Prostitution in South Sudan. Picture: Vincent van der Pas

This story takes place in Juba, the “fastest growing city in the world”, according to an online travel guide. Located in South Sudan, Juba provides a shiny future for locals and foreigners with a dark past.

Sex sells. Coming from rural areas, women seek security in one of the most unsafe professions of all times: prostitution. By making this decision, Somali women and other foreign sex workers give up a secure marriage and leave their children behind in order to become financially independent and feed their families. Many East African men live their lives and provide for their loved ones as casual workers; most of them find themselves occupied in physical labour.

Often it is not the women’s choice to work in physically draining positions, but they were introduced to this kind of work by their relatives who bring them into slums where physical attraction is the key and affordable sex is on demand.

Prostitution in Juba, the Republic of South Sudan’s capital and largest city, is a fast-growing, financially lucrative business whose engaging customers can guarantee a poor family’s survival. This metropolitan city as it is nowadays offers a wide range of East African girls of all ages to well-paying men without the requirement of using contraception. Asking a rich man to use a condom will often result in physical abuse when operating in one of the sleaziest town areas with the result of HIV infections and children being born into the slums.

Foreign women coming in from Kenya seem to have gathered in Jebel, a cleaner area eight kilometres outside of Juba, where they will serve the rich and influential. Kenyan sex workers are among the most successful women to make money in Juba as they are considered the “top of the of ladder in this trade”, Cathy Groenendijk from Confident Children out of Conflict, told Allafrica.com. They look out for Dinkas, an ethnic group inhabiting the Bahr el Ghazal region of the Nile basin, or “Southeners” who often act as boyfriends and can afford to buy a high-scale residence for their women and enable them to make a few hundred dollars a night without being indebted to pimps.

Many times, one used condom is being washed and shared between two or more women to raise hope in preventing HIV infections. Women report that as a bearer of femininity, the options for earning a living are limited to selling their bodies. While their genitals are valued, neither their names nor ages are important factors. What counts for men is quick, stress-free, valuable sex. Ethiopian women, known for their unique beauty among East African women, often act as escort girls or strip dancers in up-market hotels to separate themselves from fellow workers.

For prostitutes, there is no love to find in Juba. Their children and families are the only pillars they have built their lives on and to provide for them, selling themselves makes it the only option.

Author: Kerstin Tschernigg, One Word Changes

It was a few minutes past eight when Tomasa arrived home. A sense of relief ran all over her body as she thought that there was nobody else in the house. That feeling, however, lasted only few seconds.

She tried to open the door in silence. She did not want to make any noise in order to avoid attracting the attention of the neighbours. But, when she tried to push the door, she felt resistance as if it was locked. Her father was behind the door.

“What were you doing on the street so late? Don’t you see it’s a disgrace for the family that a woman is walking in the street at this hour?” he shouted. “If you want to become awoman of the streets, well, stay where you are and do not come back.” He closed the door heavily. Tomasa spent the night outside, with tears in her eyes. It was a nightmare that her own father had closed the doors of her house, just “for not arriving at a decent hour.”

This memory never left her. She grew up as an illiterate woman who had to get a job and support a family. Years later, I met Tomasa at an event about the experiences of women as leaders in marginalised indigenous communities. There she expressed: “I used to believe that women were not worth as much as a man, as we had no opportunities to attend school. When I learned to read, as an adult, I realized that women could fall and stand up again.”

Indigenous Mazahua Women. Painting by Mexican Artist Dario Arzaba Mosqueda

Illiteracy is a reality in Mexico. Directly, it affects more than 3 million indigenous women in the country. Indirectly, it contributes to the marginalization of women by creating in them a sense of fear. In indigenous communities, it is most common to send men to school because it is believed that if a woman is getting married and will have children, why bothering in investing in their education?

Another story that sounds like an old tale from a far away land – and right now I realize that reality transcends fiction – is Maria’s. Maria was born in a relegated indigenous community where no one taught her to speak Spanish. She only spoke her mother tongue, an indigenous language called Otomi. She got married at age 14 without personal consent or permission. Years later, her husband left her alone with four dependent children.

