From: beijing-conf-digest-owner@confer.edc.org To: beijing-conf-digest@confer.edc.org Subject: Beijing Women's Conference Digest V2 #13 Reply-To: beijing-conf@confer.edc.org Errors-To: beijing-conf-digest-owner@confer.edc.org Precedence: Beijing Women's Conference Digest Tuesday, 27 June 1995 Volume 02 : Number 013 In this issue: Societies and mothers Re: Abortion, Pregnancy, and any other Statistics Work at home Re: Cultural Ignorance [PEN-L:5645] Fwd:cancer & foundation funds (fwd) Re: Re-registration for accommodations RE: "comfort women" Re: Societies and mothers Social attitude towards adolescents Re: Work at home RE: "comfort women" RE: "comfort women" Re: Work at home Re: Societies and mothers Re: Societies and mothers Paid work at home Introduction Re: RE: "comfort women" RE: "comfort women" Interaction Web page provides information on development WEDO Newsletter: June 1995 Re: "comfort women" Visas, Huairou Entry See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the Beijing Women's Conference or Beijing-Conf-Digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Wendy B. Lowe" Date: Sat, 24 Jun 1995 23:26:48 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Societies and mothers Hello, this is Graham Lowe writing: Thanks to Marg Milan for your reply. You ask In order to respond I must try to explain certain ideas I have on societies and on the relationships between individuals, and more specifically between men and women. I am afraid I have been ensnared by the biological school of interpretation typified by Desmond Morris in his "Naked Ape" which for better or worse draws parallels between human behaviour and observed behaviour in anthropoid (hm!) apes. I would briefly caricature my view as: Bigger, heavier sperm-donors dominate territory (ie, resources and other males), egg-carriers, and offspring to ensure the success of the species. Of course there are now myriad subtleties that we can negociate if we can take this as a common premiss. And this is where natural selection comes in ... the infuriating aspect of this model is that it works! At least judging by the 5billion and more souls now inhabiting the earth. Now saying something works does not imply approval, simply that alternative models must play up the hill with the sun and the wind in their faces. Was this model designed by men? No. Have they been content to leave it as it is? Definitely. But as certain societies have reduced the relevance of individual physical strength per se (through weapon technology, social laws, economic opportunities etc.), the slope of the playing field has changed. The question I ask is: Have the new models shown that they work? Or do the very structures of "successful" societies mitigate against their application? If it "works" don't mend it, is an adage of considerable power and subtlety in this respect. If we are to agree to dismantle societies which have been based on the old model, they must be shown NOT to be "working". AND the new models must be shown to effectively perpetuate the species, otherwise our DNA urge will override them. And therein lies the rub. Have the old models survived because really they have served the purposes of both sides of the "full gene complement"? Can we hope to overcome this "thing called DNA" and set up "new" family structures without having to forego some element in the old equation ie. survival of the species? Have the new, emergent structures had time to "prove" themselves, or will natural selection put them to the ultimate test and, finding them wanting, weed them out? Please do not think that I am arguing for the status quo. On the contrary. But I do feel it is vital to identify what it was that the old model got right, and how that can be transmuted and incorporated into a more equitable society where we no longer need demand rights for certain groups, but where they exist equally for each person. Perhaps I could ask a couple of questions? While I would not for one moment dream of imposing womb management on women but rather would leave that to the individual, as long as the individual assumes responsibility: a) What role would you ascribe to the Y-chromosome donor in assuming that responsibility? b) Is there a participatory role for the male in the use and management of the womb? If so, what? c) What are the qualities expected by the female of the "bigger, heavier sperm-donor" which will contribute to the survival of the species? d) What is the role of the male after the offspring have reached independence? I hope this was not too long, I find it very harrowing expressing myself in "write-bites" (the equivalent of sound-bites in the frentic world of TV journalism). Happy St-Jean-Baptiste Day! Graham. ------------------------------ From: "linda l. hatfield-southern" Date: Sat, 24 Jun 1995 20:47:56 +0700 Subject: Re: Abortion, Pregnancy, and any other Statistics >Right on Molly! I would love to have the source of the average age of >the men impregnating teenage women because I would like to be able to use >it on behalf of the teen moms in the welfare reform debate. I would also >like to have data on the number of teenage mothers on welfare and the >increase in the teen pregnancy rate. With working and going to school I >just don't have time to look up this information so if you know the >sources please share them. I hate to have to say "I heard somewhere that >. . ." > >Jan Jan, I ran into an article in Phi Delta Kappan March 1993, that argued the avg. age of the fathers of unwed young teenage girls is 20+ This gives a whole new perspective on the failure of alot of programs because they don't take into account the young age of the girls and the old age of the fathers. Linda Hatfield-Southern ------------------------------ From: "Dr. E.A.S. Nelson" Date: Sun, 25 Jun 1995 12:06:22 +0800 (CCT) Subject: Work at home I don't think I've introduced myself properly before. My name is Tony Nelson. I'm a paediatrician - born in Zimbabwe, University in South Africa, worked in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Malawi. I am currently a clinical lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. My research interests are the prevention of avoidable child mortality and social development. Payment for Work at Home is not something I have thought much about but I find the concept a little illogical. Within the western capilist model payment is made to someone for a job that someone else wants done. Few people would expect payment for working on hobbies and private interests. Having babies and running a home is an individual choice and not a requirement by government or big business. For example - If a government decided it wanted 10,000 babies born next year it could tender out to its population for applicants and then pay the "going rate" for having and rearing the babies. This is obviously a bizarre concept but would appear to the logical interpretation if individuals expect to paid for this service. Part of the problem I suspect is a growing obsession in the west that no one does anything without being paid for it. Concepts of voluntary service, un-paid overtime, etc etc are becoming increasingly uncommon. I think this is sad and a reflection of an increasing self-centred individualism at the expense of "community spirit". However having said this, I do fully accept that in most cultures and societies women are considered second-class citzens. There are obviously many contributing factors to this situation but I suspect that exclusion of women from quality education has played a significant role in many countries. Tony Nelson ------------------------------ From: Mark Freeman Date: Sun, 25 Jun 1995 11:11:40 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Cultural Ignorance This message is in reponse to the one posted by Esty Dinur. Re: What makes the work done by women at home non-quantifiable in a way that work done in an "office" (if this is the only place that women work!), is not. Well, let me see. When one works, one provides a service. One "sells" time, energy and qualifications, for a fixed salary. The well-educated, the well-connected or the wealthy may certainly have jobs which are an extention of themselves - jobs which give them a great deal of personal satisfaction. The rest of the world, men and women, work so they can keep their home-fires burning. They work so they can eat. They work so they can have a roof over their heads. What people in that latter situation do at home on the other hand, does have some personal meaning. The investments of emotions, caring, heart-ache and joy are part and parcel of life at home. This is true not only for women, but also for men. How do you propose to attach a $$ value to any of that? Do I say to my husband, or he to me, "I have suffered a lot, I have a great deal of experience in undergoing a lot of hardship, therefore I think I am worth 25K unlike Marge who has lived a cushy life and does not know how to fix the roof, who should be in the market for about 15K...It's tough these days getting a good job as a wife and a mother - there is so much competition out there in the field and I intend to get my last red cent". You say everybody must have the same rights. Does this mean that once - may heaven and intelligence preserve us from that day - women begin to get "paid" for their work at home, men would be allowed to start a movement to get paid for taking out the garbage, cooking, cleaning, changing the baby, or any other such task he may perform? Or would there be some counter-movement which would say "well they get paid more in the world, so no, I don't think that would be feasible"? Would a man have the right to breast-feed his child? Whether anything comes out of it or not (no pun intended)? The fact of the matter is, the right to do something is only relevant if that something is (a) of real benefit to yourself and society and (b) has a purpose in the larger scheme of things. As an aside, let me refer you to an article in the February New Yorker (re. foreign aid), which points out that Americans appear to believe that they have a right to ignorance. Another of those rights that I would not choose to fight for. As for what the world has to learn from Sri Lanka. A great deal, obviously. One comment: you say that it does not have much to learn regarding Sri Lanka's treatment of Tamils. I would dearly love to hear what you have to say about the situation in Sri Lanka regarding the ethnic war. I would be particularly interested in hearing how much you know about the issue, what you have read, to whom you have spoken, and what research you have done. Perhaps you should subscribe to SLNet, which would give you a day to day breakdown of what goes on in Sri Lanka. Actually, maybe you should save the money paid to you as a "woman living in a home" (married or unmarried), and go visit the country. Ruvani S. Freeman ------------------------------ From: Mike Gurstein Date: Sun, 25 Jun 1995 19:27:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [PEN-L:5645] Fwd:cancer & foundation funds (fwd) I thought this might be of interest... Mike Gurstein - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 22 Jun 1995 18:22:19 -0700 From: MScoleman@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [PEN-L:5645] Fwd:cancer & foundation funds I wrote the following for femecon-l, but it also applies to the issues raised by gina neff about who funds what. maggie - --------------------- Forwarded