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Monthly Archives: April 2013

Masculinities in the Middle East

The past few years, the Middle East has witnessed an incredible amount of changes. The energy and the hope, generated by the people’s uprisings during the Arab Spring, came hand in hand with insecurity and instability in the region. The Middle East is amongst one of the least peaceful regions in the world, with the drop in rankings for the Arab countries reflecting the turbulence since the Arab Spring(1). The military spending in the Middle East rose by 8,4 per cent in 2012 to $138 billion (2).

In this highly militarized and conflict-ridden region, an excessive amount of discrimination and violence against women is taking place. While women have been on the forefront during the Arab Spring demonstrations, they faced sidelining and undermining of their rights during the aftermath of it. For example, sexual harassment has risen tremendously in Egypt.

CSO’s and women have been working for years to advance the position of women in the region. Recently, some human and women’s rights groups realized that a different strategy might be needed to strengthen their work for gender equality. In this highly patriarchal region, discussions have started about the role men can (and should) play in ending violence against women and eliminating gender inequality.

One of the forerunners in these discussions is the Lebanon-based group ABAAD – Resource Center for Gender Equality. Since 2011, the WPP has been partnering with ABAAD for its regional capacity building program in the Middle East, which included a regional Training of Trainers Cycle on masculinities and gender-sensitive active nonviolence (GSANV) and the organization of a consultation meeting to explore the relevance of regional networking for GSANV in the region.

On 10th and 11th April 2013, the WPP participated in a pioneering international seminar, organized by ABAAD, entitled “Masculinities and Ending Violence against Women in the Middle East and Abroad”. Participants came from Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sweden, South Africa and the USA to share their experiences and reflections on the topic. ABAAD shared its innovative and groundbreaking work on masculinities and ending violence in the region, including the establishment of a center for men in Beirut, as well as its work with religious leaders and youth in Lebanon.

The cultural meanings of being a “real man” in different cultural contexts as well as how societies teach their children to become women and men around the world were discussed during the meeting. Guest speakers Gary Barker and Oswaldo Montoya of Promundo and MenEngage, and Dean Peacock of Sonke Gender Justice Network offered insightful experiences from Brazil, South Africa and Nicaragua. Through audio and video material, they shared examples of male change makers who challenge the connection between violence and masculinities: men who refuse to abide by masculine norms that equate being a man with being strong, powerful, heterosexual, successful, and entitled to privileges over women. Change makers who don’t believe that men may use violence towards women, children, or other men if those people do not live up to social norms or if the men feel that they are being challenged.

During the seminar, participants were invited to discuss if and how they could engage men in their own work, and what kind of challenges and obstacles they face in doing this in their own context. The potential of and the need for engaging men in the region was highlighted by the participants. The various Arab male participants shared insights from their own experiences in the region as male change makers speaking out against violence against women. A Jordanian male activist shared how he clearly notices in his work that Arab culture “applauds women who stay calm while being subjects to violence, women who are patient and don’t speak out against it”. He shared how he encourages his female students to speak out when they are violated – in contrast to cultural expectations – because “nobody should stay in a pattern of violence”. The specific and strong role religious leaders play in the region was highlighted by various participants also.

At the closing comments, one participant reiterated the words of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish – the interconnectedness of the jailer and jailed and the sense that their destinies are inextricably – and related this to how women’s and men’s roles are linked and how both are ‘ victims of socialization’.

Future plans

To be able to share thoughts with people from so many different countries was an enriching experience. Participants emphasized the need to analyze the different strategies discussed – including the use of art, media and social media, and the collection of clear social, cultural and health data on the benefits of gender equality for men and boys, women and girls – and to strategize on how these can be adapted and used in our own context.
All the participants expressed a strong willingness to continue the discussions and networking in order to advance the work of engaging men in the MENA region. The WPP is looking forward to continue her work in the region with the various partners!

Next month, from 26-29 May, the WPP is organizing an Global Consultation meeting in The Hague, with several of its partners in the field of GSANV and masculinities coming together to discuss the impact in the field, as well as design a long-term strategy to continue this important area of work in upcoming years.

Early 2014, the WPP will organize another MENA Consultation to analyze specific needs in the region and decide collaboratively on a strategy to advance the work of gender sensitive active nonviolence in the region.
Please keep an eye on our website and Facebook for the latest updates!

