CSBR Featured, Statements

Statement: Feminists for A Binding Treaty on Transnational Corporations

CSBR joins over 230 feminist organizations and networks in calling for a binding treaty on transnational corporations. See the statement below. Sign onto the statement here: http://bit.ly/F4BTStatement

We the undersigned feminists, women’s rights groups and civil society allies from all over the world call on governments to support the legally-binding instrument on transnational corporations and human rights. The negotiations at the United Nations is the very chance for Member States to demonstrate political will to put economic justice, environmental justice, gender justice and accountability to people above corporate interests.

The time is now for UN Member States to finally fulfill their obligation to respect, promote and protect human rights and the environment, and put an end to corporate impunity.

The scale and impact of corporate operations across the world is causing great harm to millions of people and the environment: from land-grabbing and displacements to the contamination of water and soil, to the loss of lives of women human rights defenders protecting their fundamental human rights, livelihoods, freedoms and territories. Thousands of trade and investment agreements safeguard corporate interests, without any respect for the free, prior and informed consent, consultation of affected communities, nor any corresponding regulatory framework to protect human rights and the environment from corporate abuse.

We, women, girls and people of all gender, age, racial and ethnic identities experience rights violations, violence and discrimination by corporations. Patriarchy, racism and capitalism work together in oppressing women, particularly in the Global South and in marginalised communities:

● We produce most of the food in the world and yet are the most likely to suffer from extreme level of poverty, hunger, malnutrition, loss of land, water and livelihoods.

● We are employed in the most precarious working environments with least labour protection (e.g. informal sector & rural women workers), earn the lowest wages and shoulder the vast majority of the world’s unpaid care work.

● We experience massive violations of labour rights, attacks to our right to organise and freedom of association, and sexualised violence at work.

● We are most affected by land-grabbing, community displacements and massive extraction of natural resources, yet denied of access to land and excluded from decision-making, compensation and access to justice.

● We bear the brunt of militarised corporate activities, which enable multiple cases of rape by public and private security forces and attacks against women human rights defenders.

● We are most affected by all forms of tax injustice and the privatization of public services, often driven by trade and investment agreements and austerity policies imposed by international financial institutions.

● We are most significantly affected by climate change and extreme weather events fuelled by the fossil fuel industries and Global North countries. Women are more likely to be killed during disasters and face an increased risk of gender-based and sexual violence during disasters.

● We face threats, criminalisation, repressions, gender-based and sexual violence and even killings because of our work to resist corporate abuses in defense of human rights, fundamental freedoms and accountable democracy.

We recognize that the current global economic system is built to prioritise profit over people’s lives and the environment. Transnational corporations in particular, are able to escape accountability because of legal loopholes that enable impunity at multiple levels, undermining democracy and the rule of law. The unprecedented level of power transnational corporations enjoy through trade and investment agreements’ investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses are particularly concerning. They grant one-sided power to corporations to nullify national laws and policies if they reduce ‘investors’ expected profits. States’ legitimate regulatory space to establish public social policies, protect human rights and hold corporations accountable is fundamentally undermined by growing corporate power, corporate capture and the power structures that further cements this.

Transnational corporations exploit ideas of feminism and gender equality to improve their image in some countries, while systematically abusing women’s human rights in other parts of the world. We note with significant concern that women’s empowerment, once a radical feminist idea of transforming society, has been manipulated and reduced to individualistic focus on self-esteem, entrepreneurship, and consumerism.

We reject these propaganda of “corporate feminism” and “corporate social responsibility”. An agenda limited to work-life balance, having more women in managerial positions or parental leaves fails to tackle the systemic corporate abuse against women. These neoliberal and corporate versions of feminism fundamentally reinforce the exploitative nature of women’s labour under capitalism, fail to challenge patriarchy and white supremacy, and advance the belief that women’s liberation can be achieved within the existing economic model.

We insist that an instrumental approach to gender equality as a means to achieve economic growth, while ignoring corporate human rights abuses, will only further entrench gender discrimination, poverty, labour exploitation and result in growing inequalities between countries, the rich and the poor and between men and women.

We know that business interests interfere with political decisions. Corporations today hold more economic power than many States. Their political influence and the corporate capture of decision-making threaten women’s human rights and gravely undermine decisions that should be made in the public interest, not for corporate profits.

* * * * *

See the full list of signatories here: bit.ly/F4BTsigners

CSBR CSBR Activities, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

Letter to President Essebsi of Tunisia

CSBR joins Tunisian civil society and the Alliance of Inclusive Muslims to endorse this letter to President Essebsi of Tunisia, calling for equal inheritance rights.

6 September 2018

Your Excellency Mr. Beji Caid Essebsi President of the Republic of Tunisia,

The Alliance of Inclusive Muslims (AIM), and the undersigned organizations and individuals from across Muslim societies, full-heartedly support and praise Tunisia for the report of COLIBE and its recommendations, particularly on equality of inheritance between men and women, that are aligned with gender equality and universal human rights principles.

By doing so you have taken a strong lead in the Muslim world and will encourage Muslims around the world to follow in instituting political and juridical reform, and adopting a form of Islam that more accurately reflects the principles of al ‘adālah (justice) and al maslaḥah (social needs). It is important to protect women from economic disadvantages and empower them to contribute fully in the human, political, social, economic, and cultural development of the society, shoulder to shoulder with men.

We fully understand the challenges that Muslim-majority countries face in implementing democratic reforms, especially in matters pertaining to women in Islam. Reforms will not be effective without public awareness; they must go hand in hand with amplifying counter narratives through education, thereby breaking long-held mindsets promoted by fundamentalist individuals and groups.

We condemn the negative and hateful campaign against the members of COLIBE by those who claim to speak in the name of Islam. Islam, after all, does not promote injustice and discrimination. We affirm that Tunisia does not stand alone; like-minded community and religious leaders, academics and civil societies around the world can formally assist in counter-narrative initiatives. This includes developing fiqh al mu’aṣirah al taqaddumiah (progressive Islamic jurisprudence) and educating the general public and vulnerable groups with an intersectional Islamic understanding of gender equality and universal human rights values.

We applaud the exemplary progressive steps Tunisia has taken and wish for other Muslim-majority countries to quickly follow suit. With these positive developments in Tunisia, we hope your country be granted with consistent political, social, economic stability and prosperity. We would be very pleased to work with Tunisia on strategies to ensure that the recommendations made by COLIBE come to fruition.

Respectfully,

Alliance of Inclusive Muslims

كوالا لامبور10 سبتمبر2018

فخامة الرئيس الباجي قائد السبسي، رئيس الجمهورية التونسية
نكتب إليكم بالنيابة عن منظمة تحالف المسلمين الغير اقصائيين (AIM) ، والأفراد والمنظمات من الموقعين والموقعات من مختلف المجتمعات الإسلامية.

إن الموقعين والموقعات على هذه الرسالة، وبعد دراسة متأنية لتقرير لجنة الحريات الفردية والمساواة وتوصياتها، ولا سيما بشأن المساواة في الميراث بين الرجال والنساء ، يعلنون عن دعمهم وتأييدهم وثنائهم لتونس لإطلاقها قوانين وسياسات تتماشى مع مبادئ المساواة بين الجنسين والمبادئ العالمية لحقوق الإنسان.

إن خطوتكم هذه قدمت مثلاً ونموذجاً رائدا قياديا داخل العالم الإسلامي وسوف تشجع المسلمين والمسلمات في جميع أنحاء العالم على السعي قدماً في ترسيخ القواعد المؤسسية للإصلاح السياسي والقانوني، واعتماد شكل من أشكال الإسلام الذي يعكس بشكل أكثر دقة مباديء العدالة والمصالح المجتمعية المتضمنة في جوهره. إنه من الأهمية بمكان توفير الحماية للمرأة من التمييز الاقتصادي وتَمكينهن، كي يساهمن بشكل كامل في التنمية البشرية، والسياسية، والاجتماعية، والإقتصادية والثقافية للمجتمع، جنباً إلى جنب مع الرجال.

وبَوصفنا منظمة إسلامية عالمية شاملة ، فإننا نفهم تماماً التحديات التي تواجهها البلدان ذات الأغلبية المسلمة في تنفيذ الإصلاحات الديمقراطية ، لا سيما في الأمور المتعلقة بالمرأة في الإسلام. وندرك أيضاً ان هذه الإصلاحات لن تكون فعالة بدون نشر وعي عام، يسير جنبا إلى جنب مع نشر رؤى وتفسيرات تنويرية من خلال التعليم ، وبالتالي كسر العقليات التي تروج لها منذ فترة طويلة الجماعات الأصولية المتطرفة.

نحن ندين بقوة الحملة السلبية وخطاب الكراهية الموجة ضد عضوات و أعضاء لجنة الحريات الفردية والمساواة من قبل من يدَّعون التَحُدث بإسم الإسلام. لاسيما وأن الإسلام لا يروج للظلم والتمييز. ونود هنا أن نؤكد أن دولة تونس لاتقف وحدها؛ إذ يمكن لمن يشاركونها موقفها من المجتمع المحلي والأكاديميين والمجتمعات المدنية والقادة الدينيين في جميع أنحاء العالم أن يساعدوا بشكل رسمي في تقديم الدعم بمبادرات رسمية للرؤى والتفسيرات التنويرية الإصلاحية؛ وهذا يشمل تطوير الفقه الإسلامي التقدمي وتثقيف الجمهور والجماعات المهمشة مع فهم إسلامي متقاطع للمساواة بين الجنسين والقيم العالمية لحقوق الإنسان.

إننا وإذ نُحيي الخطوات التقدمية النموذجية التي اتخذتها تونس، نأمل أن تحذو الدول الأخرى ذات الأغلبية المسلمة حذوها سريعاً. ومع هذه التطورات الإيجابية في تونس ، نرجو ان تحظى دولتكم بالرفاهية والإستقرار السياسي والإجتماعي والإقتصادي المتواصل. وسنكون سعداء للغاية بالعمل مع تونس على وضع استراتيجيات كي تٌؤتي التوصيات التي قدمتها لجنة الحريات الفردية والمساواة ثمارها.

تفضلوا سيادتكم بقبول وافر الإحترام

عزت شمس الدين
رئيس التحالف

CSBR CSBR Activities, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

CSBR Statement – International Coalition of Rights Groups across Muslim societies condemns whipping of two women in Malaysia

For immediate release:

International coalition of civil society groups across Muslim societies–from Algeria, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mali, Pakistan, Palestine, Turkey and beyond–condemn the whipping of two women for “attempted sexual relations” which was carried out on 3rd September 2018 by the Sharia High Court in Terengganu, Malaysia.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

● Share this statement on social media and with family, friends, colleagues & media contacts to create awareness about this issue: http://www.csbronline.org/?p=2224

● Contact Malaysian government representatives or embassies to protest against the public caning of the two women in Terengganu and the on-going discrimination and violence against Malaysia’s LGBT community.

● For more information and media inquiries, get in touch with Malaysian group Justice for Sisters, at: justiceforsisters@gmail.com

International Coalition of Rights Groups across Muslim societies
condemns whipping of two women in Malaysia

4 September 2018

The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR), and the undersigned organizations and individuals from across Muslim societies, condemn in no uncertain terms the public whipping of two women for “attempted sexual relations”, which was carried out on 3 September 2018 by the Terengganu Shariah High Court in Malaysia.

