Mission & Justice

Published: 1/7/08

American Catholics are organising a July appeal to the Vatican and Northern American bishops to have female figures from the New Testament such as Mary of Magdala re-included in lectionary texts from which they have been deleted. Organisers of the appeal are also inviting female biblical scholars to the International Synod on the Word, to be held in Rome in October, according to a media release by the Future Church group. At over 250 international celebrations of the July 22 Feast of St Mary of Magdala, special prayer services will make visible biblical women leaders whose stories have been omitted or downgraded in lectionary texts.

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Dewi Cooke; 28/6/08

Women and girls are often caught in the crossfire of conflict, violated by men who have the power to do so. A new report argues  legal changes to protect them are crucial in the fight against poverty. Young women occupy a strange space in most cultures. As mothers, sisters and daughters, their strength and resilience help hold their communities together. But in times of war they are often the first and most vulnerable targets. That is how it was for Bintu and Rumenia. Bintu is from Liberia, where she was captured by rebels during the civil war. Rumenia is from East Timor and lost her 20-year-old older brother in the 2006 uprising when he was shot outside her family home.

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5/6/08

Turkey’s highest court has ruled that Islamic headscarves cannot be allowed at universities. The decision is a defeat for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, which tried to allow the wearing of scarves as a matter of religious and personal freedom. The verdict of the constitutional court was issued on Thursday and says that amendments passed by parliament in February violated the secular principles of the constitution. Some observers think the verdict may bode ill for the government in a separate case in which Turkey’s chief prosecutor is seeking to disband the AK Party because it is “the focal point of anti-secular activities”.

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Ben Schneiders; 4/6/08

Women who have taken paid maternity leave in the federal public service have been much less likely to be promoted in the following years, research by the Australian Public Service Commission has shown. Federal public servants have had paid maternity leave since 1973 and have among the most generous provisions in Australia, with up to 12 weeks’ paid leave. The Maternity Leave Act also prohibits them from being discriminated against in employment or promotion decisions. But the research, included in a Productivity Commission submission on paid parental leave, found women who took leave in 2000-01 were much less likely to have received promotions in the next six years.

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29/5/08

Aruna Singh never left her house until five years ago. Now, the upper-caste Hindu heads a local administrative body in Bihar state, eastern India. Similarly, Chanchalben Sanabhai Chavda was a timid, low-caste Hindu woman in Gujarat, a western Indian state, until seven years ago. Now, she heads a village where upper-caste Hindus predominate. Coming from different social backgrounds and regions, the two are among 1,041,000 women in local administrative councils across India. According to the federal panchayat ministry, these women account for 37.5 percent of panchayat (village council) members. The councils operate at the village, block and district levels. In the Indian administrative system, a state is subdivided into districts. Villages in a district are grouped into blocks. According to a ministry report published in April, about 80 percent of the women in these councils have no political background. Singh and Chavda credit their success to their association with Church-initiated self-help groups.

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Samar Fatany; 28/5/08

Saudi women today celebrate the inauguration of women’s sections at the Riyadh and Jeddah mayoralties. One hundred and twenty women in each city now officially take charge of municipal services for women after being provided with extensive training to qualify them for their posts. The sections have started functioning in four municipalities in both Jeddah and Riyadh regions. This follows the successful initiative to allow women to sit in the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). Women in Jeddah have been better supported and have proven their capabilities as elected and appointed board members. The Jeddah chamber also established the Khadijah Bint Khowailed Center, which caters to working women and women in business.

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19/5/08

A Five-year research project by the Institute of Medical Research (MIRA) will play a major role in understanding sexually transmitted infections and HIV in Papua New Guinea. The Australian Government has awarded the K8 million research grant to the IMR to strengthen the PNG-Australia Sexual Health Improvement Program (PASHIP). “This grant builds on previous and existing Australian Government support for the IMR which is regarded as the country’s premier medical research institution,” head of AusAID in PNG Margaret Thomas, who accompanied Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to the Goroka-based institute in March, said. “As the research arm of the national Department of Health the institute is also in a unique position to provide a link for evidence-based policy making and develop and evaluate interventions.”

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Barney Zwartz; 17/5/08

The Sydney bishop disowned by Australia’s Catholic bishops as failing to understand basic church teaching says the church is trying to restrict debate on sexual abuse. Bishop Geoffrey Robinson released a statement yesterday replying to his condemnation by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference last week, saying he was disappointed but not surprised. Bishop Robinson, the auxiliary bishop of Sydney, who for a decade headed efforts by the Australian Catholic Church to tackle sexual abuse, resigned in disillusionment in 2004. Last year he published Confronting Sex and Power in the Catholic Church, arguing that until the church considered radical reform from the Pope down, it was not serious about tackling clerical sexual abuse.

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Jamie Walker; 14/5/08
Up to a third of Australian women continue to drink alcohol during pregnancy, despite growing awareness that it puts the unborn child at risk. And contrary to expectations, higher levels of education make the mother-to-be more likely to imbibe, Australian medical researchers say. The findings are based on a national survey of 1103 women of child-bearing age in 2006 and undermine health educators’ hopes that the message not to drink when pregnant has resonated with expectant mothers.

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1/5/08

About 30 women leaders from the main religions in Asia have established a regional network to enhance cooperation toward shared goals. The women from 13 countries launched the Pan Asian Women of Faith Network during the April 21-23 Summit of Asian Religious Women Leaders, held in Bangkok. They agreed the network’s main objectives would be to enhance multi-religious networking among women of faith at all levels, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, and to strengthen local women’s organizations toward transforming conflict and building peace. Jacqueline Ogega, director of the women’s program of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, convened the summit, which was organized in partnership with the Christian Conference of Asia, International Network of Engaged Buddhists, Religions for Peace Thailand and World Fellowship of Buddhists.

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