Website of ABAAD: http://www.abaadmena.org/

———–

1  Source:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/jun/12/global-­‐peace-­‐index-­‐2012

2  Source:  http://www.sipri.org/media/pressreleases/2013/milex_launch

Celebrating the WPP Asia events with Ambassador de Zwaan

During the closing ceremony of the WPP Asia Training of Trainers cycle and the WPP Asia Consultation Meeting on 11 April, WPP and the WPP Asia network were honored by the presence of Ambassador of the Netherlands, his Excellency Tjeerd de Zwaan. His visit was a recognition of the hard and valuable work of the ToT participants and the WPP Asia network members in the field of peace and security. It enabled the network to thank the Dutch government for its support throughout the years. It was also a great opportunity to highlight the impact of a gender-sensitive active nonviolence approach in Asia.

The Closing Ceremony - on the right Ambassador de Zwaan

The Closing Ceremony – on the right Ambassador de Zwaan

The Dutch Government has supported the Women Peacemakers Program ever since its establishment in 1997, and its support has been one of the certainties WPP could rely on in its ground-breaking work in the Women, Peace and Security field. It allowed the WPP to invest in capacity building programming for women peace activists and awareness-raising on women’s peace efforts and the importance of integrating a gender perspective in peacebuilding (UNSCR 1325).

Ambassador de Zwaan was welcomed by Isabelle Geuskens, WPP Director, and Carla June Natan, Chair of the Asia Mother Board. In her opening speech, Carla June Natan reflected on the two-day Asia Consultation Meeting. She noted that, although the members of the network work in different contexts, the similarities in challenges and opportunities reinforce the need for a strong gender-sensitive active nonviolent network in the region. The WPP Asia network is of an added value for the region, as it provides a space wher

e the activists can support each other in their passion and determination to achieve change. Carla stated that she has high hopes for the future and looks forward to the network’s activism in the upcoming years.

Isabelle Geuskens commended the pro-active approach of the Government of the Netherlands in the Women, Peace and Security field. According to the WPP Director, the innovative and flexible stance of the Dutch Government contributed greatly to the success of WPP’s work.

Most importantly, the Dutch Government’s flexible approach as a donor has allowed WPP to remain a learning organization, one which is deeply rooted in the realities of activists’ life and work, and one which can be flexible in terms of responding to ever-changing political and social dynamics. This has enabled us to be innovative and introduce the concept of integrating a masculinities perspective in gender-sensitive peacebuilding, a completely new concept in our field of work since there was no previous track record to build on. Our successful pioneering in this area has contributed to the opening up of the women, peace and security agenda, and a growing awareness on the importance of working with gender-sensitive male allies in creating a more gender-just and peaceful world.

Isabelle Geuskens invited the Asia network members and ToT participants to share experiences with gender-sensitive active nonviolence and the impact the WPP trainings had on their lives and communities. Examples ranged from being empowered as a young woman by WPP to organize a youth peace camp for girls in India; to introducing gender-sensitive active nonviolence to Indonesian media; to providing resource materials and support for working on positive masculinities in a conservative area in Pakistan.

Receiving the well-earned ToT certificates

Receiving the well-earned ToT certificates

Ambassador de Zwaan could relate to many of the participants’ testimonials as he himself has worked in countries such as India, Pakistan and Egypt. In his speech the Ambassador underlined the importance of empowering women in society, specifically in conflict situations. The Dutch Government has a long track record in funding and supporting women’s organisations to work for gender equality, female leadership and the implementation of UNSCR 1325. Looking at the future, stakeholders will need to explore new opportunities for the advancement of the women’s agenda. An example is the use of media, where he mentioned an Afghan radio station managed by women and producing radio programs for women, financially supported by the local Dutch Embassy. According to the Ambassador, working with masculinities is a relatively new area to advance the women’s agenda, and he applauded WPP for its pioneering role in this field. He was proud that the Dutch Government could contribute to the work of WPP, specifically in the Asia region. The Ambassador looked forward to hearing more of the WPP Asia network soon.

Following Ambassador de Zwaan’s speech, the ToT participants received their well-earned certificate for completing the Asia ToT on gender-sensitive active nonviolence. The participants spoke warmly about their colleagues, showing the bonds of friendship that developed during the program and the determination to work together for gender-sensitive peace.