The two women, aged 22 and 32, pleaded guilty on 12 August 2018 to attempted “musahaqah” (sexual relations between women) under Section 30 of the Shariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) (Terengganu) Enactment 2001. They were sentenced to RM3,300 in fines and given the maximum sentence of six strokes of caning.

By taking no action to condemn this violence or prevent the whipping, the Malaysian Federal government is complicit in the violation of its citizens rights as guaranteed under its own Federal Constitution, national laws, as well as its obligations under international human rights law.

From the beginning, the women were denied a fair trial, as they had no representation at the time of their sentencing. It is abhorrent that the whipping was carried out at all, and that it was done in direct violation of Section 289 of the Criminal Procedures Code that prohibits corporal punishment for female prisoners of any age.^[1]Further, the women were subject to this humiliating and degrading punishment in public, in front of a crowd of approximately 100 witnesses.^[2]These violations of dignity threaten the constitutional rights and human rights of all Malaysians. The public whipping is a clear tactic by the court adding fuel to the escalating intimidation, harassment and violence against LGBT people in Malaysia over the last month.^[3]If state shariah courts are permitted to target one community in this way, then other individuals and groups in Malaysia are also at risk of the same kind of inhuman treatment.

We believe that state-imposed violence against women cannot ever be condoned, and that there can never be any justification for such inhuman and degrading punishments. Whipping is a clear form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, which is prohibited under international law in Article 7 of the ICCPR. Accordingly, “It is the duty of the State Party to afford everyone protection through legislative and other measures as may be necessary against the acts prohibited by Article 7, whether inflicted by people acting in their official capacity, outside their official capacity or in a private capacity”.^[4]Allowing the discriminatory treatment and punishment of these women by a sharia court is also a violation of Malaysia’s obligations under CEDAW.

Further, there is no consensus at all on the punishment of whipping under Muslim jurisprudence, and many Muslim countries across the world forbid whipping as a fundamental violation of human dignity. We believe that all forms of penalisation and criminalisation of consensual same-sex relationships are in contradiction to Islamic principles of justice and equality.

We amplify the call made by the Joint Action Group on Gender Equality (JAG) Malaysia that the government “conduct a comprehensive review of the Shariah Criminal Offences laws of this country, with a view to repeal such laws, thus enabling all Malaysians to be governed by a single Penal Code under federal administration”, and that the “Shariah Criminal Offences laws to be repealed on the grounds that they have no basis in Islamic legal theory and practice”.^[5]

We amplify the call made by Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the UPR Process (COMANGO), endorsed by 52 Malaysian NGOs, that the government “eliminate all forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the criminal justice system including the practice of whipping and caning”, and ratify and accede to the UN Convention Against Torture as part of this commitment.^[6]

We stand in unequivocal support of LGBT people in Malaysia, and their fundamental rights to live with dignity and free from persecution and violence.

We call on the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the Pakatan Harapan government to take immediate action to end the escalating persecution of LGBT communities in Malaysia, and to uphold their own manifesto “to make [Malaysia’s] human rights record respected by the world” (Promise 26), as well as the PM’s Independence Day speech that guaranteed “justice for all the people, irrespective of race or religion” and promised “Malaysia will remain strong and progressive whatever the differences, contradictions and suspicions that may arise.” ^[7]

SIGNED

1. Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (International)
2. Antalya Women’s Counselling and Solidarity Association (Turkey)
3. Adana Women’s Solidarity Center and Shelter Foundation-AKDAM (Turkey)
4. Association Femmes Leadership et Développement Durable-AFELDD (Mali)
5. Association of Women Lawyers (Malaysia)
6. Association of Women for Action and Research (Singapore)
7. Bebaak Collective (India)
8. Beyond the Hijab (Singapore)
9. Bishkek Feminist Initiative (Kyrgyzstan)
10. Canadian Council of Muslim Women (Canada)
11. Cinsel Şiddetle Mücadele Dernegi-Association for Struggle against Sexual Violence (Turkey)
12. ESITIZ-Equality Watch Women’s Group (Turkey)
13. Erzincan Katre Women’s Initiative (Turkey)
14. Fethiye Women’s Solidarity Association (Turkey)
15. Flying Broom Foundation (Turkey)
16. Forum for Dignity Initiatives-FDI (Pakistan)
17. GAYa Nusantara Foundation (Indonesia)
18. Günebakan Women’s Association (Turkey)
19. Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (India)
20. Indonesian Women′s Association for Justice-APIK (Indonesia)
21. International Women’s Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific (International)
22. Istanbul LGBTI Solidarity Association (Turkey)
23. KADAV-Women’s Soldarity Foundation (Turkey)
24. KAOS-GL (Turkey)
25. Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative-’Feminita’ (Kazakhstan)
26. Kelab Warisan Wibawa-Wibawa Women (Malaysia)
27. Kirmizi Biber Association (Turkey)
28. Malaysian Atheists and Secular Humanists (Malaysia)
29. Maruf Foundation (Netherlands)
30. Mawjoudin – We exist (Tunisia)
31. Muntada—The Arab forum on Sexuality, Health and Education (Palestine)
32. Muslims for Progressive Values (International)
33. Oboyob (Bangladesh)
34. PELANGI Campaign (Malaysia)
35. Penawar Support Group (Singapore)
36. Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor-EMPOWER (Malaysia)
37. Projek Dialog (Malaysia)
38. Rural Women’s Association-Alga (Kyrgyzstan)
39. Sayoni (Singapore)
40. Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Center (Pakistan)
41. The Healing Circle SG (Singapore)
42. Transmen of Malaysia (Malaysia)
43. VISION (Pakistan)
44. Women Against Violence (Palestine)
45. Women for Women’s Human Rights-New Ways (Turkey)
46. Women Living Under Muslim Laws (International)
47. Women’s Aid Organisation (Malaysia)
48. Women’s Initiative for Citizenship and Universal Rights (Algeria/France)
49. Women’s Party (Turkey)
50. Anissa Helie, Professor (Algeria/US)
51. Cynthia El Khoury, independent feminist (Lebanon)
52. Donna Swita, Solidaritas Perempuan (Indonesia)
53. Evelyne Accad, Professeur Emerite (Lebanon/US)
54. Hameeda Hossain, Human Rights activist (Bangladesh)
55. Hina Noureen, President-Baidarie (Pakistan)
56. Khawar Mumtaz, Women’s Rights Advocate (Pakistan)
57. Khushi Kabir, Coordinator-Nijera Kori (Bangladesh)
58. Marieme Helie Lucas, Secularism Is A Women’s Issue (Algeria/France)
59. Meerim Ilyas, Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights (Kyrgyzstan/US)
60. Pragna Patel, Director-Southall Black Sisters (India/UK)
61. Qutub Jahan, United Religions Initiative (India/US)
62. Sabina Faiz Rashid, Dean-BRAC University School of Public Health (Bangladesh)
63. Sabra Zahid, Attorney at Law (Sri Lanka)
64. Samia Allalou, Mediterranean Women’s Fund (Algeria/France)
65. Sanjeeb Drong, General Secretary-Bangladesh Adivasi Forum (Bangladesh)
66. Sara Hossain, Hon. Executive Director-Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (Bangladesh)
67. Shaheen Anan, Executive Director-Manusher Jonno Foundation (Bangladesh)
68. Shamsul Huda, Executive Director-Association for Land Reform and Development (Bangladesh)
69. Sheena Baharuddin, Performance Artist (Malaysia)
70. Sheepa Hafiza, Executive Director-Ain o Salish Kendra (Bangladesh)
71. Suhraiya Jivraj, Senior Lecturer in Law-University of Kent (UK)
72. Sultana Kamal, Founding President-Manobadhikar Sanskrity Foundation (Bangladesh)
73. Yasmin Rehman, Women’s Rights Activist (Pakistan/UK)
74. Zakir Hossain, Chief Executive-Nagorik Uddyog (Bangladesh)

^[1]https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/09/03/terengganu-syariah-court-acted-against-the-law-caning-can-only-be-carried-out-against-prisoners/

^[2]https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/09/03/100-attend-public-caning-of-couple-in-terengganu-lesbian-sex-case/

^[3]https://justiceforsisters.wordpress.com/2018/09/02/does-new-malaysia-mean-all-of-us-without-exception/; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/22/malaysia-accused-of-state-sponsored-homophobia-after-lgbt-crackdown

^[4] HRC, General Comment No. 20, 1992, §2

^[5]https://www.malaymail.com/s/1668605/with-lesbians-sentenced-to-whipping-womens-groups-want-shariah-criminal-law#.W4yOIWkDkO8.twitter

^[6]https://uprmalaysia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/UPR-STAKEHOLDER-REPORT-ON-MALAYSIA_Final.doc1_.pdf

^[7]https://justiceforsisters.wordpress.com/2018/09/02/does-new-malaysia-mean-all-of-us-without-exception/

CSBR CSBR Activities, Headline, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Resources & Tools

CSBR hosts Project CARE: A regional program on holistic well-being & the sustainability of queer, trans and intersex activism in Asia

In February 2018, CSBR launched Project CARE: Continuous and Responsive Empowerment through well-being initiatives for LGBTI human rights defenders in SSEA–a regional program in partnership with Asia Pacific Trans Network (APTN), ASEAN SOGI Caucus (ASC), APCOM, and ILGA Asia–which seeks to address the sustainability of LGBTIQ organizing through a keen attention to the holistic well-being of LGBTIQ activists, organizers and human rights defenders.

In Phase I of the program, our activities included the following:

February 2018: CSBR & ILGA Asia collaborating to integrate a focus on well-being into the Asia Intersex Forum, which brought together 15 intersex advocates from across India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Caption: Asia Intersex Forum, Bangkok, February 2018 (Credit: ILGA Asia)

Supported by Astrea and ILGA Asia, the forum resulted in the launch of Intersex Asia–the first network led by & for intersex activists in the region. To find out more about Intersex Asia, see their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IntersexAsia/.

March 2018: CSBR published a contextual summary on Project CARE, which includes a look at evolving international & regional mechanisms to protect human rights defenders, as well as links to pertinent resources on well-being for LGBTIQ communities and WHRDs on digital security, physical security, emergency response grants, toolkits on well-being for feminist activists, and other websites and manuals. Download it here: CSBR-Resource_Building a contextual approach to Holistic Well-Being for LGBTIQ HRDs in SSEA

April 2018: ASEAN SOGI Caucus held a regional well-being & wellness workshop for 14 LGBT human rights defenders from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Throughout 5 days, activists learned varied approaches to well-being, including from the perspective of psychology as well as body & energy practices from CAPACITAR. Since the workshop, participants have been able to cascade their knowledge and introduce conversations & work on well-being in their home contexts

May 2018: CSBR & ILGA Asia collaborating to integrate a focus on well-being into a training on human rights mechanisms for East Asian HRDs, bringing together 21 activists from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. For many activists this was the first introduction to the topic as it applies to activism. Together we were able to map common emotional, mental and physical impacts of our work on HRDs, and created space to take small steps as individuals to shift our habits to prevent or mitigate these impacts.
Caption: Participants engaged in mapping out personal well-being for activists (Credit: CSBR)

June 2018: CSBR & Qbukatabu collaborating on research to support LBTQ movement building in Indonesia. This intervention focused primarily on in-depth interviews and research with key allies from across the women’s movement & faith-based movements in Indonesia on how to strengthen allyship and build support to address the stressors, challenges and need of LBTQ activists in Indonesia.