message: From: MScoleman@aol.com Sender: femecon-l@bucknell.edu Reply-to: femecon-l@bucknell.edu To: femecon-l@bucknell.edu (Multiple recipients of list) Date: 95-06-22 18:37:29 EDT In the July 3, 1995 issue of "For Women First" (a woman's magazine sold in super markets) there is an article titled "What they won't tell you about breast cancer." I think it is a must read. The article points out that the standard answers for causes of breast cancer: age, heredity, estrogen and diet, do NOT explain three out of four cases of breast cancer. They say both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society are underfunding new research which had been done which draws direct connections between environmental factors and breast cancer. Specifically, carcinogenic chemicals like DDT and PCBs have been found in heavy concentrations in malignant breast tumors by Dr. Mary Wolff of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Three years ago the University of Connecticut found similarly high levels of DDT and PCBs in benign lumps. The US Environmental Protection Agency found that counties with hazardous waste sites were 6.5 times more likely to have elevated breast cancer rates than counties without them. Israel, which banned several pesticides in 1978, has reversed what was a fast growing rate of breast cancer in the 1970s and is now the only industrialized country in the world with a REDUCING breast cancer rate. The article says part of the problem is that cancer research is in a large degree funded by coporations such as Zeneca, a London based corporation with a $6 billion a year investment in production of toxic chemicals suspected of causing chancer. They also produce a drug called Nolvadex which is an anti-estrogen drug used to treat breast cancer, to the tune of $470 million a year. There is more info on other corporations in the article, but in the interest of brevity ...... In literature during Cancer awareness month or special programs or education from different cancer institutes, environmental studies and causes are never mentioned. Further, the smallest percentage of research funds is given to environmental studies, even though environmental causes are probably more universal and could potentially explain more than any other cause traditionally focussed on. One place where there has been large clusters of breast cancer is Long Island. During the decade of the 50s women on Long Island were exposed regularly to DDT by planes dusting over head. (Sorry to say, that's where and when I grew up.) Anyhow. Go to the supermarket and buy the magazine, it's worth the $1.99. While I am not at work and near a xerox machine these days, if anyone wants to send me a self addressed, stamped envelope and 50 cents, I will xerox and mail the article. maggie coleman mscoleman@aol.com ------------------------------ From: Lacey Sloan Date: Sun, 25 Jun 1995 22:55:17 -0500 Subject: Re: Re-registration for accommodations Hi there, here is the e-mail address for the NGO Forum: ngoforum95@igc.apc.org I assume you already have their telephone number (212.922.9267) and address (211 E. 43rd St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10017) I have not heard about "Weaving the World Together" but as a handweaver, if it actually has anything to do with weaving, let me know. Also have not heard about the Ribbon, either. (I am not feeling very informed about all the goings on). Lacey lsloan@mail.utexas.edu ------------------------------ From: "Ann D. Jordan" Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 12:22:15 +0800 Subject: RE: "comfort women" In response to the following: > >> hi there. does "comfort women" mean prostitute? or is there more to it than >> that? >Comfort women, most of them are forced to be a prostitute in military. I would phrase it a little differently. First, comfort women is a too polite a phrase to describe the horrors that the women must have endured. Secondly, I would not describe them as forced prostitutes either. In fact, is there such a thing a 'forced prostitution?' To my understanding, prostitution involves an exchange of sex for money or other benefit for the woman. How can any woman who has been forced to spread her legs for anyone who asks be seen as a prostitute? These women received nothing and had no choice. Let's call it what it was: government-sponsored rape. Ann D. Jordan GPA Department Chinese University of Hong Kong anndjordan@cuhk.hk ------------------------------ From: Catherine Scott Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 14:48:18 +1000 Subject: Re: Societies and mothers >Hello, this is Graham Lowe writing: > >Thanks to Marg Milan for your reply. You ask ... Do societies "need" to raise their sons and daughters in such ways in >order to protect themselves?> > >In order to respond I must try to explain certain ideas I have on >societies and on the relationships between individuals, and more >specifically between men and women. I am afraid I have been ensnared by >the biological school of interpretation typified by Desmond Morris in his >"Naked Ape" which for better or worse draws parallels between human >behaviour and observed behaviour in anthropoid (hm!) apes. I would >briefly caricature my view as: Bigger, heavier sperm-donors dominate >territory (ie, resources and other males), egg-carriers, and offspring to >ensure the success of the species. Of course there are now myriad subtleties >that we can negociate if we can take this as a common premiss. > Wow! That is something I never thought I would see on this network - a reductionist biological justification for the 'status quo' (but just how 'status' is the 'quo'? - consult anthropology for info about the multiplicity of different