Recently, my mom underwent mastectomy (a surgical term for removing one or both breasts for cancer). It was a shock to me when I found out about it. All along, I thought it was just plain lump in her breast. After all, the biopsy said it was benign. Her surgeon, who is the leading surgeon of our country, told her she had nothing to worry. Thing is, we have a history in our family. Two of my mom's sisters already had breast cancer, her youngest sister for 10 years and elder sister for 7 years. Both underwent mastectomy and are still living quite normally until today. So it was this reason why her doctors had to remove her left breast, just to make sure it would not spread.

During her operation, my sister began to panic and started crying. She said, how come the operation took so long when the doctors said it would only take 4 hours. I didn't know what was happening in the operating room. I wasn't aware of mastectomy as part of the option. But I didn't want to cry. I didn't not want to panic. I had to remain still. I already prayed and I kept my faith all the time. My sister asked, what if something went wrong, how could she live without our mom? I dismissed that thought. Mom would be alright. Whatever happened there, I knew she'd survive it.

If it was hard for me and my sister to wait, it must be harder for our dad, who at the time was in Europe, working thousands of miles away as an engineer. Could he sleep well? Was he focused on his work? What was he thinking, same as my sister or me? Dad used to sweat the small stuff. I wondered how he was taking it. Mom and dad are so closed and connected to each other, they feel each other when something is wrong with the other.

When hospital staff brought my mom in her room, I felt relieved. She just turned her head to me and my sister and then closed her eyes. She was still groggy. My sister began crying again and my aunt called me outside, she said she had something to say. This was the time she disclosed to me about mastectomy. A surge of fear and pain overtook me. I felt something was clutching my neck and I couldn't breathe. I was just quiet, nodded to my Aunt, and found myself walking endlessly round the hospital until I realized there was a place for me to go. I climed the stairs to the 4th floor and kneeled down in the chapel. I was face to face with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the loving mother who the world has come to know. Her face was still and her eyes were expressive, her arms were open, perhaps ready to catch me if ever I fell down. I began crying. I remember praying or asking her, "Tell me, it's gonna be alright. You love me right? You love my mom and my family? Please, please send me your love." For one hour I was just talking to her. But the whole chapel fell silent and the only thing I could hear was my mind, the beat of my heart and the constant soft sobbing. After awhile, I found my feet again. I was ready to see my mom and my sister. They didn't need to see me crying.

On my way back, I began texting my friends both global and local. I asked them to send me and my mom their love, prayers and healing positive energies. After a few minutes, my phone was filled with love and prayers from my friends. I saved them and thought of reading them one by one to my mom. That night, I didn't sleep. I was just beside her, holding her hands, sending positive energies. I said my prayers for her in all religious traditions I could think of: Tibetan, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Islam, Pagan or just anything that I learned from the heart. I called the Gods and Goddesses who I loved. I told them to help heal my mom quickly and to keep her safe and positive.

It only took my mom two days to put a smile on her face, even if her surgery was very painful. She said, "it's just a breast, I still have my life." On the third day, she woke up early, took a shower, put on her make-up and perfume and changed her hospital gown to a regular pair of pyjamas (easier for nursing staff to check her wounds); she was ready to receive visitors. My family and friends came flocking and although her eyes get teary once in awhile, it was easy for her to put her smile back. She said, at the operating room, she was singing "jingle bells" until anesthesia put her to sleep. I read to her all the messages my friends sent her and she was grateful.

Looking back, I remember that a few months ago, I read Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, when Jacopo, one of the editors and main charcters, gets cancer. He talks about metastasis and how your cells turn against you. He says:

"And what are cells? For months, like devout rabbis, we uttered different combinations of the letters of the Book. GCC, CGC, GCG, CGG. What our lips said, our cells learned. What did my cells do? They invented a different Plan, and now they are proceeding on their own, creating a history, a unique, private history. My cells have learned that you can blaspheme by ana-grammatizing the Book, and all the books of
the world. And they have learned to do this now with my body. They invert, transpose, alternate, transform themselves into cells unheard of, new cells without meaning, or with meaning contrary to the right meaning. There must be a right meaning and a wrong meaning; otherwise you die. My cells joke, without faith, blindly." (Eco, 514)

My mom is fast recovering and her doctors are surprised and happy that she's healing faster than average women who have cancer, considering that mom is also diabetic and hypertensive. Mom can say to her cell which Jacopo thought it was only the cells who could do the talking, "...(M)ethistemi? It’s the same thing: I move, I transform, I transpose, I switch cliches, I take leave of my senses." (514) Yes, my mom's cells turned against her that's why she's left with one breast and her physical body altered. But when this happened to her, everything around her went on her side--love, love is on her side and that's everything she could ask for.

