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The reality of destitution: Sofia Kalu

June 25, 2012 in Asylum seeker, Immigration, Refugee week, UK Government

I sat down to write this blog on Wednesday hoping to highlight just some of the realities of how the Home Office treats women asylum seekers in the UK. I had lined up a short telephone interview with a woman from WAST, a truly remarkable group of asylum seeking and refugee women in Manchester who run a self help and support group. I was to speak to Sofia Kalu, WAST member and management committee representative, about her experiences of destitution. Before I could pick up the phone an urgent email came through – her husband, also an asylum seeker, had been taken into detention. There were no more details about where he had been taken and what was happening to him.

Concerned that she had more pressing things to worry about than to talk to me, I phoned Sofia to express this, only to have her tell me, bravely “ We need to talk about this, we need to tell people just what is happening, I want to talk about this”.

This is the reality of women in her position, living from day to day not knowing when or where they or their loved ones, will be detained, threatened with the risk of deportation and the horrors that await them should they be. Regardless of the trauma that they have experienced to apply for asylum in the first place, or the often horrific journeys they have endured in order to get to the UK, they are then subject to further abusive practices once they reach English shores. Sofia knows this only too well as do the 74% of women who were refused asylum in 2010.

“I have been in this country for 6 long years” she tells me “and in that time I have learnt that the UK Border Agency has a policy of lying and denying our existence and experiences. What we tell them is disbelieved. I have learnt that the system will grind you down – that I am useless, have no dignity or self esteem and I am some kind of rubbish”.

Having fled political persecution in Zimbabwe where her previous husband had been murdered by the ZANU PF and her home burnt to the ground, Sofia knew her life was also in jeopardy. Once in the UK, an application for asylum was submitted but later refused by the Home Office on the grounds that they did not believe she could not return or that her life was in danger. Now, she is destitute – a refused asylum seeker, denied access to safe accommodation, money, vital health care and support by the state. Although each woman’s story is different, a common theme emerges; women are subjected to a life of indefinite limbo- invisible and ignored by society, one of exploitation, detention and the threat of deportation at any moment.

For Sofia, destitution has meant a transient and precarious life moving from one person’s sofa to the next, dependant on the convenience of her hosts. On one occasion, when staying with a family, she was told by them to babysit their child. Whilst happy to offer some support, the demands become more and more exploitative and eventually she was thrown out of the house, a common experience amongst those seeking asylum. On another occasion, she lived in a property where there were no locks on any doors, even the toilet. Her property and belongings started to go missing, what little she had was being stolen.

It is unsurprising then, that women are often forced into vulnerable situations – prostitution, forced labour akin to slavery, living at the whim of others. A recent report by Women for Refugee Women highlights the specific trauma women asylum seekers face where their vulnerability exposes them to an under world of victimisation. Of the women interviewed, 96% had relied on charities for food and 56% had been forced to sleep on the street and 16% having experienced sexual violence while destitute. Unsurprisingly, the figures for mental health distress amongst this group are extraordinarily high with 97% reporting depression and 63% at risk of suicide or reporting suicidal feelings.

Sofia has since been able to receive some charitable support from the BOAZ trust. She now has temporary accommodation, some access to essential toiletries and a minuscule budget of £12.50 per week. With so little to live on, Sofia spends Monday to Friday supporting other women in similar positions, she is one of the main spokeswomen for WAST, a tireless campaigner and activist. In another voluntary capacity, she is a befriender in a local charity for the elderly.  Given her gruelling circumstances, it is amazing that she finds the conviction, she tells me “Every morning I look at myself in the mirror and I tell myself how beautiful I am, how special I am, that I am a human being and my name is Sofia – I have an identity”

With such courage and strength she survives, but only just.

When I ask about the future there is a pause on the phone “ I have to look away from destitution, I have to believe that I will find a home here with my husband and start life over again. I don’t know when the Home Office will make their decision but I have to have hope”.

For countless women in her position, the Home Office and their punitive immigration policies   operating a culture of disbelief means that experiences of rape, torture and domestic abuse are routinely refuted, lesbian women are asked for “proof” of their sexuality in order for their application to be verified and more often than not, the Home Office reject claims that lives will be in danger should they be deported.

Does the fact that hundreds of thousands of people would rather live in poverty and in constant fear of deportation – reliant on friends, transactional relationships, forced prostitution or low-paid illegal work – rather than return to their country of origin, not suggest a different story, that there is a systematic (strategic?) failure in policy?

From the forced virginity testing of the 1970′s to the recently released Family Migration Policy, there has been a progressive clamp down by successive governments on migration and movement as borders tighten disproportionately affecting those from the Global South.  This can only mean that the thousands of women like Sofia will continue to live as some of the most vulnerable and exploited people in our society.  If Refugee Week can achieve anything, it must serve to remind us of the cruelty and inhumanity of destitution which is sanctioned by the state. Isn’t it time to change this?

Both Sofia and her husband Johnson remain destitute.

