Everywoman
is a weekly magazine studio based show for women, presented by
Shahnaz Pakravan.
It is an
exciting mix of hard news and softer features - stories that
have universal appeal with subjects as diverse and sensitive
as religion, society, sex, education and arts, all from
women’s perspectives.
On
Everywoman we are uncompromising in our approach and
dig deeper to uncover the stories that women want told.
Everywoman
is the first show of its kind out of this region and is
essential viewing to half the world’s population and you men
won’t want to miss it either.
Coming up
this week on Everywoman:
Migrant
Women Workers and Labour Laws
The
United Nation’s Population Fund showed that just over half of
all international migrants – that's 95 million – are
women.
More than
two thirds are domestic workers and a large number travel to
the Middle East and Gulf States to fill jobs as maids and live
in helpers. However, throughout much of the Arab world
including the oil rich Gulf countries there are few if any
laws to protect their rights. The largest groups of women
migrant workers come from Southern and South-eastern Asia,
parts of Africa and the Arab world.
For
millions of women this global demand has resulted in, greater
opportunities, a rise in their standard of living, increased
autonomy and empowerment which has positive ramifications
changing gender roles and responsibilities and encouraging
gender equality.
Despite
this reports of serious violations of their human rights are
rife. The women often live in intolerable conditions –
some held in virtual captivity forced to work twenty hour days
seven days a week. Some are physically and psychologically
abused and there have been stories of rape and murder.
The
International Labour Organisation said that of the 65
countries they had looked at only 19 of them had specific laws
or regulations dealing with domestic workers.
We begin
our programme with a film on the newly opened shelter in Qatar
for abused maids. This is followed by a studio discussion with
guests Simel Esim, regional gender advisor at the ILO Middle
East office in Beirut and Rima Sabban, professor of sociology
at the United Arab Emirates University.
Sumayya
Ali Rajja
In 2006 and for the first time in
the history of Yemen, three women participated in the
presidential elections following President’s Ali Abdulla
Salah’s announcement that he would not run for re-election.
He later
changed his mind and won back his Presidency, but all
three women ran independently and without party backing.
Despite the
increased number of women voters in the elections, none of the
female candidates made it past the first stage, with a total
of 4 votes between them.
We speak to
Sumayya Ali Rajja who was first of those women to announce her
intention to stand for election.
The
Bridegroom School
When it comes to marriage,
women in Japan are increasingly saying no.
The rise of
the financially independent Japanese woman has meant that
Japanese men have to try a lot harder to find a wife.
But
desperate times call for desperate measures so the men are
enrolling in a new bridegroom school in Nagoya, Japan's
fourth-largest city.
Our story
follows them in their search for a bride.
================================================================ To
leave the list, send your request by email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.