June 2018: APCOM released an online survey about LGBTIQ HRDs’ experiences around mental health and well-being in the context of their activism, collecting inputs from activists across the region. One of the primary findings was a consensus that there are not enough spaces or opportunities for activists to discuss and unpack mental health issues, nor is there much awareness or knowledge on friendly and accessible mental health resources for LGBTIQ communities in the region

July 2018: CSBR collaborating with APTN & PLUHO (People Like Us Hang Out) Malaysia on a two-day workshop on holistic well-being for LBQ women, trans and intersex activists & community members in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Caption: Participants engaged in a visioning exercise on the state of well-being for our communities (Credit: CSBR)

Over the two days, we brought together 18 people with the aims of creating a reflexive space to:
Share and explore personal lived experiences & sources of support as LBQTI organizers and community members.

Identify contextual stressors & challenges that affect our well-being, particularly as LBTQI organizers and community members.

Unpack and explore theory and practice around well-being, self-care & integrated security for activists, as a means of sustaining activism and organizing.

Map out existing tools and resources, as well as gaps in what’s available for LBQTI communities.

Learn a mix of techniques from psychology, energy healing, and somatic practices to support & strengthen self-reflexivity and resilience.

CSBR’s methodology has drawn primarily from the work of:

The Institute for Women’s Empowerment (IWE), and their extensive work on Well-being, Self-Care and Integrated Security (WeSIS) and their framework on Making Feminist Leadership Transformative and Sustainable.

The CAPACITAR network, and thepopular education toolkits on community healing practices from around the world.

Interdisciplinary approaches to psychotherapy, including exercises that engage participants in understanding different frameworks & approaches to mental-health, self-reflexivity, resilience and holistic well-being drawing from cognitive behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, arts-based therapy and more.

Responses to the program so far have affirmed that Project CARE is providing support to strengthen activists’ resilience, by focusing on elements of our personal lived experiences, our activism, and the links to our professional and community organizing that are often overlooked.

Stay tuned for updates from Project CARE in the near future!

For more information, email us at: coordinator@csbronline.org.

CSBR CSBR Activities, Headline, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Resources & Tools, Videos

Digital Storytelling: Stories of Faith & Sexuality [Videos]

CSBR hosted the first national digital storytelling workshop in Indonesia, on the theme of “Faith & Sexuality”, in partnership with the Youth Interfaith Forum on Sexuality (YIFoS), Kampung Halaman, and GAYa NUSANTARA.

The workshop brought together 15 participants representing grassroots organizations and collectives working on issues ranging from women’s rights, political participation, and religious pluralism, to digital rights, sex worker rights, sexual and gender diversity, and youth empowerment. Over the five days we explored themes of faith & sexuality, to create narratives that explore lived realities and perspectives on questions of faith, gender, sexuality, diversity, pluralism, secularism and human rights.

Method

Through the workshop, each participant learned the art of story-telling through training delivered by Kampung Halaman, as well as the technical skills of open-source video, audio & photo editing software. The workshop was conducted in Bahasa Indonesia to ensure the most accessible, supportive space for learning and self expression amongst participants. At the beginning of the workshop, some participants were completely unfamiliar with computers before the workshop, others had mid-range skills–yet in the course of 5 days everyone produced a short film about a personal struggle and screened it to the group.

It was healing, empowering, and cathartic process for all. The discussions and stories translated into tangible shifts in people’s perpectives, including greater attention to ending violence against women, support for LGBT communities, inter-faith solidarity around people’s struggles for acceptance.

Follow Up

Together we had wanted to create stories to amplify narratives & perspectives in support of freedom of expression, freedom of religion, diversity, pluralism and human rights. We reached out six months after the workshop to find out how participants had been able to use their videos as tools for community engagement. Within one month, some participants had shown the videos to their families to open up conversations on their identities. Others had shown it to community members to encourage dialogue on sensitive topics. One participant was even able to raise funds to hold a new digital storytelling workshop for women survivors of violence in rural areas. Seven participants also agreed to share their stories with us as a public resource, which you can watch below!

The pilot project of Stories of Faith & Sexuality was made possible through a grant from the Love Fund.

________________

Stories of Faith & Sexuality

Aku Amek

Mujahidah!

Like the Earth

Becoming Lulu

Doa Ibu | Mother’s Prayer

Knowledge = Freedom

CSBR CSBR Activities, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

Affirming UN Agencies Positions on Sex Work

At the start of CSW 62, CSBR joined over 230 organizations from across the world to call on the UNSG to reaffirm support for UN Agencies’ long-standing position on sex work, which has been developed with the meaningful engagement of sex workers, as well as representatives of women’s rights and human rights organizations.

13 March 2018

H.E. Antonio Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations

c.c.
H.E. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
Executive Director, UN Women

Ana Maria Menéndez
Senior Advisor on Policy

RE: UN Position on Sex Work

Dear Y.E. Guterres,

At the beginning of the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women we are writing to express our concern about discussions within your office to revisit the UN’s and in particular, UN Women’s, position on sex work.

We are individuals and organizations that work to advance the full realization of women’s and girls’ human rights and achieve gender equality across the world. Sex workers’ rights are human rights and all
women and girls, including sex workers, have the right to work under conditions of dignity and safety, without the fear of criminalization or violence.

UN agencies already have a clear position on sex work that has been developed with the meaningful engagement of sex workers, as well as representatives of women’s rights and human rights organizations. This is the case, for instance, for the UN Joint Programme on AIDS guidance on HIV and sex work, and the policy recommendations of the Global Commission on HIV & the Law, managed by UNDP. The results are policies that place the human rights of sex workers at the center, respect the agency and self-determination of all sex workers, recognize that sex workers have the same rights as other workers in relation to rights at work, social protection and social dialogue as outlined in ILO’s Decent Work Agenda, respect the agency and self-determination of all sex workers, and recommend decriminalization of sex work and related acts. It is the position that is supported by the best available evidence about what is effective in empowering sex workers, eliminating discrimination and reducing violence against them.

Given the mandate of the United Nations to promote equality and human rights for all, it is essential that the UN and UN Women continue to take such a rights-affirming approach to sex work. There cannot be a so-called ‘neutral’ position on the human rights of sex workers; that would actually undermine sex workers’ human rights and run counter to the principles of the UN Charter.

We look forward to hearing a clear statement from your office reaffirming support for the UN Agencies’ long-standing position on sex work, and working with you to further advance the human rights of all
people, including sex workers.

See the full list of signatories here: SG Letter on Sex Work

CSBR CSBR Activities, News from Member Organizations, ODOS, Videos

Forum for Dignity Initiatives (FDI) Pakistan joins CSBR!

CSBR is excited to welcome our newest member, Forum for Dignity Initiatives (FDI), from Pakistan!

FDI’s mission is to improve the human rights situation of invisible and marginalized sexual and gender minority groups, specifically transgender people, sex workers, and girls and young women. FDI serves as a facilitator to integrate these identified marginalized groups into the mainstream society with economic empowerment and ensure their socio-cultural inclusion at all levels with equality, equity and dignity.

As part of the 2017 One Day One Struggle campaign, FDI released a video documenting their views and approaches to solidarity, support and advocacy work with trans women in Pakistan:

At the national level, FDI has been active on issues of law reform, legal gender recognition, human rights education, the use of arts & culture as tools for awareness raising, policy dialogues, and much more. FDI is also involved in the global Right Here, Right Now partnership, working on youth and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Find out more about FDI through their website: https://www.fdipakistan.org/

CSBR CSBR Activities, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

A petition to United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

CSBR joined ARROW and over 194 organisations to send a petition to the UNESCAP calling on governments to fulfil their committments to the ICPD as key to achiving the SDGs in Asia Pacific.

Text of the petition below, and PDF with full list of signatories here: Fulfilling commitments to ICPD – a key to achieving SGDs in the Asia Pacific

* * * *

January 2018

Fulfilling commitments to ICPD – a key to achieving SGDs in the Asia Pacific

We, the undersigned,[i] strongly feel that the principles and objectives of the ICPD (Cairo International Conference on Population & Development, 1994) and outcomes of sixth Asian and Pacific Population Conference (APPC)[ii] are critical to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Asia-Pacific region. The ICPD reaffirmed the importance of gender equality, equity and empowerment,sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as cornerstones to a sustainable development. [iii]

ICPD beyond 2014iv and its assessment in 2017 reiterate the continued need to fulfil the agenda especially in the Asia- Pacific Region where over 132 million women aged 15-49 years in the region still do not have adequate access to modern contraceptive methods [v] and 9.8 million young women have an unmet need for contraception [vi]. Adolescent birth rates continue to be a challenge in Oceania (62%), South Asia Region (46%) and South-East Asia Region (44%). Unsafe abortion continues to be a major factor in maternal deaths in the region; mortality due to unsafe abortion for South East Asia is estimated as 14% of all maternal deaths, and 13% for South Asia. About 2.3 million women
in the region are hospitalised annually for treatment of complications from unsafe abortion. Also, cancers of the sexual and reproductive system are a major threat for women[vii] as prevention, screening, treatment and palliative care are not implemented adequately. The ICPD beyond 2014 [viii] report also highlighted that lack of information concerning sexual and reproductive health and limited access to related services are contributing to unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions in some parts of the region.

The incidence of child marriage as well as early and forced marriage continues to persist in the region. South Asia has the highest number of child marriages because of countries such as Bangladesh (66%),
India (47%) and Nepal (41%) having high numbers of women between the ages of 20-24 years, who were married before the age of 18 years.ix There is a high out-of- pocket expenditure, unregulated privatisation of health, including unaffordable health insurance resulting in denial of health services specially to the most marginalised groups including women and young people. The region is also known for its inefficient and under-resourced (financial, human and infrastructure) health systems at
national and subnational levels that do not prioritise acceptable, available, accessible and quality SRHR.

These grim realities are a result of the lack of political commitment for gender equality, especially when it comes to women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), largely owing to the existing structural barriers including the systemic nature of patriarchy. This has led to legal frameworks in many countries that are limiting and do not ensure SRHR. In many countries plural legal systems also discriminate the access to existing SRHR provisions and further marginalise women and girls. The lack of cohesive policies across national and sub-national levels creates barriers in implementing international and regional commitments.

Women’s human rights in the region is further threatened by the rise of extremists and fundamentalists. This is in addition to already existing religious and cultural practices that are used to perpetuate harmful traditional practices such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Right to health and SRHR policies and interventions continue to have marginalised groups [x] fall through the cracks. Their marginalisation manifests through the lack of participation, decision-making, access to services including information and communication that lead to the denial of rights.

