Africa

Ex-Liverpool star John Arne Riise, now boss of women's side Avaldsnes IL, says Ghana's Evelyn Badu will need time to settle after signing for the Norwegian club.

Hosts Cameroon include Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in their 28-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Squads for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held in Cameroon from 9 January to 6 February 2022.

The electoral commission says the landmark election should be postponed for a month.

Countries, like the Seychelles and Belize, with coastal blue carbon ecosystems are increasingly looking to the ocean for climate change and business solutions. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
Nairobi, Kenya, Dec 22 2021 (IPS)

Seychelles’ 115 islands are an exotic ocean ecosystem of beaches, coral reefs, and unique plant and animal species. Concerned with the impacts of climate change, the country has committed to decarbonize by 2050.

As climate change threatens food security, livelihoods, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, countries with coastal blue carbon ecosystems are increasingly looking into the ocean for climate change and business solutions.

Angelique Pouponneau, CEO, Seychelles’ Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust, says for these countries, “the blue economy, sectors dependent on healthy marine and coastal resources, is at the heart of their updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submissions.”

Under the Paris Agreement, countries revise their NDCs every five years to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit the earth’s temperature rise and commit to implementing solutions to adapt to the effects of climate change.

Seychelles made a most ambitious commitment in its NDC to decarbonize its economy entirely by 2050, making it one of the few developing countries to do so.

“Seychelles developed a national blue economy road map anchored on identifying sectors of the blue economy industry that can generate wealth and sustainable management of marine resources. Priority areas include aquaculture to help build resilience among local communities and accelerate sustainable development,” says Pouponneau in an interview with IPS, adding that sustainable fishing and building ocean-based enterprises are crucial to the success of this Indian Ocean archipelago.

“Building ocean-based enterprises, providing a regulatory framework for sustainable businesses, and financing research and development activities are the three pillars of the blue economy roadmap.”

Seychelles launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond in 2018. The blue bond, Pouponneau says, is an innovative financial tool to support sustainable marine and fisheries start-ups and SMEs and the key to unlocking ocean-based sustainable business.

According to the Seychelles government, the bond is a pioneering financial instrument that raised US$15 million from international investors. The success of the bond demonstrates the potential for countries to harness capital markets for financing the sustainable use of marine resources.

Similarly, as part of the Nature Conservancy’s Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation program, Belize signed a Conservation Funding Agreement, also known as the Blue Bond.

“Our Blue Bond is similar to Seychelles’. However, Belize’s is larger and has a more comprehensive set of targets,” Beverly Wade, the Policy and Planning Advisor in the Ministry of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation, tells IPS.

“The bond establishes a Conservation Fund of USD 180 million, to be accessed over 20 years, to support the implementation of coastal and marine conservation projects by government and non-governmental partners.”
Wade, a representative on the Belize National Climate Change Committee, says the ministry is finalizing the framework for Blue Economy for the South American country.

“This is a five-year multisectoral policy, strategy, and plan. Belize is one of the countries in the Mesoamerican Reef region involved in the Smart Coasts Project that promotes ecosystem-based adaptation and climate smarting of Marine Protected Areas and Coastal Development Plans,” she tells IPS.

Belize, a leader in marine spatial planning and habitat mapping, has updated Marine Habitat Map by processing satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to classify critical marine habitats such as seagrass and corals.

The Blue Bond, she says, will facilitate the completion of a comprehensive Marine Spatial Plan (MSP) for Belize’s entire Blue Space, an urban design term for visible water.

Overall, 163 nations have submitted their NDCs to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the NDC Partnership.

The NDC Partnership is a global initiative to help countries achieve their national climate commitments through financial and technical assistance through the Climate Action Enhancement Package (CAEP).

The Partnership supports countries with a coastal blue carbon ecosystem to “enhance the quality, increase the ambition, and implement NDCs, every five years since the first round of NDC were submitted in 2016. With a footprint across 62 member countries and nine institutional partners since October 2017, the NDC Partnership holds significant experience, resources, and expertise to ensure that countries achieve NDC objectives.

This support is timely and critical. World Bank data shows the global ocean economy is valued at an estimated $1.5 trillion per year. Approximately 80 percent of international trade by volume is carried by sea, and an estimated 350 million jobs across the globe are linked to fisheries.

The report, NDCs-A Force for Nature? notes that 105 out of 114 updated NDCs submitted by October 12, 2021, included nature-based solutions in their roadmap to limit global warming.

Through CAEP, launched in 2019 with the technical and financial support of 46 partners, the NDC Partnership is currently supporting 67 countries to submit enhanced NDCs and fast-track their implementation.

