7-03-2007 Press Release 07/26

International Women's Day - Women displaced by war deserve special attention

Geneva (ICRC) ? "I had to run away from my village because armed men were making us cook, wash and do everything for them," says Elena, a Colombian who now lives in Bogot?. "If we didn't do what they said, they threatened to take our children away from us. Some day I'd like to go back to my own home in my village and live there with my children."


All over the world, the threat of attacks and harassment, the risk of being caught up in violent confrontations and the loss of vital facilities and services drive millions of civilians from their homes in areas convulsed by armed conflicts. Displacement has a deep and lasting impact ? physical, psychological, social and economic ? on the lives of those forced to flee.

Women are often obliged to abandon their home environment. They may have to take on unfamiliar roles ? such as becoming the family's main breadwinner ? often without the support of their next of kin and their communities, from whom they have frequently become separated in their flight. Faced with such tough challenges, countless women display great strength and resourcefulness in ensuring their own survival and that of their families. Still, the burden of having to seek refuge in a strange and hostile place takes a heavy toll on these women, their children and other family members in their care. In addition to the struggle for survival, these women often face increased risks to their safety and their health. They are also more exposed to the threat of sexual violence and other forms of aggression.

The goal of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is to make it possible for people to stay safely in their homes despite ongoing armed conflict and other violent situations. If people are forced to flee to another part of their country, the ICRC and its partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement provide aid and strive to ensure their protection. Where desired and whenever circumstances permit, these organizations enable them to return safely to their homes.

Particular attention is being paid to the needs of displaced women and the ICRC and its partners do their utmost to help them to cope.

"On International Women's Day this year we pay tribute to the many women forced to abandon their familiar environment", said Florence Tercier, who head's the ICRC's programme to help women in war. "They deserve special attention and support from the ICRC, other aid organizations and their governments."

For further information, please contact:
Antonella Notari, ICRC spokeswoman, Geneva
tel. +41 22 730 22 82 or +41 79 217 32 80
anotari.gva@icrc.org.



International Women's Day (IWD) is marked on 8 March every year. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. Started as a political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries (primarily Russia and the countries of former Soviet bloc). In some celebrations, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their sympathy and love to the women around them - somewhat similar to Western Mother's Day and St Valentine's Day mixed together. In others, however, the political and human rights theme as designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.
The IWD is also celebrated as the first spring holiday, as in the listed countries the first day of March is considered the first day of the spring season.

International Women's Day 2007 - United Nations web site
www.internationalwomensday.com



Amnesty International

98 years of International Women's Day
Time for equality

"As Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, we know there is a direct relationship between peace, justice and respect for human rights. As long as women are denied human rights, anywhere in the world, there can be no justice and no peace. Recognizing women's equal rights, therefore, is an essential requirement for the creation of strong, sustainable and stable societies and ensuring that women enjoy equality with men in all areas of life is a key step to making human rights a universal reality." -- Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate & Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, which was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize
(read their statement)

Discrimination in law, social practice and attitude, impunity and indifference are the underlying causes of violence against women. In many countries, laws, policies and practices discriminate against women, denying them equality with men - politically, economically and socially.

In many parts of the world women still do not have the vote, or equal access to property or family rights. In many societies, law, tradition and custom subjugate women and open them up to violence.

Violence against women takes many forms. Darfur presents one of the most extreme examples in the world currently - rape is used systematically against women in this region of Sudan. While it is impossible to know exactly how many women have been victims of violence since the armed conflict began, it is certain that thousands of women have been raped.


Rape is not only used as a weapon of war in open conflicts. In?s Fern?ndez Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cant?, from Mexico's Tlapaneca Indigenous community, were raped by members of the Mexican army in February and March 2002. Five years later, they are still waiting for justice.
The single most important factor that allows violence against women to persist, whether in times of peace or war, is the fact that those who attack and rape women know that they can get away with it.

And, when women stand up for themselves and try to end the inequality, they are often further victimised. Only four days before International Women's Day, over 30 women activists were arrested while staging a peaceful demonstration in Tehran, Iran. The women were arrested outside Tehran's Revolutionary Court. They had gathered to protest at the trial of five women charged in connection with a demonstration held on 12 June 2006.

The June demonstration, to demand that women be given equal rights with men under the law in Iran, was violently dispersed by security forces who arrested at least 70 people.

This latest event highlights the reasons why Amnesty International is supporting Iranian women's rights activists' "Campaign for Equality". It aims to collect a million signatures from Iranians in support of changes to the law to end legalised discrimination against women.

On the 98th annual celebration of International Women's Day, Amnesty International, together with women’s organisations and groups around the world, calls for:

・the end of violence against women;
・the end of impunity for violence against women;
・the end of discriminatory laws;
・implementation of international standards for women’s human rights; and
・a change of social attitudes that tolerate and promote violence against women.