The Call

Recalling the unanimous commitments of the governments in the Asia- Pacific region to the full implementation, backed by adequate budget allocation and programme, of the ICPD PoA and the outcomes of Asian and Pacific Population conference (APPC), Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) and Sustainable Development Goals,

Realising that the development agenda of SDGs and beyond, of leaving no one behind, remains unfulfilled until the fulfilment of SRHR for all the marginalised groups including women and girls,

Acknowledging the imperativeness of UN General Assembly resolution 65/243 on the follow-up to the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014xi, adopted in December 2010 in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the region in their entirety,

Recognising the crucial role of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), as the regional development arm of United Nation for the Asia-Pacific Region, in
reaffirming the commitments of the Asia- Pacific UN members states and decision makers towards the implementation of ICPD PoA,

We call on the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to:

Lead and facilitate a robust process to create and implement a regional monitoring framework to review progress towards and persisting gaps in the implementation of ICPD beyond 2015 in the
Asia pacific region. The review should raise issues of human rights including sexual and reproductive health and rights through an in-depth technical analysis in the region and make concrete recommendations to the member states in order to fulfil their obligations to uphold human rights including SRHR of all citizens.
UNESCAP Secretariat should facilitate the review process by proposing a timeline for the review process that is practical and enables adequate collection and reporting on data and other relevant information as well as for national consultative
forums.
Facilitate a process to ensure that the members states implement, monitor and report on SRHR holistically within the mechanisms of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which in this region are the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) and the Asia-Pacific Population Conferences (APPC)
Work with champions, including those from rights-based civil society groups, including community and progressive media organisations that can ensure the advancement of the ICPD
agenda in a holistic manner.
Urge the member states to utilise constitutional and other legislative provisions to provide opportunities for women’s participation on all decision-making structures at all levels to realise and fulfil women’s human rights.
Provide technical support to the members states in collaboration with other UN entities such as UNFPA to ensure adequate financial, human and infrastructural resources towards implementing health policies, which ensures highest attainable standard of physical and mental health for all
including their SRHR.
In order to achieve the above, regulation of the private health sector to provide acceptable, affordable, accessible, quality health services and ensure dignity and respect, privacy and
confidentiality.
Ensure that marginalised groups and their access to health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights is at the centre of UNESCAP facilitated dialogues ad processes so that No One
is Left Behind.

________

[i] Civil Society Organisations, thought leaders and human rights defenders and activists from the Asia and the Pacific and Globally

[ii] http://www.unfpa.org/events/sixth-asian-and-pacific-population-conference

[iii] Principles 1, 4 and 8 within the Programme of Action of the ICPD

[iv] Resolution 65/243 adopted by the General Assembly in December 2010

[v] Facts and trends in sexual and reproductive health in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCAP, November 2013. http://www.unescapsdd.org/files/documents/SPPS-Factsheet-SRH-v2.pdf

[vi] Darroch JE et al., Adding it Up: Costs and Benefits of Meeting the Contraceptive Needs of Adolescents, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2016.

[vii] http://arrow.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ICPD-20-Asia-Pacific_Monitoring-Report_2013.pdf

[viii] http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/SDD_PUB_ICPD-report-e_0.pdf

[ix] Laoiza, Edilberto, and Sylvia Wong. Marrying too Young: End Child Marriage. New York: United Nations Population Fund, 2012. Accessed September 13, 2016. https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/MarryingTooYoung.pdf.

[x] Including young people, poor and rural women, female migrants, refugees and internally displaced, LGBTIQ, women with disabilities, indigenous women, religious and ethnic minorities and elderly women

[xi] http://www.unfpa.org/publications/international-conference-population-and-development-programme-action

CSBR Headline, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Resources & Tools

Sexual Politics in Muslim Societies: Studies from Palestine, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia

“Why have Muslim majority states become increasingly conservative over time, acting to reverse many hard won advances on women’s rights and those concerning gender diverse populations? How has this happened despite vigorous efforts by activists, civil society organizations and social movements in general? What are the factors that have contributed to state-sanctioned surveillance and policing of sexual morality? Is this rightward shift the result of a backlash to the success of gender and sexual rights activism? In what ways have these moves been resisted or accommodated?”

CSBR is pleased to announce the publication of Sexual Politics in Muslim Societies (2017), an updated edited volume of original research carried out by CSBR members in Palestine, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia. From diverse vantage points, this volume explores complex questions on the factors that have contributed to increasing conservatism and fundamentalism against women’s rights and LGBT rights–including state-sanctioned surveillance and the policing of sexual morality–across diverse Muslim societies during the early 2000s.

In the first study on Palestine, Femicide and Racism, Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian and Suhad Daher-Nashif situate their fine-grained analysis of the “local” firmly within the broader context of Israeli settler colonialism, and the effects of the “War on Terror” and “Islamophobia”. The authors seek to analyze the intersection of formal and informal legal systems in the understanding of femicide or the murder of Palestinian women by family members. Conventionally such murders are framed as a purely “cultural” issue, the outcome of local patriarchal attitudes toward women and morality. The authors eschew this narrow framing, arguing instead that localized manifestations of patriarchal and masculine logics are empowered by processes of exclusion at both local and global levels.

In An Analysis of the ‘Conservative Democracy’ of the Justice and Development Party (JDP)–Pinar Ilkkaracan skillfully unpacks the rhetorical strategies used by the incumbent JDP to strategically deploy a secular discourse to restrict and police political and social/sexual dissent in Turkey. The chapter highlights the rise of crackdowns on women’s rights and LGBT organizations, and the strength and power of feminist and queer organizing.

In Moral Policing in Malaysia, Julian C.H. Lee and tan beng hui present a sophisticated historical and sociological account of the rise of state sanctioned moral policing, situated within multiple and intersecting histories. Their analysis sheds light the state’s determination to create an “ideal” Muslim citizen, and the impacts of Islamization on the political system, the courts, and civil society organizing in Malaysia.

In the final study, Women’s Sexuality and the debates on the Anti-Pornography Bill, Andy Yentriyani & Neng Dara Affiah present a compelling analysis of the rhetorical stakes in debates around a controversial Anti-Pornography bill that, in a modified form, was passed into Indonesian law in 2008. The authors contextualizes these debates in relation to Indonesia’s history of militarised authoritarianism, shifting state representations of the ideal Indonesian woman and popular resistance to the perceived imposition of a monolithic Indonesian Muslim identity—smuggled in through a law purportedly for the protection of morality.

As a collective research program amongst CSBR members, the methodology was designed to take into account the specific historical, political and sociological complexities of each national context. The comparative aspect of the project was critical in this respect. Together, with the introduction Sexuality as Difference? by Dina M. Siddiqi, this volume illuminates the unstable terrain and shifting constraints that sexual and bodily rights activists in Muslim societies navigate everyday.

The analysis “refuses easy oppositions and fixed definitions of Islam, culture or rights. It calls for us to be open to improbable alliances and strategies. These researchers are critically aware that there are no ‘pure’ spaces of indigeneity or of rights, that meaning is derived from the political and discursive framing of problems. Traversing as they do geographically diverse and historically distinct contexts, they remind us of the necessity to be vigilant of the analytical and conceptual lens we bring to bear on our scholarship and activism.”

Download the full publication: Sexual Politics in Muslim Societies (2017)

* * * * *

CSBR would like to thank everyone who contributed to this collective project over the years. Especially Pinar Ilkkaracan, who initiated, coordinated and led the four-year research program on which this volume is based, providing core support and guidance to the research teams. This volume would not have been possible without the energy, commitment and dedication of each of the country partners and their vantage points embedded within national women’s rights, human rights and sexual rights movements. Credit is due to l’Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates (ATFD), Helem, KOMNAS Perempuan, Mada Al-Carmel, Sisters in Islam (SIS), and Women for Women’s Human Rights—New Ways (WWHR). While logistical reasons prevented us from including the Tunisia and Lebanon studies in this volume, the work by those teams was integral to informing the analysis and synthesis of the overall project.

This volume is dedicated to Zaitun ‘Toni’ Kasim, whose political vision and unwavering commitment to human rights has guided so many in our network. Toni was an integral part of this project from its inception, and she continues to inspire us in our movements for rights and justice.

CSBR CSBR Activities, Headline, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

LBTQ Caucus Statement – 8 December 2017 – Phnom Penh

CSBR had the pleasure of joining ASEAN SOGIE CAUCUS, Sayoni, UN Women Asia Pacific & Justice for Sisters to organize and facilitate a 2-day forum on lesbian, bisexual and queer women’s issues from 4-5 December 2017, ahead of the ILGA-Asia 2017 conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Over the two days, 40 or so participants joined in the discussions, personal story sharing, queer movement history mappings, and the distillation of key issues and concerns for lesbian, bisexual, trans women, trans men and queer (LBTQ) persons. A diverse group of LBTQ rights activists were represented from across Asia, including from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Nepal, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The LBTQ Caucus was a first of its kind at the ILGA Asia conference, and took place due to the demands of LBQ activists to address the consistent marginalization of LBQ women’s visibility and leadership within the wider movements for LGBTIQ+ human rights.

The caucus resulted in a collaborative statement which highlights core concerns that emerged and eleven recommendations moving forward towards strengthening movements for LBTQ rights across the region.

Read the statement below and download the PDF here: LBTQ Caucus Statement 2017-Phnom Penh

__________________________________________________________________

Statement of the LBTQ CAUCUS*

8 December 2017 | Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Lesbian, bisexual, trans women, trans men, and queer persons (LBTQ) exist in all of human diversity. Our issues and concerns cut across diverse groups and communities, including other marginalized groups such as people with disabilities, refugees, migrant workers, and indigenous peoples.

LBTQ persons experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence in multiple spaces based on our assigned, actual, or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). We face arbitrary persecution, socio-economic marginalization, and violation of our self-determination, sexual autonomy, and bodily integrity because of our SOGIESC. Our experiences are often invisible, silenced, and unaddressed.

Gender based violence

The multiple and intersecting layers of discrimination and violence that LBTQ persons experience are underpinned and informed by patriarchal socio-cultural, religious and familial values and structures that expect or impose heteronormative,[1] cisnormative,[2] and socially prescribed behaviors and relationships. Failure to adhere to these norms results in stigma, social exclusion, and increased vulnerability to discrimination, violence, and other forms of punishment.

Families are often sites of violence and discrimination against LBTQ persons.[3] Families can act as powerful enforcers of deeply held patriarchal values that demand of women and persons assigned female at birth to accept a subordinate place in social and familial hierarchies, and to uphold family and community interests. This becomes an integral part of the continuum of violence and discrimination that is perpetuated against LBTQ persons in public institutions and society at large.

Domestic violence and intimate partner violence within LBTQ communities remain unaddressed, due in part to a lack of data, tools, and understanding of how to respond to these forms of violence. While some community support mechanisms exist, their scale and reach remain limited. Moreover, people who experience domestic and intimate partner violence often face isolation, and are pressured to keep silent on these issues by the society at large as well as their own communities.

Criminalization

States institutionalize discrimination and violence against LBTQ persons through laws, policies, and practices, arbitrarily marking us as criminals or deviants. Across national contexts, our consensual sexual relations are criminalized, with several countries even imposing the death penalty. Increasingly, laws are also being used to criminalize and restrict our freedom of assembly, association, and expression.

Even when LBTQ persons are not criminalized, we are at heightened risk of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrest, or trumped-up charges by state actors with impunity. In plural legal systems, the multiple layers of anti-LBTQ norms and regulations from quasi-state and non-state legal institutions and actors add to the oppression that LBTQ persons experience and create complications in our efforts to access justice. Advocacy often focuses on how discriminatory laws and policies target gay men, which speaks of the need to expand recognition and understanding of the cascading effects of criminalization on lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons.

Physical, sexual, and mental health

The discrimination and violence that LBTQ persons experience impacts adversely on our physical, sexual, and mental health. Depression, substance abuse, and self-harming behaviors, even suicide, are common among LBTQ people. The lack of family and social support, and the lack of accessible health services, aggravate the effects of these problems. Medical health professionals generally lack consciousness about the health issues of LBTQ persons or are not trained to deal with us. In general, society and even LGBTIQ+ movements have failed to acknowledge the serious health dimensions of the discrimination and violence that LBTQ people experience. This includes the physical and psychological harms caused by medically unnecessary and invasive surgery on intersex people. Sexual and reproductive health rights of LBTQ peoples are still not seen as a priority concern within existing SOGIESC advocacy.

