Women of the World Unite for Rights

Jennifer Hattam – IPS – Thursday, 26 April 2012 (originally published 23 Apr)

In times of political and financial crisis, the rights women thought they had secured decades ago are once again under attack. Image: Karlos Zurutuza/IPS

ISTANBUL, Apr 23, 2012 (IPS) – The world’s recent financial and political upheavals have not been kind to women. In Libya’s Tripoli, female suicide rates increased tenfold during the revolution, while dismal job prospects have young Greek women abandoning their career aspirations, participants in a global forum on women’s rights said over the weekend.

“Many people say this is a time for transformation and moving forward but we know from our work that it’s also a time of instability and uncertainty,” Jamaican activist Mariama Williams, a senior programme officer at the South Centre, said at the closing session of the 12th International Forum on Women’s Rights and Development in Istanbul.

“In times of crisis, the solidarity we thought we had, the rights we thought were secured are again being questioned. Whatever is not convenient for growth is being questioned,” Williams said . . .

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