arrangements between the sexes - what's women's work in one society is men's somewhere else etc etc etc). Where do I begin on this one? For a start there is lots of nice stuff come out about how the interpretations of other primate behaviour has been distorted by its observation by male humans with a gut level attachment to the way things are organised in their primate society of the moment. May I suggest the work by Hdry (a female primatologist) as an antidote to the nonsense that all primate societies are constituted of big hairy he-apes going about dominating and inseminating. Female langurs for instance do a pretty nice line in sexual politics. Someone famous once said (I can't remember who but he was male) that examples from animal behaviour can be found to support claims of 'naturalness' about just about anything you like, including things which are mutually contradictory. But even taking the argument at face value, the difference in size between female and male humans is actually very small (about 7%) and is more typical of species where there is a fair degree of co-operation between the sexes, with much reduced male dominance (compare the difference in the sizes of the sexes aomngst gorillas where the males are TWICE the size of the females). Other aspects of male physiognomy point towards the likelihood of natural selection operating in the direction of favouring men who were 'caring and sharing' and not great hairy dominator/inseminators, an example being the relatively small size of male canine teeth (the ones that are used to do serious harm by other primate species). Take a look at the canines of some other species, baboons for instance. Maybe I am fortunate, but my male acquaintances act like civilised human beings and show very little tendency to brutishness. Come on nice guys of the world - aren't you sick of being told that are the victim of your Y chromosome and your savannah dwelling ancestry? Wouldn't you like some credit for your human intellectual capacity and your ability to CHOOSE who and what you will be? I suggest that liking reductionist explanations for the relations between men and women actually comes out of the fact that we regard the regime under which we spent our childhoods as 'right' and 'natural' and that questioning that regime is painful, difficult and unpleasant, sometimes so much so that some perfectly nice men would prefer to see themselves as apes and monkeys rather than address the origins of their gut reactions. Catherine ======================================================*****************======= Catherine Scott Lecturer Faculty of Education UWS Nepean PO Box 10 Kingswood NSW 2747 Australia x2324 tel 61 47 360 324 fax 61 47 360 400 (in Australia drop the 61 and add 0 to 47 -> 047) ============================================*******************============= == ------------------------------ From: Catherine Scott Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 15:17:55 +1000 Subject: Social attitude towards adolescents Sent this note to Linda Wolf and thought others might like to comment on my response. >Hi, > >I sent a reply to the network last a week about the incidence of teenage >pregnancy etc. Maybe you did not get it in which case if you let me know I >can give you some info about where to get the facts and figures (including the >reference to my and Ailsa Burns book - Mother headed Families and Why They >Have Increased, which was published by Erlbaum last year). > >On the social attitude to adolescents, it is useful to see adolescents as the >dumping bin for society's 'bad impulses', ie that is where these impulses are >projected. If you look at the historical image of childhood, it has veered >between the idea of children as innocents who become corrupted by the world, >and beings tainted by 'original sin' which has to be beaten out of them. We >have a sort of hybrid image these days, with young (prepubertal) children >being seen as innocent, and post pubertal children seen as as 'fallen' and >corrupt/ed/ing. > >I am sad to hear that the young people you work with are so despairing - >research in Australia suggests that our young people are by and large pretty >optimistic. This does not apply to those who have experienced gross >deprivation, however. > >Catherine ======================================================*****************======= Catherine Scott Lecturer Faculty of Education UWS Nepean PO Box 10 Kingswood NSW 2747 Australia x2324 tel 61 47 360 324 fax 61 47 360 400 (in Australia drop the 61 and add 0 to 47 -> 047) ============================================*******************============= == ------------------------------ From: Catherine Scott Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 15:39:51 +1000 Subject: Re: Work at home Hi, I am going to get myself a name I am sure as the Aussie with a word to say on everything but - On the debate about paying for housework, a concept that should be considered is the difference between 'price' and 'value'. In some sense to put a price on something diminishes its value. We have an impulse to preserve some things as ex-commercium, outside the market, in order to preserve their value. Hence we, for example, find the idea of buying babies to be pretty unpleasant. Human life should be priceless and not have a monetary value on it. Similarly, work done in the home is work done for non-market values for many or most people. I, for one, would not want a market price placed on the work I do voluntarily for my children, preserving the idea of love and service gladly given means much to me. Perhaps a model of citizenship which gives all persons the right to a sufficient share of the good things of the society, whether 'earned' or not, would 