The CAEP aims to catalyze change towards resilient, sustainable, and low-emission development, supporting the objectives of the Paris Agreement for member countries of the NDC Partnership. It also assists developing member countries in enhancing NDCs and fast-tracking their implementation, including providing in-country technical expertise and capacity building.

The NDC policy commitment, Pouponneau says, is a “robust, realistic, measurable and achievable yardstick against which Seychelles is evaluating its progress towards climate change resilience and sustainable development.”

“NDCs are a planning, finance and resource mobilization and accountability tool. And there is a commitment right from grassroots to the international level to achieve set targets.”

Wade agrees. She explains that through the NDC updating process, the National Climate Change Office, with support from the World Wildlife Fund and PEW Charitable Trusts, a National Blue Carbon Working Group was established.

“The group provided oversight for the research activities conducted in support of establishing realistic mangrove mitigation and adaptation targets for the updated NDC,” she says.

“The NDC also identifies concrete targeted actions to meet these obligations. And provides a space for bringing together planned and ongoing activities from existing national strategies as well as plans for target achievement.”

Both local communities and most of the Seychelles’ urban areas and infrastructure are concentrated next to the shore; therefore, the country’s economic activity relies on the sustainable management of marine resources.

“The blue economy’s primary challenge is the lack of understanding between the use of ocean-based resources, climate change resilience, and sustainable development. There is a need to educate local communities on why it is no longer business as usual,” Pouponneau says. “This education will go hand in hand with financial incentives to help local communities use ocean resources sustainably.”

 

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International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Credit: UN Women

By Divya Srinivasan and Humaida Abdulghafoor
NEW DELHI, India, Dec 22 2021 (IPS)

Marital rape has now been criminalized without exception in the Maldives, as part of a raft of significant amendments to the Sexual Offences Act (2014). The First Amendment to the Sexual Offences Act was ratified on 6 December 2021 by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

The move has been welcomed by national and international women’s rights groups which have been calling for greater legal protection against sexual violence.

In the Maldives, sexual assault has traditionally been viewed as a private matter. However, research-backed evidence has enabled campaigners and survivors to build public awareness.

The ground breaking Women’s Life and Health Experiences (WHLE) study by the Maldives Ministry of Health (2007) revealed that one in five women between the ages of 15 and 49 experienced intimate partner violence and one in eight women were subjected to childhood sexual violence.

The efforts of activists have fuelled growing recognition at all levels including policy, law and public awareness that the State must do more to effectively prevent, address and respond to widespread violence against women and girls.

A high profile case involving an attempted rape on a safari boat in the harbour of Hulhumale in June 2020 resulted in public protests and increased calls for police accountability in rape cases. The outcry prompted lawmakers to propose amendments to existing sexual violence legislation, including the nullification of certain discriminatory provisions from the Sexual Offences Act.

Hailed as an important step towards ensuring access to justice for all survivors, the reforms just signed into law improve the definition of rape, sexual injury, and sexual assault, and apply such offences regardless of marital status.

Previously, marital rape was only criminalised under certain limited circumstances, specifically when the marriage was in the process of dissolution, when one of the parties had applied for a divorce, if the couple was living separately under a mutual agreement, or if the husband knowingly passed a dangerous sexually transmitted disease to the wife.

The only marital rape conviction in the country was issued by the High Court on 1 October 2020. The victim in the case died from the assault — the posthumously reached verdict was possible through the narrow definition of rape in the law at the time (as the victim was separated from her husband).

Therefore, the current amendment criminalising marital rape without exceptions is a significant milestone in sexual violence legal history in the Maldives.

New amendments to the law also specify the provision of rape evidence kits at all government hospitals and health centres, and training for staff on using the kits, including applying a “victim-centred and trauma-informed” approach.

In addition, the Maldives Police Service has been mandated to use rape evidence kits while investigating sexual offence cases. It is anticipated that the implementation of these changes will help to increase the investigative robustness of rape cases and ensure survivors have a better chance to access justice than before.

In a further improvement, certain discriminatory evidence provisions have been removed. Previously, the court could throw out rape cases on the grounds that there was a possibility of false testimony being submitted by the victim assessed based on the so-called “dignity and discipline of the victim”.

This had left the door open for the introduction of evidence relating to the past sexual history of the victim, regardless of its relevance as to whether or not she had consented to the particular sexual act in the case.

The court was also able to consider “the relationship between the parties and the transactions between them prior to the offence” and construe that on these grounds it was improbable that an offence had occurred.

