boletín_en_con_marcas

The African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World pre-sented its Education Working Group under the motto “Edu-cation for a Better World” last month of October. Over a day and a half of working sessions and discussions, 36 women from 18 African countries and Spain took part in the launch of the Network’s fifth and final working group. The Network had already set up working groups in the areas of economic development, social and political empower-ment, gender violence and health.

(Cont’d on page 3)

Network’s Education Working Group launched in Nairobi

Since 1991, the Campaign of the 16 Days of Activism to eli-minate violence against wo-men has been an opportunity to move forward in the fight for women’s rights, and for the eradication of the different forms of gender violence.

UNIFEM´s Office in the Canary Islands, which hosts the Secre-

tariat of the African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World, joined the campaign by, among other activities, taking part in a seminar on Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation, organised by the Delegation of the Spanish Government to the Canary Is-lands.

(Cont’d on page 12)

The Network co-organizes a seminar on women trafficking in cooperation with the Delegation of the Spanish Government to the Canary Islands

Also in this edition

Nº1 December 2010

Interview to Ricardo Martínez, Director General of Casa África

0

The work of grass roots associations in the fight for women’s rights

Page 8

Interview to Amani Asfour, Director of the Egyptian Businesswomen Association

Page 14

SummaryThe Network’s Education Working Group

launched in Nairobi /3Interview to Diakhoumba Gassama /6

Consultation on Women for a Better World Strategic Plan /8

The work of grass roots associations in the fight for women’s rights /9

Interview with the Director General of Casa Africa /10

Advocacy Agenda /11Seminar on Women trafficking /12

Interview to Amani Asfour /14Third African “Women in Science and

Technology” Conference /15News in brief /16

www.reddemujeresporunmundomejor.org/

From the Secretariat of the African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World, we would like to welcome the first number of our Review, “African and Spanish Women in Network”. We as a Network have come a long way since 2006 and, all together, we have managed to make this Network a reality. There are currently nearly 1,300 members in this family of women’s organisations and individuals in Africa and Spain who fight to improve the world in which women live.

Over these four years, the Network has been strengthened and consolidated thanks to everyone’s efforts. We are more, and, more important, we are better through mutual knowledge and learning between women who share their experiences, interests and concerns in Africa and Spain. We have wor-ked together on important issues for women within the framework of our five working groups (Health, Education, Economic Deve-lopment, Empowerment and Violence). This first edition of our Review includes precisely an article about the meeting held by the Edu-cation Working Group in Nairobi in October, in which, many of you took part. 36 women from 18 African countries and Spain spent almost two days engaging in a rich and open dialo-gue on issues such as how to improve access to schooling for girls and how to keep them in the education system.

This Review marks the start of a new stage in which we want to be closer to you and to pro-mote communication as a strategy to make us stronger and to enhance the Network. The Review we are presenting now has a voca-tion to serve the Network´s organisations and members. We are asking for your support, con-tributions and comments in order to make it a useful instrument for all of us.

Greetings from the Network´s Secretariat

Direction: María Elena Ruiz Abril Secretariat African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World, UNIFEM office in the Canary Islands.

C/ Alfonso XIII, 5, 35003Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, EspañaTel.: +34 928 432 800

Contents and editing: Rut Gómez Sobrino [email protected] and design: IT7Registration number: Gran Canaria-772-2010Printed by: Gutemberg Digital

Head of UNIFEM´s office in the Canary Islands

3 www.reddemujeresporunmundomejor.org

R E P O R T A J E

“Education for a better world”: the African-Spanish Women’s Network’s Education Working Group launched in Nairobi

As in previous launches of the wor-king groups, the Education Wor-king Group’s launch in Nairobi was organized around an exchange of experiences based on thema-tic discussions on key topics in the women’s education agenda in Africa. The fight against illiteracy, how to keep girls in the educa-tion system, how to eliminate gen-der stereotypes at all levels – from programmes to segregation in the choice of careers between men and women – were some of the is-sues discussed in the debates.

Researchers, journalists, NGOs, grass-roots associations and local, national and regional activists ex-pressed their opinions, shared their agendas, initiatives, challenges and lessons learned in promoting gender equality and non-sexist education. As one of the partici-pants put it, they “articulated them-selves like a Baobab” to face daily challenges t o g e t h e r and to maxi-mise their actions’ im-pact and results.

