Lived Experience Brings Human Rights Message Home at CSW

At two NGO-organized sessions during the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York this week, it was people's personal experiences and views about human-rights violations that aroused strongest audience response. Sterilization without women's knowledge was highlighted by two speakers during the first session entitled "Beyond denial and discomfort: securing the rights and health of women and youth, including those who live with HIV."

Esther Sheehama, a Namibian member of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), spoke first, relating how astounded she was to discover that she had been sterilized when she sought contraceptives at a public health clinic. When she needed a cesarean section six years ago, she was asked to sign a form, which she assumed covered measures needed if complications were to arise. She did not realize that the form also said she was agreeing to sterilization, a term that she did not even understand at that time. Sheehama emphasized that all women living with HIV must have the right to decide for themselves whether and when they want to have children. She also said that HIV-positive people must be enabled to make those decisions by having access to condoms for safer sex and family planning to postpone pregnancy until it is desired.

Vasili Daliyanis of Vivo Positivo, a Chilean network of people living with HIV, spoke on behalf of a young woman whose identity is being kept confidential. She, too, was asked to sign a paper when she gave birth. Her scheduled cesarean was pre-empted by early labor during a weekend and she was attended by staff other than her regular physician. The next morning, a nurse handed the young women her baby while mentioning that she would not be having any more children as she had been sterilized the previous night. Vivo Positivo brought a court case on her behalf, but did not receive a favorable ruling in a lower or appeals court. The case has now been brought before the Inter-American Commission with help from the Center for Reproductive Rights. Daliyanis also emphasized the need for people living with HIV to be able to make their own decisions about sexuality and reproduction, without interference or restrictions imposed by politicians or religious institutions such as the Catholic Church.

During the discussion, two conservative listeners expressed their opinions, one woman almost crying as she accused the speakers of practicing discrimination when they opposed the Catholic Church for not supporting condom use. A young man said that the speakers had presented one-sided viewpoints because they did not recommend abstinence. Most audience members nevertheless commented on the presented violations, some mentioning rights violations in their own countries.

Personal experience and viewpoints further enlivened a discussion on "The influence of religion on the human rights of women within the EU." A presentation by Ewa Larsson of Sweden summarized research about women's rights, in which 23 of 27 European Union governments responded to a survey. Twenty-two said that women in their nations are endowed with sexual and reproductive rights.

Nevertheless, the researchers found a tendency to "detach the female body" from questions of rights. In many countries contraceptives are expensive, only available with prescriptions or to women of certain ages, and certain groups of women have no knowledge about available family-planning methods. In 50% of EU countries, women are not free to make autonomous decisions about abortion. In this sense, Larsson said, "the female body is still a battlefield."

Audience members who spoke out represented women of the Islamic, Catholic and Protestant faiths. An Iranian discussant whose friend who was arrested for a "clothing infraction" stated that, even though she is Muslim, she believes that the State and religion must be separate to protect women's rights. A young woman from Saudi Arabia advocated for caution in labeling violations of women's rights as "religious" because many such abuses are erroneously said to be supported by the Koran. She was willing to speak out against honor killings, for example, but felt that they must be characterized as abuse based on tradition rather than Islamic practice.

A young Catholic woman said that she felt advocating for access to contraception and abortion meant condoning the right to take another person's life. A speaker from Kenya, on the other hand, lamented the difficulties her organization has in advocacy for a reproductive health and rights bill that is being branded as an "abortion bill." Other speakers related that they believed in women's choice while simultaneously remaining practicing Catholics.

Overall, the expression of personal stories and viewpoints was quite useful, highlighting the fact that many differences of opinion about women's rights are underpinned by religious beliefs or views about religion's place in society. If we are to build a stronger movement to support women's rights and address rights violations, such discussions should continue and expand. A female Episcopal priest summed it up nicely; some of her important points: "We who are in religion must transcend religion and use it positively....We must partner with our sisters in thinking outside the box, as many of our problems are man-made....We must continue the open discussion and dialogue!"