'solve' the problem of some people being unvalued. We are all valuable simply by virtue of our membership of a society. Thus those who do not work for money would still be given their share of social income without having to resort to the notion that they are being paid for something that hey may prefer to see preserved as 'priceless' and therefore valuable. Catherine ======================================================*****************======= Catherine Scott Lecturer Faculty of Education UWS Nepean PO Box 10 Kingswood NSW 2747 Australia x2324 tel 61 47 360 324 fax 61 47 360 400 (in Australia drop the 61 and add 0 to 47 -> 047) ============================================*******************============= == ------------------------------ From: Lacey Sloan Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 00:51:14 -0500 Subject: RE: "comfort women" Kuang-Yu Chen seemed to do an excellent job of defining comfort women. It is in the news lately due to Japan's recent attempt to apologize for war atrocities--this attempt has perhaps created more hard feelings than it soothed...I heard that Japan is not putting up money to compensate the women (what amount could?), but is asking for donations to the fund to compensate them. I imagine the women were then stigmatized for life. Is the term "comfort women" used as a euphamism for prostitutes or sex workers who are currently in the trade? Lacey lsloan@mail.utexas.edu ------------------------------ From: "N.Ise" Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 11:41:18 +0100 Subject: RE: "comfort women" > hi there. does "comfort women" mean prostitute? or is there more to it than > that? > Dear Melissa: Comfot women were those who forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese military personnel during Japan's invasion into other Asian nations. Japanese military and civil officers went aroung twons and villages (arguably with local collaboraters) to draft young women against their will or by deception. Some of these comfort women died during the war from torture, from contracting fatal diseases, and from being involved with warfare. Many were murdered at the end of the war by the Japanese military to conceal facts. Survivors lived a miserable life being haunted by horrible memories, ill health, and often poverty. They could not possibley diosclose their past because in (male-dominate) Asian society, being raped in whatever circumstances is in most cases viewed as sinful. Since the end of the 1980s, there has been an emerging social movement around Asia (mainly in Korea) on behalf of these comfort women to demand official apology from the Japanese government, financial compensation and so forth. These movements are centred around women's groups in Korea and Japan, some of which, I guess, are going to participate in the Beiging Conference to bring their beliefs to a wider community of women's movement in the world. Anyone information on this subject and the NGOs campaigning for comfort women issue will be greatly appreaciated! Naoko ISE (N.Ise@sheffield.ac.uk) c/o East Asia Research Centre University of Sheffield, U.K. ------------------------------ From: MaryLynne Monroe Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 08:15:30 -0700 Subject: Re: Work at home >On 6/25/95 Tony Nelson wrote: >Payment for Work at Home is not something I have thought much about but I >find the concept a little illogical. Within the western capilist model >payment is made to someone for a job that someone else wants done. Few >people would expect payment for working on hobbies and private interests. >Having babies and running a home is an individual choice and not a >requirement by government or big business. We do pay housekeepers and nannies to do that work, so there already is a basis for payment >Part of the problem I suspect is a growing obsession in the west that no one >does anything without being paid for it. Concepts of voluntary service, >un-paid overtime, etc etc are becoming increasingly uncommon. I think this >is sad and a reflection of an increasing self-centred individualism at the >expense of "community spirit". Personally, I feel as though it's less the obsession of pay as the recognition that what has traditionally been "women's work" is worth something. It is a question of acknowledging the value of the work, not actually paying someone. You do have a point about voluntary service, but I believe that has much to do with the busy-ness of people rather than pay. I think that busy-ness is the cultural stuff to deal with. >However having said this, I do fully accept that in most cultures and >societies women are considered second-class citzens. There are obviously >many contributing factors to this situation but I suspect that exclusion of >women from quality education has played a significant role in many countries. Thanks for your support of this! MaryLynne ------------------------------ From: MaryLynne Monroe Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 09:36:01 -0700 Subject: Re: Societies and mothers >Hello, this is Graham Lowe writing: >And this is where natural selection comes in ... The question I ask is: Have >the new models shown that they work? Or do the very structures of >"successful" societies mitigate against their application? If it "works" >don't mend it, is an adage of considerable power and subtlety in this >respect. "Natural" selection... Your model of the "bigger, heavier sperm donor" is very telling as to why this model "works": taking what he wants whether agreed upon or not. Making sure it's _his_ genes, not another male's, that get perpetuated. My question: is that what we want: bigger, more powerful men? > >If we are to agree to dismantle societies