The diversity of views and contribu-tions of the participants, a major strength of the Women’s Network for a Better World, ensured the quality and richness of the deba-tes. Women’s organisations of di-fferent types took part in the mee-ting: from grass roots organisations (such as the Clara Campoamor Women’s Association of Orihuela (Spain), The Kenyan Adult Literacy Association, Action for the Endo-

genous Development of Rural Wo-men of Burkina Faso and the Libe-rian Rural Women’s Develop-ment Asso-ciation), to organisa-tions with a proven track record in advocacy at the highest level, such as FAWE, AFWORD and CAMFED-Ghana. Other technical organizations with an expertise on capacity building were also present at the meeting such as the Egyptian Businesswo-men Association, the African Allian-ce for Women’s Empowerment, as well as organisations working on communication for development such as Women for Dialogue and Education and Radio ECCA from Spain.

The meeting p a r t i c i p a n t s

d r a f t e d a road map that will serve as a gui-de for the g r o u p ’ s f u t u r e

work. Under a vision of edu-cation that empowers wo-men to work for a better world, the group will work to build the capacities of its members to promote gender aware

education policies. To this end, strategies will focus on political ad-

vocacy, capacity building through the exchange of experiences and infor-mation, and internal and external communications between the members of the group and the Net-

work, as well as the creation of networks of networks.

The launch of the Group was the perfect forum for North-South and South-South co-operation, brin-ging together Spanish and African women working on the ground with those active in political pro-cesses.

In addition to the opportunity to share mutual experiences, a direct

A R T I C L E

Working Group meetings

“Researchers, NGOs, grass

roots associations and

political activists shared

their agendas”

The meeting resulted

in a road map to guide

the group’s work in the

future

Review of the Women’s Network for a Better World 4

outcome of the meeting was that the voices of the participants, grass-roots women included, will reach the UN Commission on the Status of Women that will be held in UN Headquar -ters in New York next February. Or-ganisations like AFWORD and FEMNET, present in the meeting, will be in charge of passing the message along at such important venue.

For further information about the con-clusions of this meeting, visit the Afri-can-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World’s website: http://www.reddemujeresporunmundomejor.org/es/grupostematicos/educacion

Examples of strategies and responses raised at the meeting in Nairobi

General:: Support public education and highlight the importance of the role of governments in guaranteeing • women’s right to education. In the African context, the participants asked for at least 6% of GDP to be spent in basic education services.Give priority to advocacy actions based on research on how to integrate gender issues in educa-• tion.Establish contacts, alliances and coalitions of advocacy actors in Africa at national, sub-regional • and regional levels to mainstream gender in education reform processes.

Specific:Inclusion of flexible mechanisms into the education system so that girls/teenagers can continue • their education.Literacy programmes following an integral approach and linked to the social and economic em-• powerment of women. Promote the participation of the community and of students in education management.•

Source: Drafted by the Secretariat from the discussions of the working group

“A direct outcome of the meeting was

that the voice of grass-roots women

will reach the UN Commission on the

Status of Women next February”

Best Practices in the field

Mujeres Claras (Spain) is an organisation of nearly 100 women who work on awareness rising on gender issues. One of its initia-tives was the organization of workshops to analyse educational books and materials from a gender perspective together with secondary school students in Orihuela, their home town. The-se workshops have fostered dialogue among students, parents and teachers on key aspects of gender equality. With sense of humour, the Chairwoman, Anunciación Belchí, pointed out the total gender blindness of some text books, such as a religion text-book in which “there wasn’t even a picture of Saint Teresa”. The activities of Mujeres Claras are an example of how a very small budget and large doses of vision can go a long way in working for gender equality. (Read article on page 8)

Campaign for Women Education (Ghana). The Campaign for Women Education is a regional initiative to improve girl’s access to school and to keep them in the education system. Some of the best practices rolled out by this organization are: (i) to intro-duce nursery schools; (ii) to develop complementary education programmes; (iii) to promote school dining rooms; (iv) to support school grants and programmes for girls; (v) to promote the crea-tion of a fund for education from 2.5% of VAT; (vi) to support dis-tance training programmes for teachers and volunteers; (vii) to

A R T I C L E


A R T I C L E

Working Group meetings

implement campaigns to foster children’s rights; (viii) to involve communities in edu-cation management.

FAWE (Africa). For the last 18 years, the Forum for African Women Educationa-lists has been working to mainstreaming gender in African education policies and systems. One of FAWE’s initiatives inclu-des the creation of Centres of Excellence and schools with a gender perspective, in which all the academic, social, cultu-ral, infrastructure-related financial obsta-cles, among others, preventing girls from attending to and remaining in school are addressed using an integral approach. The model has been tested in 9 African countries with excellent results. Another example of the FAWE’s success at the po-licy level is the inclusion of a “readmission clause” for pregnant girls/teenage mo-thers in the legislation of 13 countries.