Please support Sofia and Johnson’s by vistitng her campaign website and signing their petition.

http://www.wast.org.uk/wast-manchester-johnson-and-sofia-must-stay/

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duVFBZoTQis&w=560&h=315]

- Sandhya Sharma

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Refugee Week 18-24 June 2012

June 20, 2012 in UK Government, Uncategorized

Monday saw the beginning of Refugee Week.  To mark the event, Black feminists will be running a series of blog posts on the topic.

As the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, I don’t need to be reminded that migrants can and often do contribute a tremendous amount to their adopted nation.  This is no less the case for refugee and asylum seekers who are some of the most marginalised and vulnerable in our society.  Yet, the general media consensus is that they are a burden on our already ‘over populated’ island.  This despite the fact that they only make up an estimated 0.6% of the population and, indeed, the UK hosts a, ahem, whopping 2% of the world’s 10 million refugees.

In their January 2012 report Asylum Aid found that though women make one third of all asylum applications, the UK government has done little to take into consideration gender issues in the process.   And though the government has announced its commitment to ‘gender sensitive asylum reform’, many refugee women still ‘feel like as a women, I am not welcome’.

The statement begs the question, why?  And the simple answer is that there remains a failure to fully recognise the gender specific persecution many refugee women face. Be it  sexual violence and rape; domestic violence; FGM; forced abortion, sterilisation and marriage, the long held belief is that these gender specific forms of violence are not being interpreted as legal forms of persecution.

The situation has left some women asylum seekers who have had such experiences outside of the protection of refugee status.   In some cases, the UK immigration and asylum policies are so perversely twisted against women it beggars belief. So, though it is recognised that human trafficking is a form of persecution, particularly were forced labour, be that sexual or domestic, is concerned, the UK border agency has been able to argue counter to this.  In some instances, the trafficking has been seen as ‘a labour contractual relationship’ where a woman has gained ‘valuable work experience which could be put to use on return to her country of origin.’ Needless to say, our government needs to sharpen up its act.

Later posts will go into greater detail on some of the issues raised here.  Please support Refugee Week by seeing how you can help.

-Lola Okolosie

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Bride Price: Three Tribes and How They Marry

June 17, 2012 in beauty and race, black women, Uncategorized

Image

Part 1

In theory, bride price could be interpreted as the explicit recognition and valuing of women’s productivity and contribution to marriage. Because women generally join the household of their groom at the time of marriage, bride price is typically considered in market terms to be the payment a husband owes to a bride’s parents for the right to her labour and reproductive capabilities. A man negotiating to marry a woman has to give a certain amount of value to the family in return for the woman. The bride price – content and size – is set between the two families. Cows, goats, money are most common, though white goods are preferred in some tribes. The amount of bride price can also depend on the expected number of children a woman will bear. For example, a divorced woman who already has children will receive a lower bride price, whereas women who reach puberty earlier receive a higher price.

Some factors of consideration in bride price evaluation

Age
Tribe
Family’s Wealth
Level of Education

Bride price is defended as a traditional practice in Uganda. Dr Sylvia Tamale, of Makerere University’s women’s studies department, said it was important to look at its “historical context”. “We should realise that it wasn’t always a commercial issue, as it is today. It used to have values attached to it, traditionally.”

A clause in Uganda’s beleaguered Domestic Relations Bill made it mandatory for families to refund bride price in the case marriage arrangements went awry has been scrapped. Judges on the Uganda Law Commission resolved, after evaluating views collected from the public, that because of the rampant mistreatment of women, it is better for such an obligation to be nullified. In a strongly paternalistic society, which often gives males unfair power and advantage over females, scrapping the need to refund bride price in the case a marriage breaks down, makes it easier for women to walk out of abusive relationships.

The Banyankole society is stratified into Bahima (pastoralists) and the Bairu (agriculturalists). Members of President Museveni’s ethnic group, Bahiima populate the upper ranks of Uganda’s government. He is likened to a cultural leader who favours his own tribe and often the Ankole are blamed for nepotism, corruption and land stealing. In socio economic sense they are at the top of the tribal pile in Uganda. Meaning that many have migrated to Kampala, the capital city and both boys and girls are educated often to University level.

In the past in the Bahima, a young woman was prepared for marriage at about age ten and marriage often occurred before a girl was sexually mature and soon after menstruation but those practices are very much in decline as a result of modernity and education.

The Banyankole elders emphasise and control cultural marriage. The lavish and spectacular culture-rich marriage has survived the test of time despite the encroaching influence of religion and westernisation.

Marriages among the Bahima are diverse. Typically an average marrying age of a non-schooling person is 16 years. Although it is no longer the strict norm, the groom and the bride do not see each other and in some cases do not know each other at all until the day of marriage. The bride price, which is cows or its equivalent in cash, commodities, white goods or furniture, is determined among other things by the level of education of the bride.

