BRIGHTON, UK, Mar 09 (IPS) – This year marks the halfway point— eight years in and eight years out— of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty and reduce inequalities.
Yet we are a long way off from these commitments, and multiple crises – now known as ‘polycrisis’ – such as conflict, disaster and extreme poverty are converging on low income and lower-middle income countries, necessitating systemic change in our poverty eradication efforts.
The scale of the challenge before us is undeniable. Poverty has long been concentrated in certain low- and lower middle-income countries that continue to experience conflict and a high number of conflict related fatalities, and high numbers of people affected by disasters from earthquakes, to floods, fires or drought.
These are just two causes of impoverishment and chronic poverty, which often combine with other crises and shocks including ill health.
This isn’t just a concern, however, at the country level. The challenge we are increasingly facing because of polycrisis in many parts of the world is that inequalities within countries are also worsening. The complex and often multi-layered nature of today’s crises means that policymakers need to develop longer term solutions, instead of firefighting crises as they emerge.
Our work at the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network (CPAN) in Afghanistan saw that the pandemic, layered with the transition in power, drought, and heightened economic crises, all combined to drive poverty and a dramatic increase in hunger.
Its consequences were especially worrying for certain groups, not least women and girls, and with intergenerational consequences.
In Nigeria, research points to a confluence of hardships over the years experienced by the poorest populations due to sequenced, interdependent crises. The poorest households pre-pandemic were more likely to experience hunger and sell agricultural and non-agricultural assets to cope during COVID-19 in 2020.
As time went on they were also more likely to pay more than the official price for petrol in 2022 during rampant economic crisis, and to expect drought and delayed rains to negatively affect them financially into 2023.
Yet despite interconnected crises, most governments and international agencies respond to each disaster individually as it arises. This could limit the effectiveness of poverty eradication interventions or create additional sources of risk and vulnerability amidst polycrisis.
For example, the singular focus of many countries responding to COVID-19 often diverted resources from other interventions including peacebuilding operations, thereby allowing new conflict risks to arise.
Working ‘in’ and ‘on’ polycrisis: centring equity and risk
To reach the goal of poverty eradication and reducing extreme inequities, it is critical to respond in a way is sensitive to working in places experiencing polycrisis. This requires at a minimum upholding principles of ‘do no harm’ and being sensitive to local conditions and contexts.
At the same time, we need to find ways of proactively working on polycrisis, by responding to multiple crises simultaneously rather than one at a time. In other words, building on learning from conflict contexts, we need to be working in and on polycrisis in the road to zero poverty.
Many countries worked ‘in’ polycrisis when responding to climate-related disasters during COVID-19. For example, the Bangladesh government adapted its Cyclone Preparedness Plan through various actions including modifying dissemination of messaging through public announcements and digital modalities, and combining early warning messaging with COVID-19 prevention and protection messaging.
Afghanistan disaggregates needs by sector, severity, location, and population groups in its humanitarian needs overview, which when considered holistically can help ensure responses that prioritise benefiting people in poverty.
There are equally important lessons from working ‘on’ polycrisis. The World Food Programme’s operational plan in response to COVID-19 was regularly updated to consider evolving layered crises and support pre-emptive action, scale-up direct food assistance, and reinforce safety nets.
There are also examples we can draw on for reducing poverty from around localised decision making, relying on the knowledge that local communities, women’s rights organisations, and local disaster risk management agencies have about populations in the areas in which they operate.
Flexibility in funding is important in this process to be able to respond to rapidly changing contexts and needs.
Working ‘in’ and ‘on’ polycrisis together necessitates matrix thinking, rebooting and recasting what we know of complexity of intersectionality. While we previously recognised intersecting inequalities primarily by identity markers, such as gender, caste, and socio-economic status, we need to increasingly be aware of how inequalities of people and place converge over time, and how we might centre equity in risk-informed responses.
This requires a fundamental shift from single-issue technocratic approaches to crisis management. For example, though social protection – direct financial assistance for people – was heralded as a key mitigation measure during COVID-19 and in response to recent food and energy price inflation, most cash transfer programmes averaged just four to five months during the pandemic.
Social protection could be adjusted to increasingly target the vulnerable as well as people in poverty, and within those categories the people who have arguably been most disadvantaged by these crises. Recovery programmes by governments and international agencies also need to go on for longer than they typically do to build people’s resilience in times of uncertainty.
Disaster-risk management agencies within government could also consistently integrate conflict considerations in their activities. There are examples of anticipatory action such as early warning systems that draw on local, customary knowledge that could be built on in this process.
Investments in coordination between disaster risk, social protection, and peacebuilding agencies, as well as multilateralism between governments, civil society, and international organisations more broadly are needed to anticipate and adapt to systemic risk.
But this risk-informed development will only get us so far, if equity is not centred alongside risk management. Just as crises are increasingly layered and interdependent, we need to similarly integrate our responses to break the link between polycrisis and poverty.
Opinion by Giulia Ribeiro Barao, Bosen Lily Liu (paris)
Inter Press Service
The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day, March 8.
PARIS, Mar 08 (IPS) – In September 2020, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for women’s rights celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was, however, a bittersweet commemoration, mixing joy for the progress in gender equality achieved since 1995, and the stark realization about the multidimensional gaps awaiting tackling and the new divides brought by the social consequences of COVID-19.
In 2021, UNESCO projected that 11 million girls were at risk of not returning to school after the education interruptions caused by the pandemic. Even though the educational disruption accelerated the way into innovative learning practices, including distance and online education, it was not an equal reality for all social groups, since those already marginalized were also overrepresented in the offline population, including girls and women, and especially those living in poverty and rural communities (ECOSOC, 2021).
In 2020, worldwide, 57 percent of women used the Internet, compared with 62 per cent of men (ECOSOC, 2021). In the least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), Africa, and the Arab States, the gender gap in internet use remains more significant.
For instance, in LDCs, only 19 per cent of women are using the internet, which is 12 percentage points lower than men. Similarly, in Africa, 24 per cent of women use the internet compared to 35 per cent of men, while in the Arab States, the Internet usage rate is 56 per cent, compared to 68 per cent of men.
Girls and women who are kept without access to Internet and digital literacy will not benefit from the technological revolution that is currently transforming all areas of life, most centrally the educational sector and the job markets.
Even though innovation and technology for girls and women’s education is undoubtedly a critical topic in the contemporary scenario, we should notice that innovation itself extends beyond the boundaries of the digital world.
To further explore the field of innovation in education, the UNESCO Young People on Transforming Education Project (YPTEP) focuses on innovative learning practices – technological or non-technological tools and techniques – initiated and led by learners themselves for meaningful and transformative engagement in their own educational journeys.
One highlight of the project is on understanding the gender-responsive practices from girls and women.
Girls and women worldwide have long been innovative in fighting gender barriers and creating self-initiative and community strategies to accessing learning even when excluded from Internet access and other forms of innovation.
A female leader who creates a finance course for mothers, while providing turns of collective care for their children, is innovating in education. A girl who creates a book club with her friends to read and debate publications on feminism is innovating in education.
Women in STEM, taking part in research and development groups, although still underrepresented, are innovating in education.
So, here we are – right at the crossroad where education, innovation and gender inequalities meet. Not paying attention to those issues will only aggravate previous gaps, hampering the advancement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
To contribute to this debate and pathways for solutions, the UNESCO team of Young People on Transforming Education Project (YPTEP) at UNESCO IESALC hosted a Fireside Chat on “Women and girls, innovation, and higher education” on 6 March 2023 to reunite women and girls from different countries and regions and celebrate their success not only to overcome challenges, but also to become changemakers in the field.
During the chat, we had the opportunity to engage with ten female storytellers who shared their stories on innovative learning and expand our understanding of innovation, creativity, and transformation in education.
Stories approached, in a broader sense, innovative paths in getting access to higher education; innovative learning practices to get through education and achieve learning goals; innovative tools and techniques that have enhanced their experiences as learners both inside and outside the classroom; and studying and working initiatives to design new technology and broader forms of innovation for education.
Participation in the Fireside Chat is also open and expected from all those who wish to share their experiences on innovative learning and higher education. We have organized interactive activities and will have “open chatbox” and “open mic” for anyone who are willing to present yourselves typing and tell your stories live.
References
Global Education Monitoring Report Team & UNESCO. (2021). #HerEducationOurFuture: keeping girls in the picture during and after the COVID-19 crisis; the latest facts on gender equality in education . UNESCO.
CLEVELAND, March 7, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– Ideastream Public Media (Ideastream) and Evergreen Podcasts (Evergreen) are proud to announce the launch of Living for We, a new bi-weekly journalistic podcast series surrounding the health and wellness Black women face in Northeast Ohio. The podcast, hosted by Ideastream’s Marlene Harris-Taylor, is part of Connecting the Dots between Race and Health, an ongoing Ideastream Public Media initiative that looks at how racism contributes to poor health outcomes in Northeast Ohio. HeyFranHey of The Loud Speakers Network’s The Friend Zoneand HBO’s Insecuriteapodcast is acting as creative director and contributing producer for Living For We, a podcast produced in collaboration with Cleveland’s Enlightened Solutions.
“We hope this podcast takes the listeners on a journey with Black women from Cleveland, as we try to make sense of this study that ranked Cleveland dead last in terms of livability for Black women,” says Marlene. “There are so many positive things happening in the city, but Black women say in some respects they are still on the margins, struggling to be seen and heard.”
