This section describes some of the new materials available at the Isis international Women's Resource Center. For reproduction, copies, or more information, please write to us at 85-A East Maya Street, Philamlife Homes, Quezon City 1104 Philippines.
Women' s Legal Position in Thailand . Published by the Women's Studies Program, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 1991. Three contemporary articles are written by Thai women on the status of women in Thailand, 43 pp.
Women in the Constitution of Thailand : Far-fetched Hope for Equality, written by Virad Somswasdi analyzes the sociopolitical aspects of the constitution and laws that greatly affect women's status and legal rights which she said "has deteriorated as the years pass."
Women and the Law In Thailand by Kobkun Rayanakorn deal with the legal impediments of Thai laws that further boost discrimination and unfair treatment of women. The author starts by giving the historical basis of subordination of Thai women,then continues by presenting the double-standard characteristics of the constitution, criminal law (including sexual offenses, prostitution and domestic violence) and family law, and finally stresses the need for legal reforms.
Virad Somswasdi's Women' s Movement and Human Rights Questions: A n Experience in Thailand presents the historical background of women's involvement in human rights issues in Thailand. Although women participated in the democracy movement which flourished from 1973 to 1976, it still' 'lacked solidarity and a common perception or vision of the problem.'' The author calls for more organized networking and mobilization actions among women in order that the "real essence" of human rights is forwarded.
The Roots of Heavens Towards a Philosophy of Birth by Dr. Ariane Loening. This is an original manuscript (300 pages) available on payment of photocopying, binding, and postal charges addressed to 68/2B Purna Das Road, Calcutta 700 029 India.
This is a first-hand account of patriarchy at the household level. It is, as the author explains, a Philosophy of Birth, in that it attempts to unravel the reasons for the existence of patriarchy.
Using the case study method, the author detailed the lives of women and their families in 34 households in a rural district in West Bengal. These are intimate accounts of time spent by members of the household on housework and childcare, the different attitudes of each member of the household on women's various labors, the savings made by households because of the wife's free labor, mealtime of the wife as compared to that of rest of the household, decision-making, expenditures, control of the money, and many more.
DES: A Drug with Consequences for Current Health Policy. Proceedings of a symposium with the same title held in Dublin, September 14,1990.
Published by DES Action / the Netherlands,Burgerziekenhuis, Linnaeusstraat 89, 1093 EK Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The objectives of the symposium were to raise awareness of the DES (diethylstilbesterol - a synthetic estrogen) issue among health professionals and health policy makers, and to examine current pharmaceutical policy in the light of the history of DES use and consequence of widespread exposure.
This symposium covered topics starting with the DES situation in Europe, DES action movement, care for DES-exposed women, current treatments to prevent miscarriage and premature labor, drug-induced injury, primary prevention of drug-induced developmental disorders and drug regulation in the European community. Resolutions on the use of DES and the effects on the health of users and their children are contained in this report. Appendices include the list of co-sponsors and participants of the symposium.
The State of the World's Children by James P. Grant. Published by the Oxford University Press, 1991.
In September 30, 1990, the World Summit for Children, composed of 71 heads of states around the world, adopted an overall aim to end child deaths and child malnutrition on today's scale by the year 2000. The immunization goal, which was set ten years ago, reached 80 per cent of the developing world's children and has saved 12 million children from death, and 1.5 million children from polio. The most significant portion of the book is the gist of the new ethic for children called the "First Call for Children'' principle, wherein children should be given a high priority in the allocation of societies' resources in good times and bad. The acceptance of this ethic by the society where they live in shall guide and ensure their protection and care.
The World Declaration in the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, the Plan of Action for Implementing the Declaration in the 1990s, and the Convention on the Rights of the Children are also included in this report.
Many Paths, One Goal. Published by the Committee for Asian Women (CAW), 57 Peking Road, 4th Floor, Kowloon, Hong Kong
The book documents the organizing efforts of the women workers in Asia by drawing on the women workers organizers' personal involvement, the experiences of specific organizing methodology undertaken by women workers' groups, and specific struggles of women workers. It gives a glimpse of how Asian women workers and their organizers today look for different ways and methodologies to deal with the constantly changing socio-economic-political situation in their countries.
The first section looks into the personal experiences of women organizers, reflecting on their work with women workers, their perspectives and limitations. The second section deals with group methodology where the authors share the specific methods pursued by women worker groups to integrate both issues of labor and women into their methodology. The third section deals with specific struggles and current developments of women workers in Asia.
Sexual Harassment at Work: A Primer, published jointly by PILIPINA Legal Resources Center, 3rd Floor, GIMA Building, Magallanes Street, Davao City 8000 Philippines, and the Center for Social Policy and Public Affairs, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines.
Komiks is a popular form of entertainment literature in the Philippines. Its use in this pamphlet to depict the stories of four women workers in Mindanao island in the southern part of the Philippines provides the stark introduction to the topic of sexual harassment in the workplace.