“I did not go to school and I did not know how to read or write. I always faced a world in another language,” she said. Maria also talked about fighting her fears as a woman, including learning Spanish, since each woman is the one who establishes her limits. “When I had to sign an important paper, it really scared me. As and indigenous person and as an illiterate, I thought that writing your name on important documents was just for men,” the Otomi woman confessed.

Mexico suffers from socioeconomic inequalities, just like any other developing country. There are people with too much money, while many others live in a hopeless state of poverty. A study by the Citizens Initiative’s “Mexicans First” concluded that there is a direct correlation between the alarming inequality of money distribution between genders and level of education.Socioeconomic and sociocultural disproportions are related to educational opportunities for citizens.That is, if an indigenous family is barely surviving on minimum wage, what can you expect from the quality of their opportunities and quality education? Money for food becomes a priority for survival.

While, in many regards, Mexico City is comparable to many European nations, other parts of Mexico are comparable to the poorest African countries. For example, the states with the highest proportion of illiterates are Chiapas with 18.41% of its population; Guerrero with 17.53% and 16.92% in Oaxaca; it is not a coincidence that these states have the highest levels of indigenous groups populations in the country.

The problem of illiteracy is most significant among indigenous women. Gender equity in education is the key to the development of any nation, especially in indigenous communities. How can we expect women from indigenous heritage to seek gender equity and fight for their rights when they are not even aware of them?

“Women are never going to stop falling, but we must remember that we are worth much more than what we are taught. We should not have fears,” Maria concluded, shaking her hands with a strong, deep voice. She had a big, white smile on her face. She, as an aware and independent female, was invincible.

Post written by Andrea Arzaba. Originally published for the website: Future Challenges in March 2013.

Boys like blue.

Girls like pink.

Boys wear pants.

Girls wear skirts.

Boys play sports.

Girls play barbies.

Men work and provide for their families.

Women stay home and raise their children.

During the 19th and 20th century these gender roles were rarely challenged, but with the advent of postmodernity and feminism the concept of masculinity and femininity are blurred thus creating our present world where the pursuit to fulfill predetermined gender roles seems like a task on the verge of extinction.

So why are traditional gender roles on their way out? Reformations, innovations, evolutions and resolutions; women don´t just make babies, they have social power, men don´t just make money, they have domestic presence… and some men wear dresses while some women are CEOs. One can draw the conclusion that these social revolutions are killing classic masculinity and femininity.

The extinction of traditional gender roles can be seen in the form of a crisis, ie: how should a man act in order to be considered “manly”? Historically a gender crisis was seen as an issue exclusive to homosexuals as they revolutionised gender roles greater than any other subculture. How? By nature their sex does not determine their sexual preference or define their gender. Today conflicts caused by the blurring of what gender roles look like are inclusive and relevant to everyone: a man way have a gender crisis if his wife makes more money than him, a woman may question her gender role if she doesn’t ever want to have children, etc. The evolution of classic gender roles means a woman can be masculine, while a man can be feminine. Gender roles are now interchangeable between the sexes.

The interchangeability gender roles have adapted exist in many forms within our society: metrosexuals, androgyny, drag queens, drag kings, crossdressing, transsexuals, transgenders and bisexuals. We even have names for people exhibiting gender crisis: Fruitcake, Girly-boy, Pansy, She-man, Butch, etc.

All of the above make it difficult to say what is feminine and what is masculine because they implicate men doing what women traditionally or normatively do… and viceversa. The historic definition of what is feminine and what is masculine has become archaic, because the actions that define these terms occur in many forms beyond their normative context. Social revolutions have rendered traditional gender roles extinct and transformed them into a personal pursuit that lets go of expectations.

 Let’s hope it’s the receipe for equality humanity is looking for.

Blog post written by our permanent author Clarissa Watson from Canada

Picture taken from Flickr , the image has an author’s attribution license. Modelling 1953 by Flickr user libertygrace0

Selina, 23, was a German psychology student on an internship in Moshi, Tanzania, before her life turned upside down. The 23-year-old gave up her studies, her family and social life in Germany to tie the knot with someone she hardly knew in a place where her physical appearance was different from everybody else’s.