Another progressive amendment is the removal of a provision which previously allowed the denial of sexual violence if there was a long delay between the occurrence of the incident and its reporting, and if the incident was not narrated to another person in the intervening time.

International human rights standards state that there should be no adverse inference due to delay in reporting since there are many valid reasons why survivors do not report rape immediately.

The deletion of these discriminatory provisions from the statute books is extremely welcome as they enabled the course of justice to be perverted, and gender stereotyping and secondary victimisation of survivors during legal proceedings.

For survivors of sexual violence, the new amendments have eliminated some of the barriers to justice identified by Equality Now and Dignity Alliance International in a joint report Sexual Violence in South Asia: Legal and Other Barriers to Justice for Survivors, which calls on the Maldives, along with Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, to take urgent action in addressing sexual violence, improving access to justice for survivors, and holding perpetrators to account.

Legally permitting impunity for rape within marriage treats women as the property of their husbands and takes away their rights over their own body. By criminalising marital rape without exception, the Maldives is now more in line with international human rights standards and aligned with other countries in the South Asian region such as Nepal and Bhutan.

However, marital rape is still not a criminal offence in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, where human rights activists continue to advocate for legal reform.

Uthema is a Maldivian women’s rights NGO that advocates for gender equality and has been calling for better legal protection and access to legal redress for those subjected to sexual and gender-based violence.

Uthema congratulates the Government of the Maldives on this important positive change to the law and calls on all relevant State authorities to ensure that the law is fully and effectively implemented.

The legal modifications just passed have opened up avenues to justice for survivors, and introduce a much-needed deterrent to would-be perpetrators. This is crucially needed to address the problem of underreporting of sexual assaults, which is very low due to the system-wide service and law enforcement gaps.

Ensuring public and stakeholder awareness of the amendments, improving low reporting rates for rape, and improving investigation and prosecution procedures, are now the need of the hour.

The Maldives has taken a significant and progressive step to achieve justice for survivors of sexual violence, particularly within marriage. In a socio-cultural context where conservative forces continue to advocate for unequal marital relations and archaic patriarchal notions that marriage is a contract of ownership of women’s bodies for men, this legal shift sends an important message to all Maldivian people.

That message is that women in the Maldives have an inherent legal right to bodily autonomy and dignity as a separate human person deserving of equality with men, security, safety, optimal physical and mental health and wellbeing within marriage, free from sexual or any other form of violence.

For media enquiries please contact: Tara Carey, Equality Now, Head of Media Manager, E: tcarey@equalitynow.org; M: +447971556340 (WhatsApp)

Equality Now is an international human rights organisation that works to protect and promote the rights of women and girls around the world by combining grassroots activism with international, regional and national legal advocacy. For more details go to www.equalitynow.org, Facebook @equalitynoworg, and Twitter @equalitynow.

Uthema is a women’s human rights NGO registered in 2016, advocating for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Maldives.

Divya Srinivasan is Equality Now South Asia Consultant, and Humaida Abdulghafoor, Uthema Co-Founder and Member

 

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Women and men from the rural community of Sachac, at more than 3500 meters above sea level, build a kilometer-long infiltration ditch to capture rainwater and use it to irrigate crops in Cuzco, in Peru’s Andes highlands. CREDIT: Janet Nina/IPS

By Mariela Jara
CUZCO, Peru , Dec 22 2021 (IPS)

“When I was a little girl we didn’t suffer from water shortages like we do now. Today we are experiencing more droughts, our water sources are drying up and we cannot sit idly by,” Kely Quispe, a small farmer from the community of Huasao, located half an hour from Cuzco, the capital of Peru’s ancient Inca empire, told IPS.

She is one of the 80 members of the Agroecological School of the Flora Tristan Peruvian Women’s Center, a non-governmental institution that has worked for the recovery of water sources through traditional techniques known as seeding and harvesting water in this part of the southern Andean region of Cuzco.

Muñapata, Huasao and Sachac are the three rural Quechua-speaking communities in the province of Quispicanchi, located between 3150 and 3800 meters above sea level, that have so far benefited from the project. The feminist-oriented institution promotes solutions based on nature and community work to address the problem of water scarcity and inadequate water use practices.

“We want to boost water security as well as gender equality because they are two sides of the same coin,” Elena Villanueva told IPS. On Dec. 14 she presented in this city the results of the initiative whose first phase was carried out in 2020 and 2021, with the support of the Basque Development Cooperation Agency and Mugen Gainetik, an international association for cooperation with countries of the developing South also based in Spain’s northern Basque region.