which have been based on the old >model, they must be shown NOT to be "working". AND the new models must be >shown to effectively perpetuate the species, otherwise our DNA urge will >override them. And therein lies the rub. Have the old models survived >because really they have served the purposes of both sides of the "full gene >complement"? Can we hope to overcome this "thing called DNA" and set up >"new" family structures without having to forego some element in the old >equation ie. survival of the species? Have the new, emergent structures >had time to "prove" themselves, or will natural selection put them to the >ultimate test and, finding them wanting, weed them out? All of this supposes that the model of natural selection is accurate. Actually, some scientists now are beginning to put forth models that suggest otherwise. The primary reason has to do with those within all species who are handicapped in some way and not rejected or killed, but cared for. What gives us that compassion? Should we be looking to get a "complement" of gentler, compassionate beings? Would that help stop the wars? > >While I would not for one moment dream of imposing womb management on >women but rather would leave that to the individual, as long as the >individual assumes responsibility: > >a) What role would you ascribe to the Y-chromosome donor in assuming > that responsibility? I would say he's just as responsible. However, that means HE must agree to that! > >b) Is there a participatory role for the male in the use and > management of the womb? If so, what? Agreement between the partners would be nice. > >c) What are the qualities expected by the female of the "bigger, > heavier sperm-donor" which will contribute to the survival of > the species? Personally, compassion is primary to me. I don't care if he's "bigger, heavier". > >d) What is the role of the male after the offspring have reached > independence? What is the role of the female after the offspring have reached independence? Thanks for your thoughtful statements! MaryLynne ------------------------------ From: Jan Secor Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 10:18:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Societies and mothers June 26, 1995 Graham Lowe, I suggest you read Riane Eisler's new book _Sacred Pleasure_ and follow-up with her excellent bibliography for evidence that the biological determination model of male dominance is not borne out by research. Jan ****************************************** * Jan Secor jsecor@ctc.ctc.edu * * Highline Community College MS 5-1 * * P.O. 98000, Des Moines, WA 98198-9800 * * 206-878-3710, ext. 3375 * ****************************************** ------------------------------ From: "Poole, Catherine" Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 11:27:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Paid work at home I will start by introducing myself: My name is Catherine Poole; I am 28 years old, married, and I share a home with my husband, two dogs, two cats and my twin sister who is expecting a child in October. I will not be attending the conference in Beijing; however, I am very interested in human rights issues. I work for the provincial government as a policy advisor in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I have been following the various discussions since subscribing to the conference, and I would like to comment on one topic in particular - the concept of paying women who work at home. I think that, by focussing on monetary compensation as a way to recognize women's contribution to the home, we are simply reinforcing a system that focusses on wealth, individual reward and compensation, rather than on family (however that family is defined - my concept of family includes same-sex couples, married or unmarried, single parents, step families, extended families - basically a supportive and loving unit), community, and cooperation. I am not sure how we as a species can understand the concept of world peace if we continue to focus on individual wealth and success, rather than community and cooperation - even dogs are more interested in each other than we are! It is important to note that many women do not have the choice to remain at home and care for their children. Even two parent families have difficulty making ends meet if one of them is not working. So we have created a society (I am referring to the "westernized" world) where family, children and the raising of children are not the primary focus. Children are our future; and yet families are not even given the support they need to stay at home with them. In some ways, women are in an even more difficult position today; because, now, not only are we the mothers, the caregivers, the nurturers, but we are also expected to have successful careers. In trying to balance all this, often it is the children that are neglected; I am not surprised at the teen pregnancy statistics! Children feel unimportant and are looking for love and recognition wherever they can get it. Of course, this is all very theoretical and philosophical; it does not help women who are at home, making a valuable but unrecognized contribution to society. I am not sure how on a practical level this issue can be adequately resolved - certainly income tax breaks, "homemaker" pensions etc. may at least alleviate the situation temporarily. But this is really a fundamental shift that we need to make in our value system. As I see it, this planet is on its way to self- destruction if we do not reassess our "westernized" "industrialized" "I want it all" values. I am very interested in discussions around the monetary system, debt, etc. and their effects on our global community, particularly in how