It was April 11, 2012, when she met Santamo, an unmarried Maasai man who believes he is 25 years old. As her neighbour living in Moshi, they strengthened their bond of friendship. During a burglary, Selina lost all her belongings and the security her employer guaranteed. She was looking at Santamo’s face, grateful not to be alone at his hour, when she realised she fell in love with a Maasai.

“I think the biggest danger of intercultural relationships would be the inability to understand, adapt and respect the culture, religion and daily way of life in a new country. Doing the wrong thing at the wrong time could easily lead to physical danger,” Magda*, 33, a South African chef, who immigrated to Tanzania in 2005, said. “The locals tend to believe that the expat community always has money, which makes them targets for muggings and robberies.” 

Maasai girls get married to the man chosen by their father in exchange for cattle or cash. Making the decision to marry a man out of love is not prevalent among the Maasai.

“It always depends on how one defines a meaningful relationship in a culture clash like this. I assume, one would not constantly want to be the underdog,” Petra*, 23, sociology student from Germany, who has been living in Tanzania for one and a half years, stated.

The burdens a woman shoulders range from rising very early to milk the cows, walking endless miles to find and bottle water for the family before laundering the clothes. Most of the time the water is polluted. After serving lunch to her husband and his brothers, she will collect firewood, which is to be carried on her back; the rope carving into her chest. At 4pm, she still has not eaten.

“A Maasai woman lives a life of physical discomforts as well as is dependent on a husband and a family she did not choose,” according to Analena*, 27, international cultural exchange advisor from Moshi.

During a visit to Santamo’s home village 200 km off the Northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, he took Selina’s hand and placed her body onto a bed of hay, covered by goat skin, in a 4sqm manyatta hut, which shall belong to her after the marriage. “Despite the fact that the bed was hard, I felt comfortable being with Santamo. It was natural and him telling me that I will be his one and only forever, made me feel absolutely beautiful,” Selina told.

“Shemeji. Now you are my sister,” Santamo’s little brother said , “and you need to sleep where the other females sleep.” Santamo walked off. It is not for a woman to question a man’s actions.

The deeply rooted Maasai culture does not allow a woman to get divorced unless an agreement has been reached to the contrary because of domestic violence. Women see oppression as part of their everyday lives and have to accept the fact of being the husband’s property. And she will be one of many. Maasai men are allowed to have as many women as they can afford to buy in exchange for cattle. “To marry Selina, I will have to give her family the biggest bull and four sheep,” Santamo said. A low price, since his family owns more than 300 cows and 1,200 sheep.

“Santamo assured me that he has never had a girlfriend before and introducing me to his family meant that he will marry me. I had no say in that,” Selina told. “What I had to give was more important to them than it will ever be to me: money. To me they opened their hearts.”

The true identity of the Maasai is being pulled into doubt. Magda concluded: “A faithful Maasai in context with his family and believes, would not go with a white woman. Money, and the power that goes with it, has pulled men away from their tribes. Will this intercultural relationship be anything else than a monetary and feel good trade? No, it will not.”

(*) All names have been changed.

Photos by Kerstin Tschernigg:

Photo 1: A Maasai shepherd overlooking his land
Photo 2: A young Maasai bride and her proud mother

Author: Kerstin Tschernigg, One Word Changes

Last winter, parallel with school work, she also managed to knit 18 pairs of socks and gloves that she gave as presents to close family members. Also, in September, her book was published, where she summarized all the events and memories connected with the school where she teaches. The opening of the book turned out to be a real festivity. “It was such a pleasure to get warm wishes from my colleagues, graduates and students”. Probably the biggest surprise was delivered by a musician ,Valdis Pudniks, who graduated the school 26 years ago. He remembered the teacher’s favorite song and during the event he made a private performance for her.

Janina Gekisa has taught many generations and today she still works with two groups. When I talked to her, she kept on smiling as she spoke: “When there is an urgent need, I can involve half of the school in my activities”. New members of the local history club she founded are learning to be excursion guides. “These skills are of great value when guests come to the school or our schoolchildren have to go to another place and present our school, city and country”. Youth also participate in the creation of the virtual encyclopedia of the district.