The common thread in the Ankole marriage like many African traditional marriages is to create closeness to the bridal family because in Africa men are prone to marry more than one wife, so they marry the family too. In the Ankole style, this is done through a third party or go-between called the kateraruume (literally meaning somebody who will remove the dew from the path), and who is still relevant in initiating the marriage negotiations even today when couples go for the official introduction and marriage after they have been co-habiting. The kateraruume is a highly respected person representing the groom’s interests and is charged with facing the bride’s family and ensuring that the bride’s family is willing to accept the groom’s family to formally discuss the marriage. When the proposal is endorsed, the man’s family approaches the girl’s family with the kateraruume leading them there. At the home of the bride’s family, the go-between knocks on the gate and is invited in with the groom entourage (they usually come with beer and other drinks) after some teasing and cordial banter. The kateraruume then indicates to the girl’s marriage panel that he is on a marriage mission. The gobetween then explains his mission and is asked many questions by the girl’s family. Later, they discuss the marriage payments, which can be picked up anytime after the two families have agreed, sometimes the same day. If the message was received well, the boy’s family would deposit some cows at the girl’s home to ensure that no suitor takes her. “These cows were known as enkwata rugo or cows to keep the kraal.” After this, both families would start negotiations. On reaching an agreement, the girl’s family would choose the date on which to pick their cows. On that day, the girl’s people would go and hand pick from the herd – usually the best cows. Out of fear of loosing their best, some families would hide the healthiest cows, although if the girl’s people were smarter, they would have sent spies earlier, to identify the best cows. The gifts are presented to the bride’s family symbolising the groom’s ability to take care of his woman. During this ceremony, the bride and the groom are not party to the discussions. The bride is usually hidden while the groom has to keep quiet throughout the discussion and wait for the outcome.

For many years Ankole marriage was difficult compared to today because parents were the ones to look for their sons and daughters whom they were to marry. Parents looked for rich families for their daughters and so sons for beautiful girls. It does not matter how handsome a boy is because they always say a” handsome boy is a rich one”

In the past the father is the first to have sexual intercourse with the son’s wife to teach her what to do and find out if the girl is virgin In Lunyankore its ” Okuleba Eyente Zigyire” which means to see where his cows are going because parents of the girls always took very many heads of cattle in exchange with their daughters it used to be 20 heads of cattle or even 100 depending on the wealth of the family. This tradition is fading.

- Samantha Asumadu

Next week: The Acholi from Northern Uganda whose traditions have been disrupted by the two decade-long civil war.

References:

African Societies ‐ Lucy Mair

Crimes of War Project ‐ Anthony Dworkin

Ankole Culture Drawing Closer To Extinction

Tumusiime Kabwende Deo

Wise African Living: Ankole marriage ‐ Besigye

John

The Economics of Bride Price – Siwan Anderson

HISTORY, CULTURE AND THE LIFE OF THE ACHOLI

OF UGANDA Caroline Olok, Peter Okema

ugandatravelguide.com/ankole‐culture.

Acholi People ‐ AcholiFoundation.org

Ankole Marriage Traditions – Wedding

Cultures.com

The Tired Old Men Who Stayed Behind’,

KARAMOJA: Uganda’s Land of Warrior Nomads ‐

Julia N. Opoti

UGANDA: The rule of the gun in Karamoja ‐ IRIN

News

Cattle rustling among the Pokot and karamojong in

Uganda: The impact of gender relations on the

conflict ‐ Asenath Ninsiima

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Scarlett Woman

June 15, 2012 in Uncategorized

TRIGGER WARNING

She, is, red lipped, wide hipped, too strong to keep still, never the type of girl to be described as lacking will, she is big in personality and always feels too much, always likes to touch, always running ‘round, she’s a girl who likes to rush. And she is sexy. Gets vexed and overly stressed too easily. Takes too long to get ready and she’s always running late, she’s the girl you’d love for a first date with – and she had a lot of first dates leading into last mornings – but you’d never stick around, you’d always be too scared because she acts, like she doesn’t care, and she laughs, like you’re not there, and she swears. Too much. By ice-cream and unnecessarily. And she lies. Only sometimes though, mostly tells her friends  they look nice in some very strange clothes. Never the type of girl to go too far – or at least, never the one who aims to. And she’s got a temper; she gets angry, easily, flares up when she remembers the grudges of the past – you see she is flawed, like we all are. She is red. And she’s been red in every single part of life so far.

She was born red. Pink tinged with magenta streaks, her mouth, as it made its first sounds was wide and angry. Came into life screaming like time was listening – she’s been red since the day she arrived. As time went on, she’s remained red. Pink balloons littered her one day old room and stayed until the helium drained away of its own accord. And she was born bald, but as the first strawberry blonde streaks began to heat the top of her head, everyone around her said they reckoned she’d be a redhead when she was older. They were right. From childhood, she’s had hair that always seemed to be looking for a fight. Long, thick, it stuck straight out as if daring you to look twice because she could always look longer and shout louder and stay meaner than anyone else ever could. And she would. Her temper was always on fire. But as she grew, her hair became less kitchen wire and more L’Oreal glossy layers. She began to have songs devoted to her hair. She’d enter rooms to Hello Sunshine and say goodbye to Ruby Tuesday. She loved the attention so she kept it long. Teenage rebellion came along, but while the piercings apparently came to stay but were soon long gone, her hair was always left alone and kept the same. Soon she came to accept that she’d stay red until she grew old.