At last, we've bridged the digital divide; what with satellite dish receiver connected to a mud/thatch hut. Or what do you think folks?

I hear a lot of cases about sexual abuse on children and young people. Often, it happens in their own homes where their own father, male relatives or other close friends who the children trust are the ones who betray them. I don't understand, how a father or an uncle or a grandfather could ever do that to his own. Is it a mental illness? While I do not believe in capital punishment, when I hear of such crimes like child molestations or sexual abuse, I cannot help myself but think that the best punishment for them is to show everything that they did to those children, picture by picture, frame by frame, until the fang of their guilt devour them. Like a month ago, there was this young girl who was burned alive after she was sexually molested. These kinds of evil, I cannot take. I cannot make peace with these things, not when children are involved.

For children who are made prostitutes by their own parents, or relatives, there's no forgiveness. It's the responsibility of the parents to provide a good life for their children. If they cannot, they should not be allowed to have children in the first place (this may sound a violation of human rights, especially freedom of choice but really, what rights do they have to sell their children?!) Even if the parents are poor, they should be the one to make every legal means possible to at least feed their children, or clothed them or give them shelter. I know a lot of poor families and the parents do their best, work almost 24/7 just to make sure that their children eat 3x/day, or that they have blankets to keep them warm. But of course, we are responsible for them as well. For allowing it to happen. For making them poorer, more envious. For allowing child prostitution businesses to prosper. For keeping our mouth shut when we know that the kid next door is being molested and made prositute by his or her parents.


For some people, prostitution is an opportunity to live, or to survive rather. For those who are 18 and above, it's become a personal choice, not that they have other choices. I'm sure, if there's a better job out there and if they have the skill, prostitution would not have been included in their choice of work. Like, the other night, I was watching on a local network the "local bills" that our councilors passed. One of them was talking about prostituttions. He said that "it is very alarming that when the sun sets, prostitutes are on queue" on this particular avenue, and "these prostitutes are very young like 14-16 years old." He added, "these young women are not native of this town, they've come from other poor provinces. We therefore think that we should set a raid, and take all the prostitutes." One chauvinist councilor in a malicious tone said, "I'll go with you", and all other chauvinist councilors, as if in unison, reiterated, "me, too", and they all laughed. Bastards! They wanted to go there not because they want to save these young women but because they want to see a spectacle, being surrounded by half-naked women, would have been a taste of ectasy. If they trully want to be of help, they would have a ready-made alternative for these young women. They would have planned it really well, like send them to school after the Department of Social Welfare and Development officers have counselled them. But no, they just wanted to "catch" these young women as if they were the criminals. Like most raids, these women would be put to jail, subject to more molestations and sexual abuses by God-knows-who. And what about those people who made profits out of these poor young women? Nothing. They just enjoy their profit, relocate and look for another opportunity to lure poor young women to their bait. Our local government, obviously is oblivious of women's rights, of gender sensitivity. They make local bills that are trully nonsensical. They don't even read, I'm sure, that's why they are so dense. Again, it's our fault for voting these people. Well, I didn't vote for them but the rest of local city populace did.

God didn't promise days without pain,
laughter without sorrow,
or sun without rain,
But He did promise strength for the day,
comfort for the tears,
and light for the way.

If God brings you to it,
He will bring you through it.

A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.
The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter:
"Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river." The little girl said:
"No, Dad. You hold my hand."
"What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father.
"There's a big difference," replied the little girl.
"If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go."

In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond..So hold the hand of the person whom you love rather than expecting them to hold yours...

I just love everything that he writes.

When I first read "The Island of the Day Before", I was like, "Omigod! That's exactly how I imagined things when I was a young HS student, creating my own theories about getting old or younger the moment one crosses the latitudes" But of course, his was more intellectual in a sense. It was like reading what I had in mind.