According to the National Water Authority (ANA), Peru is the eighth country in the world in terms of water availability, with a rich hydrodiversity of glaciers, rivers, lakes, lagoons and aquifers. However, various factors such as inefficient management of water and uneven territorial distribution of the population, in addition to climate change, make it impossible to meet consumption demands.

“The lack of water severely affects families in rural areas because they depend on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. The melting of glaciers as well as the increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts due to climate change are reducing water availability,” Villanueva explained.

This impact, she said, is not neutral. Because of the gender discrimination and social disadvantages they face, it is rural women who bear the brunt, as their already heavy workload is increased, their health is undermined, and their participation in training and decision-making spaces is further limited.

Kely Quispe, a farmer trained at the Flora Tristán Center’s Agroecological School, holds a tomato in her organic garden in the farming community of Huasao. Her vegetable production depends on access to water for irrigation, but climate change has made water more scarce in the Andes highlands region of Cuzco in southern Peru. CREDIT: Janet Nina/IPS

“Moreover, although they are the ones who use water to ensure food, hygiene and health, and to irrigate their crops, they are not part of the decision-making with regard to its management and distribution,” she stressed.

The expert said that precisely in response to demand by the women farmers at the Agroecological School, where they receive technical and rights training, they are focusing on reviving water harvesting techniques used in ancient Peru, while promoting the equal participation of women in rural communities in the process.

She said that approximately 700 families living in poverty, some 3,500 people – about 11 percent of the population of the three communities – will benefit from the works being carried out.

Harvesting water

So far, these works are focused on the afforestation of 15 hectares and the construction of six “cochas” – the name for small earthen ponds, in the Quechua language – and an infiltration ditch, as part of a plan that will be expanded with other initiatives over the next two years.

The ditch, which is one kilometer long in 10-meter stretches, 60 centimeters deep and 40 centimeters wide and is located in the upper part of the community, collects rainwater instead of letting it run down the slopes.

The technique allows water to infiltrate slowly in order to feed natural springs, high altitude wetlands or small native prairies, as well as the cochas.

The mayor of the rural community of Sachac, Eugenio Turpo Quispe (right), poses with other leaders of the village of 200 families who will benefit from the forestation works and the construction of small reservoirs and infiltration ditches that will increase the flow of water in this highlands area that is suffering from prolonged droughts due to climate change. CREDIT: Mariela Jara/IPS

In their communal work, villagers use local materials and greenhouse thermal blankets to help retain water. In addition, they have used extracted soil to raise the height of the ditch, to keep rainwater from running over the top.

Although the ditch has been receiving rainwater this month (the rainy season begins in November-December), the ecosystem impact is expected to be more visible in about three years when the cocha ponds have year-round water availability, helping villagers avoid the shortages of the May-October dry season.

Several community members explained to IPS that they will now be able to harvest water from the ditch while at the same time caring for the soil, because heavy rain washes it away and leaves it without nutrients. Some 150 agricultural plots will also benefit from a sprinkler irrigation system, thanks to the project.

Since agriculture is the main livelihood of the families and this activity depends on rainwater, the main impact will be the availability of water during the increasingly prolonged dry periods to irrigate their crops, ensure harvests and avoid hunger, for both villagers and their livestock.

Eucalyptus and pine, huge consumers of water

The mayor of the Sachac community, Eugenio Turpo Quispe, told IPS that this is the first time that water seeding and harvesting practices have been carried out in his area. “We had not had the opportunity before; these works have begun thanks to the women who proposed forestation and the construction of cochas and ditches,” he said.

The local leader lamented that due to misinformation, two decades ago they planted pine and eucalyptus in the highlands of his community. “They have dried up our water sources, and when it rains the water disappears, it does not infiltrate. Now we know that out of ten liters of rain that falls on the ground, eight are absorbed by the eucalyptus and only two return to the earth,” he explained during the day that IPS spent in the community.

Women farmers from the rural community of Sachac show the map of water sources in their area and the uses for irrigation of their crops, for human consumption and household needs, as well as watering their animals, which they cannot satisfy throughout the year due to the increasingly long and severe dry season. CREDIT: Mariela Jara/IPS

Turpo Quispe said they had seen forestation and construction of cochas and ditches in other communities, but did not know how to replicate them, and that only through the Flora Tristán Center’s project have they been able to implement these solutions to tackle the serious problem of shrinking water sources.

In Sachac, the three techniques have been adopted with the participation of women and men in communal work that began at six in the morning and ended at four in the afternoon. “Side by side we have been planting native plants, digging ditches and hauling stones for the cochas,” the mayor said proudly.

