Anonymous Donor Pledges $39,000 to the Afghan Women's Network for Three Girls Schools in Afghanistan

An anonymous donor has pledged $39,000 to the Afghan Women’s Network for a three-year program to build three girls schools in the Afghan provinces of Wardak, Paghman and Jalalabad.

The donor was alerted to the work of the AWN through the website of The Advocacy Project, which published first-hand reports on the work of the AWN from Pakistan and Afghanistan throughout 2003. AP put the donor and AWN in contact, and the agreement was signed recently.

The schools project will be entirely run and administered by the AWN in Afghanistan. AP will arrange for the transfer of funds, assist the donor in evaluations, and arrange partnerships with other agencies and donors that are working on girls’ education in Afghanistan, so as to ensure that the AWN’s efforts are integrated and also sustained once the grant runs out. The AWN itself will be working closely with the Afghan government, and education ministry.

AP will also report regularly on the schools project, and promote it in the United States and Washington area.

The AWN hopes to educate at least 600 girls in each of the three schools by the end of the project. In addition, the program will seek to provide literacy training for women in the three communities by sending advanced students (in their third year) to the homes of older, illiterate women who are reluctant to come to the schools themselves.

Illiteracy continues to prove one of the main obstacles to the advancement of women in Afghanistan. Twenty-three years of war and poverty have reduced life expectancy for Afghan women to 44 years of age and literacy rate for Afghan women is 1.2 percent - compared to 9.2 percent for men.

• For details of the AWN’s campaigns and analysis of the new constitution visit the AWN website.

120 Afghan Women Leaders Agree to Promote Voter Registration Among Women

At the urging of the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) and the UN, 120 prominent Afghan women leaders have committed themselves to encourage women to register to vote for the forthcoming elections, and to promote civic education among Afghan women in Kabul and surroundings areas.

The decision was made at a January 28-29 meeting in Kabul that was organized by the Afghan Women’s Network and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The AWN is a partner of The Advocacy Project, and now claims more than 65 NGOs and 3,000 individual members.

The meeting took place amidst growing doubts that the elections in Afghanistan can be held on schedule in June. Two months after voter registration began, less than 10 percent of the 10.5 million eligible voters have registered, and only 2 percent of the eligible women.

There are reports that women are coming under conflicting pressure in isolated areas. According to one report, from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, one tribal council has threatened to fine women and burn down their houses if they don’t vote. Other reports say that women in isolated areas are being discouraged from registering by their husbands.

758 Petitioners Demand Inquiry Into Beating of AP's Nepalese Partner

The Government of Nepal has agreed to receive 758 petitions demanding an immediate inquiry into the January 13 beating of Dinesh Prasain, Coordinator of the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) in Nepal.

The 758 petitions were collected online and in written form over a period of two weeks by The Advocacy Project, the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, and the Society of Ex- Budhanilkantha Students (SEBS), an influential Nepalese alumni association that has over 2,000 members worldwide. AP collected 415 signatures, mostly from Georgetown University. An average of 15 new petitioners are signing on every day.

The 758 petitions were handed in at the Nepalese Embassy in Washington on February 9 by a delegation from the three organizations. Mr. Rudra Nepal, the Deputy Ambassador, accepted the petitions and agreed to forward them to the government immediately.

“Nepalese law is very clear,” he said. “Violations of anyone’s fundamental human rights are not allowed under our courts and laws. Things may have happened which are not always seen to be in keeping with the law of the land.” At the same time, he said, Nepal is going through a “very difficult and unusual time.”

Mr. Prasain was attacked at his home on January 13 by a gang of armed men who wore plain clothes but appear to have been from the Nepalese security forces. COCAP has demanded that the Nepal Human Rights Commission launch a public inquiry. This is also the aim of the AP petition.

As part of its advocacy on behalf of Mr. Prasain, AP has contacted Ms. Hina Jilani, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, and also Amnesty International.

AP has also faxed appeals to the Prime Minister of Nepal, the Chief of Army Staff, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Chief of the Army Human Rights Cell. These faxes were sent at the suggestion of the Observatory Appeal, an urgent action procedure jointly organized by the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT). AP is also contacting newspapers in Nepal.

AP has received many inquiries about the case following the AP press release. The campaign will continue until an inquiry is held.

• Read a press release that gives details of the attack on Dinesh Prasain

New Roma Forum Aims to Improve Roma Lobbying in Europe

In a sign of its growing influence in the European Roma movement, the International Roma Women's Network (IRWN) has played a major role in helping to establish a new Forum for Roma at the Council of Europe (COE).

The Forum was formally voted into existence last December by the European Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg. The governments of France, Finland and Switzerland have agreed to fund a two-person secretariat, based in Strasbourg.

The aim of the Forum is to give Roma a body that can support their lobbying throughout Europe, and represent their interests in the European bodies, particularly the Council of Europe. The idea originally came from the Government of Finland, but met with stiff resistance from other governments until it was finally approved late last year.

IRWN is one of five founding member organizations. (The others are The Roma National Congress; the International Romani Union; The Forum for European Roma Youth; and the Gypsies and Travelers International Evangelical Fellowship.) New members will have to have been active for four years.

