FiLiA has always developed organically, and as we move through 2023, we find ourselves with a growing international volunteer team of Women from Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, China, Croatia, Serbia, Japan, India, Mexico, Nepal, South Korea, Turkey Wales and Zimbabwe. As well as enriching FiLiA, this gives us the opportunity to learn about Women’s struggles from around the world and to build solidarity networks based on mutual values, principles and aims.

We are sharing some parts of the updates from our new international FiLiA team below:

• Argentina (Maria)
  The data on the pay gap shows that women earn 29% less than men. Women have high unemployment rates performing up to 76% of unpaid tasks. There is still legislation from 1924 that does not allow women into certain jobs, for example, alcohol distillation, quarries, ships, and underground work.
  Since 2014 2,144 women killed and only 144 people have been convicted for their crimes.

• Australia (Madhulika)
  The Right to Ask Scheme is based on the UK’s Clare’s Law, which “enables the police to disclose information to a victim or potential victim of domestic abuse about their partner’s or ex-partner’s previous abusive or violent offending.”

• Brazil (Andreia)
  Brazilian Indigenous Women's Assembly (Kuñangue Aty Guasu) sent a proposal and recommendations letter to President Lula. The elder women's council demanded the return of the health care system provided by indigenous professionals to the indigenous villages, which was stopped during the Covid pandemic with mass layoffs. They also call to attention the massive deforestation of the Amazon during Bolsonaro's government which harmed traditional indigenous medicine. The Women's assembly also demanded that the Brazilian government respect their traditional medicine, including women's indigenous healers and traditional indigenous midwives, fighting against obstetric violence and sex pay gap (hiring female indigenous women). Domestic violence is mentioned as a huge issue because the regular reporting channels are unavailable for indigenous women, as women's police departments, hospitals and the justice system don't have speakers of indigenous languages like Guarani to attend to women who only speak indigenous mother tongues (Brazil official language is Portuguese). Several women have also lost the guardianship of their children because previous governments deemed indigenous mothers unfit to look after their children as they live in their traditional huts and not in brick houses. =

• India (Madhulika)
  Two Olympic medal-winning wrestlers in India have accused the head of their sport’s governing body and its coaches of sexually harassing female players and have vowed to protest until the federation is disbanded and its leader investigated

• Japan (Natsuki)
  An adult video (=Japanese porn video) producer who sold uncensored video has become the first person arrested on suspicion of violating The Adult Video Appearance Damage Prevention and Relief Law since it was enacted in June 2022

• Kenya - Kakuma Refugee Camp (Sally)

It has not been a good start to the year for our Sisters in Kakuma camp. There has been another spate of attacks and if it’s not fellow refugees attacking them when they go shopping or to collect their rations, it’s the police who are supposed to protect them.

We are still writing to UNHCR asking them to progress their asylum claims but as their response to the recent attacks has been to blame the refugees for being gay or lesbian, our expectations are low. Even organisations that purport to be supportive of human rights don’t think our sisters are able to live their lives freely. You can see the hostility in a direct quote from the African Human Rights Coalition who recently supported UNHCR’s approach “Here is an analogy.... if you are in a snake pit - are you going to jump around and make a lot of noise, or are you going to remain very still until you find your way out?”.  This is from an organisation fighting for human rights (unless you look too gay of course) so you can imagine the attitude of the UNHCR and Police officers. Having escaped a life of hiding their sexuality for fear of death or serious harm in their home countries they are being told to do exactly the same in their place of refuge!

If you would like to write to either your own local MP or contact UNHCR direct, to ask them to act with humanity, you can find out how at our Kakuma Campaign page. We include a template letter which you can copy or adapt with your own thoughts. Please copy us in if you do. If you would like to support donations, you can here.

Whether you can write letters or donate or not, please keep these women in your thoughts.

• Nepal (Salonika)
  Protests continue for investigation on Nirmala Kurmi's murder. As of February 12th, ‘the women from Banke have been staging a sit-in at Maitighar in the Capital for the past 46 days’ It appears that a meeting with the Prime Minister has taken place and an agreement which doesn’t fulfil all demands has been put in place. We await further developments.  
  Read Salonika’s blog for FiLiA here: Twenty Day March: Women Walk for Justice in Nepal

• Turkey (D)
  In 2022, 334 Women were Murdered by Men in Turkey, and 245 Women’s Death/Suicide were “suspicious”.
  The “We Will Stop Femicide” Platform in Turkey has been keeping femicide data in the country since 2010. This is because Erdogan’s regime stopped providing statistics following the announcement of a 1400% increase in femicides in 2009. 
  The chart below shows the number of femicides that were recorded by three different organisations between 2009 and 2020. These organisations follow the mass media to keep records, but such an approach cannot reflect the actual figures, as clearly, they only include femicides that are publicised. This problem itself depicts the reluctance of Erdogan’s regime to spare resources to gather and disclose detailed statistics on violence against women, its investigations and the sanctions imposed. Furthermore, the increasing numbers of alleged suicides, suspicious deaths and unsolved murders of women also imply that the national authorities still do not engage with their positive obligation of effective investigation and diligence to solve these crimes.

• Wales (Ali)
  The controversy over the new proposed Welsh RSE Curriculum continues. Although Welsh Government (WG) made slight changes after the consultation period, there are still huge areas of concern. There is still no mention of the words ‘girl’ or ‘female’.
  Merched Cymru and other groups are still running focused campaigns around this.

As a volunteer organisation, our capacity is limited, but we firmly believe that Feminism must be an international project and will continue to amplify the voices of Women from around the world as much as we are able. With thanks to all the volunteers in FiLiA who make everything possible.