In this community, 9,000 seedlings of queuñas (Polylepis) and chachacomos (Escallonia Resinosas) – tree species that were used in the times of the ancient Inca empire – were planted. “These trees consume only two liters of rainwater and give eight back to Pachamama (Mother Earth),” Turpo Quispe said. As part of the project, the community has built fences to protect crops and has relocated grazing areas for their animals.

“We have planted seedlings and in 10 or 15 years our children and grandchildren will see all our hills green and with living springs so that they do not suffer a lack of water,” the mayor said.

Kely Quispe from the community of Huasao is equally upbeat: “With water we can irrigate our potatoes, corn and vegetables; increase our production to have enough to sell and have extra money; take care of our health and that of the whole family, and prevent the spread of covid.”

“But just as we use water for life, it is also up to us to participate on an equal footing with men in irrigation committees and community councils to decide how it is distributed, conserved and managed,” she added.

A model shows the water sources in the rural community of Muñapata in the Cuzco region, in Peru’s southern highlands. It was made by local women and men who built a system based on ancestral techniques for the collection and management of water, as increasing drought threatens their lives and crops. CREDIT: Mariela Jara/IPS

The decade of water security

Villanueva of the Flora Tristán Center said it was important for the country’s local and regional authorities to commit to guaranteeing water security in rural areas within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development was declared for 2018-2028 by the United Nations and SDG6 is dedicated to water and sanitation, to ensure universal and equitable access for all, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, and support the participation of local communities in improving management and sanitation.

“At the national level, public policies aimed at seeding and harvesting water should be strengthened because they revive the communities’ ancestral knowledge, involving sustainable practices with low environmental impact that contribute to guaranteeing the food security of families,” she said.

However, Villanueva remarked, in order to achieve their objectives, these measures must not only promote equal participation of men and women, but must also be accompanied by actions to close the gender gap in education, access to resources, training and violence that hinder the participation and development of rural women.

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By Philippe Benoit
WASHINGTON, Dec 21 2021 (IPS)

U.S. President Biden just hosted The Summit for Democracy to demonstrate the advantages of democracy in the global competition with authoritarian regimes. The U.S. can succeed in this competition by demonstrating to the people of developing countries (i.e., the vast majority of the world’s population) how coupling democracy and development is the best course to improve their lives.

The U.S.’s ability to deploy this potent combination is an important advantage it enjoys over authoritarian competitors. For that reason, the Biden administration should add development to its democracy initiative.

As Biden has stressed: “We are in the midst of a fundamental debate about the future and direction of our world .. between those who argue … autocracy is the best way forward … and those who understand that democracy is essential.”

Similarly, he explained to a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress: “We’re in competition with China and other countries to win the 21st century.” And in this competition, he said, democracy must prevail: “We have to prove that our model isn’t a relic of our history; it’s the single best way to revitalize the promise of our future.”

The strategy should not be anchored in merely displaying that the world’s wealthiest countries are democracies. Rather, the strategy needs to establish that these wealthy democracies and the system they embody are the best equipped to improve the standards of living of the people of the developing world

The December summit was designed to do precisely that. Over 100 countries were invited to participate, with representatives from governments, civil society and the private sector. The number of countries and breadth of representation shows the Biden administration’s ambition.

The summit was organized around three themes: defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption and promoting respect for human rights. These are important topics when considering what a vibrant democracy can and should provide to its citizens. But there is a critical fourth theme missing from the summit: the power of democracies to improve the lives of the multitudes in developing countries suffering from inadequate standards of living.

Billions in these countries struggle to meet basic needs in food, shelter, health, education, sanitation and more. Too many families face daily threats of malnutrition, inadequate sanitation, insecurity, and generalized poverty. Too often, unreliable energy and transport systems, as well as corruption and repression, prevent families from raising their incomes to improve their lives. The terror that COVID-19 constitutes for impoverished countries illustrates the challenge.

The U.S. government needs to show the world’s people that democracies provide the best promise to improve their lives and to protect their families. The strategy should not be anchored in merely displaying that the world’s wealthiest countries are democracies. Rather, the strategy needs to establish that these wealthy democracies and the system they embody are the best equipped to improve the standards of living of the people of the developing world.

To win a global competition, it is important to speak to the global audience, and most of that audience resides in developing countries (over 5 billion people outside of China). Moreover, it is in these countries that populations will grow the most — 2 billion more people by 2050, with more than half of that growth occurring in Africa.

China has understood the importance of this audience, as epitomized by its massive trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative to finance infrastructure and other projects in developing countries. For various commentators in Washington, this initiative is less about assistance and more about Beijing’s strategy to advance its geopolitical interests to the detriment of the U.S.