The WPP team and the WPP Asia network would like to thank Ambassador de Zwaan for attending the closing ceremony of the events in Indonesia, and look forward to welcoming him at future events.

Reflections on the WPP Asia Consultation Meeting

WPP Asia Consultation Meeting.        10-11 April 2013

It was a joyous mix of reconnecting with old partners and meeting new members at the beginning of the WPP Asia Consultation Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Consultation Meeting took place after the closing of the 2012-2013 Asia Training of Trainers cycle. With the experience of older members of the Asia network and the new insights of the ToT participants, who also joined the Consultation, the two days together promised to be filled with connecting, reflecting, planning and strengthening the WPP Asia Network for the upcoming years.

Group photo with all the consultation partipants

Group photo with all the consultation partipants

The aim of the Consultation Meeting was to review the activities of the Asia network of the last two years, evaluate the network processes, and use these lessons to strategize for the next couple of years. The Consultation was designed in such a way as to enable full participation of all the attendants, who were encouraged to dream while remaining realistic about what could be achieved. The active participation and enthusiastic group dynamics resulted in the identification of a broad range of lessons learned, as well as challenges and opportunities for the WPP Asia network to take along for the upcoming years.

To support the internal reflection and planning process, it always helps to hear inspiring stories about women’s role in peacebuilding from fellow activists from the region. WPP invited Shadia Marhaban, the only female negotiator during the peace talks between the Government of Indonesia and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) of 2005, to talk about her experiences. Her story was very inspiring, stressing the fact that women’s participation should go beyond the negotiation table, and should also be included in the peacebuilding and reconstruction processes after the peace agreement has been signed. Apart from the peace talks, Shadia also shared practical tips and tricks for future negotiators, especially for female negotiators. She underlined that, in order to be able to demand for a gender-sensitive peace agreement, female negotiators have to be knowledgeable about international instruments on women’s participation in peacebuilding, such as UNSCR 1325, and need to have sufficient negotiation skills. Shadia’s experience touched many of the participants, who were very eager to talk to her after her presentation.

During the Consultation, we had many useful discussions about network dynamics and the different political challenges and opportunities arising in the Asia region. Drawing upon the experiences of participants who are also part of other network-settings, one of the discussions focused on the topic of “visibility with integrity”. Networks always face the dilemma of the need to be visible as a strong network – for donors, public outreach, and making an impact – and individual members’ need to be properly recognized in their identity as well as credited for their accomplishments. The importance of transparency in sharing information with the whole network was stressed, including the necessity to recognize and credit the work of all the stakeholders. The discussions provided a lot of valuable input for the network principles and internal procedures, and provided a sound basis for our future collaborations.

Presenting the visibility strategy and activities

Presenting the visibility strategy and activities

One of the central activities during the Consultation was a joint SWOT analysis. The WPP Asia Network draws its strength from WPP’s 16 years experience with gender-sensitive peacebuilding and UNSCR 1325, and particularly its flexibility and courage to address new topics within the women, peace and security agenda, such as masculinities. In addition, the different areas of expertise of the network members, and the strong local/ national networks they are part of, provide a strong basis for regional mobilization for gender-sensitive active nonviolence. The growing attention for UNSCR 1325 and positive masculinities in the Asian region; the democratisation processes in several countries; and new communication and advocacy tools are several of the many opportunities emerging in the Asia region for the network to jump into. There are also internal weaknesses to address and external threats to divert, but the network members were determined to look at the future through the positive lenses of strengths and opportunities. We eventually used the SWOT analysis as the basis for developing comprehensive strategies and activities for the upcoming two years.

Together we identified three strategies and already came up with a list of concrete activities for the network. During the upcoming weeks these will be worked out in detail, but we would like to give you already a glimpse at what we are up to:

For consolidating the Asia network, both financially and practically, we will focus on establishing stronger ties between the members on a national and regional scale. Organizing capacity building on gender-sensitive active nonviolence will be a key point here. Through effective information exchange, including the appointment of national and sub-regional focal points, and an Asia mapping on UNSCR 1325, the members will be able to strengthen their connections. We are also looking into joint projects on gender-sensitive active nonviolence, with the possibility of organizing a network conference on masculinities and UNSCR 1325 in 2014! To increase our visibility, we explored how to best make use of social media and building an online platform to broaden our public outreach. So be prepared to hear more from us in the future!