For now though, she happy to be red and she shows it off. Tight dress, low-cut, bright red, short enough to cause a stir, no coat, don’t care, go hard or go home – she doesn’t care about the cold, in her high heels, legs out, hair down her bare back, big hoop earrings and a smile that doesn’t stop, she’s a show-stopper, a heart-throbber, an attractive woman in attractive clothes with a confident way about herself. So she goes. Girls night out, so they link arms as they bar hop, ignoring men, they buy their own drinks all night. She goes from quite tipsy to pretty drunk fairly quickly, so spends the rest of her time laughing. Rose gums and redwood tongue on show for most of the night.

Time, travels.

Mates on either side of either side of her, she totters down Tottenham Court Road as 4am approaches and she realises it’s time to go home. Says goodbye. Air kisses outside the station she decides to walk home, she’s close to home, there’s not much danger going home, alone, because she’s red. Brave. Red lipstick still stuck on her lips her wits are still about her, she says to herself. 23 minutes until she’ll tumble into bed with a cup of tea and her make-up still on, she says to herself.

Time, travels.

Time, travels.

Time, travels. Get home.

Time, travels. Breathe deep. Time, travels. Breathe deeper. Don’t cry. Don’t sigh. Call police and spend  6 hours answering questions. Having examinations. And feeling 10 times worse than she did before. And as time, travels, she doesn’t feel like herself anymore; doesn’t even feel red anymore, she is black and blue and yellow. Time, travels. Get home again. Scrub skin. Still feel dirty, scrub again. Stay in the shower for just over 2 hours before sleeping the next three weeks away. A permanent state of not feeling like herself anymore, she doesn’t even feel red anymore.

Time, travels. It took 4 months until they said they’d given up. They’d asked around, no-one saw anything. They searched the ground and only found signs of a struggle, nothing concrete. They found a man, who matched the description and had a weak alibi and his fingerprints were on the scene too, but he said that “what had happened between the two of you was consensual. That you met briefly and one thing led to another – are you sure, you didn’t miss that bit out Miss? We asked you before and you said that in life you lied on occasion – is this one of those occasions? You admitted you’ve got a temper – are you sure you didn’t get angry when he didn’t stick around? And you know, you’re a strong girl, you’re a red girl, I can’t imagine someone like you would have a lot of trouble fighting back. Plus, you told us you’d had a drink or two or six – maybe you just felt sick and got confused, didn’t you love?”

Time, travels. When all was done and dusted, she told her family and her friends. And you know, it explained a lot, they’d wondered why recently she’d seemed a little bit less red. Her hair had been falling out. So she kept it tied back or out of sight under large hair-hiding wooly hats. She felt cold a lot more now. And she stopped wearing lipstick. Tight dresses and high heels made her feel sick and all the carmine, crimson, rosewood, rust, vermillion, tuscan, chesnut, wine and flame in her wardrobe was cleared out. She couldn’t stand the colour anymore. She didn’t feel like herself anymore, didn’t even feel red anymore – until an friend made her see it again.

Heard the story and asked her, “why didn’t you take a cab home that night?” She replied, “why aren’t you asking why someone attacked me?” Her Aunt was the same. “I always told you not to dress that way” she said. And Red replies “dress what way? My way? The way I want to dress should not be dictated by what might happen to me, it’s his fault it happened, don’t blame me, and what he could or could not see”. Her mate’s boyfriend said “didn’t you lot drink a lot that night though?” and she replied “so? Whether I was drunk or not that night I didn’t say that he could touch me” and so she felt the anger rise. Red behind the eyes. Because everyone else seemed to think the same type of thing.

They’d tell her how she’d always been so red lipped and wide hipped and too strong to keep still, is it any wonder how a man might feel when he saw her? “And, you’re sexy,” they’d say. “You get vexed and stressed too easily, is it any wonder that he hit you so hard? And you swear so much, and you lie sometimes, are you telling the truth now about how he touched you that time? That time, that thing happened? Did you know him? He probably saw you earlier. Or, you hooked up earlier, you hook up with a lot of guys, right? That’s alright, but you know, it’s a bit like, what do you expect? I mean, that dress makes you look amazing, but, like, you know, quite up for it. Maybe he simply got the wrong idea? Maybe, you overreacted a little bit? Maybe, this was all one big mix-up? Regardless, you seem to be ok now. At least you know now not to be quite so reckless? Because, you know, you’re flawed. We all are, but, I guess what I’m saying is you can avoid these things. You can avoid these things.” And so she stays red. A different red. A red that she’d never been before.

- Bridget Minamore

Scarlett Woman is taken from the Rubix ‘Red Album’ which will be launched on Saturday at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8EH. Tickets are £5. For more details, please click here.