The pamphlet addresses unions, women's groups, government and employers, explaining why they should be concerned with the issue of sexual harassment at work. It maintains that in the workplace, sexual harassment may be committed by peers, clients, superiors and subordinates. Whereas sexual harassment in the workplace is most often seen as a means of management to assert authority over workers, it is also used by male workers to punish women co-workers who are seen as competitors for scarce jobs.
The pamphlet asserts that sexual harassment at work should be singled out for legal punishment. By listing its effects on the economy, on business
income, and on working class unity, it takes the government, managers, unions and women' s groups to task on the issue.
Additional information on relevant Philippine legislation on sexual harassment and a directory of Philippine organizations providing services related to sexual harassment, as well as a list of women workers' groups, is provided.
Women and Media in the Asian Context. Published by People in Communication, Inc., 3rd Floor, Sonolux Asia BIdg., Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines. 1990
This is a collection of country reports and other papers during the Asian Sub-Regional Conference on Women and Media held in the Philippines in 1987. Featured are reports from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The reports deal with two broad topics: women as portrayed in the media and women as media practitioners. On the first theme, many reports denounced media for not reflecting the changing roles of women in society and for' 'reinforcing the social attitude and prejudices about women in general." Considerable research and survey data from all countries substantiate the participants' analyses and contentions.
The situation of women as media practitioners is not as bleak, however, and country reports point to a widening participation of women in this male-dominated profession. However, though numbers may increase, women's participation in media is still concentrated in positions that have little to do with policy-making in the media and advertising industries. On the other hand, as the Japanese report implies, there is also a problem of consciousness among women media practitioners who often do not identify with the issues of discrimination in media protested by their sisters outside media. The reports are full of recommendations on how to deal with these problems. Though researches and reports were all done in 1987, the
problems discussed and solutions recommended are true and timely even for today.
Common Interests : Women Organising in Global Electronics Compiled and edited by Women Working Worldwide
Common Interests is a compilation of interviews and testimonies, focusing on the women who work in the electronics industry worldwide. They talk about how they organise as workers and as women, giving vivid descriptions of shop floor life, speaking about health hazards and sexual harassment, and relating their situation to the wider concerns of women..
The book contains first-hand material from women workers in thirteen countries - Korea, US, Scotland, Thailand, Malaysia, Italy, India, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Pakistan, Japan and the Philippines. The country-based chapters provide a profile of the role of the electronics industry in the national economy, and an account of how women are actively changing their place in the labour movement.
Workers describe how they organise to improve their working conditions often in the face of the most violent opposition. Although women's working circumstances and the countries they live in vary, widely common interests do exist. The high-tech industry has moved freely within and between countries, but wherever they are, employers know they can rely on local social structures and attitudes towards gender, race, ethnicity, class and religion to assist them in oppressing and undermining women at work.
Copies of the book may be obtained from: Women Working Worldwide Box 92, 190 Upper Street London N l IRQ, United Kingdom One copy cost L8.00 including postage and packing. Deduct 50 p for each additional copy. Cheques should be payable to Women Working Worldwide in pounds Sterling. For airmail orders outside the EC, add L2.50
And She Said No! Human Rights, Women* s Identities and Struggles Edited by Liberato Bautista and Elizabetli Rifareal 1990
These are stories of women about women, of suffering women about suffering women, of brave women about brave women.
These are powerful first-hand accounts of the poignant, tragic, gruesome experience of women of all ages, of malnourished infants, of prostituted little girls, of abandoned street children, of raped adolescents, of raped and tortured young women organizers, of exploited women workers, of harassed miners' wives, of grieving widows and mothers of disappeared husbands and sons, of beheaded peasant women organizers, of gang-raped women political detainees.
These are moving and touching personal testimonies of valiant women who relive their anguish, fear, bitterness, and horror with strength, determination, courage, indomitable will, creative persistence and hope. -Mary John Mananzan, OSB To obtain copies of the book, write to: Program Unit on Human Rights NCCP 879 EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines
Beyond the Border A New Age in Latin American Women' s Fiction Edited by Nora Erro-Peralta and Caridad Silva-Nunez 1991
The book provides a source of information on contemporary fiction by women writers and a discovery of important similarities and variations between Latin American women authors and their counterparts elsewhere in the world.
The selections make a significant contribution to the establishment of an authentic female identity through the process of deconstruction/reconstruction at various levels: language, learning how to re-read, and subversion of traditional patriarchal mythology.
The bibliography lists the numerous studies that have appeared in the field of female narrative and women's studies, and the output of the writers included in the anthology as well as criticism about them.
For more information about the book, write to: Cleis Press Inc. P.O. Box 8933, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15221 USA or P.O. Box 14684, San Francisco, California 94114 USA