Women Hold the Solutions

I'm blogging from "Women Hold the Solutions," a panel discussion held in honor of the upcoming International Women's Day by the Global Fund for Women, a foundation that gives grants to women's organizations at work on the ground.

"Respect for local organizations" was one of the clearest messages sent by the panelists. Pinar Ilkkaracan, of Women for Women's Human Rights, highlights the problem of "sexy" causes, such as honor crimes and killings. The Western mainstream media loves the opportunity for otherization -- it's those Muslims, how superior we are -- and donations come in earmarked for work against honor crimes. But, Ilkkaracan protests, "there's no way to work against honor crimes." You can empower women, "change local power structures," etc., but the focus on these "sexy" causes can undermine organizations' ability to wage the effective campaigns.

In the same vein, donors demand, "What are you working on human rights, education, etc. for -- these are luxuries. You should work on poverty." Well, Ilkkaracan points out, that's how you work against poverty and help everybody. Debbi Kaddu-Serwadda of ICON Partners and Associates, says this feels like a "traditional African marriage": when your husband comes in and says, this screen is red, you say, yes, its red, when it's obviously cream. Yeah, that sounds like the way humanitarian aid works when it thinks it somehow knows so much more than people actually working on the ground. Meanwhile, America still hasn't bothered to ratify CEDAW, which has lead to backsliding by other countries who want out if the agreement if our power isn't behind it.

Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist and co-author of "Half the Sky," had to slip away from his early to attend a speech by his son (otherwise Kristof would be grounded for a week), but not before getting hit with the "F-word." The moderator, Global Fund CEO Kavita Ramdas, asked whether he considered himself a feminist, and what he thinks the word means. He said yes, with hesitation, because feminism has been interpreted "as largely a women's movement, and I think that men have sometimes felt outsiders to it." Unjust and unfair as it may be, he emphasized, "if something is perceived as a women's issue, it becomes immediately marginalized," and that adding men to the movement has brought it more power.

Later, when Kristof was gone and couldn't defend himself, an audience member asked what the other panelists thought of his response. Ilkkaracan commented, "I don't think of him as a man working for women, I think of him as an activist working against inequalities." Kaddu-Serwadda took it as a sign that it's important to invest in feminist and gender studies programs, to teach a means of looking at the world that doesn't simply consider feminism a "women's issue." I do appreciate that Kristof was clearly very careful to use the term "interpreted," rather than asserting it is in fact so, to describe feminism as being seen as a movement alienating to men, since this is a perspective I constantly push back against.

And, while no doubt his statement about men's support ruffled some feathers, I think the best way to take his point as that movements draw strength from inclusivity -- panelists also mentioned new collaborations with LGBT groups -- and battling misconceptions so that everyone understands the significance of gender justice for all is an important goal.

Photo credit: Vin Crosbie