| by Brigitte Schreiner | |
| "uncut & natural"
Dear Mrs. Waris Dirie, I like to write poems and poetry but looking at the facts on yr homepage respectively on international homepages of the United Nation for women (www.un.org/womenwatch, www.unifem.undp.org) and children (www.unicef.org) or of Amnesty International (www.amnesty-usa.org/women/index.html) or of TERRE-DE-FEMMES (www.terre-des-femmes.de) I realized, the poetic inspiration was gone. The only way can be to speak out about the facts, to find networks, to create as much awareness as possible and to establish social pressure on those responsible. By the way, it might look better in the western part of the world and I think it is better, but not at all I want to say that the first woman could not vote before 1870 and this was in Wyoming/USA and that one of the last countries which allowed women to elect was Switzerland (in 1971 only), one of the most democratic and reachest countries in the world. Only 1918 the first women could start to study, today women in Austria and maybe all industrial countries are fighting for education and working possiblities in all fields and for equal payment and conditions. The goverment of Austria f. e. found it necessary to establish 1979 a law of equality for women in employment . Another example concerning children is that the Austrian goverment decided in the year 1989 to fix a law which is forbidding violance as well as physical and emotional harming of children in general and also as method of education. Furtheron, I think lots of people, at least me, realized how quick things can change during the close war in former Yugoslawia which showed how quick enormous brutality also against women and children can be waken up. The good thing is that looking through the history we can see that women efforts brought changement and development and this will also bring yr foundation in your country. The real said thing, which forced me to this statement, is that all these special organisations, extra-laws and pressure were and are necessary to establish for women the same rights as for men, to stop inhuman or /and discriminating traditions and to protect and to support children all over the world. Thus, as I said in the beginning, nothing new, mostly facts and some points from a woman living in Austra. With best wishes, Brigitte Schreiner |
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| commentary by waris dirie |
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