Priorities on the gender and education agenda in Africa and SpainPerceived by the group as a priority in Africa SpainFirst generation problemsGirls’ access to primary education YES NO

Girls’ remaining/dropping out of primary school YES NO

Illiteracy among adult women YES NO

Second generation problemsSexual violence in schools YES NO

Access and permanence to secondary school YES YES

Quality vocational training YES YES

Transition from school to labor market YES YES

Eliminate gender stereotypes from educational materials YES YES

Source: Drafted by the Secretariat from the discussions of the working group


Diakhoumba Gassama, co-ordinator of the African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World (2008-2010)

I can imagine that in these last few hours before flying to New York, you will be having mixed feelings; per-haps sadness, but satisfaction too, for a very well done job. Which are your conclusions of this expe-rience heading up the Network?There can be no doubt that the Network is a Project full of inspiration and hope that has given me a lot of enjoyable moments. The occasion to participate in this initiative has been a wonderful adventure for me. It has also been a satisfying job, because we star-ted with very little and with everybody’s strength, we have created a strong platform of associations. The-se three years have been the opportunity to discover the incredible resilience of the Spanish members and the diversity of the African associations that compri-se the Network.

Before joining this Project in Las Palmas, I worked for the African Union in Ethiopia. I must admit that I often was in contact with well-known and top leaders. My participation within the Network has given me the chance to work with community-based organisations that work at different levels.

Which have been the most important moments that you have experienced in these three years?I will never forget the early times of the Project, when the statutes were adopted and the founding docu-ments of the Network and other procedures were developed. It was enormously satisfying to see the Project evolved step by step. It was also very rele-vant to hold the 6th meeting of the Network’s Stee-ring Committee in Bamako, last February 2010.

In that meeting we realised for the first time that we finally were an integrated African-Spanish Network. There was full consensus and we realised that we

were speaking with a united voice, both at the Se-cretariat and at the Committee. The United Nations Annual Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in the months of Fe-bruary/March 2010 was another occa-sion to remember. We were present in that event through a Network delegation and that resulted in an enormous mo-bilisation. It was the first time that the Network was present at such international event and this reflected the maturity of the Network and the progress that had been made.

Talking about the progress achieved, what are the developments that you would highlight since the

early steps of the Network until its present consolidation?There has been a notable advance in the quality and the quantity of members re-gistered. At the moment, we have nearly 1300 ready and willing organisations wor-king on women issues both in Spain and

in Africa. The quality of the Network is reflected in its capacity to react as a single entity and the influence that it has acquired. A major achievement of these three years has undoubtedly been to advance from a political initiative into a technical Network.

In the consolidation that the Network has attained, what areas and aspects do you think that should be reinforced?One of the strengths of this Project is the Working Groups acting on different subjects, because they have just been launched. The latest one, Educa-tion, was launched in Nairobi a few weeks ago. In the second phase of the project, they should start their work. Communications should be a priority, as

“To become a technical Network of co-operation and interaction has been a major achievement in these years”

“At the meeting of the

Network in Bamako, we

realised that we were an

integrated Network”

“Currently we have nearly

1300 organisations that

work on women issues in

Spain and in Africa”

I N T E R V I E W


I N T E R V I E W

the lack of strategy in this area has hampered the Network achievements in the past. I would also men-tion the potential to foster both geographic and thematic networks within the Network, such as the incorporation of a network of African women living in Spain. Finally, a relevant challenge should be to convert the Network into a channel that facilitates information and supports the members of the project in accessing sources of funding.

Would you keep collaborating with the Network from your new position? UNDP has a gender programme that shares objecti-ves with the African-Spanish Women’s Network for a

Better World and it is one of the most important part-ners of UNIFEM so I would like to use this experience to

foster co-opera-tion between the two agencies and continue to su-pport the project in every possible way. UNDP knows about the work of

our Network and has a positive perception about it, so I will continue to try to convince the Agency that this initiative is a sure bet. I have great expectations as the route has been laid out.

Diakhoumba Gassama

“The working groups have

been launched in the first

phase of the Project and they

will start their work in the

second phase, next year”


The Clara Campoamor Women’s Association of Orihuela was foun-ded in February 2007 with objecti-ves such as adding visibility to his-toric women not yet recognised, to report situations of abuse and to maintain a presence in women’s networks. We have raised our pro-file and gained respect in this short period of time, we have done re-search work to comply with the Spanish Equality Act in our schools, we have designed campaigns ai-med at institutions and we have even criticised the reiterated brea-ches of the legislation by publishers and the passivity of the education authorities.