Anyway, my latest addiction is his Foucault's Pendulum. I read it before and reading it again after 3 years of keeping from the shelf. Now, I understand it more clearly. I really believe that his works are the work of not just a creative writer but a genius, somebody who can infuse history, myth, science, religion and creative writing in one. I mean, there are other writers who write beautifully but not with intellectual magnitude like him. Eco does not only entertain but informs very well. I have to read the "Name of the Rose" soon. I have some of his books in my library and this month til next month, he will be my "author of the month". I wish I could see him in person! Maybe that chance meeting will spark some inspiration in my own writing. Maybe.

Funny, I've been directed to the Middle Ages era in all the books I've recently bought, especially the ones connected to the Templars. Maybe, it's the kind of topic that's been read many many times and it's no longer a hot topic. I really don't mind having that kind of information: myth, stories, legends of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. I just enjoy reading.

Since my visit to Mexico, I had this dream of learning the Spanish language whole-heartedly. Although I took Basic Spanish a few years back, I only remembered a few phrases. The Filipino language has similarity in the Spanish language, as a matter of fact, there are so many Filipino words that are derived from Spanish. For this reason, I was able to, more or less, bargain some items in the flea market in Mexico. People thought I was Mexican. As my teacher would say, "you were Mexican, the Wise Woman of Mexico, Was it Mayan?". But when I went to Spain, it was totally different. The Spanish was harder to understand probably because they spoke quite fast and kind of slang.

Anyway, I recently visited a bookstore and bought 5 Spanish grammar books. From beginner's to intermediate, from conversational to basic form, and of course, a writing worksheet! Everyday, I try to read 1-5pages a day just to familiarize with terms and construction. I am preparing myself so that when I study the language formally, I won't start from scratch. I feel, I'm destined to go back to Spain (or I dream of going back to Spain, anyway) so I have to learn their language better.

Next time, when I'm good with Spanish, I will have to go back to my French school and relearn the language. Yes, I did study French for the simple reason: to be able to pronounce French food especially pastries properly. Hahaha. I just love French pastries and cakes. Yummy!

Next will be Italian. I like their accent, almost like singing; very romantic.

Next next will be German.

Then the classical languages (Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Eyptian...) I'll just stop on my death bed, well, maybe not. Who knows, I might be chanting a Tibetan prayer to hasten my "transformation".

Also posted at: http://abc4all.net/essay.htm

The training is in a beautiful villa called Villa Boccella which is 45 minutes away from the town of Lucca. Our villa is at the foot of the mountain and we are surrounded by trees, flowers, herbs and vineyards. Everytime the sun rises, it shines through my window and it is just so lovely. Our food is strictly vegetarian but once in awhile we go out of the villa and eat at the nearby restaurants. The food is just so good, you woudn't even ask for fish or chicken or meat. The water tastes so good since Tuscan water is fresh.

The training is composed of of 24 particapants across the globe, alot of them are Americans, Irish, British and Australians (age17-35). And due to economic circumstance and language barrier, there are only 4 from Asia (Me, 2 Vietnamese, and 1 Nepalese) and 1 from Africa. We are divided into 4
teams, and all of us have a chance to be the "leader". On the first day, even without knowing each other that much we have learned to trust each other, especially within the team. Each task requires different leadership style and the more you participate the more you know which style fits you. We manage to resolve conflicts, use our own voice, and use dialogues to get to the bottom of things. nothing in the course is not known to us. However, the training reminds us of what we value, what we love and the kind of philosophy we embrace in relation to giving service to other people and the community. Questions like, how do we become aware of our surrounding if we are not even aware of our self? How do we maintain trust and partnership, when competition is the name of the game?

We are also lucky to visit Siena and learn how this city was built by visionaries of that timeand how this town became prosperous and pro-people. The lecturer is also a volunteer and is so passionate in sharing her knowledge with us. She is not even an Italian but through her self-discovery and self-study, she's been invited to lecture in different conferences and trainings in Europe. So I believe that in order to become an effective leader, it is not only limited to doing something outside but also one must work within. As leaders, we have to make ourselves a good "educator" to also inspire others.

In the training we also have "moments of silence" or others call it "meditation" and just listen to what the Universe is telling us, so to speak. It gives us a sense of stillness which makes us see, hear and
understand more.

