Concerns at rise in sexual assaults in Tahrir Square

Story published in Women's Views on News, June 8, 2012

Egyptian activists are worried about increasing reports of attacks on women in Tahrir Square over the past week, following the sentencing of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

A young woman was reported to have been dragged into a side-street by around 200 men and assaulted.

A woman journalist who tried to help her had to be driven from the square at speed after she also came under attack.

Women have lost political ground over the last 16 months, despite playing a leading role in the ousting of Mubarak in February 2011.

Only 12 of the 498 seats in the Egyptian parliament were won by women in parliamentary elections earlier this year – a paltry 2.4 per cent, well below the global average of 19 per cent.

Nearly half of the seats were won by the Freedom and Justice party of the Muslim Brotherhood, one of whom recently denounced the ban on genital cutting in Egypt in 2008.

Their spokeswoman Manal Abul Hassan was quoted as saying that there is “no problem whatsoever” in having only a handful of women in parliament.

“Social justice will be delivered anyway,” she said, adding that it is up to “fathers, brothers and husbands to march and protest on behalf” of women.

Little wonder that some  Egyptian women are now wondering if they weren’t better off under Mubarak, who espoused western values and whose wife campaigned for quotas for women in elections and the right of wives to sue for divorce.

Now the Egyptian Parliament is talking about reducing the age when a girl can marry from 18 to 14, and awarding divorced men custody of children over eight.

But a group of activists met on Wednesday to try and stop the attacks in Tahrir Square.


“Enough is enough,” said Abdel-Fatah Mahmoud, a 22-year-old engineering student, who is organising patrols of the square to stop attacks on women.


“It has gone overboard. No matter what is behind this, it is unacceptable. It shouldn’t be happening on our streets let alone Tahrir.”

Activists believe that the attacks are being carried out by opponents of the protests, who want to deter people from attending.


“I think it is getting worse because people don’t want to acknowledge it is happening or do something to reduce it,” said Seif. “It is our job to put an end to it, at least in Tahrir.”

Families of Canada's most prolific serial killer disappointed with inquiry

Story published on Women's Views on News, June 8, 2012

Families of the victims of Canada’s most prolific serial killer say they feel cheated by the inquiry set up to look into the mishandling of the original murder investigations.

Robert Pickton killed at least 33 women on his pig farm between 1998 and 2002, but the relatives of his victims, which included sex workers, claim they were met by suspicion and racism when they reported them missing to the police.

The investigation has been plagued by controversy.

Groups representing sex workers and aboriginals pulled out of the inquiry before it started, in protest at the provincial government’s refusal to pay for counsel to represent them (see WVoN story).

There were also allegations that male staff sexually harassed women workers, and the Commissioner, Wally Oppal, made an ill-judged cameo appearance in a slasher film, as the victim of a serial killer.

The victims’ families claim senior police officers initially refused to believe a serial killer was at work.

The inquiry lasted seven months and heard 83 witnesses.  What became clear was that turf wars between local and federal police had hampered the investigation.

At the inquiry, police from the different jurisdictions blamed each other and claimed they could not remember details from so long ago.

Lilliane Beaudoin, the sister of Diane Rock, whose blood was found on Pickton’s pig farm said:

“It’s been one disaster after another. I’ve never spent so many frustrating days in my life as here, going home and crying and thinking what’s going on?”

Oppal must produce his recommendations by 31 October.

“I’m satisfied that we’ll come up with a positive report so that we can make policing better, so that we can ensure that those people who haven’t been listened to will be listened to in the future,” he said.

But  Lori-Ann Ellis, whose sister-in-law Cara was murdered by Pickton was not convinced.

“To be honest, I think this whole inquiry meant to appease the families: OK, we’ll give you the damn inquiry now shut up and go away,” Ellis said. “But foolishly, I still have hope.

“If the report is written as shoddily as the inquiry was handled, God bless all those women out there.

“But if the report is written in such a way that it really does bring forward some positive recommendations then all the tears that were shed in there are worth it,” she said.