we can begin to focus on other means of recognition. There are some very interesting community projects going on in Canada, including using the aboriginal justice system to sentence, monitor and reform offenders; creating more self sufficient communities; community cooperatives etc. It is difficult to get so much down in so little space, but I hope that I have been clear in my purpose without being long-winded. I will continue to read with enthusiasm! Catherine ------------------------------ From: "marie a. failinger" Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 13:53:17 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Introduction As requested, a brief intro: I'm on the list because I'm co-organizing a conference on October 5-6 which came out of discussions about Beijing. Its purpose is to discuss issues implicating gender, human rights and spirituality, such as whether a culture can reject a universal set of human rights on the basis that its religious understanding of the roles of men and women precludes adoption of these rights. I also am starting to teach gender and the law, have edited the Journal of Law and Religion for a few years, sit in a colleague's course in law, religion and ethics; teach Constitutional Law, etc. ------------------------------ From: LAWest@eworld.com Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 15:14:54 -0700 Subject: Re: RE: "comfort women" Women in the Philippines were forced to be "comfort women" to the Japanese during World War II. There is an organization of women now active in the Philippines which is pursuing war reparations. Their efforts have been written about in the U.S. newspaper, Philippine News out of San Francisco, and in various Philippine newspapers. Reuters on e-world has also been covering their efforts. Lois West ------------------------------ From: Shaula Evans Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 22:52:53 -0800 Subject: RE: "comfort women" At 6:43 PM 6/23/95, Kuang-Yu Chen wrote: (edit) >There were many Taiwanese, Korean, and Chinese (ps. maybe more countries, >but I forgot) women were forced to "provide sexual service" for Japaness >soldier during World War II. (edit) Dear Kuang-Yu Chen, Just to add to your post: I beleive large numbers of Indonesian Women and Dutch Women living in Indonesia were also forced into prostitution. Shaula Evans =================================== Shaula Evans, President Japanese Business Consulting Services International Tel: +1 (604) 762-9222 Fax: +1 (604) 762-9273 Email: sevans@awinc.com Author: The Sun Also Rises On The Net http://www.cban.com/error404/ ------------------------------ From: JaniceB@edc.org Date: Tue, 27 Jun 95 10:52:29 EST Subject: Interaction Web page provides information on development ______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________ From: Erwin_Bandoo_at_Interaction@interaction.org I would like to inform all those interested that InterAction has a home page located on the World Wide Web at (http://ww.vita.org/iaction/iaction.html). InterAction is a coalition of over 150 US-based non-profits working to promote human dignity and development in 165 countries around the world. InterAction is the nation's leading advocate for humanitarian aid to the world's poorer countries. Also located on this page is information concerning The Alliance for a Global Community -- a project of InterAction whose purpose is helping Americans understand that: a)U.S. support for the developing world is important, cost-effective and successful; b)The U.S. and developing nations share a common future; and c)Opportunities have never been greater for reducing world hunger and poverty and building a just and sustainable future. There is a wealth of information at this site, including information on disaster relief, advocacy issues, and human rights. Also available is information on volunteer opportunities, humantarian issues, upcoming events, and access to several newsletters. This information may also be accessed via gopher by pointing to vita.org and selecting International Development/InterAction and the Alliance. ------------------------------ From: Women's Environment and Development Organization Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 08:21:57 -0700 Subject: WEDO Newsletter: June 1995 WEDO Newsletter Vol.8, No.1-2 June 1995 The latest issue of WEDO's newsletter, NEWS & VIEWS, is available online, starting Wednesday June 28th. To receive a copy, please download from the WEDO gopher which is under "WomensNet" on the main menu on the Institute for Global Communications/ Association for Progressive Communications gopher The latest issue of News & Views (June 1995 Volume 8, No 1-2) is under the "WEDO UPDATES" level of the WEDO gopher. The newsletter is posted in 14 different files corrresponding to 14 articles about WEDO plans for Beijing and its many other activities. The table of contents for the June, 1995 News & Views is as follows: Title:Women to UN and Governments: No Going Back! Title:Envrionment & Development Web Title:A Look Inside the PFA Brackets Title:180 Days Women's Action Campaign Takes Off Title:A Pledge To Gender Justice Title:Gender Justice Pledge Calls for Commitments Title:UN Help Asked to Solve Site Dispute in China Title:US Congress Gets into NGO Site Controversy Title:Women Win Praise at the Social Summit Title:Environmental Health Action Coalitions Expand Title:WEDO Primer on Transnational Corporations Title:Women Fight for a Say in Development: At the CSD Title:Women's Leaders Combating "Contract on America Title:First Reports of Progress on the Cairo Agenda For more information please contact Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) 845 Third Avenue 