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Saving Lambeth’s Women’s Project

June 14, 2012 in Uncategorized

Following a longstanding battle over the building space, Lambeth’s Women’s Project is facing imminent closure.  Lambeth council’s silence over the potential catastrophe for vulnerable local women can be read as a lack of support for the organization.  On Monday Yula Burin wrote a plea on behalf of this important resource.  To continue our focus at this critical moment, Betiel Baraki reminds us of both why we need to help and the ways in which we can.

Saving Lambeth’s Women’s Project

Lambeth Women’s Project is an umbrella organisation that provides space and other resources to a variety of other women’s groups. It has been delivering vital services and new opportunities for young girls and women (ages 0 – 19 yrs) in the London borough of Lambeth for nearly 35 years. LWP had sole use of the building at 166a Stockwell Road from 1979- 2010. When Stockwell Primary School were made managers of the building a 5 year lease was given to LWP in order for the two organisations to share the building. LWP still has 3 years left on this lease and are being pushed out on totally unfounded grounds with a completely unrealistic timescale of two weeks. Lambeth have offered no alternative space for LWP to move to.

Even in these times of struggle – with less space and virtually no funding – approx 150 women walk through LWP’s doors each month. Many other women benefit from the community outreach work and one off events.

Groups currently at LWP work in the following areas:

Advisory services

Art and music

BAME women

Counselling

Domestic violence

Gang related

Green issues

Health incl. sexual health

Mentoring

Young women’s service

There is a systematic stripping of women’s services across the country, join us to put a stop to this.

Please get in touch if you can offer legal advice, printing, press, food, music, banners, etc –lambethwomensproject@gmail.com

Other ways you can help http://savelambethwomensproject.wordpress.com/what-you-can-do-to-help/

This is a short film made to try and capture the importance of the Lambeth Women’s Project – Please watch and share it http://vimeo.com/43857445

Look on Facebook for more information: facebook.com/lambethwomensproject

- Betiel Baraki

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They don’t make political leaders like Joyce Banda

June 13, 2012 in Uncategorized

Joyce Banda had already made history being Malawi’s first female president and now, only 2 months since she being sworn into power, Banda is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Taking over from President Bingu Wa Mutharika who died suddenly at the beginning of April of a heart attack, Banda, who was already serving as the county’s Vice President, took to the presidency with fierce criticism from oppositional parties for her background as a ‘market woman’. A profession that more than 80% of the Malawi women are said to be working in, Banda has publicly acknowledged and taken pride in her background.

Born in 1950 in Malawi, Banda studied in both the US and Europe. She is a brilliant business woman and women’s rights activist, setting up numerous business and charities to support Malawian women and children such as the National Association of Business Women. Founded by Banda in 1990 as a non-profit organisation, it provides start-up finance for female traders.
Married for the second time, Banda left her first husband in 1981 for being abusive. This is a very bold thing to have done, since in her own word saying “most African women are taught to endure abusive marriages. They say endurance means a good wife.”

In Banda’s short time as Malawi’s President, she has rejected the lavish presidential lifestyle known to her predecessor, selling off/ leasing the £8.4m presidential jet and fleets of luxury government cars. Banda, who is quoted saying she is “already used to hitchhiking,” will return the money back to the Malawi government to use to support the country and its people. Banda has also overturned the county’s ban on homosexuality, restored the country’s 1964 independence flag which was previously removed by the late president and fired the police commissioner for corruption!

Banda’s no tolerance for corruption is what made the AU summit move to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Originally set to take place in Malawi, Banda declared publicly that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir would be arrested on arrival in line with the warrant out for his arrest by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Staying true to her fight for women’s rights, Banda has made this the centre of her presidency saying that “I’m carrying this heavy load on behalf of all women.” Banda has started projects to improve the working conditions of market women, is establishing crèches and is providing financial services such as savings and loan schemes. Banda is said to also be launching campaigns to empower women and young girls by encouraging education and shift the Malawian culture away from child marriage and early motherhood.

While it’s all very exciting to see these necessary changes being implemented, political life has not come easy for Banda with the late president Mutharika attempting on several occasions to oust her. They don’t make political leaders like Joyce Banda. She is brilliant;  a real politician for her people and country. If only the rest of the worlds leaders would take note – because I’m sure Joyce Banda has a lot more to teach them.

- Donalea Scott

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Why linked liberation is integral to feminism

June 12, 2012 in black feminism, Black feminist history, exoticism, instrumentalising women, Uncategorized

Black Feminists were asked to contribute a piece to the programme of the INTERSECT conference which was held in Bristol on 19th May:

We live in a world in which patriarchy combines with racism, neo-colonialism and global capitalism to create a fundamentally unjust world in which, no matter where you are or who you are, life is not the same for women as it for men. What is feminism if not providing space to resist this? Women’s rights ideas and activism are seen everywhere in the world because every single community and country on this planet has profoundly entrenched inequalities between women and men, and hierarchies of power and dominance based on difference – be it gender, ethnicity, economic class, caste or regional difference.