Some examples of the activities that we have conducted so far are awareness and dissemination campaigns, interventions in schools and even mee-tings at unions. But despite our tireless activi-ty, we still face many challen-ges, of which I would highlight the wides-pread passivi-ty we face, a characteristic of well-off so-cieties and the lack of funding. T h r o u g h o u t 2010, we have received very limited funding for our activi-ties. Still, we have still mana-ged to rent an office, develop a magazine,

or hold meetings and concerts, among others. We sometimes think that our treasurer is a real genius.

We are aware that the ideal mana-gement of an organisation like ours involves an investment in commu-nication and mar-keting; staff wor-king full time; the implementation of psychological and legal support services, but fi-nancial constra-ints are curbing all this. We are also aware of our potential: the streng-th of the group and the truth that motivates our action. We work with the resources we have and there is no room for complaints or playing the victim’s role. We now have

over one hundred members, 20 of whom are fully committed.

We also participate in women’s networks. One of these initiatives is the African-Spanish Women’s Net-work for a Better World. The Nairo-

bi mee-ting was a chan-ce to discover the real situation that we w e r e a w a r e

of only from images, news, calls or campaigns. Meeting women who are leaders in their countries and who passionately talked about the illiteracy of their people, analy-sed the causes and made propo-

By Anunciación Belchí, Clara Campoamor AssociationAssociationism, the driving force of women’s empowerment

“Mujeres Claras”

That is the name we have given to our magazine. We wanted to make a reference to Clara Campoamor, defender of women’s rights and the main driving force behind universal suffrage in Spain, and combine it with values that we share. Our first magazine was presented in March 2008 and we started with very few resources, giving our opinion about inequalities in education, trafficking, the situation of women in Ciudad Juarez and the secular state. We expressed our feminist spirit there and we were aware that we were building internal and external spaces through sisterhood.

“The Plan’s Consultation Workshop

was a matter of prioritising what

issues are more urgent than

others, a highly difficult task since

everything is urgent in Africa”

C O N T R I B U T I O N S


C O N T R I B U T I O N S

The Spanish-African Women’s Network for a Better World has been conducting a consultation process on the Women for a Better World Strategic Plan since September. The Plan, presented in the 5th Meeting of Women for a Better World held in Valencia in March 2010, takes on board the experience of previous meetings in a framework document under four areas of action: social and political participation, economic development, sexual and reproductive rights and education.

This process of consultation, open until December 2010, has attracted over 100 ac-tors from African and Spanish institutions and civil society that have participated in interviews, workshops and on-line consultations. In addition, a workshop was held last 8th of October in Nairobi to prioritise the strategic lines of the plan. The table below summarises the priorities established by those present at the workshop. The participants in the workshop appreciated the opportunity to express their opinions about the document and underscored the challenge of having to prioritise the different actions included in the Plan, as most of them are vital and need to be addressed urgently.For further information about the consultation and its results please visit: http://planestrategico.reddemujeres-porunmundomejor.org/

The Strategic Plan “Women for a Better World”, in consultation

Results of the Strategic Plan Prioritisation Workshop

Strategic lines PrioritiesPromoting social and political leadership XMainstreaming gender in African public policies XRural development and food security XEconomic growth and support for entrepreneurial initiativesDevelopment and migrationSexual and reproductive health care X XSexual and reproductive rightsParity in access to educationEradicating illiteracy X XAccess to technical and vocational training for womenNon-sexist education

sals, made us feel that we have a strength generating hope and possibilities.The Plan’s Consultation Works-hop was a question of prioritising what issues are more urgent than others, a highly difficult task since everything is urgent in Africa.

We all agreed on one thing: we have legislation, but regulations are breached with impunity. And we have to react. It is time to react. Reacting is urgent.In our Association we see every day, in every project that we tac-kle, that our strength lies within

the group and not in each of us individually. This is what we hope this Network will be: a strong and powerful group of African and Spanish women convinced that it is only possible to advance towards that better world as a group.Together we can do it.


I N T E R V I E W

The “African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World” has completed a phase of consolidation, in which Casa Africa has been especially involved by hosting its Secretariat. What aspects of this institutio-nal co-operation would you highlight?The fluidity of the communications between the Network and Casa Africa and the quality of the co-operation we have reached should be underlined. To have the Network in our premises, sharing a common space, projects and concerns, is for us a source of great pride and an honour. The statement that wo-men are the driving force of development in Africa reflects with accuracy the actual situation of the con-tinent and the Network is doing a vital job. Women, here and in Africa, have the power to train, educate and organise themselves, changing the situation and spreading a horizontal change in society. This chan-ge should reach governments and all strata of socie-ty. The work of the Network for the empowerment of African women and its support to the processes of awareness raising and education benefits society as a whole; it benefits Africa as a whole. That is why we want this same fluid communication to continue and our joint co-operation to be even closer.