The podcast pulls inspiration from Project Noir, a report created by Bethany Studenic and Chinenye Nkemere of Enlightened Solutions. They were inspired to create the report after Bloomberg CityLAB reported on a newly released study that placed Cleveland as dead last regarding livability for Black Women. In response, Project Noir- a survey featuring over 450 Black women from the Cleveland area sharing firsthand accounts of experiences in Cleveland’s workplaces, schools, and educational systems- was published.
“Our partnership with Ideastream on this special community-focused initiative is a proud moment for Evergreen,” says David Allen Moss, Evergreen’s Chief Creative Officer. “This new series really lives up to our belief that podcasts can have a profound impact on the lives of residents in communities like Cleveland. We are all coming together in the name of positive change.”
The limited-run journalistic podcast series will be released bi-weekly through June 2023. Season One of the Connecting the Dots between Race and Health Podcast: Living for We, is made possible by generous support from Dr. Donald J. Goodman and Ruth Weber Goodman Philanthropic Fund of the Cleveland Foundation. One can subscribe to the podcast for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and many other podcast platforms.
About Ideastream Public Media Ideastream Public Media serves the people of Northeast Ohio as a trustworthy and dynamic multimedia source for illuminating the world around us. Publicly supported and locally owned, Ideastream is indispensable and highly valued for its unique ability to strengthen our community. It is the home of five public television stations (WVIZ, WVIZ OHIO, WVIZ WORLD, WVIZ CREATE and WVIZ KIDS); WKSU, Northeast Ohio’s NPR news, and public affairs radio station; WCLV, Northeast Ohio’s classical music radio station; and The Ohio Newsroom. Ideastream produces the award-winning children’s educational series “NewsDepth” and manages The Ohio Channel and the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau on behalf of all Ohio’s public broadcasting stations. As Ohio’s largest independent, publicly supported media organization, Ideastream provides free programs and services to 3.6 million people in 22 counties across radio, TV, and digital platforms. For more information about Ideastream’s rich legacy of innovation and credible content, visit ideastream.org.
Opinion by Mercy Erhi Makpor (guimarães, portugal)
Inter Press Service
Guimarães, Portugal, Mar 07 (IPS) – The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day, March 8. The accelerating pace of digitalization has ushered humanity into a whole different era of information and communication. Today, digitalization permeates every aspect of our lives, socio-economically and politically.
Pakistani women peacekeepers in the audience at the National University of Science and Technology in Islamabad, where Secretary-General António Guterres delivered an address on the topic of peacekeeping. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten
Opinion by Simone Galimberti (kathmandu, nepal)
Inter Press Service
The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day, March 8
KATHMANDU, Nepal, Mar 06 (IPS) – If you want to have a good reading on women and young girls’ activism, there is a high chance that you have missed an incredibly interesting report.
On the one hand, the special procedures under UN Human Rights focused on women should be re-organized and on the other hand, country level programs supporting women should become more unified. Meanwhile, a new global platform, building on the Generation Equality Forum, could bring these two complementary but vastly different realm of works, together to engage the global public and the leaders.
The blueprint offers a real and practical guidance on about how the direct involvement and engagement of women and young girls is essential if governments are serious about achieving gender equality and ends, once for all, any type of gender-based discriminations.
The Working Group is composed by five experts, mostly academician but also practitioners, on women’s rights and despite the low profile, it maintains a real busy annual schedule that makes its work incredibly relevant and valuable.
It does not only meet three times a year for planning and coordination and but also holds a dialogue at the Human Rights Council in June in addition to reporting to the General Assembly in October/November and also participates at the annual March meeting of the Commission on the Status of the Women.
On the top of all these tasks and consider that their commitment with the Working Group proceeds along their official and equally demanding full-time jobs, the members also conduct annual visits to member states to monitor and assess their work to protect women and girls against discrimination.
The problem is that its work does get neither visibility nor recognition.
One of the reasons is that the UN human rights architecture promoting and defending the rights of women is too complex and fragmented and requires a drastic overhaul.
There are too many mechanisms often with an almost overlapping mandates tasked to protect women’s rights, perhaps also a reflection on the inevitable rivalries at the UN and the consequent compromises that are always struck by the member states.
Her mandate is stronger and certainly more visible than those of the members of the Working Group even though she operates within UN Human Rights.
Though the former mechanism is focused on fighting discrimination and the latter is instead exclusively aimed at assessing cases of violence against women, you might wonder if it could be more effective and value for money to devise a more united approach, a more effective modality to monitor and defend the rights of women around the world.
Certainly, we cannot discount the fact that we are talking about special procedures mechanisms within the Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental body within the UN that is actually the only forum where the member states of the UN discuss, share and peer reviews their human rights.
The special procedures are important because they uniquely involve top experts in matters of human rights and their contributions provide even more legitimacy to the important work that the UN System is doing to uphold the rights of vulnerable persons around the world.
A possibility to strengthen their work could be to imagine a different “governance” that maximizes their opinions and reviews, even with the possibility to provide full time tenures and adequate resources to support their work and give it the visibility it deserves.
It is composed by twenty-three experts and one of its main tasks is to “assist States parties in the preparation of initial and subsequent periodic reports” and holding constructive dialogue with them and issue the so called “concluding observations” on what the member states present to show their commitment to CEDAW.
Officially started in 2017, the platform aims to “promote thematic and institutional cooperation between the UN and regional expert mechanisms on the elimination of discrimination and violence against women and girls with the view of accelerating domestication of international and regional standards, achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls”.
The reality is that this mechanism never got traction nor got the mandate to truly coordinate among UN and external, autonomous regional mechanisms outside of the purview of the UN system.
Mentioned earlier, the Commission on the Status of the Women is the oldest of all these mechanisms that, while proved to be indispensable over the last decades to mainstream women rights within the universal human rights agenda, is now outdated.
Till now we have been only focusing on mechanisms to uphold, monitor and protect the rights of women.
We have not yet discussed the “program” side of the equation, the work to prevent violence and discrimination against women and promote their empowerment being done by UN agencies and programs, including UN Women the agency that provides the secretariat of the Commission on the Status of Women.
In this respect, there is also, always within the UN System, the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality or IANWGE, bringing together all the main women focal points of all UN agencies and programs.
Under responsibility of UN Women, the Network appears weak and just a formality though we should assume that at country level, all the work related to women’s empowerment is coordinated under the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (formerly named United Nations Development Assistance Framework).
This is a process that itself could require a further upgrade to truly maximize cooperation and avoidance of overlaps between and among agencies and programs.
It is evident that in both domains, on the one hand, the human rights accountability mechanisms and on the other hand, the actions and programs on the ground to change the status quo, there is need of a much stronger synergy and coordination, something that might be objected by several members of the UN that are unlikely to support anything akin to strengthen mechanisms upholding human rights.
Even the Commission on the Status of Women itself, whose upcoming session will be held between the 6 and17 March, should be re-thought.
With a multiyear thematic plan, the Commission, is a toothless and unnoticed advocacy and knowledge creation institution that each year comes up with a topic up for analysis and discussion.
This year, for example, the focus will be on “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls” while last year’s theme was centered around climate change, environment and disaster prevention.
There are no doubts that it is important to have a global convening forum that brings together the top experts on issues that are so relevant to achieve SDG 5. Yet it is not hard to imagine how a stronger, more coordinated women centered architecture in the UN could achieve and produce more while spending less.
Let’s remind ourselves that the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs brought some institutional innovations in the way the UN operates, primarily the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, that is the major SDGs focused platform promoted by the UN.
Besides its usual gathering in July, this year the Forum will also host another SDG Summit in September, the biggest format to discuss about and review the SDGs at the highest levels of political leadership worldwide.
Yet, while we are referring to a strong advocacy and review mechanism with a considerable amount of convening power, the High-Level Political Forum is simply what it is, a review mechanism of countries’ performances towards accomplishing the SDGs and important vehicle for debating them.
A reform of a stronger UN System that is better positioned to truly achieve SDG 5, should acknowledge an existing deep gulf between promotion and defense of human rights focusing on women (as well other human rights issues) and, on the other end, actions on ground at legislative, judiciary and economic and social levels to change the status quo.
For example, UN Human Rights has no formal role in hosting the High-Level Political Forum that is instead organized by ECOSOC and has a very limited presence at countries level.
A better chance at ensuring that the rights of women are defended while their living conditions improve, could be based on two complementary internal reforms within the UN System: an improvement on how Human Rights operates and a drastic rethinking of how the women focused service, advocacy and delivery-oriented agencies of the UN work.
On the former, the UN Human Rights could undertake, with the aim of giving them more voice and authority, a major reform of its “accountability” mechanisms that rely on the professionalism, integrity and expertise of world class activists, advocates and legal scholars.
The role of the Commission on the Status of the Women should also be reviewed. As per now, its outreach and voice are limited within the development sector and it has become almost irrelevant and unknown to the global public opinion.
On the latter, in terms of programs and initiatives supporting women and their rights around the world, only a true One United Nations approach at country level could do the job with ultimately a much better coordination and one unified “delivery” channel.
Both processes of change and their respective spheres of work, accountability and program, could then be promoted through a united “Global Women” platform that could end up with the same visibility that COP process gained for climate action.
A recently created multi partnership forum could, potentially, become such main vehicle to achieve SDG 5. I am talking of Generation Equality Forum, a joint initiative of Mexico and France that has been facilitated by UN Women.
It holds a great potential to facilitate new collaborations that so far has been convened twice in 2021, first in Mexico City and then in Paris, paving the way for an ambitious global program of action, the Global Acceleration Plan.
