GLOBAL FUNDRAISING GOAL UPDATE
We’re delighted to announce that we have donation confirmations from six more cities, which brings our total raised so far to $74,848.57 (as of September 16, 2009, from 22 cities). This fantastic total includes $66,750.59 donated to Equality Now and $8,097.98 to other charities. But we’re not done yet, so please continue to support CSTS events. We’re hoping to top last year’s Global Donation of $107,219.15!! We’ve got more cities on board than ever before, so let’s raise the roof for Equality Now!!
WHY WE ARE HERE
As we draw towards the end of the 2009 season of Can’t Stop the Serenity, it’s more important than ever to remember the importance of why we are here.
Imagine that you are a young girl of twelve years old. Twelve is a magical age, where life is poised to leave childhood behind while reaching out toward the mysteries of women. Dolls sit on shelves but remain dear friends and babysitting becomes something to strive for, to feed the blossoming feminine need to nurture as well as to earn money for little dreams. Yet for Fawziya Abdullah Youssef, a 12-year-old Yemeni girl who should have been a flower girl instead of a child-bride, life ended at this young age – awash in pain and blood. Fawziya bled to death after three days of hard labor, a child forced to become a mother before her time.
Child brides are commonplace in Yemen, particularly in areas where tradional conservative beliefs hold sway. More than half of Yemeni girls are married off before the age of 18. “Child marriages violate the rights of children in the most deplorable way,” states Ann M. Veneman, executive director of the United Nations Children Fund. “The younger the girl is when she becomes pregnant, the greater the health risks for her and her baby. Girls who give birth before the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s.” The Yemeni government has been seeking to end this practice and to introduce a minimum age for marriage, but these efforts have been thwarted by conservative parliamentarians (click here for more).
Learn more about this outdated practice and how you can help end it in the latest edition of Why We Are Here (VII).
OUR MAIN CAUSE – EQUALITY NOW
Equality Now works across the globe for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. One area that they are currently working in is the issue of forced divorce in Saudi Arabia. This practice is on the increase, and Equality Now needs your help to fight it.
In 2003, a young woman named Fatima Bent Suleiman Al Azzaz married Mansour Ben Attieh El Timani with the consent of her father (her guardian) as required in Saudi Arabia. The couple was happily married and had two children, a girl Nuha, born in May 2004, and a boy Suleiman, born in November 2005. However, in 2004, after the death of her father, Fatima’s half brothers filed a petition in the General Court of Jof asking the judge to divorce her from Mansour on grounds of incompatibility, because Mansour was from an “inferior background” and the marriage “affected and ruined the family reputation.” The judge who applied his interpretation of Islamic law (shariah) agreed, stating that “if a woman is married to an incompatible person, the woman or guardians who are not happy with the marriage may have it invalidated.” The judge stated that all relatives of a woman have the right to have her divorced specifying that “such a choice belongs to distant relatives even if closer ones accept the marriage, and even if the wife is content with it, owing to the resulting sense of disgrace.” The judge decreed Fatima and Mansour’s divorce, even though this was against their will, and assigned one of Fatima’s half brothers as her legal guardian. On appeal, the Cassation Court, the highest court in Saudi Arabia, upheld this decision.
Fatima refused to recognize the decision of the court and, as a result, was sent to prison for nine months along with her infant son, despite the fact that she had not committed any crime under Saudi law and there was no legal basis for her imprisonment. After finally being released from prison in April 2007, Fatima and her son went to live in an orphanage run by the Ministry of Social Welfare, because she refused to be released into the custody of her new legal guardian, her half brother, and, as a woman, custom dictates that she cannot live by herself. Fatima is largely confined to the orphanage with her child and is unable to move around freely. Mansour also refused to sign the divorce papers and consequently has been “blacklisted” by the Saudi government. He has not been able to renew his passport, identity card or driver’s license or to update his bank account. He is constantly moving, along with his four year old daughter, because he is “wanted” by the Saudi government. As a result, he has not been able to keep his job at a computer company, and his ability to support himself and his family has been compromised. He depends on relatives and donations to support himself and his daughter.
The judgment of the Cassation Court can only be overturned by the King of Saudi Arabia. Fatima, now 35 years old, has stressed that she will not give up hope of being reunited with her daughter and husband. She believes that her inheritance from her father is one of the reasons her half-brothers petitioned for her divorce, allowing them through legal guardianship to retain control over her property.
Equality Now is fighting for Fatima’s rights as a woman, mother and wife. Read Equality Now’s Women’s Action to learn how you can add your voice to the global call for the rights of women to be upheld in Saudi Arabia. You can also sign a petition demanding that His Majesty, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud put an end to forced divorce in Saudi Arabia.
OTHER CAUSES
While the majority of profits from a screening go to Equality Now, organizers can choose to donate up to 25% to other charities of their choice. Many choose to give to local charities or other global charities that have special meaning to Browncoats. This week, we’d like to tell you about The House of the Good Shepherd, which is being supported by CSTS Chicago.
The House of the Good Shepherd is a shelter and recovery program for battered women and their children that works to end the cycle of domestic violence in the Chicagoland area. The women and children in the 3.5-month program receive intensive counseling, education, and help to heal, regain their dignity and become self-sufficient. Each family has a private apartment where they practice independent living skills and prepare themselves for lives as healthy families. The House also provides a learning center where the women work on their education and job goals, a child care center and an aftercare program that promotes long-term recovery. 91% of the women in the program leave their abusers and go on to make productive lives for themselves and their children, and 83% of all donated funds goes directly to the program.
THANK YOU!!
Once again, we want to take this opportunity to thank you. Yes, you. By supporting your local events, by encouraging your friends to attend, by Spreading the word and by giving generously, you are helping the hundreds of volunteers who form Can’t Stop the Serenity to raise much needed funds and awareness for Equality Now and other worthy charities.
And to all the dedicated volunteers who have given their time, energy, creativity and hearts to help create such wonderful events, and to all our amazing sponsors and supporters… Thank you!!