OECD well-being index shows that women are happier, but men are richer

Story published in Women's Views on News, June 8, 2012


A new wellbeing index from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) finds that women have better social networks, live longer and, in most places, are happier than men.


Men, on the other hand, work more and make more money than women.


But women and men tend to care about the same things wherever they live – education, health and life satisfaction. 


Your Better Life  invites users to rank topics like health, housing, employment and community in priority order. The results can be compared by country, gender and for wealth, comparing the responses of those with the 20 per cent highest and lowest incomes. 


Women in wealthier countries like Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Australia were the happiest, awarding themselves 7.5 to 8 out of 10, whilst Hungary, Portugal and the Russian Federation rated their life satisfaction at between 4.5 and 5.


Women from Luxemburg earn the most, making over $47,000USD a year on average, whilst Chilean women earn just over $10,00. 


Eastern European women are among the best educated.  At least 88 per cent of women from Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation hold degrees.


Over nine out of ten women in the US turn out to vote compared with less than four in ten women living in Switzerland. 


Women in France, Italy, Korea and Switzerland live for over 84 years on average, whilst women from the Russian 


Federation cannot expect to reach their 75th birthdays.


The OECD said: 


“Today girls outperform boys in some areas of education and are less likely to drop out of school than boys. But, the glass is still half-full: women continue to earn less than men, are less likely to make it to the top of the career ladder, and are more likely to end their lives in poverty”.

Over 300,000 US women drop out of labour market

Story published on Women's Views on News, May 25, 2012


The recession continues to hit women harder than men in the US, with over 300,000 women dropping out of the labour force in the last two months, according to government figures.

Data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reveal that there were 324,000 fewer US women working at the end of April than at the end of February. 


Over 53 women in the US are seeking work but not in work.

Only 56 per cent of all adult women, excluding those in the military, prison or in nursing homes are in work in the US, the lowest level since 1993.  In the UK 65 per cent of working-aged women are employed.

Sixty three per cent of US men and women are in work, the lowest level since 1981, and whilst the number of men in the workforce grew by 14,000 in March, in April it fell by 196,000.

Tackle gender gap to boost growth, says OECD

Story published on Womens Views on News, May 25, 2012

A new report argues that improving opportunities for women to learn, earn and do business is vital for economic growth.

The report, “Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship” by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also says that education will improve the well-being of men and women.

Although better education does not guarantee equality for women in the workplace, improved learning opportunities account for half of the growth in OECD countries in the past 50 years, says the report.

And whilst girls in developed countries are doing better than boys at school, too few study science and more needs to be done to break down stereotypes.

Fewer girls attend school than boys in developing countries. The report recommends financial incentives to encourage families to send their girls to school, as well as help with uniforms and school meals, safer transport and sanitary provision.

Women’s education is the ‘gift that keeps on giving’ as educated women tend to marry later and encourage their own children to learn.

Cheaper childcare and learning to share household tasks will help more women work full-time and advance in their careers, says the report.

But businesses must also adopt more family-friendly practices like reducing long office hours, enabling staff to work from home and encouraging part-time workers to progress.

The report recommends the setting of quotas, similar to those in Norway, to boost the number of women in senior positions.

The advancement of women’s rights is vital in lifting developing countries out of poverty. Investment in women’s health, education and welfare yield the best results of all development initiatives, argues the report.

The number of women in work in OECD countries is increasing, but the proportion of businesses owned by women is stuck at around 30 per cent.

While a third of self-employed men have people working for them, only one fifth of female entrepreneurs have employees.

The report says this is because fewer women who start businesses have management experience and businesswomen work shorter hours than men.

Women often struggle to get loans or are charged higher interest rates because they have shorter credit histories or may lack the confidence to convince investors.

The OECD urges governments, particularly in developing countries, to introduce micro-credit schemes, so women can access small loans with low interest rates.

“Meeting the challenge of delivering strong and sustainable long-term growth that benefits everyone can only be achieved if everyone is on board,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.

“Giving men and women the opportunity to contribute at home and at work will boost growth and well-being and create a fairer society for all.”

The report will be discussed at an OECD ministers’ meeting in Paris this wee