The interesting part of it is that the Forum is truly action oriented with its members committing to take action through six sub areas groups, branded as Generation Equality Action Coalitions that include the entire spectrum of areas that would ensure achieving SDG 5.
From gender violence to economic justice, to bodily autonomy and sexual reproductive rights, to climate justice to technology and innovation, to leadership, the coalitions, made up by hundreds of civil society organizations, global foundations and private corporations, can really facilitate partnerships with private sector and civil society, a capacity that the UN System has never mastered.
Can this new and bold attempt to catalyze efforts and investments for the rights of women and girls around the world become the epicenter of a new women focused development architecture?
Can a hybrid vehicle to rally global investments and actions for women help galvanize global attention on their rights and at same time do the job of meeting the targets of SDG 5?
Finally, would a new women focused “governance” of development assistance also force the UN System to change for good its working modalities?
Even if the accountability mechanisms under UN Human Rights would remain formally separated by this process of renewal for women ‘rights, nevertheless the banner of the Generation Equality Forum transformed into a “Global Women” platform could be used to highlight and “empower” their work.
The fact that this year there will be another gathering of the Generation Equality Forum could offer additional new momentum to the initiative though last year only a very low key event celebrated its 1st year anniversary.
Yet it was still an important gathering because it was where the Forum’s first accountability report was unveiled.
In few days from now the Forum will actively participate in the upcoming session of Commission on the Status of Women but with some insights, perhaps, the opposite process should occur.
The Commission and all other women focused mechanisms and programs, at minimum, could become part of a much larger and more institutionalized institution that should also be fully aligned to and possibly become the central pillar for SDG 5 of The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Rather they should be truly embraced head-on. Meanwhile another great publication on women and young girls’ activism will be read by too few people.
Simone Galimberti is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE and co-initiator of the Good Leadership, Good for You & Good for the Society, both active in Nepal. He writes on volunteerism, social inclusion, youth development and regional integration as an engine to improve people’s lives
Opinion by Magdalena Sepulveda (geneva, switzerland)
Inter Press Service
GENEVA, Switzerland, Mar 06 (IPS) – The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day, March 8. She will be called Aya. This is the name that nurses gave to the infant baby pulled from the rubble of a five-story building in Jinderis, northern Syria. A miracle. Beside her, the rescuers found her mother, dead.
She had given birth within hours of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on the night of February 6, 2023. Like her, more than 50,000 people died in the earthquake. As tragic as it is hopeful, this story has moved the international media.
It also reminds us that over 350,000 pregnant women who survived the earthquake now urgently need access to health care, according to the United Nations. And this is only one aspect of women’s vulnerability to natural disasters.
Floods, droughts, earthquakes, and other extreme events are not gender-neutral, especially in developing countries. Evidence shows that women and girls die in greater numbers and have different and uneven levels of resilience and capacity to recover.
Of the 230,000 people killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, for example, 70% were women. Because of gender barriers, they often have fewer survival skills: boys are taught to swim or read first. This makes it difficult for them to access early warnings or identify safe shelters.
In addition, it is more difficult for women to escape from danger, since they are most often responsible for children, the elderly, and the sick. Heightened tensions and fear, as well as the loss of income provoked by disasters, drive increased domestic violence against women and girls.
They are also the first victims of sexual violence and exploitation when entire populations are displaced – this was one of the first concerns in Pakistan when more than 8 million people had to leave their homes because of the terrible floods in June-August 2022.
Natural catastrophes negatively impact everyone economically, but women and girls are disproportionately affected. World Bank data show that female farmers suffer much more than male ones in rural areas.
Assigned to domestic tasks, they are more dependent than men on access to natural resources and are, therefore, the first to suffer when these become scarce. In every region, food insecurity is higher among women than men.
In 2020, it was estimated that nearly 60% of the people who go hungry are women and girls, and the gender gap has only increased since then. Their lack of access to bank accounts also means that women’s assets are less protected than men’s.
And, of course, recovery from any crisis builds on societal expectations related to gender roles. Consequently, women bear the brunt of the increased domestic burden after a disaster at the cost of missing out on other income-generating activities.
We know that women spend, on average, 3.2 times more time than men on unpaid care work, and the COVID-19 pandemic – another human-induced natural catastrophe – made evident how unequally unpaid care and domestic work is shared, and how undervalued and underrecognized it is.
This is a major constraint on women’s access to education, an obstacle to their entry into and advancement in the paid labor market, and to their political participation, with serious consequences in terms of social protection, income, and pensions.
Gender inequality exacerbates the impact of natural disasters, and the consequences of natural disasters exacerbate gender inequality. An unacceptable vicious cycle. With the world already facing a growing number of climate-related tragedies, governments must take immediate and long-term action to invest in universal access to health care, water and sanitation, education, social protection, and infrastructure for gender equality and the full enjoyment of women’s human rights.
Even in times of crisis, when state coffers are nearly empty, there are equitable solutions to raise revenues to fund the investments needed to strengthen women’s resilience: to make those who profit from the crises ravaging the planet, including from those natural disasters, pay, as recommended by the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT), of which I am a member alongside, among others, Joseph Stiglitz, Jayati Ghosh, and Thomas Piketty. Instead of implementing austerity programs that devastate the most disadvantaged, states can increase their fiscal space by taxing companies and the super-rich more.
It starts with taxing the super profits made by multinationals, and several countries in Europe and Latin America have already begun to do so. This is particularly true for the pharmaceutical giants that have made a fortune selling vaccines against Covid-19, which they were able to develop due to public subsidies. This is also the case for multinationals in the energy or food sector.
Oxfam estimates that their profits increased by more than two and a half times (256%) in 2022 compared with the 2018–2021 average. For the same reasons, it is urgent to tax the richest, who get away with paying hardly any taxes these days.
One cannot accept that, as Oxfam reminds us, a man like Elon Musk, one of the wealthiest men in history, is taxed at 3.3%, while Aber Christine, a market trader in Uganda who sells rice, is taxed at 40%.
Progressive taxation – making the richest people and multinationals pay their fair share – is one of the most powerful tools for reducing inequality of all kinds. As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, let’s keep in mind that it is impossible to build more resilient societies without fighting for gender equality.
Continuing to ignore it is a political choice, and an even more perilous threat to development than natural disasters themselves.
Magdalena Sepúlveda is the Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT). From 2008-2014 she was the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights @Magda_Sepul
There’s a scene in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women that goes down in history as one of my favorites in all of cinema.
In it, Saoirse Ronan, who plays the spirited and independent Jo March, gives a monologue about how women are expected to be one dimensional — either opinionated or loved, smart or pretty, dedicated to her career or to her husband.
In her frustration, she says: “Women … they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for.”
It’s a powerful scene, carrying a powerful sentiment, but it doesn’t end there. After her triumphant declaration, Jo breaks down, revealing what she’s ashamed to admit to herself: “But I’m so lonely.”
This monumental scene is both emotional and political. Her poignant but vulnerable musings express the central tension of the film: the desire to be seen as a complex, capable individual while society tries to pin you down as the opposite.
What’s so special about that scene — besides Saoirse’s acting masterclass — is that Jo is putting language to something that so many of us can’t name. Although this is super relatable to most women, it’s difficult to accept that despite the advancement of women over the years, so much of this is still true today. Socially, women are taught to view themselves as less deserving and when they assert that they’re worth more, they’re often punished.
In most cases, sexism is so ingrained in society that it takes years to apprehend the unconscious biases that plague our daily life. This sexism gets reinforced by the media because until recently men created the representation of women.
This is why the presence of women in media is so critical. Telling female-driven stories help reshape how women see themselves outside of the strictures of the male gaze.
Directors like Greta Gerwig are more and more common — women telling dynamic, well-rounded stories about the diversity and expansiveness of the female experience.
In Gerwig’s podcast conversation with Barry Jenkins for A24, she discusses the monumental importance of being mentored by female directors. “I’d never met a young woman who said she wanted to be a director … I had fallen in love with film, but it just still felt out of reach. And all of a sudden I was like, Oh, wait, are we allowed to say we want to do this?”
From her undergrad days as a fledgling director to now, Gerwig notes how much has changed for female directors. And how revolutionary it is.
In the podcast, Gerwig continues: “People are like this year of “women in film.” And I’m like, not only do you have Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow, you also have Maggie Betts and Dee Rees and Valerie Faris and me and Patty Jenkins and Angelina Jolie. And those are all very visible films.”
It’s not just the number Gerwig is impressed by, but also the variety. She continues. “There’s thousands more. And that is an extraordinary moment, I think. And those are all such different films from each other. It’s not like, “Here is the kinds of films women make.” It’s like, I can’t think of two films more different from Battle of the Sexes to Mudbound to Wonder Woman.”
Gerwig is right. All these films vary greatly, but they’re equally reflective of a moment where women are rapidly gaining agency.
You can see the difference. There are even memes about how heartthrobs like Timothee Chalamet and Harry Styles seem like Men Written By Women. In a world where famed directors like Tarantino famously and unflinchingly depict violence against women — I won’t even get into the Sam Levinson/The Weeknd drama on set of The Idol — it’s refreshing to enjoy the female gaze, rather than the oft-reductive male gaze.
So bask in the glory of The World By Women. Here are just a few of the best female-directed films that are streaming now:
Lady Bird, Netflix
via A24
Because of my affinity for Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan, it’s no surprise that Lady Bird is first on my list. In the podcast, Jenkins describes its magic saying: “you’re watching this movie … and everybody’s laughing their heads off the first 45 minutes and then you start to hear a few people sniffling in the back and on the side and then you realize, I’m watching a very, very heavy, sad kind of film. And it all coalesces into this very hopeful kind of thing that feels earned.”