Feminist organizing and movement building

LBTQ persons continue to mobilize resistance to the discrimination and violence we face, and to protect and promote our rights across Asia. The movement for LBTQ rights is growing, and it also faces many challenges. Externally, our organizing is taking place amidst rising political authoritarianism and religious fundamentalisms, the expansion of neoliberal trade policies that increase disparities in social welfare and the feminization of poverty, as well as forced migration and displacement due to conflicts and climate change. Feminist movement building is all the more urgent in this context.

Within the broader movement for the recognition, protection, and promotion of the rights of all persons of diverse SOGIESC, the dominance of cisgender gay male leadership, discourse, and practices shapes the movement’s international and national advocacy priorities, and poses a challenge to the struggle of LBTQ persons to be visible, recognized, and respected. The use of English as a medium in practically all areas of regional and international advocacy, including communication materials, has further marginalized LBTQ people who do not speak the language.

Movement building has also been affected by funding models, results-oriented criteria, and frameworks of donor organizations that do not reflect the lived realities of LBTQ women, thereby reinforcing our marginalization. The added layer of global north organizations and networks acting as intermediaries and directing regional priorities and the flow of financial resources limits the genuine growth of grassroots and global south led initiatives, and maintains existing disparities. Global resource reviews from 2013-2015 showed that funding for lesbians makes up 3-5% and for bisexuals less than 1% of the total funding for LGBTIQ+ organizations outside the United States.[4] There is a critical need to review existing donor frameworks and to address the significant funding gap for global south LBTQ organizing.

LBTQ persons continue to experience resistance to integrating our concerns within other movements. Our concerns are still perceived as “too political” or “too controversial”, potentially jeopardizing the progress of the feminist, development and human rights agenda.

LBTQ human rights defenders

Presently LBTQ human rights defenders face increased threats, intimidation, censorship and persecution within a context of rising state crackdowns on human rights organizing across the region. In some contexts, there is no protection at all for human rights defenders. This has created fertile ground for collusion between state and non-state actors to proceed with impunity in targeting LGBTIQ+ people and communities. While some data exists,[5] there remains a clear gap in our understandings of the nature and expanse of threats specifically against LBTQ human rights defenders.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Guiding Principles. In the adoption of measures and interventions to eliminate discrimination and violence against LBTQ and to address our needs and concerns, state and non-state actors should uphold the right to self-determination, autonomy and bodily integrity of LBTQ persons. Participation of LBTQ persons and communities in the revision or creation of legislation and programs must be a priority. Our human rights must be respected, protected, and promoted at all times.

Decriminalization. States should work toward repealing all laws criminalizing LBTQ persons based on assigned, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or consensual sexual acts. This includes all laws criminalizing and restricting freedom of assembly, association, and expression of LGBT groups and the work of human rights defenders.

Legal protection from gender-based violence, discrimination and mechanisms for redress. States should pass comprehensive anti-discrimination and other appropriate laws that explicitly include protections for all forms of discrimination and violence on the basis of SOGIESC. Domestic violence laws should cover diverse forms of families, relationships, and violence. Governments should also explore alternative redress and support mechanisms beyond criminalization, particularly at the municipal levels. Community-driven prevention and support mechanisms, including targeted social services for LBTQ people, should be budgeted for, established and made accessible.

Legal gender recognition. Governments and communities should work toward the legal recognition and affirmation of trans people’s gender identity, based on self-determination and bodily autonomy, without mandating medical interventions.

Review international human rights norms and standards. The sex and gender binary of male and female and the heteronormative framework of many international human rights standards need to be reviewed, including in CEDAW documents.

Documentation and research. Documentation and research on varied forms of discrimination, lived experiences and needs of LBTQ persons and human rights defenders is imperative, using feminist and participatory framework and methodology. Research should be action-oriented, and produce disaggregated data based on gender identity and intersecting groupings.

Addressing physical, sexual, and mental health issues. LBTQ people’s experiences of physical, sexual, and mental health issues must be heard and define any interventions to be made. Health care and support service professionals need to be provided appropriate training in order to enact sensitive and gender-responsive approaches to LBTQ persons’ health needs, without necessarily medicalizing or pathologizing our concerns. Comprehensive and accessible healthcare information and services for LBTQ people, including friendly and affirming sexual reproductive health services and counseling, must be established and integrated in national healthcare systems.

Education. Gender, SOGIESC, and comprehensive sexual health and rights education should be introduced and integrated in school curricula.

Political participation. Affirmative measures designed to increase the political participation of LBTQ persons in community, government and international processes and institutions, including measures designed to ensure that the LBTQ people are represented in elective positions, must be adopted.

Movement building. Movement building is critical in empowering LBTQ people and enhancing our capacity to take action to address the discrimination and violence we experience and to transform social attitudes towards us. Grassroots LBTQ community-led initiatives must be supported as the foundation of building effective and sustainable movements for the protection and promotion of our human rights. Responsive budgeting and financial commitments should be made to ensure meaningful participation and language justice for diverse LBTQ persons, including on the basis of disability and language accessibility.

Funding, Donor and Program priorities. Consistent with the principles of participation and self-determination, donors, women’s rights, human rights, development, and LGBTIQ+ organizations must ensure that decisions on funding LBTQ groups and projects targeting LBTQ issues are made after consultations with the affected LBTQ groups or communities. Projects must be implemented in partnership with us, with a practical and applied commitment to accountability, transparency, and LBTQ led organizing.

* This statement emerged from a 2-day forum focusing on lesbian, bisexual and queer women’s needs, organized by ASEAN SOGIE Caucus (ASC), Sayoni, UN Women Asia Pacific, Justice for Sisters & the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) and supported by OutRight Action International and ILGA Asia. For the caucus, women is based on self-determination, and includes intersex, transgender, cisgender and all who identify as women. The LBTQ Caucus was held from 4-5 December 2017, in advance of the ILGA-Asia regional conference which ran from 6-8 December 2017 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Notes

[1] Heteronormativity refers to the assumption that all persons are heterosexual; practices and norms of heterosexual persons form the dominant narrative.

[2] Cisnormativity refers to the assumption that all persons are cisgender and norms of cisgender persons apply. Cisgender persons refer to persons whose sex and gender ‘match’ or persons whose lived experiences match the assigned identities at birth.

[3] Violence: Through the Lens of Lesbians, Bisexual Women and Trans People in Asia (2014); Negative Family Treatment of Sexual Minority Women and Transmen in Vietnam: Latent Classes and Their Predictors (2015); Research Report on Opinions, Attitudes and Behavior toward the LGBT Population in Cambodia (2015); Cambodians’ Attitudes Toward LGBT Surveyed (2015); Hitting Close to Home: Homophobia and Transphobia In Asia = Family Violence (2016).

[4] Global Resource Report: Government and Philanthropic Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Communities (2014) ; LGBT Grantmaking by US Foundations (2015)

[5] Violence: Through the Lens of Lesbians, Bisexual Women and Trans People in Asia (2014)

CSBR CSBR Activities, Headline, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, ODOS

Students hit the road to fight street harassment in Kuala Lumpur – in pictures

On a global day of action for sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies, Malaysian students stood against harassment in public spaces.

The organising team from Sisters in Islam sported shirts reading “Muslim Women Speak.” Credit: CSBR.

“Cats are cute, catcalls are not”; “Don’t keep calm and stop sexual harassment”; “My name is not baby.” These were some of the slogans on signs floating above a group of about 40 people gathered at Petaling Jaya city council square, in greater Kuala Lumpur last month.

The university students and activists chose to highlight fights against street harassment in the Malaysian capital as part of the annual ‘One Day One Struggle’ campaign, on 9 November, organised by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies.

Armed with audio samples of common verbal insults and catcalls, they invited passersby to listen, share their own experiences, and show support for the anti-harassment campaign.

“Cats are cute, catcalls are not”

One of the organisers Andi Suraidah said the action was inspired by “rising awareness as a result of #MeToo campaign globally.” She said: “The time could not have been better to ride on the campaign by bringing it to the local level.”

“As a woman, being harassed on the street is not uncommon,” she said, describing having to wear “clothes that will attract less attention” and “assessing my surrounding consistently when going out alone.”

She added: “The experience of harassment could even be worse, depending on which race or religion you belong to, if you do not fit within the stereotype of male/female framework; these elements give harassers extra bullets to attack you with.”

Credit: Empower Malaysia.

University of Malaya students conducted a survey with 113 respondents on campus. 80% said that they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces before.

There is little official data on street harassment in Malaysia. There are statistics on gender-based violence, but street harassment specifically is poorly documented.

Credit: Sisters in Islam.

Activists participating in the anti-street harassment action posed for a photo. One member of the team captured it on video.

Sisters in Islam, one of the organising groups, is a leading Malaysian organisation advocating for women’s rights within the framework of Islam and human rights.

Credit: Sisters in Islam.

Passersby were intrigued by the campaign. Some stopped to listen to audio samples prepared by students with examples of common verbal insults and catcalls.

This creative tactic was designed to encourage reflection and conversations on how one could respond and intervene when witnessing street harassment.

Credit: Sisters in Islam

University students talk to members of the public collecting pledges to combat street harassment.

The action engaged passersby to think of everyday personal actions they could take to build a culture of respect.

Credit: Sisters in Islam

Sisters in Islam staff member Zaffan Ariffin acted as a ‘group leader’ for five university students talking to the public to raise awareness against street harassment during the action.

They used sandwich boards to highlight unwanted sexual advances that women commonly hear on the streets.

Credit: CSBR

Volunteers hold signs asking drivers to “Honk if you’re against sexual harassment”!

Suraidah, one of the organisers, said tackling mindsets is one strategy against street harassment. Another is anti-discrimination law and policy.

Credit: CSBR

The organising team from Sisters in Islam sported shirts reading “Muslim Women Speak.”

The group aims to amplify women’s rights within the frameworks of Islam, universal human rights, and democratic politics.

______

By: Rima Athar and Bérengère Sim

About the authors: Rima Athar is coordinator of the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies. Bérengère Sim is a journalist based in Paris.

Re-Posted from: 50.50 Open Democracy, published 8 December 2017.

CSBR Featured, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

Joint Statement: EU must ensure its humanitarian aid to war victims upholds their right to non-discriminatory medical care in line with IHL

CSBR joined over 90 international NGOs to call for the provision of non-discriminatory medical and sexual & reproductive health services in conflict settings under international humanitarian law (IHL), including access to safe abortion. Read the letter below, and download the PDF here: via Global Justice Center.

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H.E. Federica Mogherini

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission

H.E. Christos Stylianides

Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management European Commission

1049 Brussels, Belgium

23 November, 2017

Re: The EU must ensure its humanitarian aid to war victims upholds their right to non-discriminatory medical care in line with IHL

Dear Vice-President Mogherini and Commissioner Stylianides,

In September 2015, the European Commission laudably took a historic step in making clear that women and girls raped in armed conflict deserve equal medical protection under international humanitarian law (IHL). In response to Members of the European Parliament, you stated:

“In cases where the pregnancy threatens a woman’s or a girl’s life or causes unbearable suffering, international humanitarian law and/or international human rights law may justify offering a safe abortion rather than perpetuating what amounts to inhumane treatment. Women and girls who are pregnant as a result of rape should first receive appropriate and comprehensive information and be provided access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services.”[1]

Previously, the European Union’s position was that national abortion laws in conflict countries–not IHL–govern the scope of available care for women and girls in conflict settings. In 2015, the EU joined a growing chorus of human rights advocates, legal experts, United Nations bodies and national governments to acknowledge the primacy of IHL in conflict, including when it comes to safe abortion. [2] The European Commission’s latest position also received wide cross-party support in a number of parliamentary resolutions and several Member States have voiced their support for this policy for its compliance with IHL. Unfortunately, since 2015, no steps have been taken to implement this policy.