Yet, irrespective of the motivation, developing countries have been taking note of both China’s growing overseas assistance, as well of its development successes in reducing poverty and raising incomes domestically.

But improving the quality of people’s lives is not only about more infrastructure or improved material conditions. It is also about social and political dimensions and, importantly, about freedoms (as reflected, for example, in the UN declaration on development).

This includes freedom from fear and oppression, the right to expression, to participate in politics and the right of minorities to the same opportunities as the majority. Importantly, these are elements that a vibrant democracy should deliver, and an authoritarian system is poorly equipped to provide.

Unfortunately, several of today’s democracies, including in many developing countries, are falling short in delivering on democracy’s promise. For example, minority ethnic groups in various countries are being discriminated against, or even oppressed, by the majority (a torment that is more prevalent in and arguably endemic to authoritarian regimes).

So, as Biden has stressed, democracies must do better: “We have to defend [democracy], fight for it, strengthen it, renew it.”  For these reasons, the three announced themes of the summit are indeed important.

And yet they are insufficient in and of themselves to win the global competition. Providing the conditions to raise people out of poverty and to promote inclusive prosperity free from fear is a critical and complementary fourth theme that would speak to people’s aspirations across the developing world.

While there was some discussion of economic development in connection with the summit, it was too limited.  So, in addition to new commitments on countering authoritarianism, etc., the democracy initiative of the Biden administration needs to catalyze substantial and meaningful action to better fight poverty and deprivation in poorer countries.

Among other things, this should include increased funding and more technical support from wealthy democracies to developing countries, but also commitments from the governments of the poorer nations to foster the conditions domestically for fair and inclusive growth.

The U.S. has historically understood the strategic importance of coupling development and democracy, sponsoring organizations such as the World Bank, UN Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The global wars of the last century demonstrated the benefits of a world in which the U.S. democracy surpassed authoritarian regimes — and also that the U.S. and other countries were safer in a world filled with vibrant democracies. This dynamic helps to explain why the U.S. has remained the biggest provider of overseas development assistance, notwithstanding fluctuating domestic political support. But there is growing international competition.

Democracy is a powerful system to be deployed globally to raise standards of living while promoting individual liberties and freedom from oppression. Authoritarian systems cannot stand up to that promise. Democracy’s leaders, including from many of the globe’s richest countries, need to demonstrate what they and democracy can provide to the world’s have-nots.

That is key to any strategy to win the competition of the 21st century. To this end, President Biden should, following on his earlier Leaders Summit on Climate and this Summit for Democracy, convene a “Summit for Development” that addresses the poverty and other challenges, as well as the aspirations, of the world’s disadvantaged.  

First published in The Hill on December 8, 2021

Philippe Benoit has over 25 years of experience working in international affairs and development, including in management positions at the World Bank. He is currently managing director, Energy and Sustainability, with Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050.

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Online platform Fuzia uses positive reinforcement and creativity to support its community. Credit: Sangeeta CS/Fuzia

By Fairuz Ahmed
New York, Dec 21 2021 (IPS)

This is an age where pandemics are raging, millions live in war-torn strife, yet women are judged on their skin tones and height, says matchmaker Hirion Shah.

“It is sad and frustrating to see educated families, Ph.D. holders, even scientists from high-tech companies turning down suitable matches based on only such issues. I have over 25 years of experience in matrimony matchmaking, and it is high time we change our perspective,” Shah says in an exclusive interview with IPS.

With hundreds of successful matchmaking successes over the years, she expresses her concern about stagnant values that many families demand while looking for potential matches for their children.

“And it does not stop there: fair, dark, skinny, little chubby, tall or not tall enough, these become central traits of being judged. This is almost an epidemic when it comes to Asian communities at home and abroad,” Shah says. “I have seen hundreds of marriages ending in divorce because basic values, characteristics, and overall compatibility were given a backseat during selection, and looks were prioritized.”

According to Compare Comp, in 2020, 55% of marriages across the globe were arranged marriages, and approximately 20 million arranged marriages exist today. The divorce rate for arranged marriages globally is at 6.3%.

India has the highest rate of arranged marriages, hitting 90%, followed by China, Pakistan, Japan, and Bangladesh. It is alarming that 14 million girls get married every year before turning 18.

The UN has declared child marriage a human rights violation. According to the UNFPA, those forced into early or child marriages suffer an increased risk of pregnancy and childbirth complications.

According to IBISWorld, weddings services in the US market alone comprises a $56.7bn industry and are given a center stage in millions of families. Besides wedding expenses, a good chunk of this industry expands to beautification, enhancing and fixing body images, altering skin color or looks.