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022 USA Tel:212-759-7982 Fax:212-759-8647 E-mail: wedo@igc.apc.org ------------------------------ From: Esty Dinur Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 11:03:51 -0500 Subject: Re: "comfort women" >From: tgrunfeld@sescva.esc.edu >Reply-To: pen-l@ecst.csuchico.edu >Sender: pen-l@ecst.csuchico.edu >Subject: [PEN-L:5695] "comfort women" >To: Multiple recipients of list >Errors-To: ctrown@ecst.csuchico.edu >Originator: pen-l@anthrax.ecst.csuchico.edu >Precedence: bulk >X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas >X-Comment: Progressive Economics List > > > Information concerning Japanese military sexual >slavery during the second world war ("comfort women") is now >available on Gopher. > > WATANABE Kazuko's important article on "Militarism, >Colonialism, and the Trafficking of Women: `Comfort Women' >Forced into Sexual Labor for Japanese Soldiers" is now available >on Gopher. > > The article, which appears in the current issue of the >Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars (26:4) is the most >comprehensive report available in English on the history of the >Japanese government's wartime system of military sexual slavery, >the plight of the women victims, and the international movement >that has exposed it and continues to seek justice. The report >includes a list of the major Japanese and international >organizations working on issues of sexual slavery. > > To access the article gopher or ftp to , >then under the directory headings International Political >Economy/Geographic Archives/Asia/Bulletin of Concerned Asian >Scholars/BCAS Sample Articles. The Asia heading is an archive of >various items compiled but not published by BCAS, and the BCAS >heading includes other sample articles from recent issues, >guidelines for authors, a listing of the contents of everything >BCAS has published, and general information. > > BCAS is available from 3239 9th St., Boulder, CO 80304-2112. >Annual subscriptions for this refereed quarterly are $22 (U.S.). > > Esty Dinur edinur@facstaff.wisc.edu Director's Office 608-265-4699 University Health Services 608-262-1885 1552 University Ave. Madison, WI 53705 ------------------------------ From: "Ann D. Jordan" Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 22:12:09 +0800 Subject: Visas, Huairou Entry This is a follow up to questions I had posed earlier about hotel reservation and visa problems. I have faxed to the China Organizing Committee (twice) and the NGO Coordinating Committee (once) but have not received a reply. However, I am passing on information I have received from two other sources which seem to answer my concerns. First, I was concerned that people who do not book hotel through travel agents or the COC could not get conference visas because they would be unable to obtain the COC hotel confirmation that is required for the visa. The NGO Information Packet only states that people who book through travel agents and those who are not staying in hotels can get confirmations be contacting the COC. It is silent about people booking on their own, so I am assuming that people booking on their own will have difficulty getting the hotel confirmation. This would not matter much except for the next part. Second, I have been told by one source who is living in Guangzhou and who is working closely with women's groups there that the government plans to scrutinize people's visas very closely and that conference visas are required. Apparently, anyone without a conference visa will not get into Huairou. This means that those who either do not receive the hotel confirmation in time to get an official visa or who cannot get a hotel confirmation for some reason (e.g., because they privately book hotel rooms) will be unable to obtain an official visa, and without an official visa they cannot get into the conference. You will note that the NGO Packet says "You will not be admitted into the Forum site without your Forum Identification Pass." I am assuming the Forum ID pass is the point at which we will have to show our conference visas. Now, of course, my Guangzhou source could be all wrong, but I'm taking no chances. Additionally, I have been informed by another source that the Chinese Embassy in at least one country has said that there will be no tourist visas issued for the Forum period. I am not sure how they will check and distinguish between tourists and Forum participants, but at least it shows an intention to make sure we all have conference visas. So, I hope everyone gets a hotel confirmation in time and has no trouble getting an official visa. By the way, the hotel registration form posted by IWTC, which many of you may have sent out, has to be resent. It seems the COC refuses to accept it because of the handwritten additions. There will be a notice posted, I am sure, in the next day or two explaining the problem. Essentially, the COC doesn't want ANY information on the form other than what was on the original form and your information. Good luck everyone! Ann D. Jordan Department of Government and Public Administration The Chinese University of Hong Kong anndjordan@cuhk.hk ------------------------------ End of Beijing Women's Conference Digest V2 #13 *********************************************** To subscribe to Beijing-Conf-Digest, send the command: subscribe beijing-conf-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@confer.edc.org". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-summit": subscribe beijing-conf-digest local-beijing@your.domain.net A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "beijing-conf-digest" in the commands above with "beijing-conf". 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