Women and girls continue to be denied care, including abortions, in humanitarian settings, even where rape is routinely used as a weapon of war. In light of increasing attacks on their right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, largely driven by a dangerous anti-abortion ideology in the United States, now is a

critical time for the EU to shift its position from paper to practice. Since the EU, a long with its Member

States, is the largest humanitarian aid donor in the world, it holds a unique responsibility to ensure international medical protocol follows the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in IHL.

We therefore request that the European Commission make clear that international law–not politics–determines the right to medical care of women and girls affected by armed conflict, and take the following steps:

• Issue a memorandum to your humanitarian partners and grantees to inform them of your updated policy concerning safe abortions for war rape victims, IHL’s protections for medical personnel, and the primacy of IHL in armed conflict settings.

• Develop a monitoring framework together with your humanitarian partners and grantees to ensure IHL obligations are met, and specifically that women and girls receive appropriate care, including the provision of safe abortion under the conditions set out in your policy.

• Ensure EU funds are kept separate from US humanitarian funds in all accounts, and as separate from any other donor funds that may prevent EU aid from being administered in full compliance with IHL.

We urge you to take decisive action and thank you for your attention to this important matter.

1. Action Aid

2. Actions des Femmes pour les Droits et le Développement (DRC)

3. AdvocAid (Sierra Leone)

4. AFFORD (United Kingdom)

5. Afghan Women Skills Development Center (Afghanistan)

6. Africa Development Interchange Network (Cameroon)

7. Alliance for Choice Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)

8. Arab Women’s Solidarity Association (Belgium)

9. Association des Femmes Juristes de Centrafrique (CAR)

10. Association Française des Femmes Médecins (France)

11. Association of War Affected Women (Sri Lanka)

12. Awaj Foundation (Bangladesh)

13. Baghdad Women Association (Iraq)

14. CAFSO-WRAG for Development (Nigeria)

15. Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace (Cameroon)

16. CARE International (Belgium)

17. Catholics for Choice (USA)

18. Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (Uganda)

19. Center for Reproductive Rights (USA)

20. Choice for Youth and Sexuality (The Netherlands)

21. Civil Society Coalition on Migration and Development (Nigeria)

22. Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies

23. Darfur Bar Association (Sudan)

24. Dutch CEDAW Network (Netherlands)

25. Encadrement des Femmes Indigènes et des Ménanges vulnérables (DRC)

26. European Network of Migrant Women

27. European NGOs for Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights (Belgium)

28. European Women’s Lobby

29. Eyzidi Documentation Center (Iraq)

30. Face Past for Future Foundation (Uganda)

31. Facilitating Peace (USA)

32. Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’homme (FIDH)

33. FemJust (USA)

34. Finnish Refugee Council (Finland)

35. FOKUS-Forum for Women and Development (Norway)

36. Global Justice Center

37. Global Network of Women Peacebuilders

38. Human Rights Watch

39. Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan

40. IMA Research Foundation (Bangladesh)

41. INGWEE (Belgium)

42. International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion

43. International Centre for Eritrean Refugees and Asylum Seekers (United Kingdom)

44. International Planned Parenthood Federation (European Network)

45. International Rescue Committee

46. International Youth Alliance for FamilyPlanning

47. Ipas (USA)

48. Iraqi Al-Amal Association (Iraq)

49. Iraqi Women Network (Iraq)

50. Johanniter International Assistance (Germany)

51. Kins of Africa for Development and Reintegration (Nigeria)

52. Kvinnefronten i Norge (Norway)

53. Le Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises (DRC)

54. Lietuvos etninių grupių moterų verslininkių draugija (Lithuania)

55. Madre (USA)

56. Médecins du Monde (France)

57. Medica Mondiale (Germany)

58. Medical Women’s International Association

59. Melissa Network of Migrant Women (Greece)

60. Migrant Women Association (Malta)

61. Movimiento Amplio de Mujeres de Puerto Rico (USA)

62. Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (Iraq)

63. Pacific Women’s Indigenous Networks (New Zealand)

64. PAIMAN Alumni Trust (Pakistan)

65. Physicians for Human Rights

66. Plan International

67. Povod (Slovenia)

68. Radha Paudel Foundation (Nepal)

69. Riksförbundet För Sexuell Upplysning (Sweden)

70. Rutgers (Netherlands)

71. Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP (Nigeria)

72. Solidarité Féminine pour la paix et le développement Intégral (DRC)

73. Synergie des femmes pour les victimes de violences sexuelles (DRC)

74. TAPEPUKA (United Kingdom)

75. Tiye International (Netherlands)

76. WO=MEN, Dutch Gender Platform (Netherlands)

77. Women for Afghan Women (USA)

78. Women Now For Development (Syria)

79. Women Peace Network–Arakan (Myanmar)

80. Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (Philippines)

81. Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights Africa (Tanzania)

82. Women’s League for International Peace and Freedom (Ghana section)

83. Women’s League of Burma (Myanmar)

84. Women’s Promotion Center (Tanzania)

85. Women’s Rights Centre (Armenia)

86. World Organisation Against Torture

87. Yazda (United Kingdom)

88. Yemen Organization For Defending Rights & Democratic Freedoms (Yemen)

89. Yemeni Women Network (Yemen)

90. YouAct (United Kingdom)

91. Y-PEER (Bulgaria)

CC:

– Monique Pariat, Director General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection

– Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission

– Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development

[1] See response by the European Commission (September 11, 2015), available at:

http://globaljusticecenter.net/documents/Mogherini%20response%20Sept%202015.pdf

[2] See for example United Nations Global Study on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (October 2015), “Exclusion of one medical service, abortion, from the comprehensive medical care provided to the wounded and sick in armed conflict, where such service is needed by only one gender, is a violation not only of the right to medical care but also of the prohibition on “adverse distinction” found in common Article 3, the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions and customary international law. Importantly, it is also in violation of international human rights law. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) has specified that “it is discriminatory for a State party to refuse to legally provide for the performance of certain reproductive health services for women”. For a compilation of references, including country positions related to protected medical care under IHL, including safe abortion please see:

http://globaljusticecenter.net/documents/IHLandAbortionCitations.pdf

CSBR Featured, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, ODOS, Resources & Tools, Videos

Video: Sustainable Development Goals & LGBTI+ Organizing in Turkey – WWHR & Lambdaistanbul

Want to understand more about the intersections between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and gender equality? Then take a look at Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR)–New Ways’ new video series on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnsmoVllXaROEw1KJWSr7Ow!

WWHR launched the fourth video as part of this years’ #OneDayOneStruggle campaign (ODOS), interviewing with Sedef Cakmak from Lambdaistanbul on current challenges and opportunities for organizing for LGBTI+ rights in Turkey and how we can link with the SDG framework.

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Lambdaistanbul is a volunteer run organization that was formed in Istanbul in 1993, right after the city governor banned the Christopher Street Parade that was supposed to be held in July 1993. Learn more about Lambdaistanbul here: http://www.lambdaistanbul.org/s/

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Since its establishment in Turkey in 1993, WWHR-New Ways has worked to support the active and broad participation of women in the establishment and maintenance of a democratic, egalitarian and peaceful social order as free individuals and equal citizens at national, regional and international levels. Learn more about WWHR here: http://www.wwhr.org/

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CSBR Featured, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights

CSBR at the RRRAP Summit: Rights, Resources and Resilience in Asia Pacific

CSBR was at the Rights, Resources and Resilience in Asia Pacific (RRRAP) Summit, hosted by APCOM in Bangkok from 13-15 November 2017. The RRRAP Summit was an opportunity to reflect on the gains and shifts of the last 10 years of organizing and advocacy to end HIV and improve community health outcomes with a focus on key populations, and new strategies for moving ahead.

Prior to the Summit, APCOM hosted the HERO awards, recognizing community advocates across the region who have been defining leaders in movements for rights and recognition. It was a great night for recognition of the groundbreaking work of activists across Muslim societies, including Khartini Slamah, whose 30+ years of activism has re-shaped support for transgender communities and sex workers’ rights across Malaysia and Asia Pacific.

Our member Bandhu Social Welfare Society was honoured in the Community Organization category, for their over 20 years of leading work as a provider of HIV programs, sexual health services and human rights advocacy throughout Bangladesh.

Bandhu_HeroAwards2017 — *Shale Ahmed, Bandhu Social Welfare Society*

Our Advisory Committee member Dede Oetomo, in his role as APCOM’s Chair, opened & closed the Summit, and presented across multiple sessions on the work of Indonesian civil society in engaging cross-sector collaborations, including faith-based organizations, to further protection, recognition and respect for people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

Our Coordinator, Rima Athar, presented on a Side Event on “The Uncivil Society”: Of Priviledge, Exclusion and the Work of Social Justice for All”, and on the third day’s Plenary, “From Evolution to Revolution: Merging Movements Towards Broader Social Justice And Change”, alongside groups including Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW), UNAIDS Asia Pacific, ILGA-Asia, and Asia Pacific Network of People Using Drugs (ANPUD).

Rima’s contributions explored the language, questions and practices of solidarity & inclusion to strengthen cross-movement collaborations between those focused on HIV & key populations in Asia Pacific, and wider human rights movements, including women’s rights, sexual and reproductive health rights, economic justice and environmental justice as part of the larger ecosystem impacting community health and rights.

CSBR_RimaAthar-RRRAPSummit — *Rima Athar, CSBR*

*3rd Day Plenary speakers left-to-right: Bandhu Social Welfare Society, UNAIDS Asia Pacific, APCOM, CSBR, APNSW, ANPUD, and ILGA-Asia*

Over the three days, over 300 advocates from the region participated in the conversations, ranging from community activists and regional networks, to funders, UN departments and government officials. The Summit highlighted challenges faced by civil society organisations and human rights advocates, opportunities to strengthen resourcing for our organizations, followed by a community forum and strategic planning process to develop stronger and more inclusive strategies moving forward.

Photo Credits: APCOM

CSBR Featured, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, ODOS

Stress management, burnout prevention, and self-care – Reflections from Nazariya, a Queer Feminist Resource Group | ODOS2017

Nazariya_Logo

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9 November 2017

Reflections on Stress Management, Burnout Prevention, and Self-Care

Context

Mental illness is a growing area of interest in India, where about 60 million people are estimated to struggle with some form of mental illness.[1] In spite of such numbers there exists an overwhelming treatment gap; funds allocated to treat mental health problems in national health budgets are disproportionately small in relation to the serious health consequences they pose: the WHO estimates that for every 100,000 people in India, there are only 0.3 psychiatrists, 0.12 nurses, 0.07 psychologists, and 0.07 social workers.[2] With such numbers, the current reality of the situation regarding mental health care services in India is dire. Services and access are limited not only by the scarcity of resources but also by the prohibitive cost. The existing services, particularly in terms of regular psychotherapy and not just prescriptions, are usually only available in urban areas to those who can afford them.