As an expert in international affairs, what is, in your opinion, the added value of the Network in the field of development co-operation and women’s rights in Africa?I think that it is highly fortunate that the Network ba-ses its work on capacity building, both of African and Spanish women, and above all, on the concept of sorority. Within the Network, African and Spanish wo-men learn from each other in a context of respect, without impositions or hierarchies. It is not as-sumed that Spanish wo-men teach whilst the African women learn. Agendas and priorities are not established wi-thout a collective dis-cussion. Unfortunately, more often than not, we are used to witness the set up of the priorities of African women far away from Africa following the political agenda of Western

donors. Working to connect different women with di-fferent contributions and views of reality is the major strength of the Network.

What actions of the “African-Spanish Women’s Net-work” would you promote in the future?I think that the five Thematic Groups of the Network are essential. I also think it is fantastic that they invol-

ve media and other social actors that have an important responsibility in creating public opinion and in implementing women-frien-dly programmes and policies.

What challenges do you see for the Network in the next few years?It seems to me that the change we all are awaiting for is the inclusion of women pers-pectives at policy level, not only in Africa, but all over the world. The Network advo-

cates on leadership and empowerment and indeed Africa offers promising statistics in women’s access to

“The change we all are awaiting for is the inclusion of women perspectives at policy level, not only in Africa, but all over the world”

Ricardo Martínez, Director General of Casa Africa

“Women, here and in Africa,

have the power to train and

educate themselves, to organise

themselves and change

the situation and to spread

horizontal change in a society”

A d v o c a c y p r o p o s a l s

ORGANISING BODY

PLACE DATE WEB

Pre-African Union Summit and Civil Society Forum Women’s Encounter

Civil Society/Afri-

can Union

Addis Aba-

ba, EthiopiaEnd Jan

http://www.africa-union.org/

root/au/index/index.htm

16th African Union Summit 2011 Sahred Value in Africa: Establishing a Pan-African Governability ArchitectureJoint African Union Annual Summit, Conference of Ministers of Economy and the Economic Commis-sion for Africa

African UnionAddis Aba-

ba, Ethiopia24 - 31 Jan



49th Session of Commission for Priority Subject: Era-dication of Poverty

Development Un

Social and Econo-

mic Affairs Dep.

New York,

USA9 - 18 Feb

http://un.org/esa/socdev/

csocd/2011.html

World Social ForumOrganisation Com-

mittee WSF

Dakar,

Senegal6 - 11 Feb

http://fsm2011.org/es/frontpage

http://www.forumsocialmundial.

org.

UN Sub-Committee on Violence against Women UNNew York,

USA17 Feb

http://ngocswny.files.wordpress.

com/2010/10/calander-updated-

october-26.pdf

CSW 2011 Theme: Access and participation of woman and girls to education, training, science and technolo-gy, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work

UN WOMENNew York,

USA22 Feb - 4 Mar

http://www.un.org/wo-

menwatch/daw/csw/55sess.htm

I N T E R V I E W

decision making positions in ma-nagement and politics, as can be seen in Rwanda, for example. I believe that the future that we ex-pect is seeing these young women leaders and these businesswomen who come to Casa Africa today or work in the Network in different areas and countries, making the world more women-oriented and, therefore, better for everybody.

What role could Casa Africa play in that future?

Casa Africa is an instrument of public diplomacy, part of Spain’s overseas action in Africa. The mul-tiple aspects of its role merge into a single statement: to bring Africa and Spain closer together. In re-lation to the Network, Casa Afri-ca facilitates several possibilities of co-operation for development and synergies. One possible con-tribution to the Network is to act as a forum for women and Afri-can and Spanish bodies working on women issues to share, learn

and grow together. We can also collaborate with our experience with the African associationist mo-vement in Spain and our network of contacts, both in Africa and in Spain. The Network and Casa Afri-ca have worked together in trai-ning women in different areas in the past, an aspect that we would like to continue. Support for Afri-can women is part of our progra-mme so Casa Africa’s possibilities for participating in the Network’s activities and viceversa are large.

A d v o c a c y p r o p o s a l s

ORGANISING BODY

PLACE DATE WEB

Pre-African Union Summit and Civil Society Forum Women’s Encounter

Civil Society/Afri-

can Union

Addis Aba-

ba, EthiopiaEnd Jan



16th African Union Summit 2011 Sahred Value in Africa: Establishing a Pan-African Governability ArchitectureJoint African Union Annual Summit, Conference of Ministers of Economy and the Economic Commis-sion for Africa

African UnionAddis Aba-

ba, Ethiopia24 - 31 Jan



49th Session of Commission for Priority Subject: Era-dication of Poverty

Development Un

Social and Econo-

mic Affairs Dep.