However, despite their strength and purpose of activism, black women are often automatically construed as weak, defenceless and faceless, amalgamated into a mass of vulnerability. In reality, black women have been part of feminist ideology and organising throughout the ages. ‘Patriarchy’ is not a term many in the UK use with ease, but women I know in other countries know what it is, know what militarised and fundamentalist forms of masculinity do and in many ways, have a more nuanced and deeper understanding of gender relations than most long-standing feminist activists in the UK. We need to get rid of the idea of the ‘liberated’ white women and the oppressed black women. Neither is true. The horrors of forced marriage, female genital mutilation and ‘honour based’ killing are very real, but violence against women is not limited to black communities and countries . Let us not forget only 6 percent of reported rapes end in a successful prosecution and that 2009 showed a dramatic increase in the numbers of women killed by violent partners in the UK. This includes all women. White women are not living in some feminist fantasy utopia of equality and opportunity and black women are not all oppressed. Let us stop the discussion of whether feminism is just for white, middle class women. White women do not own feminism: the feminist story belongs to all women, everywhere.

We need to shift and broaden our gaze to reconfigure the terrain of what consists of feminist and activist, to look up and see the interconnectedness of our world. For feminism to have meaning for all women, it needs to be concerned with more than just oppression on the basis of gender. Women from all backgrounds and communities identify with feminist beliefs but the movement needs to take into account their needs and realities in terms of representation and analysis. Who are the women writing about feminism in the media? What issues and which feminists are getting media coverage? Which women are speaking at feminist events? What are they speaking about? Over the past couple of years, I’ve started to consciously do what I’ve been subconsciously doing for years at events: a count of the numbers of black women, black men, white women, white men and if there is anyone living with a disability or openly gay. The numbers are not good. I have lost count of the number of feminist events that I have attended where the women speaking are all white and there is very little analysis of race, class, sexuality and how they interrelate with gender, Feminism is not just a movement for white, middle-class, able-bodied, heterosexual women but if most of the women who are speaking for feminism fit this, then it becomes very difficult for women who do not, to think of it as a movement for them.

Working towards a linked liberation is integral to my feminism. Black Feminists was set up in 2010 due to the frustrations many of us felt with the male dominated anti-racist and white dominated feminist movements. Although providing the tools and the friends with which to articulate and challenge the expressions of dominant hierarchies of race, gender, class, heteronormativity and ableism (to varying degrees), the lack of a space where our experiences as black women were at the centre of all thinking, discussion and action only became clear to me the first time black feminists met. It was supposed to be a one-off meeting. Almost two years later, I am proud to be a member of a group that has become part of the long tradition of women organising by using the terms ‘black’ and ‘feminist’ politically. We have a listserv with black women feminists all over the UK and there are women meeting in London and Manchester. Please do get in touch if you are interested: www.blackfeminists.org.

We live in a world of interlocking hierarchies and oppressions. It must be part of our feminist mission to dismantle this and take ableism, class privilege, heterenormativity and homophobia, racism, sexism, transmisogyny and all other forms of discrimination and prejudice as seriously as each other.

- Chitra Nagarajan

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Lambeth’s Women’s Project: A Plea

June 11, 2012 in cuts, london, violence against women

Austerity politics stink. Budget cuts here, there and everywhere are beginning to bite and leaving indentations on the skin. Soon, the blood will flow. And people are indeed biting at each other if recent news stories of cannibalistic tendencies in certain quarters are anything to go by.

At the heart of austerity politics, I think we find the usual suspects: greed, theft and deception driven by the arrogance and contempt of those who wield political and economic power over those of us, most of us, who do not. We have learnt in recent years that our votes don’t really entitle us to much. Believing that our votes give us the stability and security from which to creatively engage with the challenges of our lives is the (big?) lie that is becoming increasingly and glaringly obvious. We know that our votes are meaningless in a political culture that privileges the needs and welfare of multinational companies over the needs of people in their families, workplaces and communities. Because of this, grassroots organisations like the Lambeth Women’s Project are rendered vulnerable to extinction by the rapacity of austerity politics. These organisations are executed without any due care or respect for the consequences, and always to the detriment of their communities.

In the case of Lambeth Women’s Project, they have been given two weeks’ notice of eviction by Stockwell Primary School, and have to be out by Thursday 14th June 2012. This is how nearly thirty-five years’ worth of working with girls and women in Lambeth may come to an end.

Lambeth Council don’t seem particularly bothered about stopping this travesty from occurring; they certainly have the power, but not the will, to do so. By not intervening and putting a stop to this injustice, Lambeth Council are displaying their complete and utter contempt for the life chances and outcomes of girls and women who need access to spaces like Lambeth Women’s Project. The demise of the project will impact negatively on girls and women of all ethnic backgrounds, working-class women, neets (people not in employment, education or training) who have been alienated from, and failed by, a poorly-functioning education system, and women seeking to recover from the trauma of domestic and sexual violence.