All in all, the two days provided much food for thought! The face-to-face interactions made the event very successful. Just imagine:  activists from countries such as Pakistan and India, South Korea and Indonesia, brainstorming, connecting and coming up with ideas for a strong gender-sensitive nonviolent network and impact in Asia.

Thank you, all the activists at the Consultation! We are looking forward to working with you in the near future!

Closing the Training of Trainers Cycle

An energetic sit-in during the role play

An energetic sit-in during the role play

The 9th of April was the last day of the WPP Training of Trainers Cycle. A one-year cycle had come to an end, but not before participants shared many laughs during their nonviolent action exercise, and looked at the Asia regional training manual on this last day.  

During the first session of the day, participants focused on the planning of nonviolent actions. The participants were divided into two groups. Each group had to think of a social or political problem in their country, and come up with a nonviolent action to address the injustice. After their brainstorming, the groups were asked to demonstrate their nonviolent action in a role-play. Both groups were very creative and made effective use of the training tools they had received over the course of this and last year’s training to plan a nonviolent action. Even the trainers and WPP staff ended up participating in the role plays, demonstrating the mass mobilization and energizing effects that come from active nonviolence. It was a great closure of the GSANV sessions of the Training of Trainers.

After a lot of laughs generated by the role-playing, the participants went into the final ToT session, which focused on the production of a training manual from the ToT Cycle. Trainees brainstormed about the specific elements that should be incorporated in the manual in order for it to be useful in their specific contexts.

One of the trainers, Netsai Mushonga from Zimbabwe, shared with us her ideas and thoughts about the 2013 Asia training and the Asia ToT cycle in general:

The trainers, Netsai and Raziq, preparing the final session

The trainers, Netsai and Raziq, preparing the final session

“I have just completed facilitating the follow-up Asia ToT training on Gender-Sensitive Active Nonviolence with participants from the Asian region. I am very hopeful after this follow-up training. The first training was held in the Philippines last year, where participants were introduced to active nonviolence. The first response from some of them was that it could not be done in Asia. However, after a year, participants were able to give cases of successful active nonviolence from their regions. Some had even participated in the activities. The whole mood of the training was positive, there was an undercurrent of excitement and determination with implementing gender-sensitive active nonviolence to challenge injustice and violence at all levels in their communities. As I leave for the airport, I am hopeful that WPP has planted seeds of peace in Asia. The seeds of active nonviolence are after all in India where Ghandi led the nonviolence struggle to get rid of the colonial government. I will continue to watch the space…”

From the systematization of the final evaluation questionnaire, we learned that the participants valued the ToT very much. They gave the training an average score of 8,5 out of 10! Here are some examples of the positive feedback we received:

I do thank WPP for the great opportunity given to me, and would love to give back my knowledge or skills; looking forward to our countries’ collaboration.”

Thank you for the commitment. It was a lifetime experience exploring myself, especially the masculinities side of my existence and being.”

The whole cycle was remarkable, to understand masculinity, and nonviolent peacebuilding among such diverse people.”

WPP looks back to a very interesting week full of learning, sharing and deepening everyone’s knowledge and skills on gender-sensitive active nonviolence, and is happy to welcome the ToT activists into the WPP Asia network. As we move forward together, we look forward to hear more about their stories about the local implementation of the training!

The day of amazing insights, liveliness and inspiration!

By Thivia Radhakrishnan (CARE International, Sri Lanka)

The sun rose as usual, and how time goes fast! It was already the 6th day of our training. We all were at the training room at 9.00 AM, because of the excitement of receiving training of a young and energetic woman, Mirma, who would give us more tips on peace advocacy and lobby.

The morning session was presented and facilitated by Ms. Mirma Mae C. Tica from Center for Peace Education, Miriam College, Philippines. We reviewed several concepts of peace and different pathways to achieve a culture of peace. It was a lively session as she explained, in a very exciting way, the different approaches, strategies, and tools for peace advocacy and shared success stories about the participation of minorities in the implementation of UNSCR 1325. It gave us good ideas on improving our own advocacy for peace, especially to make it gender-sensitive. From these small exercises, I realized that if we do not have peace within our self, it will be challenging changing our family or community contexts.