Mudbound, Netflix
Every emotion you’ve ever felt is perfectly rendered in the award-winning feature, Mudbound. Director Dee Ross places the audience in the post-war South, watching the splintering of two families — one white, one Black. It’s more than worth all the heavy feelings it evokes.
Till, Amazon Prime
We should all be talking about Chinonye Chukwu. The director behind Till, one of the most heart wrenching films of 2022, was the first Black woman to win the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance fro Clemency in 2019. Till depicts the famous racial tragedy of the lynching of Emmett Till, focusing on the journey of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, as she pursued justice.
The Woman King, Netflix
How to describe The Woman King. Part action film, part social commentary, the film depicts the true narrative of the Agojie, a female fighting unit in the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1820. A slate of incredible actors, including Viola Davis and Lashana Lynch are powerfully directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.
Kajillionaire, HBO
Run, don’t walk, and see this unforgettable film. Miranda July’s feature is about many things — con artists, California living, a bubble factory, and waiting for The Big One. But mostly, it’s about tenderness. It’s likely the strangest movie you’ll ever see, but it’s one that will stay with you forever.
Do Revenge
via Netflix
Finally, a good high school film! Taking all its cues from the iconic teen dramedies of the 90s, Do Revenge is more than just another YA Netflix movie. For starters, it’s good. Really good. Behind the incredible costume design, Sarah Michelle Geller cameo, and carefully curated cinematography, it’s a story about how we treat women. And how women treat each other. Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, this film will go into the anti-hero hall of fame.
Women Talking, Apple TV
In this revelatory Oscar-nominated adaptation of the Miriam Towes novel, the women of an isolated religious colony reveal a shocking secret about the men in their community. This film mixes the heavy with the lighthearted for an immersive, unique watch.
Promising Young Woman, HBO
One of the buzziest dramas in recent years, Promising Young Women is not another trite take capitalizing on the political moment. It’s a real meditation on pain, morality, revenge, and the worst parts of ourselves and the people around us. This is another heavy watch, but its fast pace and provocative questions will remain in your mind long after.
Clueless, HBO
This nostalgic 90s classic is the perfect example of what happens when women are in the driver’s seat. Based on Jane Austen’s Emma, this whimsical adaptation is as charming as Cher — based on the novel’s titular Emma Woodhouse — is handsome, clever, and rich. There’s a version of this film in which Cher is merely a shallow object built for our ridicule and to serve as comedic relief. However, Cher is complex, redeemable, and the center of a film ultimately about female friendships.
Nomadland, Hulu
Chloe Zhao is one of the industry’s best and brightest. She shot to fame after the success of Nomadland, a startlingly beautiful exploration of the American West. This award-winning feature made history when Zhao won best director. It’s the perfect balance of sweeping landscapes and displays of personal emotion.
She Said
The Me Too movement changed our culture forever. Directed by Maria Schrader, She Said tells the story of the women behind the movement. It follows the journies of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey in their New York Times investigation to exposed Harvey Weinstein’s history of abuse and sexual misconduct against women.
Newswise — Since 1969, health care professionals have convened at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO)’s Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer® to discuss the latest in gynecologic cancer care and science, receive educational programming, and network.
In 2023, the SGO Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer will be held Saturday, March 25 through Tuesday, March 28 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.
The meeting will include presentations from several impressive guest speakers, including:
Victor Dzau, MD, President, US National Academy of Medicine (NAM) & Vice Chair of the US National Research Council
Shaughnessy Naughton, President & Founder, 314 Action
Ted Witherell, Lecturer, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health & Principal of Ted Witherell Coaching & Consulting, LLC
Philip E. Castle, PhD, MPH, Director of the Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Oral and poster presentations, led by today’s leading gynecologic cancer researchers and providers, patient advocates, and extended gynecologic cancer care team members, will take place across all four days of the meeting.
Members of the entire gynecologic cancer care team who provide treatment and care in the areas of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, and palliative care attend the SGO Annual Meeting. Gynecologic oncologists make up a large population of the attendees, along with medical oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, hematologists, surgical oncologists, obstetrician/gynecologists, nurses, physician assistants, fellows in training, residents, and pharmacists.
The SGO Annual Meeting also brings together exhibitors from a variety of medical device and service companies. An array of state-of-the-art products and services geared towards members of the gynecologic cancer care team are on display in the exhibition area.
Learn more about the meeting at sgo.org/annual-meeting.
March 2, 2023 — As a veteran fitness assistant and trainer, Samantha Ward was well aware of the impact eating disorders can have on a woman’s health. Suddenly, though, the issue became personal.
“I developed an eating disorder later in life,” Ward says. “I was 55 years old when it started. I had never had one before.”
Ward was going through tremendous stress. “I believe that my eating disorder was a way to cope with a very difficult time in my life,” she says. “I had lost my job, my marriage was falling apart, and I was struggling with depression.”
Although eating disorders like binge eating, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia in older women are rarely discussed, they’re a prevalent and growing problem. A new study from Yale School of Medicine reports that almost 3% of U.S. women ages 50 to 64, and almost 2% of women 65 and older, have an eating disorder.
What’s more, a study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders found that roughly 26% of older female participants reported binge eating one or more times a week. Sometimes, medical conditions such as GI difficulties or dental problems can lead to an eating disorder, the researchers found, as can depression and dementia. The study’s authors also report, however, that menopause can be a time that leaves a woman more vulnerable to developing an eating disorder. Some women start dieting to stop hormonal weight gain, for example, and develop a distorted body image.
It’s very important that a later-life eating disorder be addressed as quickly as possible.
“Older adults may become frail more quickly, faster than younger individuals,” says Dorothea Vafiadis, director of the National Council on Aging’s Center for Healthy Aging.
“In older adults, body systems may not bounce back as quickly as they used to, so eating disorders resulting in rapid weight loss can create problems quickly.”
Research has shown that 21% of older adults with an eating disorder die of the condition. The first vital step to take: Recognize that emotions most often lie at the root of the problem.
Emotional Causes of Eating Disorders in Older Women?
According to the National Council on Aging, some people have a genetic predisposition to eating disorders. There are also three main patterns to eating disorders in older women. Some women will have struggled when they were younger, recover from their disorder, then relapse. Some women never recover and suffer to some degree for most of their lives. Other women, like Ward, develop a first-time eating disorder in response to environmental triggers.
“Stress and anxiety can occur for older women due to life changes – a female midlife crisis,” says Nancy Lee Zucker, PhD, professor of psychiatry, behavioral sciences, and neuroscience at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, NC. “Some women use food intake and exercise to cope – they focus on self-improvement, initially. But then, their focus on food can become all-encompassing – it narrows their focus.”
Challenges such as divorce or widowhood, an empty nest, financial problems, or adjusting to retirement can set off this behavior.
A woman’s psychological mindset as a whole can also play a significant role.
“Individuals with certain personality traits may be more prone to eating disorders, such as those who have perfectionistic tendencies or obsessive impulses,” says Vafiadis.
Symptoms of an Eating Disorder in an Older Woman?
If a friend or loved one displays any of the following symptoms, she may need help:
Appearing to feel guilty about food or eating
Weight loss
Eating by herself
Acting secretive
Exercising constantly
Expressing being emotionally upset
Oral health problems like jaw pain or dental problems
If you notice someone going to the bathroom after a meal, or complaining of stomach issues, she may be bingeing and purging. “Binge eating disorder has been shown to be more prevalent in older women,” Zucker says, although researchers are not sure why.
How to Treat Eating Disorders in Older Women?
The first step is compassionate outreach. If you suspect someone close to you is dealing with an eating disorder, you definitely want to offer help. Be gentle and respectful.
“Older women with eating disorders are often ashamed, so it can be hard for family and friends to bring up the subject,” says Zucker. “Instead, focus on the isolation you’ve noticed. You could say, ‘I’ve noticed you’re eating by yourself these days – you don’t want to go out to dinner anymore. You also sound a little down on yourself.’”
Offer to bring the person you care about to the doctor and tell her how much you care about her.
A full medical evaluation is extremely important.
“Older adults are commonly undiagnosed,” says Vafiadia. “Eating disorders in the elderly may not be the first diagnosis due to other health issues at play.”
Diagnosing any underlying medical condition that co-exists with an eating disorder is vital.
Depending upon the severity of a woman’s condition, inpatient treatment may be the right solution. Australian researchers reported that for adults over the age of 66, a combination of hospitalization, drug therapy, and psychotherapy led to improvement in almost 80% of surveyed patients. Cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, and nutritional counseling are all useful options. Medications to treat eating disorders may include Prozac or Vyvanse.
“The good news is, treatment can really help,” Zucker says.
Ward is in full agreement. “I’m currently in treatment,” she says. “I have a great therapist who’s helped me to get better.”
Most of all, Ward stresses that you should not try to handle things alone: “You need support to overcome an eating disorder.”
Opinion by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana (bangkok, thailand)
Inter Press Service
BANGKOK, Thailand, Mar 01 (IPS) – The writer is Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day, March 8. New technologies and innovations are reshaping our world and its future, often at a dizzying pace. Yet women and girls continue to be left behind in this burgeoning digital universe. How, then, can we harness these developments to create a better future for all of us?
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” seeks to answer exactly that question.
We know that women and girls are less likely than men and boys to use the internet or own a smartphone. In fact, only 54 per cent of women in Asia and the Pacific have digital access, cut off from opportunities to move any digital needles forward.