New York,

USA9 - 18 Feb

http://un.org/esa/socdev/

csocd/2011.html

World Social ForumOrganisation Com-

mittee WSF

Dakar,

Senegal6 - 11 Feb

http://fsm2011.org/es/frontpage

http://www.forumsocialmundial.

org.

UN Sub-Committee on Violence against Women UNNew York,

USA17 Feb

http://ngocswny.files.wordpress.

com/2010/10/calander-updated-

october-26.pdf

CSW 2011 Theme: Access and participation of woman and girls to education, training, science and technolo-gy, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work

UN WOMENNew York,

USA22 Feb - 4 Mar

http://www.un.org/wo-

menwatch/daw/csw/55sess.htm


R E P O R T

The Seminar, organised by the Secretariat of the ‘African-Spanish Women’s Network’ and the Spanish Government Delegation to the Canary Islands was divided into two blocks, one addressing legal issues and the other, social aspects. The opening session was inaugurated by the Carolina Darias, Head of the Spanish Government Delegation to the Canary Islands and the Head of UNIFEM Office in the Canary Islands, María Elena Ruiz Abril.

“Human trafficking is a serious vio-lation of human rights and a form of slavery in the 21st century; it is also one of the most lucrative businesses which results from the sale of between 4 and 5 million people a year”, highlighted Ca-rolina Darias. The Spanish G o v e r n m e n t ’ s Delegate refe-rred to the Inte-gral Plan to fight Sexual Exploita-tion and Human Trafficking drawn up in 2008 by the Spanish Government, a pionee-ring initiative in the fight against this problem and in helping its victims.

“The problem is complex and diffi-cult to deal with as it requires the coordi-nation of multiple agents, but the UN has solid legal instruments that

can be used, such as the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Human T ra f f ick ing , especially in Women and C h i l d r e n , created in 2000, the UN Global Initia-tive To Fight Human Tra-fficking, in 2007, or the United Na-tions Global Plan of Action to Com-bat Human Trafficking presented in 2010”, stated María Elena Ruiz Abril, the Head of the UNIFEM Offi-ce in Las Palmas.

Ruiz Abril agreed that the current figures of trafficking are extremely serious, although she was optimistic

in terms of future plans to address the problem due to the creation of UN Women. The new UN Agency, led by former Pre-

sident of Chile Michelle Bachelet, will bring together, as of January

2011, different organisations wi-thin the UN system that work on

women’s issues, such as UNIFEM, INSTRAW, DAW and OSAGI, with a view to creating a stronger, more strategic institution to fight for equality.

21st Century Slavery

In the section addressing legal issues, the panel chaired by Ruth García, Head of the Co-ordination Unit to fight Violence against Women in the Government Delegation to the Canary Islands, was graced by the prestigious le-

gal expert Teseida García, Prosecutor for International Le-gal Cooperation and Immigration of the Las Palmas Pro-vincial Prosecutor’s Office.

“Human trafficking has been defined as one of the most pro-fitable and also most serious crimes, as it abuses the vulne-rability of the victim

by means of deceit or by force in order to exercise exploitation that may be sexual or destined to the trafficking of organs”, affirmed Te-seida García.

The gap between the law and its application was underscored by prosecutor García, who said that the fight against women traffic-king is hampered by the difficulty to obtain a conviction. “Spain has

UNIFEM and the African-Spanish Women’s Network join the 16 Days of Activism Campaign

The Campaign took place between the 25th of November and the 10th of December,Human Rights Day

“Every year some 4-5

million people are traded”

stated the Delegate of

the Spanish Government

in the Canary Islands

Prosecutor Teseida García

stressed the gap between

the law and its application


R E P O R T

all the necessary legislation and has signed the three UN protocols; the Spanish Criminal Code has also been modified, however tra-fficking crimes do not appear as such and we therefore have to do some nifty legal footwork in order to get a conviction”, she added.

Integral Approach

Causes of human trafficking, such as the precarious situation of its victims in countries of origin, or the increasing “feminisation” of po-verty were addressed in depth in the social session of the semi-nar. In this second pa-nel, associa-tions working with victims of trafficking that fight to reinte-grate them back in society descri-bed their experiences and made a number of recommendations to tackle the problem.