Such services are not only self selective of an urban, upper middle class clientele, but are also heavily bound by heteronormative norms. Mental health care and mental health care practitioners in India are largely unaware of the intersectionality of the field in terms of catering specifically to minority and historically oppressed populations. In the case of the population marginalized on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, members of the queer community face significant familial, societal, and legal discrimination on the basis of their identity in addition to the stresses brought on by everyday life such as work, relationships, and peer pressure. Homophobia, transphobia, staying in the closet (i.e., concealing one’s identity), and coming out are only a few examples of stressors that take a heavy toll on mental health. Mental wellbeing is severely impacted by the intersection of gender, sexuality, caste, socioeconomic status, and other identities, and it is important that this is recognized and addressed in an appropriate manner.

Nazariya and Our Response

Nazariya is a New Delhi based queer feminist resource group that was formed in October 2014 by a group of queer feminist activists. It was started to sensitize the work and culture of groups and individuals working on issues of gender based violence, livelihoods, education, and health from a queer perspective through research & evaluations, capacity building, and advocacy. We use the word “queer” for people who have diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. A queer perspective helps build links between issues of people marginalized on the basis of gender and sexuality, and the existing work on violence, livelihoods, education, and health in order to impact the discourse on pleasure, desire, rights, and entitlements.

Over the last three months, Nazariya has been engaging with the concept of mental healthcare as a process that extends far beyond clinical diagnoses or prescriptions. Various factors in our personal and professional lives can lead to chronic and acute stress, anxiety, fatigue, burnout, tension headaches, and other issues. Mental health is a vital component of our overall well being, and it is therefore important to develop and learn healthy coping styles for the different stressors that impact us. Given the paucity of resources in our country, it is imperative for us to build community initiatives that focus on mental well-being.

So far, we have hosted two stress management and burnout prevention workshops in partnership with Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI): a non-residential 4-day workshop for the LBT*FAB (Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer women and Trans*[3] individuals assigned female at birth) community in New Delhi and a residential 2-day workshop human rights defenders/activists working on issues of gender and violence across North India.

Our first workshop was restricted to the LBT*FAB community within the overall queer spectrum of identities in order to provide an intentional space that recognized the additional stress that arises out of the intersection of gender identity and sexual orientation. As the only LBT*FAB organization in North India, Nazariya wanted to highlight the needs of the AFAB (assigned gender female at birth) and transmen community which are largely ignored, even within the queer movement.

Our second workshop focused on human rights defenders, social workers, activists, and educationists who work within the issues of gender, sexuality, and gender based violence. Individuals within this field are often subject to a great deal of stress and burnout. A part of this sector ourselves, this could be a result of the unjust environment that we work in, criticism that we face from others for the work we do, the emergency situations we handle, and not fulfilling expectations and achieving standard that we set for ourselves. When work revolves around the care and welfare of others in such an environment, self-care is often compromised.

As a response to these issues and needs, both workshops functioned on a non-medical model with an emphasis on simple stress management techniques that can be practiced individually without any additional equipment/resources necessary.

Reflections from the Workshop

In both the workshops, our discussions often focused on the importance of self-care as we responded to participants’ expectations of the workshop and their reasons for participating. LBT*FAB participants reported struggling with self acceptance, fears of rejection based on their identity, and isolation. The activists and human rights defenders mostly reported wanting to learn how to better manage their stress and work/life balance. Overwhelmingly, however, the participants of this workshop also mentioned their interest in the workshop because they wanted to carry forth their learning into their casework/fieldwork and improve their counselling skills with their clients. This focus on the care and welfare for others even within a workshop meant to focus on the individual demonstrated to us the need for conversations on self-care.

All participants, LBT*FAB and activists, were quick to agree that self-care is a feminist issue because it calls on women and individuals serving the community to consciously and deliberately take the time to focus on themselves. This is often at odds with societal expectations of women, who are expected to take care of and nurture others, and caseworkers/activists, who are expected to be on call 24/7. As feminists, as activists, and as individuals, we are aware of the importance of self-care and advocate for it but have a hard time committing to it ourselves. Many participants admitted to feeling guilt or shame when they took time out for themselves because there is always the thought that they could be “doing something useful” with this time.

Participants in both workshops also were unanimous in their opinion that there is a lack of community space and support to be able to speak and reflect openly on such unique stressors and experiences. LBT*FAB participants spoke about feeling invisible or silenced within larger queer spaces and the activists/caseworkers reported a complete lack of avenues speak about their experiences, especially when boundaries between work and life are constantly blurred. It is therefore imperative to keep creating spaces where people can share their experiences, speak out about the stressors they battle, and have a support system that understands that self-care is not a luxury, but a necessity.

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Notes

[1] http://www.indiaspend.com/cover-story/nearly-60-million-indians-suffer-from-mental-disorders-68507

[2] http://www.searo.who.int/india/topics/mental_health/about_mentalhealth/en/

[3] Trans* is an umbrella term for transgender people, genderqueer people, or people who do not conform to notions of gender assigned to them at birth.

[4] All pictures courtesy of Nazariya.

[5] This piece is published on the occasion of #OneDayOneStruggle 2017, as part of the campaign for sexual and bodily rights as human rights, coordinated by CSBR.

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For more information on Nazariya, see: https://nazariyaqfrg.wordpress.com/

CSBR CSBR Activities, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, ODOS

One Day One Struggle 2017 – Bigger & Brighter than ever!

Every 9 November communities around the world come together in celebration of sexual and bodily rights as human rights, as part of the One Day One Struggle! campaign (ODOS), coordinated by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR).

Running 9 years in a row, ODOS 2017 is bigger and brighter than ever with actions planned by groups across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Uganda!

See a brief listing of the planned actions below, and keep up with us on Twitter (@SexBodyRights, #OneDayOneStruggle) and Facebook (facebook.com/CSBRonline) on November 9th for more details and updates as the actions occur!

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AFGHANISTAN

In Afghanistan, sexual and reproductive health advocates are holding a workshop with women university students to discuss sexual health and negotiating healthy relationships.

BANGLADESH

In Bangladesh, Bandhu Social Welfare Society is hosting a sensitization discussion with journalists to discuss how to improve reporting and coverage of third gender rights in Bangladesh.

Bandhu started its journey in 1996, and after 20 years, Bandhu is sincerely continuing to serve the communities with undivided commitment and is paving the way for obtaining their social justice, equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Find out more: http://www.bandhu-bd.org/

EGYPT

Building on last year’s action on bodily integrity and autonomy, Nazra for Feminist Studies is holding an interactive online campaign on “Prejudgement”.

“Pre-judgement” highlights the social stigmatization of bodies that transgress the social norms and rules relating to imposed concepts of masculinity and femininity. For this year’s campaign, Nazra opened a call for submissions for personal reflections, writings and graphics about people’s relationships to their bodies; the extent to which community-based stigma and social policies impact that relationships, whether on a physical or psychological level; and how individuals overcome and negotiate their bodily autonomy and integrity.

On 9 November 2017, the submissions will be shared online through Nazra’s website: http://nazra.org/ and Facebook: @Nazra.for.Feminist.Studies, using the hashtag #حكم_مسبق .

INDIA

Building on their work on self-care and well-being for lesbian, bisexual and trans people assigned female at birth, Nazariya is publishing a reflective piece detailing some of the lessons and insights for strengthening movements for queer justice moving forward.

Nazariya is a Delhi-based resource group that was established in 2014, which works towards affirming the rights of queer people (LBT) by making visible their lives and creating an enabling environment where queer lived realities is a non negotiable and informs the work and discourse of organizations and institutions. Find out more about Nazariya here: https://nazariyaqfrg.wordpress.com/

INDONESIA

In Indonesia, on 9 November GAYa NUSANTARA begins a documentary film project that explores transgender Muslims’ experiences and perspectives on faith, gender and sexuality. The film will be launched at the end of the month through community screenings and online as a resource.

Qbukatabu is a new collective formed in March 2017 to establish an Indonesian language online resource center on sexuality. Each month Qbukatabu produce new content amplifying feminist and queer perspectives: November’s theme is “Terlahir Kembali”, or “Reborn”.

On 9 November, Qbukatabu is taking to social media to amplify women and transpeople’s perspectives on bodily autonomy, including the moments when struggle is transformed through thought, action, and embodied meaning.

Keep an eye out for pop-media content throughout the day, including articles, videos, and interviews on Qbukatabu’s Instagram, Twitter & Facebook. Follow along with the hashtags #ODOS2017ID, #1Hari1Perjuangan, #ODOSLahirKembali #QbukaODOS.

KAZAKHSTAN

In Kazakhstan, Feminita – the Kazakh Feminist Initiative – created a video of personal reflections from two activists on the importance of solidarity that cut across identity politics, especially in times of rising stigmatization, discrimination and violence against women who defy the norms; whether through their sexuality or religion or cultural background. Stay tuned for the launch!

KYRGYZSTAN

In Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek Feminist Initiative along with teenage magazine Boktukorgon, will launch a video in support of bodily autonomy and self-expression in Kyrgyzstan. The video shows the double edges of dress code regulations, and the stigma and discrimination women and girls face, whether they wear a hijab or shorts. Stay tuned for the launch!

A group of community organizers in Kyrgyzstan will be holding a two day event, including a film screening and a discussion on the theme of faith & sexuality.

MALAYSIA

Women’s Aid Organisation is taking the conversation online to challenge the policing of women’s dress in Malaysia, which has seen a spike since April 2017 when women lawyers being stopped from entering court because their below-the-knee skirts were deemed “indecent” by security guards. Follow Women’s Aid Organisation on Facebook @womens.aid.org, Twitter @womensaidorg and Instagram @womensaidorg and amplify the conversation!

PAKISTAN

In Pakistan, VISION along with the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) and the National Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is hosting a screening of the documentary “My Body My Right”, followed by a policy discussion to strengthen the human rights perspective in the proposed Protection of Transgender Persons Bill, which was introduced in September 2017.

The panelists include: Honorable Senator Ms. Sitara Ayaz, head of the Senate’s Sub-Committee on reviewing the bills on protection of female transgender; Honorable member NCHR Mr. Chaudary Shafique; and Honorable Director General Human Rights Mohammad Arshad from Ministry of Law and Human Rights. “My Body, My Right”, showcases the efforts of transgender women from three districts: Mardan, Multan and Rawalpindi, who participated in VISION’s participatory street theatre program and developed performances based on their lived realities, in Urdu and Pashto. There were 28 performances of this street theater in the above districts in 2016, some of which were performed as part of ODOS 2016.

Creative Alley is publishing an article on the theme of love, sexual and reproductive health and disability.

Creative Alley is a Lahore based initiative that provides a platform for those who believe in themselves and feel they have what it takes to be in the limelight. Creative Alley seeks out young, enthusiastic, people who want to come up front and reveal themselves–people who can be handed a mic, given a stage, an audience and last but not least a chance! Stay tuned!

Learn more about Creative Alley here: https://www.facebook.com/CreativeAlleyHQ/

Forum for Dignity Initiative will launch a video amplifying transwomen’s perspectives on bodily autonomy and community leadership. FDI is a rights-based organization in Islamabad that strives for an equitable society for transgender people, sex workers, and girls and young women. Read more about FDI here: https://www.fdipakistan.org/.

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines is set to pass national level legislation against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity this year, which is the result of country wide mobilization. Building on their work through ODOS in the past five years, PILIPINA Legal Resources Center (PLRC) along with PILIPINA Davao will be holding a public lecture and policy discussion workshop to strengthen support for sexual & bodily rights as human rights amongst the women’s movement in the Philippines. This includes support for the national level legislation, as well as the implementing rules and regulations of the Davao municipal legislation.