IRWN's President, Soraya Post, played an important role in pushing for the Forum, and also insisting that IRWN participate. Roma women activists from 18 different countries established IRWN on March 8, 2003.

The Advocacy Project has supported IRWN since its establishment. Last year, AP held a series of training sessions with IRWN's committee, aimed at helping its member communicate as a 'virtual' network and designate clear job responsibilities. IRWN is currently applying for NGO status in Strasbourg. It also disseminates information about Roma women in Europe through a list that now has over 120 subscribers.

In an important initiative, IRWN is also negotiating with governments to hold a major meeting on sterilization. The issue has become controversial following allegations that Roma women have been forcibly sterilized in Slovakia.

• To subscribe to the IRWN listserv and receive regular news about Roma women in Europe, email Jannette Gronfors

IRWN Protest Prompts Police Inquiry Into Roma Evictions in UK

Collective action by the International Roma Women’s Network (IRWN) has helped to prompt an investigation by the British authorities into the eviction of 20 Gypsy/Roma families from their own land, and ensure that the incident is treated as a possible case of racial discrimination.

The families, who all lived in caravans, were evicted on January 26, 2004 by a private contractor hired by the Council of Chelmsford. Even though they owned the land, the families had failed to get planning permission. The families were moved to unheated temporary housing, and are reportedly seeking 2.4 million Euros in damages from the contractor (Constant & Co) for the burning of two caravans and for theft.

The incident was immediately communicated through the IRWN listserv, which now goes out to over 120 subscribers throughout Europe. At the same time, angry Roma representatives in the UK also launched a coordinated protest against the Chelmsford Council. The campaign was led by the UK National Association of Gypsy Women, (an IRWN member) the Trans-European Roma Federation (TERF), and representatives of the Irish Travelers.

In addition to the Chelmsford Council, the campaigners have also contacted the Chelmsford police and the Commission for Racial Equality, a publicly-funded UK organization set up under the UK Race Relations Act of 1976 to tackle issues of discrimination.

Responding to the protests, the Chief Superintendent of Chelmsford Police, Ms. Julia Jeapes has called for an investigation. According to the IRWN, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality has also warned the Chelmsford authorities that it has a duty to promote race equality and equal opportunity for the Gypsy community, and that this applies to the enforcement of planning permission and “unauthorized encampments.”

“It is impossible for Travelers and Gypsies to get planning permission even though they own the land,” said Catherine Beard, who is a leading member of the UK National Association of Gypsy Women and IRWN campaign coordinator.

IRWN, an AP partner, has members in 18 European countries, and Ms. Beard said that this international backing gives English campaigners a sense of solidarity and legitimacy when they take on issues like the Chelmsford evictions.  “I think it lets [the Council] know that we are speaking with one voice. Everyone else in [our European network] now knows about this incident.”

• Alerted by another IRWN posting, the UK National Association of Gypsy Women has written to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to protest a recent report that children, some of them Roma, are being sold to traffickers from a former UN refugee camp in Montenegro. The report ran in the British Sunday Mirror on January 25, 2004. The camp is at least partially supported by donations from British charities.

• To subscribe to the IRWN listserv and receive regular news about Roma women in Europe, email Jannette Gronfors.

Roma eRiders Launch New IT Support Organization for European Roma Activists

Five founding members of the Roma Information Project (RIP) team have formed their own nongovernmental organization, based in Bulgaria, to provide information technology consulting services to Roma civil society organizations in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Macedonia, Czech Republic and Hungary. This will be the first attempt to bring information technology to Roma NGOs in a coordinated and sustained manner.

The five RIP members are all eRiders (roving IT consultants): Gabi Hrabanova (Czech Republic) Miroslav Olah (Slovakia), Maria Metodieva (Bulgaria), Nora Costache (Romania) and Gyula Vamosi (Hungary).

The Roma Information Project was established in 2002 to support the IT work of Roma activists in Europe. It received management support from The Advocacy Project and funding from the Open Society Institute. During 2003, RIP members worked with over 55 Roma organizations and 250 Roma activists in Europe.

The emergence of the RIP as an independent NGO is proof of its sustainability and independence, and of the determination of its members to offer Roma NGOs long-term, comprehensive and up-to-date technology assistance.

RIP’s services will differ from the standard assistance offered under the rubric of “capacity-building.” In most cases RIP’s eRiders will work onsite at the NGO’s offices unless larger training is warranted. Their services can include: website and database development; campaign and information strategy development; proposal writing and fundraising; training; hardware and software installation; troubleshooting; and both back-up and anti-virus procedures.

ERider Maria Metodieva assisted in a recent training session organized by The Advocacy Project in the United Kingdom for the International Roma Women’s Network (IRWN).

The Advocacy Project will continue to partner with RIP and support the campaigns of the groups they work with.  We wish RIP luck in this exciting new endeavor.

• Learn more about RIP and their work
• Email RIP's new Executive Director Maria Metodieva.