Each of us also have personal mentor from the Lucca Trainers/Coaches to guide us in our current or future projects. All of the trainers are volunteers too, who of course, have been under the Lucca trainings. A lot of the trainers are Educators, Businessmen and Lawyers who are also traveling alot to reach the places and people who are often neglected. They also use their "miles" to sponsor trainees in the training, which a friend told me about. I'm sure, in the nearest future, when I'm able to sponsor others, one of the training grounds will be Lucca Leadership.

Anyway, here is the link to the organization: www.luccaleadership.org I will try to make a video presentation of our training to post on our yfci or abc4all web. But it may take a little more time.

I found this site, which is worth the share.

Note: Directly adapted from the website: www.justicemakers.net

Important Dates:
August 14th: Application Window Closes
August 21st: Semi-Finalists Announced
Setptember 8th: Public Rating & Judging Begins
September 24th: Public Rating & Judging Ends
October 12th: Winners Announced

2008 Competition RegistrationJusticeMakers is hosting a global competition for innovations that end torture, abuse, and arbitrary detainment. The competition will award $5,000 to the eight best proposals for concrete, achievable action.

Participation is free, and open to anyone with an idea and a familiarity with his or her country's criminal justice system. Don't miss out!

For registration, please go to their website and inquire.

You Never

You never said I'm leaving
You never said goodbye
You were gone before I knew it,
And only God knew why
A million times I needed you,
A million times I cried
If Love alone could have saved you,
You never would have died
In Life I loved you dearly
In death I love you still
In my heart you hold a place,
That no one could ever fill
It broke my heart to lose you,
But you didn't go alone
For part of me went with you,
The day God took you home

An appropriate poem..
In memory of my father..

This is actually an invitation to those who are interested in writing and who need a nurturing space and a pleasurable time to do so. The facilitators are the same facilitators who taught me the feminine face of meditation :) Anyway, you don't have to be a pro, if you are interested in writing or if you just want to give it a shot, here goes:

WRITING RETREAT July 10 – 14, 200

International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice (IWP) announces a 5 day writing retreat for aspiring and seasoned writers. The retreat will provide a quiet, peaceful and supportive environment to create the time and space needed for contemplative and creative writing or journaling.

The retreat will be largely self-facilitated, and the majority of each day will be time for writing. Meals, optional daily meditation and yoga, and group check-ins will be communal. Participants may decide on creating more group time; the schedule will be flexible and emergent.



The retreat will be housed at the training and retreat center of IWP in a village in northern Thailand. Participants will be housed in double/triple accommodation in our earthen guesthouse. Participation is limited to 15 people.

There are no formal course fees given the self facilitated nature of the retreat. Fees for food, accommodation, and venue are on a sliding scale of 650-900 baht per day; thus for the 5 day retreat, the scale is 3250 baht – 4500 baht, based on your ability to pay.

Please contact Ginger at ginger@womenforpeaceandjustice.org for more information or to register for retreat.

(directly adapted from the web at www.womenforpeaceandjustice.org)

IMPORTANCE OF SLEEPING AND WAKING UP EARLY


Reasons for sleeping and waking up early : Evening at 9 - 11pm: is the
time for eliminating unnecessary/ toxic chemicals (detoxification)
from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be
spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a
housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or
monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative
impact on health. Evening at 11pm - 1am: is the detoxification process
in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state. Early
morning 1 - 3am: detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done
in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 3 - 5am: detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there
will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time.
Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract,
there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with
toxin removal process.

Morning 5 - 7am: detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.

Morning 7 - 9am: absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you
should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier,
before 6:30am, for those who are sick.

Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay
fit . Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their
habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10am
rather than no meal at all.

Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of
removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am
is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a
good sleep and don't sleep late.

The top five cancer-causing foods are:

1. Hot dogs - Because they are high in nitrates.

The Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than
12 hot dogs a month.

If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium
nitrate. 2. Processed meats and bacon

Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs, bacon, and
other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease.

The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer. 3. Doughnuts
Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made with
white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high
temperatures.

Doughnuts, says Adams , may be the worst food you can possibly eat to
raise your risk of cancer. 4. French fries Like dough nuts, French
fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high
temperatures.

They also contain cancer- causing acryl amides which occur during the
frying process.

They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adams .

5. Chips, crackers, and cookies All are usually made with white flour
and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats
generally contain small amounts of trans-fats.

