UFI at the United Nations
Women Speaking Out for Reforms
By Linda Ash, UFI Representative at the
United Nations
March 6 , 2007
The
Commission on the Status of Women is taking place at
the United Nations. During these two weeks, women from all over the world
have come together to plead their cause, make an impact and bring about change.
They have made an impact. But will it bring about change? As I have listened to panelists who have experienced the unimaginable, my heart and mind are forced to imagine their suffering, their plight and their pain.
A delegation from India is here to plead for the saving of the unborn female child. I heard testimony from one, who in frustration, testified that although the U.N. pushes AIDS prevention relentlessly, two million of his countrymen are infected by the HIV-AIDS virus. However, statistics show that 20 million female babies have been killed in India during the past 10 years.
Why is this not an issue to be reckoned with? Right now, there are 777 women for every 1,000 men in India. But the numbers are becoming even more out of balance because of sex-selective abortion. Of the Indian children ages one to six, there are 500 little girls to every 1,000 little boys. “Something needs to be done to stop this slaughter,” he said.
Sexual exploitation continues to be an issue of paramount concern throughout the world.
A 16-year-old panel member from the Bronx, New York told her story of incest and rape. Her father died when she was four. Her mother is a drug addict. Her older brothers and uncles raped her repeatedly over several months. To escape, she took to the streets. A “kind man” told her that he would take care of her…and he did. He became her pimp. He was kind to her as long as she brought home the expected pay.
Several arrests later, this girl was found by the organization Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS), a non-profit organization engaged in the mission to empower young women, ages 12-21 years, who have experienced sexual exploitation and violence to exit unsafe and abusive lifestyles and to develop their full potential. GEMS provides young women with empathetic, consistent support and viable opportunities for positive change, taking them out of a life of prostitution, heartache and physical trauma.
The second young girl testifying was from Togo. She was sold into slavery (house servitude) at the age of eight. Her dignity and her innocence were stripped from her -- not only because of the work demands -- but because of sexual favors that the men of the household demanded from her as part of her servitude. Her heartfelt passion was evident as she pled for change in her country. She has escaped from slavery, and was able to free two of her sisters from the same situation. She is at the U.N. pleading for reforms that will protect girls in her country.
Because it is well known that the U.N. pushes free, unlimited abortion as a cure-all, 14 women came to testify on the harmful affects of their own abortions. Each of them told their individual stories of fear and guilt. When they learned they were pregnant, they weren't told of any alternatives to abortion. They were only told, “You don't have to be pregnant,” “you can get rid of this problem.” When they asked, “Is it a baby?” the response was, “No, it's a clump of cells, nothing more.” But every one of them testified that in their hearts they knew that they had killed their babies.
“The sound of the suction from that machine will forever be in my memory,” one girl recalled. “The pain of my baby being ripped right out of the very place God had designed to protect it will always be with me. For years, I tried to deny my feelings of guilt, shame, and sadness over the death of my child. What saddened me most was that with each new pregnancy, I wasn't able to rejoice because I needed healing and didn't realize it. I felt robbed of the joy I should have had while expecting our children. I believed I didn't deserve to have a baby because of the one I aborted. The instant I heard my baby's helpless body hit the garbage can, I knew! Satan removed the scales from my eyes and said, ‘Got ya!' I had just killed my own flesh and blood.”
I heard 14 courageous and caring women testify to the pain, anguish and suffering they experienced for years because of the lies and deception they were fed and the resultant decision they made to destroy their babies.
“Forward Thinking” Fracturing Families in Sweden
A delegation from Sweden came to New York to lobby for the importance of valuing women's care-giving work in the elimination of discrimination against women.
“In every society on earth, women perform the vast majority of unpaid care-giving work,” a delegate said. “The global socioeconomic structure rests upon this foundation of feminine labor for its very existence. Nonetheless, this crucial workforce is treated like wind, water and sunlight—a resource to be taken for granted.”
Sweden prides itself on forward thinking. It's a clean modern country, but these beautiful Swedish women testified that because their government pays for child care, because their government encourages women to leave home and family to perform “more important” work, Sweden 's women suffer from depression in astounding proportions. They are told they can do it all. They are told that they are incompetent when they choose to stay home with their families. They are “applauded” when they return to work quickly after the birth of their babies.
This attitude is having a significant impact on the Swedish children. The women told of depression hotlines that are bombarded with thousands of calls weekly. Children feel alone. They feel they have no one to talk to. The suicide rate among Swedish children is skyrocketing. These women were here to plead for change in language in the U.N. documents that would give unpaid work in the home value. They see and experience the devastating affects to homes and family, and they are speaking out against the “forward thinking” that seems to be destroying the families and lives in Sweden.
Iranian Women Lobby against Stoning
Iranian women living in the United States are lobbying against death by stoning. Stoning is a punishment for adultery decreed by the Islamic Penal Code of Iran. Most of the victims are women. In December 2002, Ayatollah Shahroudi, the head of judiciary, ordered a ban on the practice of stoning. However, rumors about executions by stoning continue to be heard around the country. It is a practice that continues to exist but is kept out of the media for a reason. Iran does not want this practice publicized for fear of negative worldwide publicity.
Women testified about the emotional scars they have after witnessing stoning executions. The stones cannot be too large, because the impact of the stones is not meant to kill. The stones are intended to cause death by bleeding.
Additional Protests
Other rights being protested here under the protection of the United Nations are:
- Girls' age of majority and full legal responsibility: eight years and 9 months (among other things, they can be given in marriage)
- Daughters' share in inheritance: Half of son's
- Girls' right to marriage: None without father's permission.
- Girls' access to sexual education: None
- Women's right to divorce: None
- Women's right to child custody: None (for children over seven years)
- Women judges in courts: None
If a woman living in Iran speaks out against such issues, they are imprisoned or killed. They rely on those Iranian women who are living out of country to represent their cause.
As I have heard story after story of the plights of women throughout the world, I am reminded that behind every face is a struggle. I just never imagined how monumental the struggles.
©2001 - 2007 United Families International. All rights reserved. No content, images, or other information may be used from this site without prior written consent of United Families International or original authors.
