning home.

Whilst in Germany she heard that there had been a massacre in the village where her parents had been taken and not knowing whether her parents were alive or dead she waited by the phone to hear of news of them. The phone lines were cut when Nato bombed the Post Office and all main communication routes. Besa refused to go to school in Germany although she sent her younger brother and she says he was hysterical, crying and having nightmares every day.

Finally she heard the good news that her parents had survived the war and were safe and after 9 months they were able to return to Kosovo and found her parents. Besa now leads our women participants in life skills training classes.

Seeing the tears in her eyes, I thank her and tell her she is brave for telling her story, and she shrugs her shoulders and says; ‘This is everyone’s story. Everyone at this table has a similar story.’ 

To me this is amazing, she is the same age as me; could quite easily fit into my friendship group in the UK and yet at 16 she wasn’t studying for exams or going gooey over her first boyfriend. Instead she was fleeing for her life, responsible for two vulnerable family members and without her parents to turn to for help.  She sits opposite me with such resilience and composure and now she is working to change the lives of women who have similar stories every day.   

Recently, a global survey has named Afghanistan as the most dangerous country in the world in which to be a woman. But within this place, one woman in particular has been hailed “the bravest woman in Afghanistan.” With a long list of achievements to her name, and the recipient of many international awards, politician and activist Malalai Joya is most commonly known for her outspoken long-term commitment to women’s right, peace and justice in Afghanistan. A critic of the Taliban as well as the present ‘warlord’ government and the occupation, Joya claims that the situation for women has not improved since the invasion stating that war is never better for women. She believes that left to their own self-determination, the progressive men and women of Afghanistan could move the country forward for themselves.

Her refusal to compromise when exposing the truth about the realities of life in Afghanistan has left her the target of many assassination attempts. And yet she demands her voice to be heard as an elected member of the Afghan Parliament, touring internationally and authoring an autobiography ‘A Woman Among Warlords’. The most dangerous place to be a woman is clearly not stopping this woman becoming an increasingly influential figure spearheading justice for Afghan women and all peoples of Afghanistan
 

Last year he ran, this year he paddles…

At Women for Women International UK we take a lot of pride in our volunteers, specially in people like Chris Jackson. After visiting the DR of Congo some years ago, Chris was enormously struck by what he saw and heard, specially on the use of sexual violence in conflict. And so, last year Chris set on himself the amazing challenge to run 12 marathons in 12 months in order to fundraise money for Women for Women International UK.

Now in 2011, Chris has set on himself a new and rather exciting challenge, to kayak 427 miles on the Yukon River Quest! Chris' adventure starts this Wednesday at 12:00 sharp and will end on Friday 1st of July. 

At Women for Women International UK we want to wish Chris the best of luck and we hope to see him back in the UK very soon. 

GOOD LUCK CHRIS! 

If you would like to support Chris Jackson and raise funds for Women for Women International UK please go to  http://www.justgiving.com/runforcongo

For more information on Chris' journey please visit his blog and follow him on twitter.

Women for Women International UK has been an active member of Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS UK) since its creation in 2006. GAPS UK works as a group of NGO's, academics  and grassroots dealing mainly with peace and development. Building on the mandate of UNSCR 1325 GAPS UK monitors the inclusion of women and a gender perspective in all aspects of UK policy and practice of peace and security. 

GAPS is currently running the No women, no peace. a campaign to ensure that women's voices are heard in peace negotiations. Watch the campaign video to find out more about the importance of women's participation in peace and reconciliation. You can't make peace by leaving half the people out. Take action for women in conflict at www.nowomennopeace.org

Speakers in order of appearance: Nounou Booto, Enid Kakaire, Hilary Page, Natalie Sharples, Shelagh Daley and Helen Pankhurst.

Now you can sign up to our Newsletter in three easy steps!  

STEP #1: Look for the "Join Our Mailing List" box in the right hand column of the page.

STEP #2: Write down your email address, first name and last name.

STEP #3: Go to your email and click on the confirmation link provided AND YOU'RE DONE!

Our Newsletter comes out every month and includes  all the information you need to know about our up-coming events as well as reviews and pictures of our past events.

You can check out our June Women for Women UK Newsletter here. 

At Women for Women International UK we would like to extend a special heartfelt thank you to Ricky Mayer for her dedication in organizing a beautiful event that helped raised 1,000 euro! We would also like to thank Mary Reiss and Karina Magnussum who donated the wonderful pieces that were sold at the event.

If you want to get involved but don’t know how be sure to check out our website or send us an email to shaynes@womenforwomen.org

Harper's Bazaar, together with London's  fashion boutique Browns, have joined forces to support Women for Women International by creating a line of "must have" limited edition T-shirts designed by six of the hottest and most renowned female Italian fashion designers.

This is the second year Bazaar has worked with Women for Women International for its "Women for Women" t-shirt campaign which was launched last year with English fashion designers.

The global launch took place at s*uce on May 16th.

Donatella Versace, Frida Giannini for Gucci, Veronica Etro, Angela Missoni, Albert Ferretti and Rossella Jardini at Moschino are all supporting Women for Women Interational UK.

Fundraising for Women for Women International can come in all shapes and sizes, and in this case it takes the form of a new wardrobe of clothes.

An avid supporter of Women for Women International, Lisa Tritton organised her first clothes swap in October last year, inviting 10 family and friends to bring their unwanted garments and trade them for new and improved items.

Based near Gympie in Queensland, Australia, each attendee paid a $10 entrance fee, receiving a voucher which could be exchanged for clothing. Some who could not attend simply made donations, adding to the already generous efforts of Lisa’s father and husband – her husband has even vowed to literally double each sum raised for as long as he can!

After the fun and frolics of the trying on of clothes, Lisa spoke to her guests about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and played the Women for Women International DVD, followed by a Q&A and sponsorship discussion. Lisa says that the whole aim of the clothes swap project is to get people together so that she can share with them the atrocious circumstances for Congolese women living within the war zone, and what WFWI is doing there, encouraging awareness in the hope that they too will be inspired to sponsor and reach out to others in war torn countries.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been named as the world’s most dangerous place to be a woman, and the systematic abuse, abduction and rape of females has long been utilised as a weapon of war. Inspired by Run for Congo founder Lisa Shannon’s book ‘A Thousand Sisters’, Lisa’s project has since roused significant interest in WFWI programmes, with several prospective donors and sponsors in the pipeline.

The first clothes swap alone raised $200, and Lisa has been continuing the clothes swap mission ever since, spreading the word of Women for Women International and raising awareness of the desperate situation for hundreds of thousands of women caught in the DR Congo’s sexual crossfire.

Read Women for Women International founder and CEO Zainab Salbi on overcoming the complex cultural issues involved in improving lives of women in fragile and conflict-affected states published on the World Development Report 2011 blog.

Culture and tradition are too often used to justify the stifling of debate about change, especially when it relates to women’s lives. As an Iraqi-American woman who grew up with Muslim traditions and ended up traveling the world through my work with Women for Women International, an organization that supports women in conflict-affected areas, I have had plenty of exposure to these attitudes.

The use of culture as a defensive weapon blights the lives of women from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Sudan and Afghanistan.  It is used as an excuse to silence opponents. Although the intention may be to respect cultural traditions, it often leads to policies that undermine the social and economic advance of women.

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