Working together on an advocacy campaign

Working together on an advocacy campaign

Then we looked at the concept of “advocacy”. We heard a lot about it, but what does it actually mean? Is it a process? Is it awareness? Is it changing policy or mobilizing the community for change? Through the brainstorm, group work and exercises on advocacy we came to a better understanding of the meaning of advocacy and related it to our own context. Within advocacy, it is important to not only to touch the minds but also the hearts of our target audience, and then convince them rationally to undertake action. For effective action, people have to be encouraged to go outside of their comfort zone.Mirma elaborated on the Philippine campaigns on the Arms Trade Treaty, were banana trade regulations were compared with arms trade regulations to get the message across. The message was that there are trade regulations on something as harmless as a banana, but not on something as destructive as arms. Through this simple but brilliant campaign message, I could see lot of creativity in their nonviolent work. We, as participants, can adopt similar activities and strategies within our own context.

The lesson we learned was that if we use violent mechanisms to control violent acts, we might have a chance of winning, but the cycle of violence will continue. A nonviolent action plan breaks the cycle of violence. This will come with great challenges, but this does not have to be a bad thing, as challenges also create new opportunities. At the end of her session, Mirma sang a beautiful song for us, “For all the world”, which was originally sang by Sandi Patty.

For the second half of the day, a learning exchange was scheduled, which turned out to be an inspiring surprise. Two talented women activists from Indonesia and a super trainer from India were invited as guest speakers to give us more information on the role of women and religion in peacebuilding and the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Indonesia, as well as a contextualization of working on masculinities in peacebuilding. After the three speeches, there was time for participants’ questions. The discussions gave interesting insights on how women in this part of Asia are working on women’s rights. I really appreciated the speech of Dr. Siti Musdah Mulia’s, on women’s efforts to redefine religion for the advancement of the women’s agenda. As a female Ulama, she could speak from her own experience. At one point she mentioned that it is difficult for women to play their vital role in peacebuilding in a patriarchal society, as it is men that are making the important decisions at all levels. It is a challenge to change this, as women’s activism often becomes labeled as anti-Islam.

Anand Pawar, Ruby Kholifa, Musdah Mulia and Carla Natan during the learning exchange

Anand Pawar, Ruby Kholifa, Musdah Mulia and Carla Natan during the learning exchange

The second speaker, Ms. Ruby Kholifa, director of AMAN Indonesia, gave us a great presentation on UNSCR 1325 and the Indonesian efforts to create a National Action Plan (NAP), which has been a long journey with many hopes and challenges. The presentation gave a good overview of how we can take their strategies to our home countries. The last speaker was Mr. Anand Pawar, director of SAMYAK and member of regional network SANAM, who talked about the work on engaging men and masculinities in the Asia region, including within the context of peacebuilding and active nonviolence. He elaborated on the fact that “engaging men is something different than working on masculinities”. Engaging men does not automatically mean transforming dominant notions of masculinity. Challenging existing notions of masculinities from a women’s perspective, he concluded, is crucial to achieve sustainable gender equality.

When the day ended, no one was tired, no one complained about anything, because it was a day that gave us a lot of insights and inspiration. For me, it is an inspiration to know that, even though we all come from different backgrounds, there are women who are strong, brave, creative, hardworking and committed. Most of the women I met in this training gave me the belief that, if there is a will, there is always a way to achieve change.

My heartiest thank to the superb three young women in WPP for giving us such a wonderful opportunity.

A Call for Peace by our South Korean Network Member

Please find below a Call for Peace for the Korean Peninsula by Jeong Soo Kim, working at Women Making Peace (South Korea), member of the Asia WPP Network and Asia Mother Board.

My name is Jeong Soo Kim, living in South Korea, working at Women Making Peace (South Korea) and a member of the Women Peacemakers Program. The last couple of days I participated in the WPP Asia Training of Trainers and Consultation Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. Throughout the Consultation, I have been following the news from my home country closely, which made me very concerned.