Bosfam Weavers Featured in New AP Film

A short new film by The Advocacy Project profiles the difficult, but inspiring, work of AP’s partner Bosfam, the Bosnian women’s group that supports displaced and refugee women in Eastern Bosnia. A clip of the film can be viewed on the AP web site.

The film reports from Bosfam’s center in Tuzla, which offers a refuge to women who lost husbands, sons, fathers and brothers in the Srebrenica massacre of 1995. Bosfam also trains women in the traditional art of Bosnian carpet weaving. Carpets are the only source of income for many of the women.

The film features footage of the July 11, 2003 reburial of victims of the Srebrenica massacre, which was attended by thousands of relatives. Aspen Brinton, a former AP associate, shot the footage. It was in this same field, opposite the UN army base at Potocari, that Srebrenica’s Muslims waited to learn their fate in the hours leading up the 1995 massacre.

The annual pilgrimage on July 11 is both heart-breaking and essential as Beba Hadzic, the director of Bosfam, makes clear in the film: ‘Eleven July – it’s very difficult for everybody. In Bosfam we have a lot of women from Srebrenica who have lost a member of [their] family.’

The Advocacy Project will use the film to promote Bosfam’s message of reconciliation, as well as secure orders for carpets. During 2003, AP generated over $3,500 in orders for the Bosfam weavers. AP’s main goal for 2004 is to help Bosfam use its own website (which AP helped to design) to attract orders and become financially more independent.

• Watch a 30-second clip of the video. Copies of the full DVD are available for $7.50 (postage and reproduction) from The Advocacy Project.  Email us for more information.
• For more information about the Bosfam carpets, or about future events, email AP.

B’Tselem Uses Music Video to Illustrate the Effects of Occupation

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem is using the remake of a popular Israeli song and music video to educate Israelis about the impact of Israeli check points and other obstacles to freedom of movement in the West Bank.

The B’Tselem music video “Eyes Wide Open” implores viewers to focus on the impact of occupation: “You have to see the wrong in order to fight it... Don't put on glasses/Rose colored or gray/Look with your eyes/Eyes wide open." The video compiles images from roadblocks and checkpoints within the West Bank. You can see the video on You Tube.

According to Rachel Greenspahn of B’Tselem, the song has received regular airplay on local radio stations. 8,000 people viewed the video online in its first day of release. All of the major newspapers in Israel have published links to the video, and responses to the B’Tselem web site - both positive and negative - have increased dramatically. “There is no doubt that it has drawn substantial attention and fostered public debate,” said Greenspahn.   The song and video are only one part of B’Tselem’s campaign, which also includes distributing newspaper inserts to half a million households, publishing an expanded website, and distributing a pocket-guide to soldiers at checkpoints. B’Tselem has also escorted leading public figures, academics, former security officials and members of the Knesset on a tour of checkpoints to get their own first-hand impression of siege.

• A team from B’Tselem criticized Israel’s security fence in a briefing at Georgetown University last fall. 

Georgetown Students Join AP to Support AP's Network, Organize 2004 Internship

The Advocacy Project is pleased to announce an expansion of its staff in Washington DC. The addition of four graduate students from Georgetown University, all with solid professional experience, will make it easier for AP to communicate regularly with AP’s partner organizations, manage projects, and also organize outreach activities.

Adriana Boscov will run AP’s office in Washington and work on individual projects with AP’s partner organizations. Pamela Erickson will coordinate all contacts with partners, and also oversee the summer internship program, which matches Georgetown interns with AP’s partners overseas. Adriana and Pamela are both pursuing Master's of Science degrees in Foreign Service at Georgetown.

As Outreach Coordinator, Evelina Gueorguieva will organize events for AP Partners, publicize AP and partner projects, and involve the D.C. community with AP’s initiatives. Evelina is pursuing a Master's Degree in German and European Studies from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown.

Publications Coordinator Laura Stein will publicize the work of AP and its partners through press releases, newsletters, and the AP website. Laura is pursuing a Master's Degree in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown.

• Read profiles of the AP staff

New Website Pages Recall an Action-Packed Summer for AP Interns

The Advocacy Project has posted a set of new pages on the AP website that report on the work of AP interns during the summer of 2003.

AP arranged for eight graduate students to intern with AP partners in Kosovo, Bosnia, Lebanon, Nepal, Nigeria, Italy, the Palestinian Territories and the Czech Republic. The new pages offer individual accounts of the internship, based on each intern’s own assessment. They also carry the entire set of web logs (blogs) that were written directly by interns onto the AP site.

The pages offer a frank assessment of the program. On the one hand it offered a unique opportunity to work with community-based human rights groups on the frontlines. On the other hand, some of the interns asked how they could possibly make a real impact on their partner organizations in just three months.

AP’s own answer, taken from the pages, is as follows: ‘Like so many terms employed in the aid business ‘capacity-building’ has a condescending north-south ring to it. But this program was very much of a partnership. The eight organizations that hosted interns in the summer of 2003 were able to provide their interns with a unique professional experience. They also helped The Advocacy Project grow as an organization, to the point where AP can hopefully better support their interests.’

• View the reports