Student Activism

Some new things are happening for the National Week of Student Action and you’ll want to make sure you’re ready for them!  For starters, we are very excited to have actress Q’Orianka Kiltcher as our new Youth Ambassador for Amnesty International USA.  She will do an online chat, answering questions about the Women’s Treaty and student activism on Thursday, April 6, at 8:00 PM (Eastern Time; 5:00 Pacific Time).  You’ve seen Q’Orianka starring as Pocahontas in the recent movie, The New World from director Terrence Mallick, but she is also actively concerned with human rights.  Make sure you join us for the chat and please submit a question in advance here.

That’s not all!  This year, NWSA also has an official song.  You may originally recognize the lyrics from John Lennon, but the Black Eyed Peas have put a new twist on “Power to the People” to help support human rights for the Make Some Noise campaign. Download and play it while you table or get your campus radio station to play it and promote your Amnesty group. Check out the NWSA Web site for information on how to download and highlight the song during the NWSA.  Learn more

But we’ve been busy and there are couple more things.  A dialogue wall can be pretty intense and it’s sometimes hard to know how to start.  We haven’t forgotten about you, and we’ve created a slide show to help you get on your way.  Check it out!

One final thing you’ll want to know is that we have created a MYSPACE account, and we want to invite you to be our friend.  Come visit and learn what we’re all about.

The one week countdown to the National Week of Student Action has begun!  Take this week to tie up any last loose ends; confirm reservations, make sure your group members know what they’re doing and when, and double check with your school about all demonstrations and activities.  The most important thing is to have fun and get more people interested in Amnesty.  The time to act is now!  Get ready for a week of excitement and support for the Treaty for the Rights of Women.  It’s time for National Week of Student Action 2006!

For more information visit: www.amnestyusa.org/nwsa

Every now and then someone exceptional makes a difference and no amount of recognition can truly encompass the mountains they’ve moved and the lives that they have changed.  It takes a lot to persevere in field of Women’s Rights and Stopping Violence Against Women.  These are not easy or simple battles, and that is why The Women’s Human Rights Action Team has awarded the Women’s Human Rights Award to Jill Morris, the current Public Policy Director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Washington, D.C. 

Over the past 2 years Jill has served on the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women to draft and lobby for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Previously, Jill worked for 4 years with the Statewide California Coalition for Battered Women (SCCBW), where she provided training and technical assistance to California’s battered women shelters. Jill also worked for the US Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) on the Community Policing to Combat Domestic Violence project. Jill received her BA in Criminal Justice and Criminology from the University of Maryland at College Park.  In 2005, Jill’s article “Liberate Girls from Abuse” was published in the National Council of Women’s Organizations’ book 50 Ways to Improve Women’s Lives.  We commend Jill in her efforts to improve women’s lives and congratulate in her much deserved award. 

For more information please go to http://dcwhrat.blogspot.com/

The National Week of Student Action is only two weeks away!  For one you should be timing your article or letter to the editor so that it runs during the NWSA.  Start publicizing your events by making posters and flyers.  Don’t forget to confirm your speaker and send her or him directions.  Make sure you schedule a time to speak with your student government about the Campus Resolution during the NWSA.   You should be gathering student support and getting people excited about the event.  Now is a good time to check in with your group and make sure everything is on target. 

If you have any student activism blogs or National Week of Student Action blogs let us know by submitting a comment with its link.  We want to hear from you!

Good news! A small collection of islands making up a country about as big as Washington D.C., with a population teetering just over 59 thousand, known as the Marshall Islands acceded to the Women’s Treaty on March 2, 2006.  This move came a month after Oman, which borders Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, bringing the total number of States parties to 182.  So why hasn’t the United States taken action and ratified the treaty?

Hopefully, your plans for the National Week of Student Action are coming along and you have received the packets.  If you still haven’t received one, there is the online pdf of the organizing kit for your use. 

Did you know that in a specific country, pregnant women in prison for even minor offenses must suffer child birth while their ankles and hands are shackled? Is it surprising to know that approximately 2,000 women go through this a year in the United States? The image of a pregnant fifteen year old girl after her water broke still wearing her now soaking orange jump suit and chained to a guard is a bit hard to swallow even though it is only described by words. This is not a healthy process of delivery for mother or baby and permanent injuries have been the result in some situations, with one example of lasting back pain and a damaged sciatic nerve for one inmate. The idea of shackling a woman in labor is, as Bill Schulz is quoted in the article explains, "as stupid as shackling someone in a coma." Click here to read the full story

Yesterday women around the world rallied to bring attention to the status of women in their countries and abroad. Irene Khan, Secretary General of the Amnesty International, wrote about urgency of women's rights as human rights. Here at Amnesty International USA we held an online chat with Dr. Gloria White-Hammond an expert on the atrocities against women in Darfur (read the transcript of the chat).

To commemorate International Women's Day, President Bush held a reception in the White House honoring women from Iraq and Afghanistan. Help Mr. Bush keep his vision for women around the world by demanding that he support women's rights at home. Ask President Bush and our Senators to ensure equality for women here in the U.S. by ratifying the Treaty for the Rights of Women (CEDAW).

Let us know what you did in your community to celebrate International Women's Day. Post a comment about your activities or share an article that you enjoyed about Women's Day.

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, March 8th.  It is a holiday that began in the United States in 1911, and has grown to become an international holiday, recognized by the United Nations.  It provides a chance for women across the globe who are customarily divided by cultural, language, and social barriers to unite in solidarity about the struggles they all face together.  Some issues that International Women’s Day has focused on are the 25,000 brides burned each year in India by husbands unhappy with dowry arrangements, or the numerous honor killings of women are raped and then murdered by their families to preserve the family honor, or the 85 to 115 million women who have been subjected to female genital mutilation despite it being outlawed in most countries, or the use of rape as a weapon of war in various conflicted areas around the world from Colombia to Rwanda. 

There is most likely an event planned in your community, please take the time to participate in celebrating how far women have come and raise your voice for the struggles women still face to gain their human rights.  Check out Internationalwomensday.com for events that might be in your neighborhood.  You can also call your community centers and check to see if they have planned anything.

 Also don't forget about the on-line chat taking place tomorrow hosted by the Women's Program.  See the March 2, Thursday blog for details.

Much of the violence perpetrated in the Darfur conflict has resulted in grave human rights violations against women. These violations have specifically targeted women and girls, and include abductions and sexual slavery, rape, torture, and forced displacement. Girls as young as eight-years-old have been raped and used as sex slaves.

Join us from 1:00-2:00 PM EST on March 8th, 2006 -- International Women’s Day -- for an on-line chat with Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, M.D. on the state of women's rights in Darfur. Rev. Dr. White-Hammond currently serves as the National Chairperson of the Million Voices for Darfur campaign and has made multiple trips to war-torn southern Sudan since 2001.

Submit a question in advance!