Native American Women Form Network

"Indian women are abused, mistreated, battered, sterilized and are victims of institutional racism and poverty in double doses - as women and as Native Americans."

So wrote a group of over 200 native women organizers from North America and the Pacific who formed the Indigenous Women's Network in Yelm, Washington, USA.

"For many years we have worked within our communities as grassroots activists," they said. "We have fought for sovereignty, land, human and civil rights. We have worked to change our educational and health environment and institutions for the betterment of our people. As indigenous women we have personally struggled against overpowering forces."

"Indian women by the thousands are weeping at night in despair at the conditions of our families and communities. We are compelled to address the problems that confront us. We have united to share with one another our skills and to support each other for the basic survival of our people. Our underlying framework is to work within the visions of our elders, as we apply indigenous values to resolve contemporary problems."

For more information, contact;

Indigenous Women's Network

PO Box 8279
Tacoma, Washington 98408 U.S.A.

PAWF: Women and Media Study

We are constantly bombarded by the media with all kinds of messages which are almost impossible to avoid.

The media are strong tools in the creation of public opinion. They selectively promote values, have an implicit ideology and are used to manipulate people.

A report by the Pacific and Asian Women's Forum (PAWF) has examined the relationship between these media and women. It recognizes that the media themselves are largely controlled by a small minority which wields economic and political power.

This minority consists almost exclusively of men who use the news and information media to further their own interests. The notion that these media are factual and objective is obviously false.

As consumers we are constantly manipulated and misled. Thus people appear to have little control over what they consume and why. The media tell us what to think and not how to think. They promote consumerism, personal advancement and aggression - particularly aimed at women - not values of equality and justice. They are particularly vicious towards women and perpetrate myths and stereotypes; the main role of women is to be wives and mothers, and beautiful women are empty-headed. Women who work outside their homes are often caricatured, and delinquency and disintegration of morals are blamed on them. They are often seen to be the main cause of men's moral laxity and corruption.

The report finds that for the media, men are the masters, the doers, the holders of authority, while women are their supporters and entertainers. The dehumanization of women is a major factor in the increasing number of crimes against them and the invisibility of rural women in media results in biased policies which take no account of their needs. It is essential that the male monopoly of media be challenged and that they be used to promote a fairer deal for women. The group makes several suggestions for action which women's groups could take to try to challenge such media trends. They propose a regional project to monitor the portrayal and participation of women in the media, to be coordinated by PAWF and KALI for Women, New Delhi, India.

Contact:

Sunila Abeysekera PAWF
623/27 Rajagiriya Gardens
Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka

IBFAN, Africa

The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) is a worldwide coalition of non-governmental organizations who work for the better health of infants and young children through the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding.

IBFAN groups counsel, encourage and support expectant and breastfeeding mothers and their families and most provide written information on good feeding practices for babies, young children and mothers.

IBFAN Africa publishes newsletters and can put you in touch with groups in your country or help you to
start one. They write: "We would like to share with our sisters worldwide, the experience of mothers organizing to promote and protect their rights and those of infants and children. The support we are learning to give each other when we find ourselves uprooted from the traditional support system that recognized and cared for our mothering role should be a demonstration for our determination to survive with the fast-flowing wave of social change. But it is hard work at the moment. We at IBFAN Africa find the experience of other women worldwide, inspiring."

For more information, contact:

Margaret Kyenka
Regional Coordinator
IBFAN Africa
PO Box 34308
Nairobi, Kenya