The root causes are many and varied: deep-rooted discriminatory social norms, increased gender-based violence (including online violence), and the unequal distribution of unpaid care and domestic work. Addressing these impediments to women realizing their full potential requires our joint and immediate attention and response.
One child, one teacher, one pen
When and where women and girls are discouraged from studying and working in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) fields, we let them down. And we have left a whole generation of women and girls behind. We need the talents and voices of women and girls brought to the boardrooms and coding rooms.
Today many innovations in AI, medicine, entertainment, transportation, work and other fields treat men as the standard and ignore women’s physical and social differences – to the detriment of half of the world’s population.
Getting more women into careers in technology starts with breaking down the gender stereotypes that prevent girls from studying STEM subjects. Comprehensive changes to the way STEM subjects are taught and targeted programs to support girls’ learning are needed.
In Viet Nam, the Ministry of Education and Training has updated the country’s National Early Childhood Education curriculum on “de-stereotyping” women and girls and has included gender-sensitive budgeting into the Education Sector Plan. Through changes such as these, governments can foster girls’ enthusiasm for technology, expanding the future digital workforce.
Harnessing technology to support women entrepreneurs
Women entrepreneurs play a key role in developing economies. Supporting them to start and grow businesses through technology will lead to more sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Women have historically struggled to access capital because they are less aware of funding options.
They are less likely to own land or have large savings to offer as collateral and have not been included in traditional financial networks. Technological innovations provide an opportunity to connect women entrepreneurs across the region with new financing models that cater to their particular needs.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship project has unlocked almost USD 65 million in capital to support women entrepreneurs in several countries.
Through identifying and backing a number of experimental technology-driven business models, the project has supported women-led micro, small and medium enterprises through a range of technology solutions such as payment platforms, online marketplaces, bookkeeping and inventory management.
Enabling women to become drivers of inclusive innovation
If we pair the untapped potential of women and girls to contribute to our common future together with the potential of the innovations of digitalization, science and technologies, we may well have cracked the code to rectifying many of the inequalities and injustices created by generations past.
Women have the know-how to harness technology and innovation. Given equal opportunities, they will flourish and contribute to creative solutions to tackle the world’s multi-faceted challenges.
Women leaders in Asia and the Pacific are already using technology to address inequalities and gender-based violence. Founded by Virginia Tan, Rhea See, and Leanne Robers, She Loves Tech, headquartered in Singapore, runs the world’s largest start-up competition for women and technology and aims to unlock over USD 1 billion in capital by 2030 for women-led businesses.
Safecity is a crowd-mapping platform for people to share experiences of sexual harassment in public spaces and allows communities to identify problems and work towards solutions. The platform was launched by three women, including current leader Elsa Marie D’Silva, in response to incidents of gender-based violence in the region.
“We can all do our part to unleash our world’s enormous untapped talent – starting with filling classrooms, laboratories, and boardrooms with women scientists,” said United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently. Indeed, we need women in leadership roles in all science and technology spaces to accelerate inclusive innovation.
Let’s work together towards our dream of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. What better way to do so than to use innovations and new technologies to overcome inequalities in the digital age?
Newswise — Loneliness can often contribute to depression in expectant and new mothers, finds a new review of evidence led by UCL researchers.
The researchers say people working with expectant mothers, such as in antenatal classes or consultations, should be aware of the importance of loneliness and the value of encouraging new mothers to develop and maintain good social connections. The findings suggest that increased support from family and healthcare professionals can be helpful in reducing the mental health impacts of loneliness.
Published in BMC Psychiatry, the meta-synthesis (an evidence review using a systematic method) of qualitative research pulled together accounts from 537 women, from 27 research papers on four continents.
Lead author Dr Katherine Adlington (UCL Psychiatry and East London NHS Foundation Trust) said: “We found that loneliness was central to the experiences of expectant and new mothers with depression. We know that depression and loneliness are often interconnected – each one can lead to the other – and this may be particularly true for perinatal depression.
“Having a baby is a period of huge transition and upheaval, that can involve losing touch with people and existing networks, such as work colleagues. This research suggests that loneliness is a major risk for mental health problems during pregnancy and for new mothers.”
Depression is common during the perinatal period, affecting one in six pregnant women and one in five women during the first three months after birth, and can significantly affect new parents’ quality of life and can have long-term adverse impacts on their child’s cognitive and emotional development.
For this review of evidence, the authors found that while very little research has been conducted specifically investigating loneliness in perinatal depression, loneliness came through prominently across the studies as a key contributing factor.
Some of the causes of loneliness included stigma, self-isolation, emotional disconnection and not receiving enough support. Many women reported a fear of judgement as a ‘bad mother’, and both perceived and experienced mental health stigma, which contributed to them hiding symptoms of mental ill-health and often led to self-isolation and withdrawal.
Many women also reported a sudden sense of emotional disconnection after birth, from their previous lives before getting pregnant, from other mothers, and from the baby. Others also reported a mismatch between expected and actual support provided by their partner, their family, and their community more broadly. The researchers also identified a double burden faced by mothers from disadvantaged communities, due to increased stigma and decreased social support, highlighting the need for more targeted support that is culturally appropriate and without language barriers.
The review also shed light on potential solutions. Many women reported that validation and understanding from healthcare professionals was helpful and may alleviate their loneliness, suggesting that clinical staff may have a greater than expected impact on reducing loneliness.
Peer support from other mothers with experience of perinatal depression was also helpful – but only if those mothers had similar stories to share, as speaking to mothers who appeared to be doing well could in fact make loneliness worse.
Senior author Professor Sonia Johnson (UCL Psychiatry and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust), who co-leads the Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health Network at UCL, said: “Helping women to understand early on in pregnancy how common loneliness is, and how it can lead to mental health problems, and that it’s okay to feel such feelings, could be an important way to reduce the impact of perinatal mental ill health.
“We found that healthcare professionals also have an important role to play in helping women to feel heard and validated in their experiences of loneliness, so we would suggest that asking expectant and new mothers about potential feelings of loneliness could be highly beneficial, in addition to signposting them to peer support.
“Peer, social and family support are likely to be crucial in reducing perinatal depression; this study helps understand the importance of social connection at this time, but there is a lot more to be done to understand why loneliness is so important in the perinatal period, and to develop effective ways of preventing or reducing it.”
Notes to Editors
Katherine Adlington, Cristina Vasquez, Eiluned Pearce, Claire A. Wilson, Rebecca Nowland, Billie Lever Taylor, Sarah Spring and Sonia Johnson, ‘‘Just snap out of it’ – the experience of loneliness in women with perinatal depression: a Meta‑synthesis of qualitative studies’, will be published in BMC Psychiatry on Tuesday 28 February 2023, 01:00 UK time and is under a strict embargo until this time.
National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus: “Uterine Fibroids.”
Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology: “Endocrinology of Uterine Fibroids: Steroid Hormones, Stem Cells, and Genetic Contribution.”
Mayo Clinic: “Blood in urine (hematuria).”
Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society: “Uterine Fibroids in Menopause and Perimenopause.”
NIH, National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information: “Management of Uterine Fibroids [Internet].”
Orli Etingin, MD, founder and medical director, Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York City.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center: “Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center.”
Juliette The, MD, diagnostic radiologist, Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Florida.
Boca Raton Regional Hospital: “Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute.”
Journal of Women’s Health: “A Closer Look at Women’s Health Centers: Historical Lessons and Future Aims.”
Society for Women’s Health Research.
Sex and Gender Health Education Summit: “2021 Summit Proceedings.”
Irene Aninye, PhD, chief science officer, Society for Women’s Health Research, Washington, DC.
FDA: “Gender Studies in Product Development: Historical Overview.”
NIH, Office of Research on Women’s Health: “History of Women’s Participation in Clinical Research.”
NIH, National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information: “B, NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 Public Law 103-43; Subtitle B – Clinical Research Equity Regarding Women and Minorities; Part I – Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research.”
Cureus: “The Prevalence of Autoimmune Disorders in Women: A Narrative Review.”
Journal of Sleep Medicine: “Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Women”
CDC: “Lower Your Risk for the Number 1 Killer of Women”
NIH, Office of Research on Women’s Health: “NIH Policy on Sex as a Biological Variable,” “Consideration of Sex as a Biological Variable in NIH-funded Research.”
NIH, National Library of Medicine: “200 Years of American Medicine (1776-1976).”
NIH, Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT): “Estimates of Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories (RCDC).”
Society for Women’s Health Research: “Guides & Toolkits,” “Quick Reference for Evaluating Infertility,” “Doctor’s Visit Worksheet for Psoriatic Arthritis.”
American Medical Women’s Association, Sex and Gender Health Collaborative: “SGHC Crunch Sheets & Toolkits,” “Sex and Gender Health Collaborative.”
Deborah Kwolek, MD, co-chair, Mentorship Committee, Sex and Gender Health Collaborative, American Medical Women’s Association; lead, Women’s Health and Sex- and Gender-Based Medicine Program, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
Journal of Women’s Health: “Sex and Gender Health Educational Tenets: A Report from the 2020 Sex and Gender Health Education Summit.”
Springer: “Sex- and Gender-Based Women’s Health: A Practical Guide for Primary Care.”
NIH, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: “Hysterectomy.”
Newswise — Although genetic mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are associated with a younger onset of breast and ovarian cancer, women with these genetic mutations continue to face a high risk of cancer incidence after age 50, even if they have not been previously diagnosed with cancer. This is according to a new study led by Kelly Metcalfe, a professor at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.
