Jan 18, 2022 | FoRB, Statements
Please see a Bahasa Indonesian translation of this dispatch below
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) welcomes the election of women in the composition of the chairmanship at Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), congratulating them for this important milestone. Nahdlatul Ulama, one of Indonesia’s most prominent Islamic organizations, has been a supporter of freedom of religion or belief and religious tolerance for more than one hundred years.
“The election of women into the chairmanship composition of Nahdlatul Ulama’s Executive Board is an important acknowledgement of the immense achievements of NU women on freedom of religion or belief thus far. I am optimistic that the inclusion of women voices into the leadership of NU will open the door to even greater contributions by women in the future,” said Eva Sundari, an APHR Board Member and former Indonesian MP.
APHR members look forward to NU women’s continued efforts to support gender-aware approaches to FoRB, within an NU that continues to play a significant role in promoting democratic principles in Indonesia.
Bahasa Indonesian Translation
Anggota parlemen ASEAN mengapresiasi terpilihnya ketua perempuan NU, berharap dapat memperkuat upaya KBB
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) menyambut baik terpilihnya perempuan dalam jajaran ketua di Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) dan mengucapkan selamat atas terukirnya sejarah baru ini. Nahdlatul Ulama merupakan salah satu organisasi Islam terkemuka di Indonesia yang mendukung kebebasan beragama atau berkeyakinan (KBB) dan toleransi beragama selama lebih dari seratus tahun.
“Terpilihnya perempuan dalam susunan ketua di dalam Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama merupakan sebuah pengakuan penting atas kerja-kerja perempuan NU dalam upaya penguatan kebebasan beragama atau berkeyakinan selama ini. Saya optimis, masuknya perempuan ke dalam kepemimpinan NU akan membuka pintu yang lebih lebar untuk mereka berkontribusi lebih besar di masa depan,” papar Eva Sundari, Board APHR dan mantan anggota parlemen Indonesia.
Anggota APHR menantikan upaya berkelanjutan perempuan NU untuk mendukung pendekatan sensitif gender untuk KBB dari dalam NU, yang terus berperan penting dalam mempromosikan prinsip-prinsip demokrasi di Indonesia.
Mar 17, 2021 | CCHR, Opinion Articles
By Sarah Elago
What does the future of Filipino women look like? This is something I have been thinking about for a long time.
In a world on track for a warming of more than three degrees celsius by the end of this century, the Philippines is set to suffer increasingly from disasters, deadly typhoons, droughts, flooding and much more. The Global Climate Risk Index 2015 lists the Philippines as the number one country most affected by climate change.
But why does this matter for women?
Today, climate-induced disasters in the Philippines routinely disrupt food production, resulting in food price hikes and income loss for rural workers. For example, during Typhoon Haiyan more than 600,000 hectares of farmland were destroyed, costing the Philippines an estimated PHP35 billion, or US$724 million. This loss of income is felt more heavily by rural women than men because they tend to farm smaller plots and work less hours. As a result, women may be forced to migrate to cities as they suffer from increased poverty and food insecurity.
During times of conflict and disasters, which are increasing due to climate change, women and young girls will be put in situations of increased vulnerability, which can lead to harmful coping strategies such as early marriage. It also means they are more susceptible to trafficking and sexual exploitation in exchange for food, shelter or income. This is particularly true of women from disadvantaged backgrounds and with low incomes who may be more constrained to deploy these strategies due to reduced opportunities.
Another impact caused by climate change and environmental degradation is the rising number of epidemics the world will face, such as COVID-19. What does that mean for women? In a country where there is widespread unemployment, underemployment and with women earning less, saving less, holding more insecure jobs than men, or living below or close to poverty, the economic downturns from these public health crises will hit women the most. Measures to tackle such epidemics, such as lockdowns, also lead to increases in gender-based violence against women and girls.
It is clear that for Filipino women, and those the world over, to have a better future, climate change needs to be taken more seriously. What we can do is push for the international community, and notably ASEAN member states, to respect the Paris Agreement. This starts with accelerating efforts to limit the increase of the world’s temperature and improving the ambition of their climate plans. This will also require speedily disinvesting from coal, scrapping all plans to build new coal power plants, such as in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and stopping our alarming rates of deforestation.
Meanwhile, aid and government programs should focus on rural as well as marginalized communities in the Philippines and integrate the specific situation and concerns of women to help populations adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change. They should focus on improving the situation of working women with low incomes, as well as poor female smallholder farmers.
As parliamentarians we can help achieve this by pushing for our governments to enhance their climate plans to the Paris Agreement—still not on track to meet its objective—and exercise our oversight function to uphold a system of checks and balances.
As citizens, we can get involved in women’s empowerment, ecological and climate justice movements to press governments to address the climate emergency, and promote and protect human rights at all times. It is imperative to continue raising our voices to demand transparency and accountability.
They will not do it on their own. Only through our collaborative efforts and active citizens’ participation will we be able to truly address the present multi-layered emergencies on climate, health, and rights, and improve the abysmal prospects of the next generation of women.
Sarah Elago is a Philippine Member of Parliament (MP) and Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
This article was originally published in the Philippines Inquirer