Lambeth council, by allowing Stockwell Primary School to pursue this eviction, are saying that there is no municipal responsibility to nurture the development, healing and recovery of women and girls when families, schools and peers have disappointed and let them down.

The loss of Lambeth Women’s Project will make it harder for women and girls to envisage the possibility of a route out of difficult life circumstances. They will not learn and come to know that they matter, that they are valued, that they are not surplus to requirements. They will not be able to access the pleasure to be had from plumbing the musical depths of the bass guitar, or bashing away their frustrations and griefs on the drums, and just revelling in the thrill of rhyme and rhythm – all of this and more is available with Girls Rock UK, one of the programmes on offer at the project. Adolescent girls and women will not be able to use the library there to inform and educate themselves about feminism, women’s health, the politics of menstruation, alternatives to allopathic medicine. They will not have the chance to learn how to make soap or candles, or learn silk-screen printing or batik. They will not learn about the herbs that are growing in the front garden. There is so much they will not be able to do if the project goes. It saddens me. It angers me. Women have to live with a paucity of services that is outrageous.

Austerity politics would have us believe that feminism was just a passing phase and, besides, the law says women and men are equal now so we women don’t have to fight for our rights anymore; or that the Black Power movement was ok in its day and everything is just so wonderfully post-racial; or that Britain’s former colonies really were better off when they were part of the empire because the British knew best how to run things; and that the belief in the fair and equal distribution of the Earth’s resources for the benefit of us all is an aberrant and unnatural philosophy to be sure.

It’s time that we served notice on the peddlers of austerity. We must become the warriors of our communities, committed to saving women’s spaces, projects and institutions. We can’t keep losing the services we need whilst banks and multinational companies are being supported with corporate welfare by European and American governments, to ensure that it’s business as usual. Profits over people. Economic growth at the expense of those who will not benefit from it. Environmental degradation and despoliation. The dismantling of the welfare state in preparation for its privatisation. The deliberate destruction of communities, because then people are easier to control, coerce and manipulate.

If last August’s street disturbances happen again in the weeks and months ahead, it would be disingenuous of us to say we are shocked, surprised, or uncomprehending of the reasons why.

LWP are asking supporters to donate a fiver to support the campaign to save the project.

See here for more ways you can help.

This posts originally appeared on the Fword

-Yula Burin

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Is criminalising forced marriage protection enough?

June 10, 2012 in Uncategorized

Last week Theresa May and David Cameron confirmed the Coalition’s intention to criminalise forced marriage in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Upholding that the practice was “little more than slavery”, Cameron said the issue had been tolerated as a “cultural practice” for too long. The time, he added, was right to take action and enforce prison sentences on parents and perpetrators guilty of the act.

These measures have cross party backing and were met with considerable support from the public. With high profile cases such as that of Shafelia Ahmed, it would easy to see this as a truly positive step forward in dealing with this abhorrent, traumatic and often life threatening practice of violence against young people, especially women and girls. Surely to criminalise an act that can incorporate domestic abuse, harassment, assault, theft, coercion, rape and emotional trauma to the person is a good thing – right? Surely such an approach will lead to the increased justice and safety for the victims? Well yes, I agree. Laws that criminalise unsavoury behaviours and practices are essential in the progression of victim rights and safety. However, effective implementation requires certain conditions. Delving deeper, it would seem we need to tread with caution.

Despite forced marriage cases having always been part of the domestic violence workload, especially those that provide specialist support to black and minority ethnic (BME) women, it was the death of Ruksana Naz in 1999 that propelled the issue into the media and state centre court. Pioneering feminist organisations such as Southall Black Sisters launched campaigns urging the government to take the same effective action for minority women as they would in any other case of domestic abuse/child abuse, as many professionals were reluctant to intervene in what they classed as “cultural practices”, fearing that they would be called racist should they do so. Since then, there have been some positive shifts in state practice, including the Multi Agency Good Practice Guidelines on Forced Marriage and the introduction of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007. Under the Act, courts have the power to make Forced Marriage Protection Orders to stop someone from forcing another person into marriage, an imperative for the protection of vulnerable people at risk.

Despite these gains, I have to challenge the Coalition’s rationale as they forge ahead with the legislation and ask questions as to both the practical application and sincerity of their intentions.

One of the main concerns with the legislation is to do with uptake – a point many of those who work directly with survivors are concerned with. The Ashiana Network, the only dedicated forced marriage refuge in the country, consulted with all 20 of their residents as to the effectiveness of criminalising such marriages. 19 women responded that they would not have gone to the authorities if forced marriage became a criminal offence – despite their experience, they simply would not want to see their parents prosecuted and potentially sent to prison. Additionally, the repercussions of taking parents to court would also place women in difficult positions whereby they are most likely ostracised from their families and communities with the fear of violent retaliations. This is often forgotten, as unlike traditional ways in which we conceptualise domestic abuse, the abusers are your actual parents and family members. Prosecuting you family not something many women wish to do despite the violence. Given that there are already criminal remedies in place to prosecute perpetrators of rape, assault, kidnap, harassment and putting a person in fear of violence, surely a strengthening of such remedies including the training of staff and other professionals with regards to dealing with cases more effectively would be a preferred option?