The study published recently in the American Cancer Society Journal Cancer, followed over 2000 women between the ages of 50 to 75, from 16 countries, who were aware they had a BRCA mutation and had no previous diagnosis of cancer. The study found that the cumulative risk of these women developing any type of cancer after the age of 50 was 49 percent for those with a BRCA1 mutation and 43 per cent for those with a BRCA2 mutation. For those in the study cohort who had not undergone a cancer risk-reduction surgery, the risk was even greater at 77 per cent for those with a BRCA1 mutation and 67 per cent for those with a BRCA2 mutation.
“What is striking about our results is that breast and ovarian cancers were the most frequently observed cancers occurring and that is concerning, considering we know how to reduce the risk of cancer in women who have these genetic risk factors,” says Metcalfe who is also a Senior Scientist at Women’s College Hospital.
Of the women included in the study only 15 percent underwent a preventative bilateral mastectomy, and 43 percent a bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy (BSO) – removal of both ovaries and fallopian tubes – before the age of 50. The study found that these women had the lowest risk of any occurrence of cancer at just 9 per cent.
“Our analysis highlights the effectiveness of these risk reduction surgeries, and emphasizes the need for individuals as well as health care providers, to consider clinical guidelines and recommendations for their cancer risk, including how their genetics might impact them even at a later age,” says Metcalfe.
She acknowledges that there are some limitations to the study including the fact that in some countries access to risk reduction surgeries may be limited, and knowledge of how often or whether these women received genetic counselling was not assessed.
“We are not aware of whether the participants in our study received additional counselling about their elevated risk of cancer as they age and we are also unable to determine why some of these women chose to forgo preventative surgery before the age of 50,” says Metcalfe. “However, it is important to point out that screening alone only reduces mortality risk by increasing the chances of detecting the cancer early, it does not reduce the risk of cancer occurring.”
Understanding the limitations of screening is of particular importance for women with either a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation especially in assessing their risk of ovarian cancer, as no good screening method exists to detect the cancer early enough. Metcalfe’s study references the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines where it is recommended that women with a BRCA1 mutation undergo a BSO between ages 35-40 and those with BRCA2 mutation between 40-45.
Future studies says Metcalfe, will look at exploring women’s decision-making around whether or not to undergo surgery and their own understanding of risk. For now, Metcalfe is hopeful that advances in genetic testing will help make it more accessible to all women who want to know their risk status.
The Screen Project Canada, housed at Women’s College Hospital, is one example of a consumer-based model of testing where individuals can pay to access genetic testing that allows anyone, regardless of family history, to find out if they carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. While it currently operates at a small cost to the patient, Metcalfe believes that lower barriers to genetic testing will not only save lives, but eventually become a mainstay of cancer care in Canada.
“It has been over 25 years since clinical testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 began in Canada and the United States, we have come a long way in reducing cancer incidence, but not far enough,” says Metcalfe. “The majority of cancers resulting from these two genes are preventable, we need to be offering women the best chance at a cancer-free life.”
PME occurs when there are hormonal changes in the luteal phase of your cycle, between ovulation and menstruation. One or 2 weeks before a woman’s period, PME can cause the symptoms of a preexisting disorder, like major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar illness, or other mood disorders, to flare. One study found that 58% of women with depressive disorders also have PME, raising their risk of suicide during this premenstrual phase.
“PME, PMS, and PMDD are all related to mood problems before your period,” says Lauren M. Osborne, MD, vice chair for clinical research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. “The difference is, women with PMS and PMDD don’t have a mood disorder. PME causes really significant mood symptoms 2 weeks before a woman’s period if she has an underlying mental health condition.”
Women with PME show an abnormally heightened sensitivity to fluctuating sex hormones during their menstrual cycle, which appears to be its trigger, according to German researchers.
What Are the Symptoms of PME?
PME can manifest itself through “premenstrual breakthrough.” This means that symptoms of a mental health condition that can be controlled when a woman isn’t premenstrual become more obvious when she is. For example, if a woman takes medication for bipolar disorder, she may find that the dose that normally works well suddenly isn’t preventing her from having mood shifts.
“The difference between PMS, PMDD, and PME is often a different symptom quality,” says Monica Rosen, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist at University of Michigan Health Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. “You can feel anxiety before your period with PMS or PMDD, but with PME, you’ll have a full panic attack.”
PME is not yet a recognized diagnosis on its own. Rather, it is linked to the diagnosis of an underlying mental health condition.
“It’s much harder to manage a depressive episode or anxiety attack when it comes on seemingly out of nowhere,” says Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in New York City. “In PME you have the advantage of time, which affords knowledge of the days which might be more difficult.”
But “many women who have PME haven’t recognized that they have a mood disorder,” says Osborne. “They may have undiagnosed depression, and seeking help for PME symptoms is often the way they get that diagnosis.”
According to the IAPMD, about half of women who seek medical help for what they believe is either PMS or PMDD discover they actually have PME, or a psychiatric condition they were unaware of.
To confirm PME, a doctor will most likely ask the patient to note how they feel right before their period.
“It’s important to be self-aware of what specific symptoms trigger you,” Rosen says. “Many of my patients use a tracking app, which is very helpful in identifying how you feel on any given day.”
How Is PME Treated?
PME is primarily addressed by treating the mental health condition that causes your symptoms to worsen.
“For women who do have a diagnosis and are using antidepressants, bumping up the dose during their premenstrual period may stop their symptoms,” says Osborne. “Sometimes when we properly treat depression, PME goes away.”
If not, stepping up other forms of treatment can make a difference.
“Talk therapy is always helpful,” says Rosen. “Also, medication to help with hormone cycling such as birth control pills or rings can work for many women.” As a last resort, some women may elect to have surgical menopause to stop extreme PME symptoms.
It’s important to know that self-help can also make a big difference in gaining relief from PME.
For instance, it might be helpful for women who have PME to rearrange their schedule the days before their period to lighten the workload and avoid excess stress as much as possible.
Those struggling with PME should also avoid isolating themselves from others.
“Schedule time with your friends in advance,” suggests Romanoff, as this sense of connection can help lessen symptoms. Patients can also find PME support groups online, to talk with other patients who can offer great advice.
The bottom line: “PME is controllable,” says Romanoff.
Take PME seriously, but don’t focus on fear. Instead, seek out the help you need, and look forward to feeling better.
Newswise — LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 24, 2023) — A recent University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center study suggests a new radiopharmaceutical compound may be a viable treatment option for patients with advanced cervical cancer.
The study, led by UK Markey Cancer Center radiation oncologist Charles Kunos, M.D., and published in Frontiers in Oncology, validates that the radioactive drug 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 may be useful in the treatment of persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer.
Radiopharmaceuticals are expected to play an increasingly important role in the future of cancer treatment. They deliver radiation therapy directly to cancer cells, reducing the risk of damage to healthy tissue and resulting in improved treatment outcomes and reduced side effects compared to typical radiation therapy.
“As researchers develop new radiopharmaceutical agents, part of the clinical validation of these efforts is to provide proof that the targets are present in the cancer cells,” said Kunos, a professor of radiation medicine in the UK College of Medicine. “This study ensures that clinical trials using this agent have the best chance to be successful, which will ultimately bring these advanced therapies to the greater oncology market.”
Radiopharmaceuticals require a molecular target to deliver therapy to tumors. 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 targets gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), a protein expressed by cancer cells.
Kunos’ team evaluated tissue from 33 tumors from women who had metastatic cervical cancer. Most of the tissue studied overexpressed the GRPR, suggesting 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 is a promising therapy to treat the disease.
“As Kentucky has the highest incidence and mortality rate of cervical cancer in the U.S., UK has a vested interest in finding new therapies for the disease,” said Kunos. “Many of our patients are often presented with a much later stage disease and have the greatest need for a new targeted therapy like a radiopharmaceutical.”
The results also validate a phase 1 clinical trial of 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 that is already underway at Markey.
The study is also helping to make the next generation of cancer treatment available to Kentuckians who need it most. Markey is currently only one of only two specialized cancer centers in the U.S. to offer this agent in a clinical trial, and one of a few centers that can offer radiopharmaceuticals.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P30CA177558. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 24 (IPS) – While its origins may be rooted in the discrimination faced by people living with HIV, Zero Discrimination Day has evolved to celebrate commitments to the fundamental human right of being treated equally in law and in practice.
Within the context of global health, the day is an opportunity to examine discrimination from the perspective of health and care workers, who face barriers based on their race, gender, and other socio-economic and cultural factors.
In the context of a global health workforce under siege from the threat of the great resignation in health, it is especially important to examine the impact of discrimination on health systems at global, national and local levels.
In recent times, recognition of the gender pay gap in health of 24% and its impact on national and regional economy has spurred greater research into the unequal treatment of women, taking into account their specific contexts and locations. Despite efforts to address these issues, progress has been uneven.
Mounting evidence around gender inequities in the health workforce, specifically at the leadership level underscores the problem of gender bias in health decision-making. Women who make up 70% of the overall health workforce and 90% of frontline staff continue to be marginalised in leadership, occupying just one-quarter of the decision-making roles in health.
Furthermore, occupational segregation and the clustering of women into low-earning professions and settings further limit their career advancement. Their experiences in the health workforce are further compounded by various forms of discrimination, such as harassment, violence, assault and discrimination at several levels.
Gender is not the only factor at play. As health workers migrate from rural and remote areas to well-resourced urban centres, or from developing to developed countries, new forms of barriers and biases emerge in a global context where high-income nations wield most of the socio-economic power.
