THE E_CECI :
Volume 2, Number 2 — March 2007
International Women's Day
To mark International Women's Day, E_CECI focusses on themes of gender equality through various initiatives being implemented by CECI partners. Today March 8, we address the issues raised by women in Guinea during the recent general strike in their country, the place held by untouchable women in Nepal following the peace treaty concluded in November 2006, as well as the relationship between young men and women in establishing a massage therapy project in Guatemala.
February 2007, it’s 3 o’clock in Conakry. The voice of Nanfadima Magassouba crackles over the phone: « The city’s under siege! » Led by the inter-central union made up of workers with the Confédération nationale des travailleurs (CNTG) and the Union syndicale des travailleurs (USTG), Guineans are demanding that President Lansana Conté appoint a prime minister with more powers as the head of government.
Nanfadima Boiro Magassouba, who fights for women’s rights in Guinea, feels optimistic. “A few years ago, no one could have imagined that women would one day wake up and dare to claim their rights. But women are now determined. The moment of truth has arrived,” says the president of the Coalition nationale de Guinée pour les droits et la citoyenneté des femmes (CONAG-DCF), a coalition created in 1998 with CECI support.
Phoolmati Pasi is a Dalit – an Untouchable. Considered as being impure by the members of higher castes in Nepal, she must live each day with the prejudice and discrimination that accompany her hereditary social status. Thankfully, because of the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), things improved recently for Phoolmati and her family. No more 40-hour work weeks in exchange for just a three-kilo bag of rice. Phoolmati now manages her own tea room and earns 400 rupees per day.
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to promote original ideas that will foster gender equality. Massage therapy training being given to women in Antigua, Guatemala, is proving to be a good way to combat preconceived notions.
Although the languages, cultures and time zones of Marie-Christine Tremblay’s Uniterra volunteer postings have changed, the challenges of tackling gender issues remain the same.