The three associations that took part in the panel -Association for the Prevention, Reinsertion and Care for Prostituted Women,

APRAMP, Caritas, and Villa Teresita- agreed on the need to use an integral approach in order to address trafficking. This would include psycho-social, health, work-related and social awareness aspects.

Carla Corsino, social worker at Vi-lla Teresita, an NGO based in Las Palmas, portrayed victims of tra-fficking with a recording testimony of a girl victim. “I have visited flats where 22 girls live together, slee-ping in bunk-beds; they have to

pay the pimp a fine if they wear more clothes in cold wea-ther, they are not allowed to eat after certain time so that the

room doesn’t smell of food; it is a real hell-hole of exploitation at all levels”, she explained.

Ana Palencia, social worker from APRAMP, underlined the importan-ce of the field work in countries of origin, an approach that APRAMP follows. “In many cases, the victim of trafficking is hooked in her home

country by even members of her own family, so we need to work intensively there so that they are aware of the risks”. In APRAMP, ins-truments such as the 24-hour hotli-ne, a mobile unit and safe homes for the victims are some of the me-chanisms they have developed. Palencia underlined how difficult it is to approach these problems and stated that social agents who have been victims of trafficking themselves are part of APRAMP team. These employees have re-ceived training and have the ca-pacity to get into areas where prostitution is a common problem, something that facilitates the acti-vities of APRAMP.

Still a lot to do

The round table debates highlighted the need to involve society in working against human trafficking, whilst underlined the im-portance of holding this type of se-minar to raise public’s awareness. As the speakers said, it should not be ignored that human trafficking for sexual exploitation responds to a demand in destination countries such as Spain. Raising awareness at all levels is the cornerstone of prevention.

Funding opportunity: The UN Fund to Eliminate Violence Against Women

Civil society organizations are invited to send funding proposals from 100,000 dollars up to one million dollars for projects aimed at fighting violence against women. The deadline for submission of proposals is 20th January, 2011.

For further information, visit the following link: http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/

violence_against_women/trust_fund.ph

“The precarious situation of victims

in countries of origin, together

with the increasing ‘feminisation’ of

poverty were identified as some of

the causes of the phenomenon”


You are a member of several organisations, one of which, the African Alliance for Women Empower-ment, has participated in the coordination of the Third “African Women in Science and Technology” Confe-rence. What conclusions would you draw from that meeting?The main conclusion has been to underline the role of women in science and technology as a strategy for economic empowerment. A further conclusion is that there is a global awareness as to the relevance that women should have in science and technology and this has been reflected in the presence of leading ac-

tors, both men and wo-men, from governments, civil society and interna-tional bodies. Working in association and in network is the only path to achieve women’s empowerment. For this reason, this third Confe-rence has also offered a major opportunity to start to prepare for the Commission on the Sta-tus of Women that will be

held in New York next February. The Conference has widely focused on training, a subject that needs to be addressed all over the world and particularly in AfricaThe creation of spaces for women in the labour market has been the leitmotiv of this summit and, to this end, a number of training seminars have been held. One of them focused on women and ICT and how its use can help women to develop their own businesses. There was also a workshop on women’s empowerment as income generators. In fact, we have looked at the possibility of creating an African trade hub based on new tech-nology usage. This has been one of the proposals of the Organisation I belong to, based on reinforcing regional economic integration. At pre-

sent, the Egyptian Businesswomen Association is wor-king on the launch of a business development centre, for which we have received valuable support from the Spanish government and the Spanish Agency for

International Development Cooperation, AECID.

You have in-depth knowled-ge of the obstacles that women’s empowerment processes generally face. What challenges would you underline in order to remove those?Empowerment is made up of the so-called three Ps or three pillars: the individual

personality of each woman, the existing political and

“There is a global awareness on

the role of women in science

and technology and this has

been reflected in the attitude

of governments, civil society,

private sector and international

organizations”

“Education of all types is essential for women’s empowerment”

Amani Asfour, Director of the Egyptian Businesswomen Association

“Several workshops

have been held: women

and ICTs, business

development and

women empowerment,

focusing in the role

of women as income

generators”

I N T E R V I E W


I N T E R V I E W

legal environment around her and the product on which that empowerment is based, the product that this woman is developing.In Africa, the model mainly applies to small and me-dium-sized businesses and we need to reinforce product design through technical assistance, knowledge and education, among other is-sues. So, I would highlight the limited access to information and support services, be they financial or non-financial, as a serious obstacle.