These include the need to undergo resource-intensive accreditation and licensing exams, encountering anti-immigrant hostility and changing patient-provider dynamics, limited options from smaller job pools, and being affected by global events and geopolitical shifts.
This “brain drain” of health workers also has negative implications for the understaffed health systems that they leave behind.
In addition to gender and migrant status, healthcare workers may also face discrimination based on their race, ethnicity, language and dialect, marital status and sexual orientation, amidst other factors. These experiences affect the health workforce in different ways, resulting in inefficiencies, demotivation and burnout at the local, national and regional levels.
Healthcare systems that fail to acknowledge and address latent discriminatory actions may unintentionally perpetuate these inequalities, further exacerbating the biased experiences of healthcare workers, despite the need for a diverse health workforce to better serve their diverse populations.
While we talk about zero discrimination, dignity, decent work, fair pay, and the importance of endorsing diversity and practising inclusion at the macro level of health systems, are we also ‘seeing’ and ‘acknowledging’ where this discrimination exists and understanding the negative consequences on health workers and population’s health? Are we collecting and analysing the data that give us the full picture?
More importantly, discrimination in healthcare settings not only violates the fundamental human right to be treated with respect and equality, but also severely limits the chances of achieving the SDGs by 2030. The 2017 UN statement succinctly framed this understanding in their call to end discrimination in healthcare settings.
Equal opportunities and experiences for health and care workers must be ensured at every stage of their career, including recruitment, promotion, growth and advancement, particularly in the post-COVID era of globalisation.
Gender and race are the primary drivers of inequality, around which most of the structural discrimination in health revolves. Therefore, policies and practices must be devised to study and address this discrimination and their underlying drivers, to fully exploit the available talent and potential of the health workforce and to ensure equitable opportunities for growth and leadership and strategically achieve UHC.
Now more than ever, it is urgent that leaders in global health take bold action by committing to a new social contract that prioritises the rights of health and care workers. This step will not only ensure a more equitable and just health workforce, but also provide better health outcomes for communities worldwide.
Roomi Aziz is Technical Lead of the Pakistan Chapter, Women in Global Health
Cooperative members in southern Lebanon make a rare, traditional bread called Mallet El Smid to be sold at the MENNA shop in Beirut. Women are central to meeting the SDGs, say parliamentarians. Credit: UN Women/Joe Saade
by IPS Correspondent (johannesburg)
Inter Press Service
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 23 (IPS) – The post-COVID-19 period has been a crucial one for members of parliament who have their work cut out to ensure that issues that arose during the pandemic are addressed, especially concerning the ICPD25 commitments and programmes of action for universal access to sexual and reproductive rights, gender-based violence and building peaceful, just and inclusive societies. Across the world, progress toward achieving the SDGs by 2030 was impacted during the pandemic.
As Dr Samar Haddad, a former member of the Lebanese Parliament and head of the Population Committee at the Bar Association in Lebanon commented at a recent meeting of the Forum of the Arab Parliamentarians for Population and Development (FAPPD): “The main theme for this year is combating gender-based violence, which is a scourge that the entire world suffers from, and its rate has risen alarmingly in light of the economic crisis, bloody stability, wars, and displacement.”
IPS was privileged to interview two members of parliament from the region about how they are tackling GBV, youth empowerment, and women’s participation in politics, society, and the economy.
Here are edited excerpts from the interviews:
Pierre Bou Assi, MP from Lebanon
Pierre Bou Assi, MP from Lebanon
IPS:What legislation, budgets, and monitoring frameworks are in place or planned for combating GBV in Lebanon?
Pierre Bou Assi (PA): Lebanon has launched a project to support protection and prevention systems to prevent gender-based violence within the framework of continuous efforts aimed at responding to social and economic challenges in Lebanon and aims to strengthen prevention and monitoring mechanisms for gender-based violence, and support the efforts made by the Public Security Directorate through the Department Family and juvenile protection.
IPS: One of your speakers at a recent conference spoke about rapid population growth, youth, and high urbanization rates. Youth are often impacted by unemployment or low rates of decent employment. What are parliamentarians doing to assist youth in ensuring that the country can benefit from its demographic dividend?
PA: Youth are the pillar of the nation, its present and future, and the means and goal of development. They are the title of a strong society and its future, stressing that the conscious youth (educated and mindful) armed with science and knowledge are more than capable of facing the challenges of the present and the most prepared to enter the midst of the future.
I would like to say that the Youth Committee in the Lebanese Parliament is working on developing a targeted and real strategy that includes advanced programs that are agreed upon by experts and active institutions in this field to consolidate the principles of citizenship, the rule of law and patriotism, and empower the youth politically and economically to achieve their potential and develop and expand their horizons.
In addition, we are expanding youth participation in public life by providing them with opportunities for practical training in legislative and oversight institutions, and refining the participants’ personal skills by informing them of the decision-making process in the Council.
IPS:Looking back at the COVID-19 situation, most countries experienced two clear issues, an increase in GBV and its impact on children’s education. There was also an issue with high levels of violence experienced by children. Are parliamentarians concerned about the COVID impacts on children, and what programs have been implemented to support them?
PA: There is no doubt that Lebanon, like other countries in the world, was affected by the coronavirus pandemic in all aspects of life, including children and its impact on the quality of education, as well as the high level of violence that children were exposed to during that period, as I would like to take a look at the more positive side. We note a number of measures Lebanon took during the pandemic – which included the release of children who were in detention, the strengthening or expansion of social protection systems through cash assistance, and an overall decrease in levels of violence in conflict situations.
Lebanon has a plan that includes the following points:
The continuity and safety of learning for all school children, including bridging the digital divide and creating low-cost technology.Implementing a basic package for equitable access to primary health care for children and mothers.Expanding the scope and appropriateness of infant and young child feeding programs and general educational messages.Expanding social protection systems to reach the most affected children and families through cash transfer programmes.Enhancing government budgetary allocations and public funding for social sectors, with a special focus on health care and education. Hmoud Al-Yahyai, MP from Oman.
Hmoud Al-Yahyai, MP from Oman
Al-Yahyai spoke to IPS about the development of a human-rights-based framework. The interview followed a meeting with the theme “Human Rights and their relationship to the goals of sustainable development. The meeting was held by the Omani Parliamentary Committee for Population and Development in cooperation Omani National Commission for Human Rights, the Forum of Arab Parliamentarians for Population and Development (FAPPD), and the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) on “Human Rights and their relationship to the goals of sustainable development.”
IPS: How is Oman working towards a human rights-based legislative framework, and what role are parliamentarians taking to ensure implementation? What role does Oman Vision 2040 play in this?
Hmoud Al-Yahyai (HY): The government of the Sultanate of Oman has integrated the sustainable development goals into national development strategies and plans and made them a major component of the long-term national development strategy components and axes known as Oman Vision 2040. The strategy is enhanced by broad societal participation when designing and implementing it and evaluating the plans and policies set. And we, as parliamentarians, make sure, as stated in the voluntary national report, (to provide oversight of) the government’s commitment to achieving the goals of sustainable development, with its three dimensions, economic, social, and environmental, within the specified time frame.
I commend the efforts of the Sultanate of Oman in implementing the goals of sustainable development through several axes, including the pillars of sustainable development, implementation mechanisms, progress achieved, and future directions for the localization of the sustainable development agenda in the short and medium term, and the consistency of Oman Vision 2040.
The Sultanate of Oman reviewed its first voluntary national report on sustainable development at the United Nations headquarters as part of its participation in the work of the UN Economic and Social Council.
Sustainability is crucial to Sultanate, emphasizing that development is not an end in itself, but aimed at building up its population.
Future directions for the localization of the SDGs in the short and medium term are represented on five axes, which include raising community awareness, localizing sustainable development, development partnerships, monitoring progress and making evidence-based policies, and institutional support.
The axes for sustainable development are human empowerment, a competitive knowledge economy, environmental resilience through commitment and prevention, and peace. These form the pillars for sustainable development through efficient financing, local development, and monitoring and evaluation.
Oman has adopted a coordinated package of social, economic, and financial policies to achieve inclusive development based on a competitive and innovative economy. This is being worked upon toward Oman Vision 2040 and its implementation plans, through a set of programs and initiatives that seek to localize the development plan toward achieving the SDGs 2030 and beyond.
IPS: What role do women play in your legislative framework, and do they play a role in ensuring, for example, SRHR rights?
HY: The Sultanate has taken many positive measures to sponsor women. The Sultanate’s policies towards accelerating equality between men and women stem from the directives of the Sultan and his initiatives to appoint women to high positions, to feminize the titles of positions when women fill them, and to grant them political, economic, and social rights.
Women benefit from support in the
Social field: through comprehensive social insurance and social security system.
Political field: through the appointment of female ministers, undersecretaries, and ambassadors, and in the field of public prosecution.
Economic field: through labor and corporate law.
Cultural field: through the system of education and grants.
There are many programs geared or dedicated to women. The government has begun to circulate and implement a program to support maternal and childcare services at the national level to reduce disease and death rates by providing health care for women during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum and encouraging childbirth under medical supervision.
IPS: What are the achievements of Oman in reaching SDG Target 3.7 (Sexual and reproductive health by 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies)?
HY: In this regard, a campaign was launched on sexual and reproductive health in the Sultanate due to its positive impact on public health and society. This campaign confirms that reproductive health services are an integral part of primary health care and health security in the country and that it has long-term repercussions on health and social and economic health. Family planning is one of the most important of these services because, if it is not organized, it constitutes a social bomb that can hit everyone, whether a citizen or an official. Therefore, we must take proactive preventive steps.
