Press Releases

Women Shaping the World: Voices from Afghanistan, East Timor and Guatemala

February 11, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT
Voice: 626-676-7884
E-mail: info_at_afghanwomensmission.org

Pasadena, CA — Women educators and activists from three parts of the world will discuss their thoughts on women’s issues in their country on Wednesday, March 6th, at 8 pm in, at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Panelists Qudsia Bekeran, Ruth Hayward, Filomena Barros Dos Reis, and Mariana Francisco Xuncax will share their personal histories, expertise on issues ranging from reproductive health to domestic violence, and vision for the future. The discussion, which is free to the public, will explore parallels in the experiences of women from a variety of backgrounds and regions.

Qudsia Bekeran, a political science and international relations major at UCLA, witnessed the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union and lived under the rule of the Taliban before escaping to Pakistan. She came to the United States when she was 17. She works with the Afghan Women’s Mission to provide health care and education and to build sustainable livelihoods for women and child refugees.

Hayward, recently retired Senior Advisor of UNICEF’s Gender, Partnerships and Participation Section, will moderate the discussion. She was principal organizer of the Bellagio Conference, ‘Working with Men to End Gender Violence: Towards a Global Interchange’. She is a consultant who prevents violence against women and girls.

Barros Dos Reis worked for the underground resistance to the Indonesian military’s illegal occupation of East Timor. She counsels victims of military and domestic violence and trains women in isolated communities on human rights, gender and reproductive health issues. She is currently the advocacy officer for the NGO Forum in East Timor and works with the East Timor Action Network.

Xuncax is a native of San Miguel Acatan, Guatemala. She is a nurse and health educator at the Clinica Romero, Los Angeles, and is involved in raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health issues. She also works with the Guatemala Education Action Project.

International Women’s Day was first celebrated on March 8, 1857. Hundreds of garment and textile women workers went on strike in New York City to protest low wages, long hours and poor working conditions. Since then, the day has been recognized by the United Nations and countries all around the globe as a time to recognize the lives, achievements, and success of women.

The event will take place on Wednesday March 6th at 8 pm in the Baxter Lecture Theater. Parking is available in the Wilson Avenue parking structures between California Blvd. and Del Mar Blvd. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Women’s Center at (626) 395-3221. For a full listing of Women’s History Month events check out www.womenscenter.caltech.edu

The event is co-sponsored by the Caltech Y Social Activism Speaker Series, Caltech Women’s Center, Caltech International Student Programs and Amnesty International.

The Afghan Women’s Mission, an organization dedicated to working with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, is a group of people moved to action by the plight of Afghan women. The mission was founded in January 2000 in response to the compelling need for adequate hospital facilities in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan. More information about the plight of Afghan refugees is available on the RAWA website, http://www.rawa.org, or on the Afghan Women’s Mission website, https://www.afghanwomensmission.org.