Janina Gekisa says: “If you don’t cultivate history, you will loose an important part of your identity”. She admits that it is difficult to talk about patriotic feelings in such difficult economic conditions as Latvia is experiencing. However, those who leave the country always feel nostalgia and want to return. She mentions Juris Georgs Kocins, exile Latvian after Second World War, graduate of Kraslava State gymnasium and the patron of the school as an example. Living in Australia for many years, he tried to maintain the connection with his country and even teached his parrot to say the phrase: “Me, Cipins Kocins, Latvian”.

You will think, but how she manages to maintain such good relations with a new generation? I asked the teacher and she replied: “When meeting students I am putting my old fashioned values far away. I am trying to understand that young people are more easy-going. Once I was surprised by a couple who stood in front of museum door and kissed. I opened the door, moved them a little, but they continued their romance without hesitation”.

The teacher is neither a leader of some influential organization, nor she is active in politics or business. However her every-day work is as important as world’s most powerful people do. She puts all her efforts, initiative, organizational skills and spirit to gather people together and make them changemakers. She is referred to be a soul of the school who concentrates and shares all the inspirational power around her.

Post written by Anna Zemblicka/ Changemakers

Pictures taken from our author’s personal archive.

I could also talk about the importance of WE when going through a problem, when planning an important celebration or when tackling a national catastrophe. And then, as the subtle flame of a candle, lighting up the darkness, I knew I had to write about our very own project: The SunFlower Post.

It has been 2 years and a half since we created this blog. We have shared many dreams, written many posts and discussed many topics on women empowerment from all corners of the globe. I have had countless skype meetings with authors, with possible writers and many more with Febi, the co-founder of this project. We have had many laughs, many sleepless nights and  many successes, but many mistakes as well. We have learned together, nothing comes alone, nothing comes easy. But when you see the result, there is nothing in the world that can give you so much joy and pride than seeing your project succeed. You realize you are not alone.

I feel so grateful for being able to continue working with wonderful women and men from all around the world, placing our thoughts/dreams and texts together in this platform. The power of WE at The SunFlower Post becomes a celebration for bloggers from all around the world working together to make a positive change by telling people what is happening in their communities on gender and women empowerment!

I thank all of our readers, all of our contributors and all of the people that believe in this project and that have made it possible. We continue working towards our cause because The SunFlower Post exists and continues growing because of the Power of We. Because of YOU!

Once again, thank you all!

All best,

Andrea Arzaba @andrea_arzaba
Editor in Chief – The SunFlower Post

]]> http://thesunflowerpost.org/2012/10/15/blog-action-day-2012-the-sunflower-post/feed/ 1 thesunflowerpost http://thesunflowerpost.org/2012/10/15/slumcode-the-power-of-we-in-kenya/ http://thesunflowerpost.org/2012/10/15/slumcode-the-power-of-we-in-kenya/#comments Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:43:28 +0000 thesunflowerpost http://thesunflowerpost.org/?p=1213 Continue reading »]]> Mother Teresa once said: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love”. And for me, that couldn’t be more than true. When opportunity arises, it finds those ready to conquer – as they grab it with precision.

Such is the story of young people in Kenya who have vowed to focus on what they can achieve rather than what their government cannot provide for them. It’s about “US”, WE can shape our destiny if we drive our dreams with tact and wisdom and in six years – the fruits of such a great attitude of a team are quite tangible.

We have connected our world, our resources, our dreams and now our concepts and ideas are working for us through the power of collaboration. We have built global ambassadors, impacted many hearts beyond our borders and many keep looking up to the space we have created to satisfy their emptiness.

14 young ladies and gentlemen many below 24 years are now ready to move mountains with their ability to communicate mobilize and share ideas and focus on a great tomorrow because – We are a team, We are building a vision and We are in charge of our destiny.

The Slumcode Group committed its young males and females that together embrace synergy into creating platforms to enhance youth participation. And from initial stages of 2006, we have built systems to connect, inspire and guide our target audience into the World of Empowerment and Employment possibilities by capitalizing on local resources for a sustainable livelihood.

Because we are together, we conceptualized the Grand Slumfest and have planned and successfully hosted 5 such events each year because From concept to success is what we have done – and the possibilities are still infinite.

Post written by our guest author Albert Nashon from Nairobi, Kenya. He founded The SlumCode Project, which is a non profit organization that develops strategies for community driven development through Education, Employment and Empowerment.. Reach him here

Picture taken from our author’s personal archive.

