PHA-Exchange> workshop on MDGs and women's health

Wed Sep 7 00:43:34 PDT 2005

Dear PHM, 

You are all invited to join WGNRR in our workshop "Global barriers to poverty reduction and women's enjoyment of their sexual and reproductive health and rights: How we resist" on 23 September during the International Women and Health Meeting (IWHM). We have a very interesting and diverse group of panellists together, please see below.

WGNRR will also host a reception on the evening of 20 September for all those interested in WGNRR, and members meeting for all members on the evening of 23 September. Please contact us at office at wgnrr.org <mailto:office at wgnrr.org>  for more information.

Nadia van der Linde
Campaign Coordinator
Women's Access to Health Campaign

Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
Vrolikstraat 453-D
1092 TJ Amsterdam
Netherlands
www.wgnrr.org <http://www.wgnrr.org/> 
tel. +31 20 6209672
fax. +31 20 6222450

	WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT

	"Global barriers to poverty reduction and women's enjoyment of their sexual and reproductive health and rights: How we resist"

	The workshop will take place during the 10th International Women and Health Meeting in New Delhi, India, 21-25 September 2005 (see http://www.10iwhmindia.org <http://www.10iwhmindia.org/> ), and is organized by the Coordination Office of the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (www.wgnrr.org <http://www.wgnrr.org/>  ). 

	Time:                     23rd September, from 4:00PM to 5:30PM 

	Location:          Cocktail Lounge, Hotel Ashok

	The main language during the workshop will be English, but we have simultaneous translation facilities for French and Spanish. 

	The workshop will analyze how women's advocates are overcoming global social, economic and political barriers to poverty reduction and women's enjoyment of their reproductive and sexual health and rights (RSHR).

	In the first part, speakers will:

	*	Connect poverty and women's inability to enjoy their RSHR
	*	Present the obstacles in their local contexts to poverty reduction and use of tools like the Millennium Development Goals
	*	Introduce their projects and how these surmount the aforementioned obstacles and facilitate women's RSHR
	*	Explain if and how they work within the MDGs framework when the MDGs do not mention explicitly RSHR

	In the second part, the audience - advocates working in women's health and rights and development - will discuss how to use experiences from the most promising projects presented, and how to facilitate joint action for the future.

	Anissa Helie (Algeria/France)will facilitate the workshop. 

	Ms. Hélie is a feminist historian. She holds two MAs, in contemporary history and in gender & development, and she is currently finalizing her PhD. She has been involved with Women Living Under Muslim Laws since its inception in 1984. She was Coordinator of the WLUML Network's International 

	Coordination Office (2000 - 2004) and is now a member of the WLUML Program Implementation Council. She served on the board of Women's Caucus for Gender Justice and is currently on the board of the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights, of Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights, as well as on the Editorial Advisory Board for Reproductive Rights Matters. Ms. Hélie is a frequent speaker on issues related to women's rights in Muslim countries and communities - including sexuality, fundamentalisms, wars and conflicts.

	Josephine Ngalula Kabeya (Democratic Republic of Congo) will speak about the specific conditions for women in her home country, where poverty, political instability, open conflict and impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence have a devastating impact on women's reproductive and sexual health and rights. The juridical system, the economic order and cultural attitudes, are posing other obstacles for the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals. However, FOREFEM is active disseminating information about the MDGs, conducting lobby activities and organizing resistance.

	Ms. Kabeya is the director of Forum de la Femme Menagere, participant of the Forum of women's organizations for integrated development. With an academic background in social sciences and politics, Ms. Kabeya has a broad experience as facilitator and trainer in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights. She is a member of various women's networks at national level and the mother of five children.

	Rezvan Moghaddam (Iran) will report about the difficult working conditions for women's groups in her country. Her group addresses issues like girl-child marriage arranged by the parents, disastrous divorce procedures where women lose access to their children, and the illegality of abortion. Despite difficult circumstances, women groups in Iran fight oppressive laws rooted in religious fundamentalism, and traditional attitudes at the grassroots level that support these wrong rules. The Women Circle has set up several educational groups about the reproductive rights of women; published posters, newsletters and bulletins. Recently, the organization has also formed a research group to engage with selected issues, like domestic violence, more scientifically.

	Rezvan Moghaddam was born in 1960 in Iran. She studied mathematics and psychology in Tehran and taught both subjects at university and as private teacher during the last 25 years. Having experienced suffering from inequality and oppression, Ms. Moghaddam started to focus on human rights, especially women's rights. Today, she is the focal point of the Women Circle within the People's Health Movement in Iran. The main goal of the Women Circle is to create awareness among grassroots women of the rights, which have been taken from them. And to take these rights back!                                                          

	Gabriela Cano Azcárraga (Mexico) will talk about the process of analysis and debate on the Millennium Development Goals within the Youth Coalition. Applying a youth perspective and including young people's sexual and reproductive rights, the Youth Coalition recently published a booklet "Learning how to speak MDGs". The speaker will share some of the major recommendations that have come to the fore with the audience, and will open the discussion on how to make these a reality.

	Gabriela Cano Azcárraga, 29, is a youth activist and social science researcher, based in Mexico City. She has a solid background in gender, human rights, networking, training and advocacy on the sexual and reproductive rights concerns of young people. She was an active participant in the Youth Coalition's activities throughout the review processes of the United Nations Conferences Cairo +5 and +10, and Beijing +5 and +10. She is currently involved with the Youth Coalition's advocacy activities related to the Millennium Development Summit + 5. Gabriela is the General Coordinator Espacio Espiral, an NGO dedicated to work in cultural promotion, sustainable development and equity.

	Darleen San Jose-Estuart (Philippines) will talk about her experiences at the Brokenshire Women Center. The BWC has done pioneering work in integrating gender and reproductive health in clinical services and training programs in obstetrics-gynecology. She will share with us how the BWC succeeded in changing the attitude and behavior of health care providers, and even could reach out to the wider private sector.

	Darleen San Jose-Estuart, MD. is an obstetrician -gynecologist working in a private, non-profit, tertiary care hospital in  Davao City, Southern Philippines.  She has been a consultant/resource person on reproductive health of various Philippine NGOs and GOs since 1992 and has headed several projects to strengthen reproductive health services as project director of Brokenshire Woman Center (BWC). As associate professor of the Davao Medical School Foundation she has been involved in clinical and RH training of medical students, post graduate interns and residents. Currently she is actively involved in the challenging work of mainstreaming gender and reproductive health in the clinical practice of members of the biggest association of obstetricians-gynecologists in the country, the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS), through its Women's Advocacy Committee.    

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