The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) says that in 2017, more than half of their practitioners saw an increase in cosmetic surgery or injectables with clients under the age of 30. More than 80% of treatments were cosmetic non-surgical procedures, and the trend was born out of social pressures.

According to Harper’s Bazaar, the top three non-surgical treatments among brides, grooms, and wedding parties are facelifts, eyelifts, and nose jobs. Procedures like Botox, hyaluronic acid injections, and chemical peels are popular. Social media influence, peer pressure, and feeling a need to fit in were the main reasons for approaching a plastic surgeon.

Amina Banu recounts her experience of an arranged marriage.

“I grew up in a metro city. My mother has been a teacher for 30 years and my father a scientist. My older sister and brother both are engineers. I have completed a master’s from Michigan, United States,” Banu says, but none of this seemed to matter.

“It was a tiring process to get married despite our social and economic setting. I met over 25 suitors and settled down with the 26th. The process seems brutal and demeaning.”

She says she was rejected because she is 5’6”, and the suitors’ families thought the partners would look awkward.

Fuzia believe in supporting their online community through workshops, support groups and podcasts where users can understand and gain information about positive body shape affirmation and ways to develop a healthy relationship with their bodies. Credit: Ditsa Mahanti/Fuzia

“Happiness and the mental match have nothing to do with such fickle matter, but still, at our age, these are massive points to weigh in, while families look for suitable grooms or brides. The irony is that my husband is 5’4”, and we have been happily married for the past 12 years,” Banu says. She now has three sons and works in New York. She spends a lot of time promoting healthy lifestyles and body images in teens and young adults in minority communities.

The Obesity Action Coalition has found that among overweight middle-school-aged children, 30% of girls and 24% of boys experienced daily bullying, teasing, or rejection because of their size.

These numbers doubled for overweight, high school students – with 63% of girls and 58% of boys experiencing some form of bullying due to their weight and size. Most of the time, these weight-related comments sound like helpful hints. But in reality, children can feel trapped, alone, and helpless to change their situations.

Also, it is not just school bullies initiating weight teasing, body shaming, or teasing.

A study published on Wiley Online Library in September 2018 states that the victim’s friends, teachers, coaches, and even their parents often participate. They use subtle forms of bullying or relational aggression to bully and tease.

Obesity Action notes that many people bullied or shamed because of their weight suffer depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Pragya Singhal, a social media associate from the online platform Fuzia, says the platform offers support sessions, podcasts and publishes blogs to help people address body image and body-shaming issues.

“The majority of our users’ ages range from teens to young adults. We try to instill the affirmation that, with positivity and a growth mindset, you can become the best and most confident version of yourself,” Singhal says.

Fuzia, which Riya Sinha and Shraddha Varma co-founded, has 5 million users. It has created a safe space where users can network, have a conversation, share their creativity, find work opportunities and study online. The platform has a clear policy about profanity and hate speech and ensures positive engagement.

The online platform uses creative avenues to seek information about mental health, learn ways to cope, ask for help, and express themselves in a safe and judgment-free way.

Shraddha Varma, Fuzia’s co-founder, says that their initiatives align with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations of ensuring good health and well-being.   Fuzia sets up workshops, support groups, and podcasts where users can understand and gain information about positive body shape affirmation and ways to develop a healthy relationship with their bodies.

“In my opinion, body image has long been and is still considered a parameter of how one thinks about themselves and others. We all have something that we want to change about our bodies, and we have very little idea of how hugely it affects our self-esteem,” says Varma.

“Let’s accept that nobody’s perfect, and we must stop body-shaming others and ourselves. What matters instead is what our bodies can do, if we’re aware of our bodies and if we’re taking the right care of our bodies by getting a good dose of sleep, eating healthy, focusing on being strong and fit, and keeping just about a healthy weight.”

• This article is a sponsored feature.

 

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Women have taken the helm in Lebanon’s protests, but not in the realm of formal politics. This role is symbolized in this statue of a protesting woman in Martyrs' Square, Beirut. Credit: Mona Alami

By Mona Alami
Beirut, Lebanon, Dec 21 2021 (IPS)

Despite its apparent liberalism, Lebanon scores low in gender equality, especially in politics.

According to the Gender Gap index, Lebanon ranks third last in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with only Syria and Yemen, both plagued by war, scoring lower.

According to Reliefweb, since 2010, Lebanon has witnessed a consistent decline in its relative gender gap score – reaching close to zero in terms of political empowerment.