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS 1. No Breakfast People who do not take breakfast
are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an
insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain
degeneration. 2. Overeating It causes hardening of the brain arteries,
leading to a decrease in mental power. 3. Smoking It causes multiple
brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease. 4. High Sugar
consumption Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins
and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain
development. 5. Air Pollution The brain is the largest oxygen consumer
in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to
the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency. 6. Sleep
Deprivation Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from
sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping Sleeping with the head covered
increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease
concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects. 8.
Working your brain during illness Working hard or studying with
sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well
as damage the brain. 9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts Thinking is
the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts
may cause brain shrinkage. 10. Talking Rarely Intellectual
conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
--------- --------- --------- -------

The main causes of liver damage are: 1. Sleeping too late and waking
up too late.

2. Not urinating in the morning.

3. Too much eating.

4. Skipping breakfast.

5. Consuming too much medication.

6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring, and
artificial sweetener.

7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking
oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like
olive oil.

Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.

8. Consuming overly done foods also add to the burden of liver.
Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should
be finished in one sitting, do not store. We should prevent this
without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily
lifestyle and eating habits.

Maintaining good eating habits according to schedule / time and
condition are very important for our bodies to absorb the proper
nutrients and get rid of unnecessary chemicals.

*a message sent to my email which I think is worth sharing with everyone.

Last friday, or I think it was already Saturday 12:45 am, I watched CREEPS at Zone Reality.
I hardly get scared of horror films or shows but this one was different, or this particular episode. I forgot the exact location of the abandoned building. All I can remember is that it was built for severe cases of tuberculosis and was used in 1910 or something. Anyway, people who went there and tested their braveness and audacity were interviewed as part of the documentary. I can remember the faces of the interviewees. Anyway, a group of psychics, the ghost hunters, went inside the building and investigated the area. They were explaining the kind of energies the building has, the gadgets that they brought and so on. Their gadgets went on and off, and the psychics also at some point got scared. All the time that I was watching it, I could feel my body shiver and my hair stood on its end. It was surely giving me a creeps. But one thing that really made me scared, was the time when the psychic stopped at this particular room, not the 502 where a nurse hanged herself, but the room where the lead psychic was trying to explain the kind of energy. The camera man was directly opposite the door, while the lead psychic was talking I saw, a man behind him passed by. Actually, I just saw the arm, there was no head, only a shirtless torso. I wasnt sure if the psychics saw him because there were no reactions, only the lead psychic was saying that the area was pretty cold and someone seemed to mess up with him. I saw the headless torso, the left arm particularly, passed by twice coming from the same direction and going to the same direction. That scene totally freaked me out. It wasn't part of the dramatization, that I'm so sure.

I think the best way to heal the place is to send love and positive energies to that area. The patients there were abandoned, discriminated, and maltreated and they felt not just self-pity but hatred, and hatred is such a powerful energy that can manifest havoc or danger.

Outlandish is the story of a band that insists on the vantage point called "The World We live in," as stated in the band's official site. Quite a bit has happened since Lenny Martinaz, Waqas Qadri, and Isam Bachiri broke ground in 1997 to form Outlandish and launch a career together.
In a live interview with IslamOnline.net, Waqas Qadri described how Outlandish started, "In the beginning, not so many people believed in us; back then hip hop was more looked upon as a 'black' thing, so how could a Pakistani, Cuban, and Moroccan bunch of kids ever do good? Therefore, we were forced at an early stage to take matters into our own hands."

Calling their style 'life music', Closer Than Veins Album marked a departure in this respect, particularly on the socially and politically heavy side the group has called in lyrical reinforcements. This is actually highlighting through one of their most outstanding tracks "Look Into My Eyes" that was principally written by Gihad Ali, a young Palestinian poet.

Lenny, Isam, and Waqas (From left).

Lyric:

"Look into my eyes
Tell me what you see
You don't see a damn thing
'cause you can't relate to me
You're blinded by our differences
My life makes no sense to you
I'm the persecuted one
You're the red, white and blue

Each day you wake in tranquility
No fears to cross your eyes
Each day I wake in gratitude
Thanking God He let me rise
You worry about your education
And the bills you have to pay
I worry about my vulnerable life
And if I'll survive another day

Your biggest fear is getting a ticket
As you cruise your Cadillac
My fear is that the tank that has just left
Will turn around and come back

Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let your media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows

Someone tell me...