I still remember the first time I was introduced to “Gotong Royong” term in elementary school. Gotong royong means to work together for the result expected either collectively or individually. It depicts the characteristic of Indonesian people especially for those who live in the villages.

In villages, people work hand in hand to create many things for the society’s goodness or to help individuals who face an obstacle. The type of work usually done with gotong royong are building a bridge or a villager’s house, cleaning the neighborhood, farming, harvesting the plantation, preparing someone’s wedding and more. Amazingly, this collective work does not demand any compensation. Each member only hopes that the same thing will happen to them whenever they need some help.

Furthermore, gotong royong has been the basic philosophy of Indonesia, as stated by M. Nasroen, the philosophy pioneer of the country. Not only in villages, this value is also internalized in the state level. It used to be the name of Indonesian fifth president’s cabinet, Kabinet Gotong Royong. Also, many big Indonesian figures used it as a keyword to gain support towards their idea.

This respected local term has been applied from generation to generation so that it forms a real social behavior which establishes social life value. That makes gotong royong is recognized as an heritage that should be conserved (source: sosiologi.upi.edu).

Sapu Lidi, the Traditional Broom

Again, when I was in elementary school, my teacher gave an analogy about the good thing of working together. Sapu lidi, Indonesia traditional broom, is the household tool that she used as the analogy. More or less, this is what I can capture from her explanation.

A bundle of sapu lidi contains many stems, even they look countless at a glance. Its unity makes sapu lidi an useful tool for many things, from cleaning the falling leaves at the yard, getting rid the dusts on your bed, to chasing away the insects you dislike. Imagine if you work only with one stem of sapu lidi, you cannot do anything with it especially for cleaning or if you could, it would be hard for you to clean up only with one stem. The unity that makes it useful for many functions. Just like John Heywood said, “many hands make light work.”

The values of collectivity, unity, and the power of multihands are simply shown by a traditional household tool called  sapu lidi.

Panjat Pinang, A pole-Climbing Game

Indonesians have traditional games competitions during their independence day. One of the favorite and exciting is panjat pinang or pole-climbing game. The team work is the main thing which decides the success of groups who compete in this game.

Generally, there are many tempting prizes hung on the top of every pole such as clothes, iron, bicycle, even electronic devices like television, DVD, radio, and more. The height of the pole or the tree is usually 7-8 meters tall and it is covered by lubricants. So, it’s not as easy as it seems, not like climbing a normal tree. To reach the top, each person has to stand on one’s shoulder.The game really needs strategy and a good coordination of teamwork.

This analogy then reminds me of Michael Jordan’s quotes: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”

Post written by our author Febi Purnamasari / Srikandi

Picture taken from Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License “isp_sapulidi”, by user insansains
Source:  inspirationalspark.com, sosiologi.upi.edu

A baby’s loud wail startles Njeri*. She checks her Nokia 3310 phone by the bedside stool, it is 6 am and it is time for her to wake up; bathe her son and change his nappies. A look at Jimmy* (her 8 month son) reminds her of Ali*, Jimmy’s father. They met in the freshman year and after hanging out together for 5 months, they decided to “take their friendship to the next level.” The “morning after” was very awkward for Njeri and Ali; it had been their first time.

Njeri was raised a Christian while Ali was a Muslim and both religions frowned upon teenage love affairs. Sexual education is a topic that is avoided by parents and the community and it is only talked about after a couple has had an “accident” and they are referred to as a bad example which others should strive to do the opposite of what they did. Njeri did not know of how to protect herself, she only thought that it is the “man” to provide protection and she did not ask if Ali had protection on that night of 6^th February since she was the lady and was expected to be submissive as her local pastor had taught in women seminars.

She first goes to the kitchen, shakes the old Jiko (Charcoal burner) in order to ensure that the ashes from the previous night accumulate in the lower level of the burner. She cannot afford to buy a kerosene stove since her father had reduced her monthly remittance 2 months before since he intended to “punish” her and ensure that she does not make “her mistake” again. Her father works in Mombasa and she lives in Eldoret with her mother and her son. She finally lights the Jiko after a long struggle while inhaling the choking smoke. She boils the water and changes Jimmy’s nappies. All this while Jimmy has been wailing and his grandmother has been making futile attempts to calm him down. She bathes him and goes ahead to prepare breakfast for her, Jimmy, her mother and her 3 other siblings. She no longer interacts with them freely since she is embarrassed for being a bad example as a first born in the family. They have their breakfast in pin drop silence.