TURKEY

Women for Women’s Human Rights-New Ways (WWHR) and LAMBDA Istanbul joined forces to create a video advocating for the holistic integration of LGBTIQ rights in human rights based work, as part of WWHR’s ongoing ongoing video series targeted towards civil society organizations (CSOs) working in fields such as education, environment, climate change, youth and SRHR.

Through this project, WWHR aims to empower the cross-sectoral alliances among CSOs, while also documenting on-going efforts and initiatives towards realizing the SDGs in diverse fields.

UGANDA

Safe spaces for young women and girls to discuss sexual violence are few and far between. As part of opening such spaces and fostering community support, Islamic Women’s Initiative for Justice, Law and Peace (IWILAP) is holding round table discussion with young Muslim women on sexual harassment, sexual violence and rape. After the round-table IWILAP will support girls to strategize how they can best raise awareness and lead change to speak out against gender-based violence in their communities.

ACROSS CONTEXTS

This year, CSBR and IWRAW-Asia Pacific are co-hosting a Twitter chat on advocating for #SafeandLegal abortion through the human rights framework, this 9 November 2017, from 5pm – 6.30pm (GMT+8). Mark your calendars and join us!

We’ll be in conversation with the Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Aware Girls (Pakistan), Women’s Aid Organization (Malaysia), RESURJ, Hidden-Pockets Collective (India), Rutgers WPF Indonesia, Balance AC (Mexico), and Fondo MARIA.

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As always, our greatest appreciation to the efforts of the organizers and participants of the campaign!

CSBR CSBR Activities, Headline, News from Member Organizations

Toppling Walls, Building Bridges: The Rise & Prospects of New Global Feminism

CSBR is honoured to have been able to connect with our sisters in Turkey, and those from around the world as far as Peru, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Ireland and more–for an important and timely conversation on “Toppling Walls, Building Bridges: The Rise and Prospects of New Global Feminism“, sponsored by Heinrich Boll Stiftung in Istanbul, from 2-3 November 2017.

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Over two days speakers shared lessons & insights for strengthening feminist organizing in a political moment where authoritarianism, the “polypore state“, militarism and neoliberal global economic interests are coalescing in new ways to suppress and threaten women’s human rights around the world.

Aliyme Demir (KAOS-GL), Rima Athar (CSBR), and Berfu Seker (WWHR-New Ways) - Istanbul 3 November 2017 — *Aliyme Demir (KAOS-GL), Rima Athar (CSBR), and Berfu Seker (WWHR-New Ways) – Istanbul 3 November 2017*

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On the fourth panel on “Resisting & Organizing Locally and Globally“, our Advisory Committee member Aliyme Asli Demir discussed the interconnected rise of ‘right-populism’ globally, from the Turkey to the US to India and beyond, and the shifting terrain and tools we have available as activists to resist and organize creatively.

CSBR Coordinator Rima Athar, discussed transnational networks of anti-rights actors–including evangelical Christian NGOs, the OIC block, the Russian Orthodox Church and others–that are pushing an international campaign to suppress sexual and bodily rights under the guide of “protection of the family” and “traditional values”. She highlighted implications for new feminist organizing that recognizes that recent hate-campaigns against LGBT communities in Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia are not isolated events, but rather connected to similar campaigns that have taken place in Russia, Uganda, and at international UN forums with increasing frequency and coordination in the last decade.

Emily Morgan Waszak, an organizer of the organic and powerful women’s protest against the Anti-Abortion Law in Ireland, discussed the methods and considerations of calling the women’s strike to repeal the 8th amendment, which equates the life of a pregnant women with that of an unborn fetus. The #Strike4Repeal was inspired by the Polish women’s black protest the year before, and brought thousands to the streets in Ireland to claim reproductive autonomy.

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The full program can be seen on Heinrich Boll’s website here: https://calendar.boell.de/en/node/111607, and is copied below.

CSBR CSBR Activities, Featured, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights

Regional Training Workshop on Sexual Rights – Amman, September 2017

Through a private donation received in January 2017, CSBR launched our first Participatory Seed Grant program for our members.

After a round of proposals, a collective review and decision-making process by our members, the grant went to Muntada-the Arab Forum on Sexuality, Health and Education, to support an Arabic language MENA Regional Training Workshop on Sexual Rights for service providers.

The training was held in Amman, Jordan from 12-17 September 2017. It brought together seventeen professionals from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, and Syria. Over six intensive full days, the training focused on providing basic knowledge on sexuality, challenging traditional concepts of Sexual Rights, developing trainees’ skills, and providing them with professional tools to be used when working with different target groups in their societies. The workshop provided a safe space for learning, reflection, and for intellectual discussions where participants shared their personal and professional experiences and analyzed similarities and differences between the multiple contexts within the Arab Region.

This valuable experience is part of a series of regional training courses around the Arab Region carried out by Muntada. Currently, Muntada is preparing for its fifth regional training which will take place in Egypt this month in cooperation with “Love Matters – Egypt”. In addition, a sixth regional workshop which will be held in Tunisia by the beginning of 2018 in cooperation with the Tunisian Family Planning Association.

Trainees Reflections:

Below are some reflections shared by participants by the end of the training, which illustrate the real
change that occurred both on personal and professional levels:

“I learned new skills and concepts in dealing with children’s sexual issues, professionally I learned new awareness techniques and communication methodologies, you gave me huge power to go back home and address sexual issues in the community with no feelings of shyness nor fear”.

“I learned to trust myself, my choices, my paths, I’m proud of myself and proud that I’m part of a worldwide feminist movement. The biggest important lesson was facing myself! Professionally the training was a turning point! I learned a lot from the experience sharing, I took lots of energy and power and gave you all my expertise from the field”.

“This was the second training I participate facilitated by a woman! I come from religious background yet the learning path provided during the training was beyond expectations! The knowledge transformation techniques and the active participatory method used throughout the
training, were very professional and classy. Accepting “the other” was distinctive, the group was
diverse and I’m sure that selecting such combination was hard yet very effective!”

“On professional level, I gained new information and corrected previous ones. The course was a chance for confrontation with reality and diversity compared to the other theoretical courses I participated in. On personal level I need to work more to increase my passion and intimacy
aspects.”

“The most important thing I learned is the techniques and methods that should be used when addressing sexual topics with children. I learned to be honest with children. Personally the group gave me a lot particularly courage and passion to change.”

“The training was one of the richest experiences that I had in my life, I benefited from every minute and every detail. The training path was a golden opportunity to break taboos, it’s an adventure with new people in a new country. I learned how to re-think what I think. New, creative and participatory tools were produced, effective communication techniques were given
and professional facilitation skills were gained”.

“I learned to speak out my story to others, I learned how to reconsider my vision, to stand in front of the mirror and get to better understand and know myself. Understanding relations and categorizing them has a great effect.The change that happened to me on personal levels had
definitely affected me on professional levels, the “Journey through sexuality” activity was a very
good example that illustrates this effect. Several concepts were corrected and new facilitation
skills were gained. I acquired strength I wouldn’t have gained in any other place in the world!”

What was special in this training workshop?

Throughout the tens of training workshops conducted by Muntada during the last ten years within the
Arab communities, we never had a participant who is “declared” as a person living with HIV, nor a gay sex worker. Their presence and sharing of their personal and intimate experiences were a huge contribution to the learning process for the rest of the participants.

What’s next?!

In the last session of the course, a timetable was set for a series of activities including awareness workshops to be carried out by each trainee in his/her country by the end of November 2017, with diverse community groups including professionals and University students, women, parents, publication of articles on Sexual Rights at local and regional media. In addition, two guides on puberty–“I became a young man” and “I became a young woman”, published by Muntada three years ago in Palestinian slang–will be re-written in the Tunisian dialect. It is worth mentioning that these guides were previously transformed into the Egyptian dialect by the initiative of an Egyptian graduate who participated in the first regional workshop in 2015.

Action plans were set together with each participant to promote sexual rights in his/her own country. These included the following:

1. Algeria: A University professor will conduct a sexual awareness workshop and discussion rounds with University students.

2. Tunisia: A Human Rights Activist will conduct sexual rights awareness workshops for adolescents aging 14-26. They will work together on translating sexual concepts to theatre sketches to be performed in rural areas. Moreover, she will work together with Muntada’s Media and Website coordinator to launch a Radio Web.

3. Tunisia: A professional will conduct awareness workshops to several groups of persons with HIV at the care proving centers. He will also re-write the two guides “I became a young woman” and “I became a young man” in Tunisian dialect language so it can be published and distributed in Tunisia.

4. Lebanon: a professional who works in a UN agency called “The International Rescue Committee” will conduct a sexual awareness workshop for her co-workers, in addition to that she will train professional cadres mainly social workers who work with groups of women and girls at impoverished localities in the North of Lebanon.

5. Lebanon: an educator will initiate a small project focusing on interactive theatre with women on sexuality issues. Moreover she will write an article on related sexual topics to be published in local media.

6. Syria: an advocate will: (a) conduct an awareness workshop for her co-workers, (b) network with local civil society organizations for people with disability, (c) initiate an interactive theatre with a group of people with disability on sexuality concepts, and (d) will use sexual rights terminologies in UNFPA and Y-Peers campaign in Syria which focus this year on gender violence and Femicide.

7. Syria: a professional will conduct two workshops one with her co-workers and another with children using music and theatre.

8. Syria: a professor will conduct awareness workshop for university students and will work on updating the Reproductive Health Program curriculum provided by Family Planning Association in Syria.

9. Syria: an educator will implement awareness workshops at Family Planning Association’s Youth Centers and will integrate sexuality concepts in their training curriculum.

10. Syria: a youth advocate will initiate a blog with scout youth groups and will write an article on sexual rights.

11. Sudan: an advocate will conduct and awareness workshop with youth activists through networking with Al Nouby Woman Center, moreover she will write an article in English for the use of the Sexual and Reproductive Rights Network in Sudan.

12. Egypt:a professional who works at “Ma’looma Center” will implement an awareness workshop for his co-workers who are responsible to answer more than one and a half million questions received from the public. In addition to that he will add sexuality concepts to “Al Arakoz” Theatre project which targets nurseries and moves between rural areas in Egypt.

13. Egypt: an organizer will conduct an awareness workshop for groups of mothers as part of Coptic Church community activities.

14. Egypt: an NGO worker who lives in the UAE, will work with parents of children with disabilities and will initiate awareness classes at school level as a preventative action. She will also network Muntada with UAE Y-Peers and with UAE Red Crescent.

15. Jordan: an advocate will work with groups of teenagers and parents who are part of “Community Rehabilitation” Program which works with people in their homes. She will also initiate discussion rounds on sexual concepts with Jordanian activists who work on sexual harassment and child marriage issues.

16. Egypt: a coordinator for the Y-Peer Network in the Arab Region will write an article on sexual rights concepts and circulate it through Y-Peer, to integrate these concepts in their upcoming regional campaigns on Reproductive Health.

17. Morocco: an organizer will conduct two awareness workshops–one with LGBTI youth group and another with an association that works with displaced women. He will also work on integrating sexuality to the training curriculum in terms of therapy and individual counseling. Further to that, he will initiate a workshop with Y-Peer Morocco and prepare Theater Interactive Sketches as part of “The oppressed” Theater which works in rural areas.

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For more information on Muntada, visit their website: http://www.jensaneya.org/en/News.

If you’d like to support CSBR to continue our seed grant program, get in touch with us as coordinator@csbronline.org.