Libya: Let's not forget the women

I have to say that it is very good to see that Col Gaddafi and his Green Book appear to be on a very shoogly peg this morning. Why Tony Blair ever thought it was a good idea to bring this man in from international ostracisation is beyond me. We can only hope that the International Criminal Court is going to be kept very busy with big files marked "Gaddafi" for the foreseeable future. The man himself is nowhere to be found, although two of his sons have been captured as rebel forces entered Tripoli to remarkably little resistance.

I'm never one for counting chickens, but this has to be a positive development.

Amid the rejoicing and planning for a post Gaddafi Libya, though, I think it's important to remember the women. Politicians, even those on our side, aren't always good at identifying and talking about issues affecting women. I am fairly sure that Nick Clegg, when he makes eminently sensible remarks to the British Council later today, won't specifically mention women. I single him out but earlier this year, the UN Security Council had a telling off from the UN's special envoy on sexual violence for not mentioning that specific danger in its resolutions.

I've found a couple of interesting articles about issues affecting women in Libya. The first is from the Libya Youth Movement in May this year and it talks about how women may well have been involved in the initial uprising in February, but they are far from powerful within rebel leadership:

Early in the rebellion, the shrill ululating of women mixed with the sound of gunfire celebrating victories over Gaddafi’s forces that prised the region from his grip in mid-February.

Women sat in the rebel headquarters planning their next moves, often taking the lead in speaking to the media and discussing with male rebel leaders their vision for a new Libya.

A group of female lawyers were conspicuous in the first meetings aimed at organising the rebel efforts, the eloquent and bi-lingual women mobbed by reporters after emerging from the closed-door sessions.

One of those women, lawyer Salwa Bugaighis, said she was unhappy that the national council now contained just five women out of 50 or so members.

“Maybe it will take some time to change the mentality, to be a leader, to be in a higher position

The second by Libyan-American journalist and activist Yusra Tekbali discusses the role of women in the revolution and how women's groups are planning for life after Gaddafi:

Zahra Langhi, coordinator of the Cairo-based activist group Friends of Free Libya, organized several workshops and forums that addressed the social, intellectual and bureaucratic vacuum in Libya.  At a recent workshop I attended on developing Libya’s civil infrastructure, Langhi said,  “Women are the center of Libyan society. After the psychology of fear was broken, mothers were encouraging their husbands and sons to go out and fight Gaddafi, which is the biggest change we have seen. ”

There are countless other Libyan women who demonstrate courage and leadership, and competence and humanity, with their work and efforts to support the Libyan people. Now that women are beginning to organize and participate in rebuilding Libya, we can expect to see more organizations spring up. The support from the broader Libyan society-inside and outside Libya- will be critical in the success of these organizations, as they evolve and find their footing in Free Libya.

International women's organisations, including UN Women will have a crucial role in this.


Obviously everyone, male or female, benefits from Gaddafi going, but it's important that the new Libya is founded on a more equal basis. The signs aren't altogether positive on that one so it's one to keep an eye on and our Government must encourage the international community to support women's rights in Libya and elsewhere.

My first duty as a Godmother - my letter to my MP

I wrote the other week about how I'd become a Godmother - not to a cute wee baby, but to a UN Agency promoting women's rights and gender equality.

I've done my first godmotherly duty - adding to my MP Graeme Morrice's inbox. He's been good at replying to me so far - very positively on Gamu Nhengu's charity single for the Aberlour Trust and thoroughly, even if I didn't agree, on AV. Here's the letter I've sent him today asking him to support the Godmothers' aims to see UN Women properly funded. I think that our Government should lead the way on that.

Here's the letter I've written to him. Please can I encourage you to write to your MP, too to raise awareness of this important issue.


Dear Graeme


As your constituent I’m asking you to help end the discrimination that keeps millions of women in poverty.


UN Women, the new agency for gender equality and women’s empowerment, presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help disadvantaged women around the world. But at the moment it doesn’t have the political and financial support it needs to begin operations.


VSO is campaigning to ensure that UN Women doesn’t fail before it’s even begun. We’re asking for strong international leadership from the UK to help the agency get off the ground – if the UK supports UN Women others will follow.


Please support VSO’s campaign by signing Early Day Motion 1318, calling for the UK Government to support UN Women. 


EDM 1318: That this House recognises that around the world women continue to suffer discrimination and injustice simply because of their gender; notes that underlying inequality between men and women is the driving force that results in 70 per cent of the world's poor being female; recognises that empowering women will drive progress towards all the Millennium Development Goals; welcomes the launch of UN Women, the UN Agency for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, on 1 January 2011; recognises that the agency is an example of UN reform to improve efficiency and co-ordination; and calls on the Government to provide support to the new agency to ensure it has the resources required to end the discrimination that keeps millions of women in poverty.


You can find more information about VSO’s Godmothers campaign on their website, http://www.thegodmothers.org.uk.


Yours sincerely


Caron Lindsay

Become a Godmother - help the UN help women all over the world

I've just become a godmother - not to a cute wee gurgling baby, but to a UN Agency, the new UN Women. This is a brand spanking new organisation which aims to promote gender equality and women's rights all over the world.

The Godmother idea is quite a clever one from VSO. They don't want this new agency to sink without trace. In the next few months crucial decisions will be made about future funding. Our Government will be deciding how much money to give to it. Given that the Overseas Aid budget has been protected from the cuts, there is no excuse for the Government to not support this new body and give it some teeth.

There's going to be a day of action in Westminster on 16th February which sounds like great fun. I only wish I could go.

I'm only scratching the surface here mainly due to time pressures at the moment, but I'll be coming back to this in the next few weeks. In the meantime you might find this article from the Guardian by Madeline Bunting, Women's Rights are in Danger of Becoming a Wordfest. Also, have a look at the video below about women in Bangladesh to see why they need the help of a powerful international agency. I've often written about how frustrated I am that women's rights feature exactly nowhere in discussions between world leaders. That needs to change, and this agency is part of the solution. I expect the US to put its money where its mouth is, especially as Hillary Clinton has been proactive about getting women's rights on the international agenda, but we need our government to support it too. So, Lib Dem ministers (not that any will be reading this, but there's the faint chance one of Nick Clegg's office might catch it on a Google alert), make sure that we contribute a meaningful amount to this effort.