In November, incumbent Prime Minister Najib Mikati was criticized for saying that Lebanon’s Independence Day celebrations were similar to a “divorced woman celebrating her wedding anniversary … but let’s not forget that if she had remained understanding until her last day in the marriage, she wouldn’t be divorced…”

Rima Husseini, professor at the Lebanese American University (LAU), says empowerment in the country is superficial.

“On the surface, we are seen as an example because Lebanon has a high number of educated women, with many female entrepreneurs. In appearance, we seem more liberated, but that does not translate into political empowerment at a practical level,” she says in an exclusive interview with IPS.

There is only one woman in the current government.

In the previous election in 2018, only six of 86 women who registered to run for the 128-seat Parliament won their seats. Five of them were members of political parties, which helped facilitate their victory.

Paula Yaacoubian, ventured into politics without the usual patronage – a family name, wealth, or the support of a male political leader.

Only one, former television news presenter Paula Yacoubian ran as an independent, won a seat. Unlike other female candidates, she did not come from a political family nor backed by a local male political leader.

While under Article 7 of the Lebanese constitution, gender equality is guaranteed, personal status is often in the hands of religious communities.  Lebanon recognizes 18 religious communities, each with a different status law, which means gender equality may not apply.

“Inequality stems from the patriarchal framework of households, where family codes and communal laws see women as objects owned by their family. This reality affects women’s political participation in Lebanon,” explains Husseini.

The patriarchal system, where women educate their sons differently from their daughters, is one of the biggest challenges faced by Lebanese women. Another stems from the sectarian system, one of the most detrimental factors hindering women’s political representation, explains Yaacoubian.

More than two decades have passed since Lebanon adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Yet, it has failed so far to comply with the treaty, more specifically when it comes to the gender quota system allowing women’s integration into political life.

“Lebanon’s patriarchal system, which is built on laws that aim to control women and youth, does not allow for real citizenship, with factors of separation such as class and religion prevailing,” says Husseini. “When you think of it, there is no real Lebanese citizenship, no social contract that binds us together. Women have a great role to play but cannot because of the legal system that differentiates between men and women.”

This translates to Lebanon falling behind regarding women’s representation, with no quotas to act as a safeguard, unlike other regional countries.

In nearby Jordan, in appearance, a more conservative country than Lebanon, nine percent of women hold ministerial positions. Another 12 percent participate in Parliament, with an additional 32 percent participating in the local legislatures.

Women played a major role in recent protests in Lebanon. However, this has not translated into political power. Credit: Mona Alami

In Iraq, Women set an unprecedented historical record in the 2021 election. According to an article by the New Arab, 97 female candidates were elected to the 329-seat chamber this year, which equals 29.4 percent of the new Iraqi parliament. This represents 14 more seats than the required quota for female MPs, which is 83, or 25% of parliament according to Iraq’s electoral laws.

The New Arab estimates that the support for female candidates was so significant that 57 MPs will enter the next parliament based solely on registered votes rather than the allocated quota system.

“Conversely, women’s access to politics is restricted in Lebanon. As an example, former MP Dina Boustany only entered parliament after the death of her father. Women get into parliament due to their familial relations,” says Myriam Sfeir, Director of the LAU Arab Institute for Women. “There is a famous saying: ‘women enter parliament as a result of the death of a relative’. Then they leave political life when their male descendant comes of age. In addition, Lebanese political parties are simply more willing to fund men.”

Yaacoubian, who is the only woman to have broken the rules by venturing into politics without the sponsor of a family name, wealth, or the support of a male political leader, underlines that entering political life as a woman is not without cost in Lebanon.

“Women are treated as if they are missing some quality (that men are supposed to have). The prevailing mentality is that men know better, although studies have shown that women tend to be less corrupt and more humane in politics,” she says.

Independent political players such as Yaacoubian, explains Husseini, are often the object of bullying, with efforts made to diminish their value on a personal level or attack their reputation, which would never happen to a male political candidate.

Despite remaining on the sideline of the Lebanese parliamentary life, women have been at the helm of the 2019 protest movement.

They succeeded in easing conflict between separate sectarian regions, such as Ain Remaneh and Chiyah in Beirut, and protected protestors when the riot police attacked them.

In November, three judges, all women, handed in their resignation to protest political interference in the judiciary’s work and the undermining of decisions issued by judges and courts.

“Women are very present, especially as civil society actors. Lebanese women are demanding to be included on decision tables. They are carving a space for themselves in the political world. However, a quota system is essential to ensure better representation in the next parliamentary elections,” says Sfeir.

Women must be brave and persevere at any cost if they want to enter politics, concludes Yaacoubian.

 

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