I am writing this statement to all peace loving people throughout the world for bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula. The threats of war and the tensions on the Korean Peninsula has been escalating since the third nuclear test by North Korea and the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council last month. There is a high probability that an outbreak of violence on the Korean Peninsula will result in a nuclear war with total destruction. The consequences for North East Asia will be catastrophic and human suffering will be beyond our imagination.

I ask all stakeholders, specifically South Korea, North Korea and the United States of America, to begin peace negotiations. The negotiations should result in a comprehensive peace agreement, including a strong settlement of the nuclear issues and replacement of the ceasefire of the Korean War (1950-1953).

Considering United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, I call for the inclusion of men and women in the peace negotiations and strong measures for achieving gender-sensitive peace.

Nonviolence and dialogue are the only ways to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.

More information, please contact Jeong Soo Kim via

hesed62@empas.com or hesed62@gmail.com

Reflections of a facilitator

By Mirma Mae C. Tica

What are the steps in an advocacy campaign?

What are the steps in an advocacy campaign?

It has truly been such an honour and privilege to have this chance to share the Peace and Advocacy skills rooted in Active Nonviolence and experiences from the Philippines to other trainers from all over the Asian region. Being in a room filled with passionate women and men from different countries with diverse concerns, context and perspectives has been very enriching as a facilitator. The experience has been encouraging to know and see other people committed to peace and women’s rights and the importance of women’s participation in all levels of peacebuilding which is the true spirit of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. As a facilitator, I believe the best workshops are those where each participant share their own ideas, experiences, challenges and learning towards stronger advocacy plans and strategies. To WPP, thank you for all the work you do towards a world of peace and full participation of women. Keep up the great work! I look forward to working with you in the future.

During the advocacy and lobby training, the participants practices with writing a letter, stating the issue, their needs and requests. In just 15 minutes, three great letters were drafted. Hereunder you find the winner of the three letters. Please note that all facts are fictional.

——————

XYZ International

ASIAN Action Network to Control Violence Against Women

April 9th 2013

Hon. Prime Minister,

Sub: Women’s protection from domestic violence

In January 2013, XYZ International carried out a national study on the effect and root causes of domestic violence. The results of the study showed that 70% of the women in our country experienced various forms of domestic violence in their life.

Unfortunately, despite the domestic violence act in of 2010, the government still fails to implement the act on a nationwide level. Under your leadership we are certain that the country will start initiatives that will promote women’s protection, both on domestic level as on national level.

We also attached the fact sheet of the study. We will glad to speak to you and elaborate on our study findings. We feel that the government should take immediate and all necessary action to implement the act.

Please let us know when we can possibly have that privilege of meeting you. I may be contacted at asia@gmail.com or on 4327658

We hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

……………………….

Men’s activism against violence against women in Indonesia

WPP and participants with Indonesian Activists

WPP and participants with Indonesian Activists

Indonesia faces high levels of sexual violence and abuse against women. The National Commission for Women mentions in its 2011 annual fact sheet notes that there have been 4,335 cases of rape terror in that year, of which 2,937 cases occurred in the public domain. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as many women do not report cases of sexual violence. The social consequences for those who have been raped further aggravate their situation. Unfortunately, the people who rape women do not always get to bear the consequences; judicial or social punishment is often lacking.

It’s a fact that the majority of perpetrators of sexual abuse and harassment are male. But, if you flip the coin, men can also be a potential source to eliminate sexual violence. And I believe it is the responsibility of men as well as to take part in rejecting and preventing sexual violence.

Sharing the the message

Sharing the the message

A peaceful protest of “Men Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment”, held by the members of the New Men Alliance (Alliansi Laki-Laki Baku) and One Billion Rising Indonesia on April 7th at Hotel Indonesia Circle, is one of the ways men are showing their solidarity and support to eliminate sexual violence. This nonviolent action tried to encourage people, especially men, to take part in the protest of men against sexual abuse and harassment. Participants of the WPP gender-sensitive active nonviolence ToT were lucky enough to be able to participate in the protest and exchange ideas with the local organizers.

Some of the men activists used a mini skirt as a protest symbol against the perspective of the government and several communities that the way women dress is provoking rape. The New Men Alliance and One Billion Rising Indonesia ask from the government to: 

  • Take serious steps and firm actions against the growing number of sexual abuse and harassment of women, and install proper punishment mechanisms for perpetrators;
  • Provide a protection and recovery mechanism for the victims;
  • Encourage all men who are against violence against women to speak out against sexual abuse and harassment;
  • Engage parents to educate their children not commit to violence, especially sexual violence.
Group photo at 7.00 AM!