BRIGHTON, UK, Feb 17 (IPS) – Since researching the experiences of gender discrimination against women in poverty who belong to religious minorities, many fellow feminists have turned their back on me.
The inherent assumption among some of my feminist critics is that by defending women who are targeted on account of their religious affiliation, I am defending their religions. Yet defending the rights of a Hindu woman in Pakistan or Muslim woman in India do not constitute defending Hinduism or Islam.
Defending a woman’s right not to be discriminated against because of her identity and challenging religious bigotry both go hand in hand. We need to challenge all political projects that seek to homogenize people while simultaneously defending women, minorities, artists and others whose positioning accentuates their experiences of inequality.
Feminist reluctance to address injustices experienced by women who belong to religious minorities is also driven by concern that we end up empowering religious movements whose ethos is against women’s equality.
Again, we need to distinguish between women who are the targets of hate because they do not share the same faith as the majority, and anti-feminist movements who often are from the majority. We need to show solidarity with the former while challenging the latter.
Yet can we be inadvertently reproduce a colonialist mindset when we decide to omit the experiences of minority women out of fear of misappropriation in the west?
Why should women who have experienced genocide be denied transnational feminist solidarities because it would be more progressive to focus on the Muslims who were against the genocide.
Research undertaken by the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development, shows that in countries including Iraq, Pakistan and Nigeria, experiences for women are made worse where their experiences of gender inequality, religious marginality and socio-economic exclusion intersect.
Even if you belong to the majority religion, and you cover up more than the others, this still means exposure to harassment for being seen to practice the religion differently, as experienced by Ahmediyya women in Pakistan and the Izala Sufi women in Nigeria.
Women from religious minorities can also be at significant risk of sexual assault. While all women in patriarchal societies are exposed to sexual harassment independently of their religious affiliation, women affiliated to religiously marginalized communities are targeted because of the circulation of stereotypes that they are more available or ‘fair game’ or that men are not obligated to respect them the same respect as those from the majority religion.
While all women living in poverty suffer the impact of gender, caste and socio-economic exclusion combined, the experiences of discrimination become more acute and severe when shaped by ideological prejudice.
In our research in the aftermath of covid, Muslim women spoke about being denied health care because of the scapegoating of Muslims for the spread of the pandemic, while in Iraq Yazidi women spoke of how despicable stereotypes of Yazidi women not washing meant doctors denied them treatment.
The feminist movement cannot continue to represent itself as committed to inclusivity through intersectionality (the recognition of and redress to- interface of gender, race, class, ableism and so forth in shaping and influencing power dynamics) while turning its back on women who come from a religious minority background where their rights are denied.
Certainly, there are feminist movements, scholars and those engaged in policymaking who recognize and seek redress for discrimination on grounds of religion experienced by socio-economically excluded women, but it seems they are the exception, rather than the norm.
It is not too late for us to be inclusive, and this International Women’s Day we should recognize and show solidarity with women who belong to religious minorities living on the margins. We just have to start by not making excuses for their omission from our “intersectional lens”.
Research has shown that men are more likely to overestimate the interest of an attractive woman. In contrast, women have been known to underestimate a male’s desire for them. [1, 2]
Two of the six Russian women who were detained by the Argentine immigration authorities when they reached the country on Feb. 8 and 9 sleep in the Buenos Aires airport. A federal judge ruled that they were placed in a situation of vulnerability and ordered that they be allowed to enter the country. CREDIT: TV Capture
by Daniel Gutman (buenos aires)
Inter Press Service
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 16 (IPS) – They began to arrive en masse in Argentina in the second half of 2022, a few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They are pregnant Russian women who land in the capital to give birth, with the hope of gaining an Argentine passport, given the fact that so many countries refuse to let in people with Russian passports today.
Authorities are investigating whether they are the victims of scams by organizations holding out false promises.
“Of the 985 deliveries we attended in 2022, 85 were to Russian women and 37 of them were in December. This trend continued in January and so far in February,” Liliana Voto, Head of the Maternal and Child Youth Department at the Fernández Hospital, one of the most renowned public health centers in the Argentine capital, located in the Palermo neighborhood, told IPS.
“Some come with an interpreter and others use a translation app on their phones. We do not ask them how they got to Argentina, but it is clear that there is an organization behind this,” added Voto.
In this South American country, public health centers treat patients free of charge, whether or not they have Argentine documents.
The issue exploded into the headlines on Feb. 8-9, when the immigration authorities detained six pregnant Russian women who had just landed at the Ezeiza international airport, on charges of not actually being tourists as they claimed.
The six women filed for habeas corpus and on Feb. 10 a federal judge ordered that they be allowed to enter the country, after some of them spent more than 48 hours on airport seats.
The ruling handed down by Judge Luis Armella stated that the authorities’ decision not to let them into the country put the women in a vulnerable situation that affected their rights “to proper medical care, food, hygiene and rest,” and said he was allowing them into the country to also protect the rights of their unborn children.
In addition, the judge ordered a criminal investigation into whether there is an organization behind the influx of pregnant Russian women that is scamming them or has committed other crimes. The results of the investigation are sealed.
On Feb. 10, shortly after the court ruling was handed down, 33 Russian women who were between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant arrived in Buenos Aires on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa. (There are no direct flights between Russia and Argentina.)
As reported by the national director of the migration service, Florencia Carignano, in 2022, 10,500 people of Russian nationality entered Argentina and 5,819 of them were pregnant women.
The immigration authorities carried out an investigation in which it interviewed 350 pregnant Russian women in Argentina. They discovered that there is an organization that “offers them, in exchange for a large sum of money, a ‘birth tourism’ package, and gaining an Argentine passport is the main reason for the trip,” Carignano tweeted.
The Fernández Hospital, in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, is one of the most prestigious public health centers in Argentina. In December 2022, 37 Russian women gave birth there. CREDIT: Daniel Gutman/IPS
“Argentina’s history and legislation embrace immigrants who choose to live in this country in search of a better future. This does not mean we endorse mafia organizations that profit by offering scams to obtain our passport, to people who do not want to live here,” she added.
Under Argentine law, foreign nationals who have a child born in Argentina are immediately given permanent residency status, in a process that takes a few months. To obtain citizenship, they have to prove two years of uninterrupted residence here, in a federal court.
“Becoming a citizen is a difficult process that takes many years. If the organizations promise Russian women a passport in a few months, they are lying or there is corruption behind this,” Lourdes Rivadeneyra, head of the Migrant and Refugee Program at the National Institute against Discrimination (INADI), told IPS.
Rights in Argentina
“One thing are human trafficking networks, which make false promises in exchange for large sums of money, and another thing is the rights of women to enter Argentina and have their children here. They are victims,” Christian Rubilar, a lawyer for three of the six women who were held in the Ezeiza airport, told IPS.
Rubilar pointed out that the constitution guarantees essential rights “for all people in the world who want to live in Argentina.” He added that the country’s laws do not mention “false tourists”, and that therefore the immigration office exceeded its authority by denying them access to the country.
Argentina received different waves of European migration from the end of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century. This created a culture of respect for the rights of immigrants among citizens and in the country’s legislation, which see Argentina as a land that welcomes foreigners in trouble, such as Venezuelans who have arrived in large numbers in the past few years.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, hundreds of thousands of people have fled Russia, in what has been described by some as a third historic exodus, after the ones that followed the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989.
Although there are no official figures, recently the English newspaper The Guardian estimated that between 500,000 and one million people have left Russia since the beginning of the war. Many leave out of fear of being sent to the front lines, or because they are in conflict with the government or due to the consequences of international economic sanctions on the country.
The RuArgentina website offers a package of services including a hospital birth for pregnant woman in Buenos Aires and the promise of obtaining Argentine passports for the parents, which gives them entrance without a visa to most countries around the world. CREDIT: Online ad
As can be quickly verified in an Internet search, there are organizations operating in Argentina that promise Russian women who give birth in this country that they and their husbands can quickly obtain citizenship here.
“Give birth in Argentina. We help you move to Argentina, obtain permanent residence and a passport, which gives you visa-free entry to 170 countries around the world,” announces the RuArgentina website, which offers a package that includes accommodation in Buenos Aires, medical assistance, the help of a translator and aid in applying for documents, among other services for pregnant women.
The founder of RuArgentina is a Russian living in Argentina, Kirill Makoveev, who said in an interview on TV that “there are a variety of reasons why our clients come to Argentina: some want a passport because the Russian passport is toxic now. So we explain that the constitution and immigration laws here allow you to obtain a passport without breaking the law.”
The Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires did not respond to IPS’s request for comments, but the pregnant women have not been defended by the Russian community in Argentina.
“They are not coming to Argentina as immigrants, to work and seek a better future, as many Russians did in different waves of immigration. They are coming in order to use Argentina as a springboard to go to Western European countries or the United States,” Silvana Yarmolyuk, director of the Coordinating Council of Organizations of Russian Compatriots in Argentina, which brings together 23 community associations from all over the country, told IPS. .
Yarmolyuk, who was born in Argentina and is the daughter of a Ukrainian father and a Russian mother, said that the Russians who are coming to Argentina now are people of certain means who are taking advantage of Argentina’s flexible immigration policies.
“Just the ticket from Russia to Argentina costs about 3,000 dollars,” she said. “The danger is that this exacerbates the spread of Russophobia, which hurts all of us.”