She walks them to a primary school which is an hour’s walk away and rushes back home to prepare for her day. It is now 10.45am and she has to rush to the university lecture halls. It is a 25 minute walk away. She leaves Jimmy with his grandmother and rushes to the campus. She wishes she could live within the campus just as she did in her first year but sadly she cannot because the hostels are congested with 4 students sharing a 3 Metre by 4 Metre single room and it would be hectic to bring Jimmy to such a venture.

She finds her Early Childhood Development 201 Lecturer just exiting the lecture hall. She has missed to attend the first 2 lectures and just as always she has to ask the “chopi” (gunner/ the student who sits at the front of the class and answers all the hard questions) to hand her the notes for the first 2 classes. She settles down and the next lecturer walks into class and this is the last class before lunch break. Later in the afternoon she receives a text message. It is from Ali, the father to her baby. He is away from campus this day nursing a hangover from the previous evening. In the text, he states his loathing at her “player habits” and goes on to allege that he intensely had misgivings if Jimmy was really his son. The day draws on and by evening she is visibly exhausted. She finally heads home at 5.30pm and suckles Jimmy, washes him and changes his clothes.

Jimmy’s grandmother prepares dinner and Njeri helps lay the table and clean up after the family has had their fill. At 9.30pm she finally settles down to study and she dozes often as she studies and goes ahead to sleep after setting her phone alarm. She lays her troubled head and……… drrrrrrrrrrrring, its 6.00am again.

FACING THE CHALLENGES

African customs make it taboo to discuss reproductive health in an open manner. Religion, gender and age are some of the most influential factors determining whether or not one’s parents will discuss ways of protecting yourself from getting unwanted pregnancies.

Girls are left to be taught these sensitive matters by their teachers or religious leaders and in case a girl is made pregnant, the girl’s father pays a police officer to have the boy is arrested and accused of rape regardless of whether the act was consensual or not.

Other members of the society do ignore ministry guidelines on readmission of teenage mothers to school since even some private/ religious funded schools go to the extent of expelling pregnant teens. Raising a child on one’s own is a daunting task for a young woman in Kenya. But it is possible for success to be achieved with determination and support from the society.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the respondents.

Post written by our guest author Ephraim Percy Kenyanito from Kenya. His interests are Youth Work, Human Rights, Transparency and International development.Blogger through various online publications such as the European Journalism Centre’s “ThinkBrigade,” and through a personal blog: “The Diary of a Global Citizen”. Reach him here

Picture taken from Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License “Mother with child”, by user Lars Plougmann

However, being a mother implies more than just happy moments; it’s a mixture between responsibility and the stress that comes from it. Once you have a baby, you should protect him/her so he stays physically and mentally healthy.

The support system for mothers in Russia isn’t ideal. The support given to single mothers by the government is minimal, then having a child on your own becomes a real problem; you have to be willing to deal with issues that go from being stared at in public places, to not having enough money to pay the rent or cover the basic needs. All these facts made Russian women have that strength and devotion, which were used to describe them by the greatest Russian authors.

Mothers somehow always find solutions for the complications that life brings and single mothers have to manage work and parenting while still caring for their individual needs.  Russian mothers live in a constant fear that something may or may not happen to their child and are always ready to protect their baby to death.

I have taken this type of attitude from my own family. My grandmother raised her 8 children on her own; she worked from very early in the morning till late at night, doing everything herself. She baked, sewed clothes, she was like the women in Russian poems. She kept all the family traditions, and passed them to my mother whom she passed down to me and intend on passing them to my children. The mother-daughter bond between generations is what I’m most proud of.  I’ve spent all my life watching my mother’s sacrifice for her children, she taught me to be devoted and to care for others carelessly. I can only hope to be as good of a mother as she was with me.

Natalia Semicheva / Library of Thoughts