Ooohh, let's not cry tonight
I promise you one day it's through
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters
Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters

See I've known terror for quite some time
57 years so cruel
Terror breathes the air I breathe
It's the checkpoint on my way to school
Terror is the robbery of my land
And the torture of my mother
The imprisonment of my innocent father
The bullet in my baby brother
The bulldozers and the tanks
The gases and the guns
The bombs that fall outside my door
All due to your funds

You blame me for defending myself
Against the ways of my enemies
I'm terrorized in my own land
What am I the terrorist?

Do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let your media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows?

Someone tell me...

America, do you realize that the taxes that you pay
Feed the forces that traumatize my every living day
So if I won't be here tomorrow
It's written in my fate
May the future bring a brighter day
The end of our wait

(pause)

Ohh let's not cry tonight I promise you one day is through
Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!
Ooh shine a light for every Soul that ain't with us no more
Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!"

Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms:

Learning from experience



I. Call for Proposals of Case Studies



Are you confronting religious fundamentalisms or regressive political-religious movements in your daily life and work? Are you witnessing important links between different types of fundamentalisms (economic, national, social, cultural and religious) and seeing similarities in how these work across religions and regions? Have you or your organization been involved in actions to resist and challenge religious fundamentalisms that you would like to share more widely with women’s rights advocates from around the world?



As women’s movements and organizations from different regions, we can learn from each other and create new ways to cooperate and strengthen our collective efforts. We need to share strategic information on how regressive politico-religious groups and movements work and grow and affect women’s rights, and how we can launch successful strategies to resist, challenge and present viable alternatives in return.



As part of it’s initiative on “Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms” AWID is gathering insights into the contemporary workings of religious fundamentalist movements and previously undocumented strategies employed by women’s rights activists to successfully challenge them. We intend to share the selected case studies with AWID members and other women’s rights activists and advocates around the world.



This is a call to acknowledge the diversity and wealth of information within women’s organizations and movements and to share our experience and knowledge of the actions and strategies at our disposal. We are seeking proposals for case studies from a variety of contexts and regions of the world. Selected proposals will receive an honorarium of $3000 USD upon completion of the full case study in order to assist in and offset costs of documentation (expected length of the full case study will be 15 to 20 pages long). Selected contributions will also be highlighted at the 11th International AWID Forum on “The Power of Movements” which will be held on 14th-17th November, 2008, in Cape Town, South Africa. The authors of the selected case studies will be invited to present their experiences in a session at the AWID Forum and the case studies will also subsequently be published by AWID.



Acknowledging that safety may be a concern for some submitters, please note that elements of the final case studies may be made confidential and anonymous for dissemination (e.g., individual or organization names, localities, etc.). Whether or not anonymity is required, and to what degree it is necessary, will be up to the submitter to determine.








II. Submission Guidelines for Case Study Proposals



Proposal submissions may be made in English, Spanish, French or Arabic. They must be no longer than 1000 words (approximately two and a half pages).



All submissions must contain the information outlined in this section.



Contact person:

Country:

Organization name (if any):

Position in the organization (if relevant):

Contact information (e-mail and telephone):



Please briefly address all of the following points within 1000 words:



1. What is your understanding of “religious fundamentalisms”?

2. Briefly describe the local context in which you/your organization work, outline the issue/problem that was being presented by religious fundamentalisms in that context, and summarize how it is/was affecting women’s human rights.

3. Briefly describe the religious fundamentalists involved, including the name of individual party/organization/group, their local presence and strength, and any international links.

4. Briefly describe the strategy that you or your organization employed (or is currently employing) to resist or challenge religious fundamentalisms. Why did you act? What was the provocation (if any)? How was your resistance carried out? What allies did you have? What other social movements or actors are challenging religious fundamentalisms in your context? What were the intended or unintended consequences of your strategy?

5. Include in your conclusion responses to the following: What links (if any) do you see between the different types of fundamentalisms and the way they work across regions and religions? What are the root causes, motivators and appeal, as you see them, of religious fundamentalisms in your context? What can women’s rights activists and women’s movements learn from your strategy?





III. Submission Contact Information and Deadline



Proposals for case studies should be submitted to CF@awid.org by 13th June, 2008 at the latest. Any inquiries can also be directed to this address.



For more information on AWID’s “Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms” initiative, please visit www.awid.org/go.php?pg=challenge_fundamentalisms.



We look forward to receiving your contributions!

**directly adapted from the source at www.awid.org