As a businesswoman and leader, you are well aware of the Arab and African reality. Are there lessons learnt that other women in our Network can benefit from? In the first place, women’s property rights have to be

increased. This is a very significant obstacle, particu-larly in the African continent. As I mentioned earlier, there is a deficit in product development and tech-nical support. Therefore, we find a great deal of high

quality raw materials and a solid agriculture sector but not enough of agribusiness or agro-processing. The development of Afri-can markets in which new generations of women entrepreneu-rs can work requires training for these wo-men and a legal fra-

mework for their activities be put in place. To this end, education of all types is really the key to women’s empowerment.

“Empowerment is made up of the

so-called three Ps or three pillars: the

individual personality of each woman, the

existing political and legal environment

around her and the product on which that

empowerment is based, the product that

this woman is developing”

The African Union, ECOSOC, and a number of women’s NGOs from all over the African continent have met up in Cairo to discuss the role of women in science and technology and how to provide tools helping them to improve their position. The Third African “Women in Science and Technology” Conference particularly focused on the relationship between entrepreneurship and industrialisation processes.

The need to foster the presen-ce of women into scientific re-search, technology and inno-vation in Africa centred many of the debates. The Conferen-

ce emphasized science and technology in Africa as an en-gine to boost development. This comes at a particularly important moment given the recent draft by the African Union of a consolidated Ac-tion Plan to foster science in the continent.

The participants agreed on the key role played by scien-ce and technology towards a knowledge society. One of the conclusions of the mee-ting was the need to train and capitalise the presence of wo-men scientists in the African continent. “The promotion of networks of women scientists

who can exchange informa-tion on their fields of interest and research is crucial”, said the organisers of the Confe-rence. In parallel to this event, the First Conference on Young People in Science, Technolo-gy and Innovation was orga-nized.

The Egyptian Businesswomen Association is a member of the African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World and acted as one of the Conference’s organisers. Fa-toumata Traoré, a member of the Network Steering Commit-tee, represented the Network at the Conference.

The third “African Women in Science and Technology” Conference held in Egypt under the motto ‘Scientific Research towards the Millennium Development Goals’


N E W S I N B R I E F

As cities grow, pre-vention of threats to w o m e n and girls should be a funda-m e n t a l part of municipal develop-ment and safety. Cities that are safe for women and girls are safe for everyone.

Under this argument, UNI-FEM (part of UN Women) has launched an innovati-ve programme with the title ‘Safe Cities Free of Violence against Women and Girls’. The initiative has been laun-ched in Quito (Ecuador), Cairo (Egypt), New Delhi (India), Port Moresby (Pa-pua New Guinea) and Kigali (Rwanda).

Currently, some 3.4 billion people, an unprecedented figure, live in cities across the world. Crime rates are high, but municipal development and safety plans tend to omit specific threats to wo-men and girls. The Program-me ‘Safe Cities Free of Vio-lence against Women and Girls’ is the first inter-regional initiative dedicated to ensu-ring safer cities for women.

For more information visit: http://www.unifem.org/

news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=1189

New global initiative for safer cities for womenThe Network’s Steering

Committee’s eighth meeting was held at

the Secretariat’s Headquarters in Casa África in order to approve the Network’s work plan for 2011. The Committee of the African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World comprises representatives from Spain, Mali, Senegal, Kenya, the Gambia and Burundi. This will be the last time that these Committee members meet as a new committee will take over in 2011.

The Steering Committee of the African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World meets in Las Palmas

The Head of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, took part in the reflection session held at the United Nations headquarters with the occasion of the International Day for the Elimi-nation of Violence against Women. The event focused on “Corporate Sector Leadership in the Elimina-

tion of Violence against Women and Girls”. It was precisely the wide concern over the situation of women and girls all over the world that led to the unanimous decision to create UN Women last July.As the Head of UN Women stated in the press conference, “we bring together millions of women and men, community-level groups, networ-ks that act for women’s rights, governments, members of parliament, health staff and teachers who have converted November 25 into a day to meet and renew our commitment to the elimination of the pande-mic of violence against women”.Watch the press conference video at: http://www.unwomen.org/2010/11/video-press-conference-on-the-internatio-

nal-day-for-the-elimination-of-violence-against-women/

The new Executive Director of UN Women and Under-Secretary General of the UN takes part in the acts of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

30 million people throughout the world are infected by AIDS, half of them women. Inequality, gender violence or the ‘feminisation’ of poverty have made women more vulnerable to the virus infection. For this reason, UNIFEM (part of UN Women) underlines the importan-ce of increasing the presence of women in decision-making pro-

cesses and incorpora-ting a gender-based approach to the fight against this pande-mic.

For more information on this approach, visit the following website: http://www. genderan-daids.org

World AIDS Day stresses women’s vulnerability to the pandemic

boletín_en_con_marcas

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