Activists have also criticised the government on their short termist approach to dealing with domestic abuse within the current financial environment. Women’s organisations offer vital, life saving services to those experiencing domestic abuse including forced marriage. They not only provide emergency accommodation to ensuring safety away from the abuse, they also help women navigate the complex administrative and legal systems to ensure her basic human rights are met, supporting her to make difficult decisions about her future. This support is critical if women and girls are to find long term solutions to meet their needs, particularly when there are immigration complications. It is indeed the state’s responsibility to ensure that correct and effective agencies are available to vulnerable people both governmental and within the third sector. With this in mind, it is galling that since 2010 and the austerity budget, 40 percent of groups working with victims of domestic and sexual violence have been forced to reduce staff and 28 percent have had to cut back services amid funding cuts from the local authorities of sometimes 100 percent, according to a survey of 37 organisations by the University of Worcester. Councils are being forced to cut funding to essential services including those for victims of domestic abuse including forced marriage. Given that there are simply not enough support groups to begin with, it is ironic that despite Cameron’s assurance of protection, the further erosion of the women’s sector under his leadership, will in fact increase not reduce women’s vulnerability as fewer refuges are able to survive the fragile financial climate. Would it not be more beneficial to victims to properly resource and finance such life saving organisations than to introduce new legislation, which many victims will simply not use, without effective safety nets? Despite Cameron’s bold statements, – does this not appear slightly incongruous?

Whilst I agree with and welcome any legislation that intends to send a strong message to perpetrators that forced marriage will not be tolerated, this Bill alone, cannot work without a strong and robust women’s sector. Unfortunately, this is the very sector that is likely to face the brunt of the deep cuts being imposed by this government, and women’s lives will be lost.

- Sandhya Sharma

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Mary Seacole and Lynn McDonald’s ‘Scholarly’ Revisionist Prejudice

June 9, 2012 in Florence Nightingale, Guardian, mary seacole, Uncategorized

Right, so according to Lynn McDonald, a Canadian Sociology professor and Florence Nightingale enthusiast, Mary Seacole doesn’t deserve to be recognised for her medical services during the Crimea war, especially not with a statue that will tower over that of recognised white British nurses Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell. Writing for the Guardian’s ‘Comment is Free’ page, McDonald ridicules Mary Seacole and her achievements, favouring the legacy of Florence Nightingale.

I haven’t heard such pretentious ignorance since David Starkey’s infamous BBC Newsnight comments during the UK riots. What is with these ‘distinguished’ and ‘educated’ types asserting their ignorant, racist and classist views onto the rest of us?

McDonald believes honouring Mary Seacole is doing a disservice to Florence Nightingale and goes on to say that Seacole wasn’t a proper nurse, she also brands Seacole as an opportunist who profited from servicing war soldiers and that the accepted history of Seacole is all ‘whoppers’. To add further insult to injury she has the cheek to tell black people Seacole isn’t worth commemorating as being mixed race (Seacole was half Jamaican and half Scottish) she didn’t like to acknowledge her black roots!

This isn’t true, there are many well documented historical examples of Seacole acknowledging and showing respect for her black people. Though considering that Seacole was born during slavery, where, sickeningly, the ability to ‘pass off for white’ would have allowed her to escape the horrid conditions of black (slave) life and offered economical opportunities, makes it understandable that she would down play her black lineage.

While, yes, Seacole was not a ‘proper’ nurse McDonald fails to mention that either really was Nightingale. Nightingale did briefly study in Germany though nursing was not a regulated or extensively trained profession since the role carried little credibility before Nightingale’s stint in the Crimea. Also missed by McDonald was how Seacole, who had learnt herbal medicine from her mother, was rejected several times to join Nightingale’s team of nurses and also rejected to work in the Crimea hospitals beacuse she was black.

Seacole, who had been a successful business woman in Jamaica, travelled to the Crimea at her own expense and established a hotel close to the front line selling food and drink to the British soldiers with which the finance was used to provide the medical treatment she offered the soldiers. While Nightingale is known as the ‘lady with the lamp’ for checking on her patients at night, Seacole provided a very personal and attentive care with many of the soliders referring to her as mother Seacole.

This it is not a competition, the two women’s accomplishments are very different much due to their race and social positioning, as a middle class white woman Nightingale had to overcome the social stigma of ‘a woman’s place is in the home’ where as Seacole despite hash racial inequality and set backs still managed to persuaded her ambition of helping people. Both women have contributed to British history making Seacole just as deserving of recognition as Nightingale.

As a black Brit, Canadian McDonald’s article deeply offends me. Who gave her a right to question a British institute’s decision to honour a much deserving historical figure? The article clear bias exposes McDonald’s racial prejudices and lacked any academic integrity; while I was pleased to see from the comments that most disagreed with McDonald, sadly there were still a few comments that accepted her dribble using her academic background to validate her awful view.

- Donalea Scott

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