ICW NEWS 31: Special focus on leadership
The October/November 2005 Issue is online!
IN THIS ISSUE: SPECIAL FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP
Plus: A 3-PAGE PHOTO SPREAD of ASIA/PACIFIC POSITIVE WOMEN
And much more! Available in English, Spanish and French
Inside ICW News 31 (pdf):
A special focus on leadership includes:
· A moving and challenging report from Mukandoli Chantal in Rwanda who has come into a position of leadership as an HIV positive woman through her open discussion of the horrors of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
· Erykah Edninyo from Kenya, who is currently working as ICW’s Kenyan Project Officer on the Parliamentarians for Women’s Health asks whether leaders are born or made, and through her own experience concludes that every positive woman has the capacity to become a positive leader. This is the ‘dawn of new positive women’s leadership’, she says.
· Patricia Perez from Argentina and a founding member of ICW reflects on the complexities of leadership and the necessity of a vibrant democratic framework in which to work. She draws on her many years of struggle for HIV positive women’s rights in Latin America. She maintains that ‘There are no heroes or individuals who can “save” us. The heroic task is the one that is done as a group.’
· From Bolivia, Gracia Violeta Ross, undertakes an honest and controversial exploration of the divisions which can beset networks of HIV positive people. She draws out the complexity of power and asks HIV positive leaders to ask themselves if ‘their actions benefit those they lead, or themselves?’
· Sandra Sciammerella describes the important court battle ICW Latina has entered to ensure that the Argentinean government guarantees the safety of the drugs it provides to HIV positive people in the country.
· In Swaziland, Thulsile Futhi Diamini explains how she tried to join the Swaziland army after they made a call for more recruits. She challenges her humiliating experience of being turned down on the grounds that she was HIV positive and maintains that ‘…being HIV positive does not mean you are not capable of doing things. I know I am normal like anybody else.’
· And finally in this section, Jennifer Gatsi from Namibia, who is also a Project Officer for Parliamentarians for Women’s Health details what she thinks constitutes leadership. Driven by the realisation that she was ‘living positively’, Jennifer began mobilising women living with HIV/AIDS in her country to achieve the same thing. She also points out the necessity for HIV positive women in Namibia to achieve economic empowerment in order to fulfil their potential – a goal she feels is difficult but possible in the future.
HIV Positive Women from Asia and the Pacific – choosing to be public
· Susan Paxton from Australia and GPN+ introduces ICW News to some of the open and active HIV positive women who attended the 7th International Congress on HIV/AIDS in Asia Pacific in Kobe, Japan. Over two pages we see in photos and captions eleven ‘out’ HIV positive women. From Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Jakarta, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India, these vibrant women illustrate the diversity and courage of women living with HIV/AIDS.
Freedom of Movement is Our Right – Unjust Visa Restrictions
· A number of ICW members have come up against restrictive visa laws which have meant they could not travel to conferences or meetings they had been invited to – especially in the USA and China.
ICW News 31 explains all about visas, and uses the stories of Alice Welbourn, ICW chair of the board of trustees, from the UK, and Tendayi Westerhof, ICW member from Zimbabwe, to illustrate the difficulties HIV positive women can run into. The article specifically explains the situation in regards travel by HIV positive people to the USA.
Beri ACTS – South African Women Accessing ARVs
· In the second regular column in the newsletter hosted by Beri Hull, ICW’s Global Advocacy Officer for Access to Care, Treatment and Support (ACTS), Pono, a South African ICW member who works for the South African Port Operations as a kind of roving HIV ambassador, explains that although positive South Africans can now access ARVs, there are still social barriers to this access.
Reports, News, and more
· Silent Voices is a project currently located in the UK which concerns the needs and rights of HIV positive women ex and current drug users. ICW staff member Carmen Tarrades, and volunteer Liz McKay, report on their progress, including the great news that they have found two new HIV positive volunteers, Beatrice and Moono, to join the team.
· From the London office, Emma Bell brings readers up-to-date on the joint ICW/POLICY project in Swaziland and South Africa. Recently HIV positive women from these countries developed an action and advocacy agenda on sexual and reproductive health.
· Lillian Mworeko, ICW’s East African Regional Co-ordinator, writes a letter describing her meeting with rural positive women 400 km from Kampala, Uganda. She is moved by their isolation and resilience and says, ‘It is by interacting with such groups of women that you can tell what is on the ground, what it means and how it could guide what initiatives we must have for such groups.’