Group photo at 7.00 AM!

Today I learned a lot from our visit to the protest and the training sessions afterwards. Active nonviolence requires a constant effort in order to achieve the goals we want to accomplish. Creative strategizing is needed to ensure that any reactions to our nonviolent activism can be anticipated. I also realized that in every movement, a strong and visionary leader figure is needed in order to make all components in the movement stay disciplined and stick to the nonviolence strategy that has been planned before. One of the key questions we got today was to reflect on the role of women in nonviolent organizing.  We all realized that in the past, the role of women – one of the most crucial factors for success – has been marginalized too often.

Bringing the message on nonviolence to men

By Jude Martin Jover and Uthin

The sixth day of the WPP Asia ToT was very interactive and re-energized the participants. Of course, the prospects of half a day off to discover Jakarta caused great excitement. The training day consisted of a further deepening of our knowledge on masculinities and violence, and the linkages between them. The additional information about these topics, as well as the discussions with our peers, lead to interesting new insights and increased our understanding on how masculinities operates within our society and communities.

Talking about violence in a regional context - South East Asia

Talking about violence in a regional context – South East Asia

One of the discussions focused on the culture and acceptance of violence, and the different ways this can manifest itself in society. The different experiences and contexts that the participants shared enabled a deeper understanding of the different and many faces of violence in our societies, although the talking about violence made the participants also quite sad. There was also an important reflection on religious violence. Despite the fact that religion is often used to fuel conflict, we – Uthin and Jude – believe that all the religious teachings share a foundation of love and peace.

Talking about violence in a regional context - South Asia

Talking about violence in a regional context – South Asia

It is a big challenge for us to bring these new concepts to our communities, given the diverse cultures we are dealing with. The role and stereotyping of men is very strong in these settings, and, specifically addressing these elements within the context of peacebuilding is a very sensitive issue. Many women have already been involved in this field, while men have been absent from the gender-sensitive peacebuilding discourse. In the community of Jude, in the Philippines, women try speaking to men about this, but men have difficulties to be open to their insights. To really get the message across to other men, it is crucial that it will also be brought and presented by another gender-sensitive man. If one of their peers brings the message of positive masculinities and nonviolence, it will be stronger, which will increase effectiveness in terms of getting more men to commit to gender-sensitive peacebuilding.

Every country should have a strong trainer like Raziq. That would be ideal. This ToT is a start, and we are looking forward to our peers and ourselves training more men and women in order to spread nonviolence theory. We are very determined to involve more men in our gender-sensitive active nonviolence (GSANV) training in the future. One of the ideas is to create and provide a space or a venue for men to talk about gender issues. In any case, this will be a long-term process, but one which promises to deliver good results.

In the afternoon the group went out for shopping in one of the famous markets for textiles in Jakarta. We have new energy for the last three training days!

For All the World

Today we were treated with a beautiful song, sang by Mirma.

Here you will find the lyrics, but it does not beat the experience of hearing her sing it live!

FOR ALL THE WORLD

Composed by: Greg Nelson; Bob Farrell

Originally sung by: Sandi Patti

Modified and interpreted by: Mirma Mae C. Tica

Never was the world in such a need of peace
And never has contentment been so hard to find
So many people reaching out their hands
Our brothers and sisters in so many lands
If ever kindness was needed
Then it’s crying out to us “the time is now!”

Chorus:
I want the peace
I want the love
For all the world
People of joy with children of hope
For all the world
Father of light
I’ll be a light the You shine through
You are the peace
You are the hope
For all the world

What’s it gonna take before we show some charity?
Compassion and mercy, the way it’s meant to be
Who’ll take the time for the ones who truly need
And pray for a nation
That’s out on the street
What man is greater than his brother
When in the creator’s eyes we’re all the same?

Repeat Chorus

Learn a song of freedom
And teach it to our children
Let the pipes of peace ring out
And pray the grace of God will lead the way

Repeat Chorus

You are the peace
And You are the joy
You are the love
And You are the hope
For all the world