If you want to follow up on any of these stories, or find out how you can support ICW’s work, please contact Emma or Corinne - info@icw.org
IN THIS ISSUE: SPECIAL FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP
Plus: A 3-PAGE PHOTO SPREAD of ASIA/PACIFIC POSITIVE WOMEN
And much more! Available in English, Spanish and French
Inside ICW News 31 (pdf):
A special focus on leadership includes:
· A moving and challenging report from Mukandoli Chantal in Rwanda who has come into a position of leadership as an HIV positive woman through her open discussion of the horrors of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
· Erykah Edninyo from Kenya, who is currently working as ICW’s Kenyan Project Officer on the Parliamentarians for Women’s Health asks whether leaders are born or made, and through her own experience concludes that every positive woman has the capacity to become a positive leader. This is the ‘dawn of new positive women’s leadership’, she says.
· Patricia Perez from Argentina and a founding member of ICW reflects on the complexities of leadership and the necessity of a vibrant democratic framework in which to work. She draws on her many years of struggle for HIV positive women’s rights in Latin America. She maintains that ‘There are no heroes or individuals who can “save” us. The heroic task is the one that is done as a group.’
· From Bolivia, Gracia Violeta Ross, undertakes an honest and controversial exploration of the divisions which can beset networks of HIV positive people. She draws out the complexity of power and asks HIV positive leaders to ask themselves if ‘their actions benefit those they lead, or themselves?’
· Sandra Sciammerella describes the important court battle ICW Latina has entered to ensure that the Argentinean government guarantees the safety of the drugs it provides to HIV positive people in the country.
· In Swaziland, Thulsile Futhi Diamini explains how she tried to join the Swaziland army after they made a call for more recruits. She challenges her humiliating experience of being turned down on the grounds that she was HIV positive and maintains that ‘…being HIV positive does not mean you are not capable of doing things. I know I am normal like anybody else.’
· And finally in this section, Jennifer Gatsi from Namibia, who is also a Project Officer for Parliamentarians for Women’s Health details what she thinks constitutes leadership. Driven by the realisation that she was ‘living positively’, Jennifer began mobilising women living with HIV/AIDS in her country to achieve the same thing. She also points out the necessity for HIV positive women in Namibia to achieve economic empowerment in order to fulfil their potential – a goal she feels is difficult but possible in the future.
HIV Positive Women from Asia and the Pacific – choosing to be public
· Susan Paxton from Australia and GPN+ introduces ICW News to some of the open and active HIV positive women who attended the 7th International Congress on HIV/AIDS in Asia Pacific in Kobe, Japan. Over two pages we see in photos and captions eleven ‘out’ HIV positive women. From Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Jakarta, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India, these vibrant women illustrate the diversity and courage of women living with HIV/AIDS.
Freedom of Movement is Our Right – Unjust Visa Restrictions
· A number of ICW members have come up against restrictive visa laws which have meant they could not travel to conferences or meetings they had been invited to – especially in the USA and China.
ICW News 31 explains all about visas, and uses the stories of Alice Welbourn, ICW chair of the board of trustees, from the UK, and Tendayi Westerhof, ICW member from Zimbabwe, to illustrate the difficulties HIV positive women can run into. The article specifically explains the situation in regards travel by HIV positive people to the USA.
Beri ACTS – South African Women Accessing ARVs
· In the second regular column in the newsletter hosted by Beri Hull, ICW’s Global Advocacy Officer for Access to Care, Treatment and Support (ACTS), Pono, a South African ICW member who works for the South African Port Operations as a kind of roving HIV ambassador, explains that although positive South Africans can now access ARVs, there are still social barriers to this access.
Reports, News, and more
· Silent Voices is a project currently located in the UK which concerns the needs and rights of HIV positive women ex and current drug users. ICW staff member Carmen Tarrades, and volunteer Liz McKay, report on their progress, including the great news that they have found two new HIV positive volunteers, Beatrice and Moono, to join the team.
· From the London office, Emma Bell brings readers up-to-date on the joint ICW/POLICY project in Swaziland and South Africa. Recently HIV positive women from these countries developed an action and advocacy agenda on sexual and reproductive health.
· Lillian Mworeko, ICW’s East African Regional Co-ordinator, writes a letter describing her meeting with rural positive women 400 km from Kampala, Uganda. She is moved by their isolation and resilience and says, ‘It is by interacting with such groups of women that you can tell what is on the ground, what it means and how it could guide what initiatives we must have for such groups.’
If you want to follow up on any of these stories, or find out how you can support ICW’s work, please contact Emma or Corinne - info@icw.org