News blog

A spotlight shines again on working conditions and infrastructure safety for garment workers after the collapse of an eight-storey building housing clothing factories in Dhaka.

More than 300 people died and thousands were injured in the disaster on Wednesday in the Bangladeshi capital.
 
ActionAid Bangladesh has long been working with local people to call for safe and fair working conditions. ActionAid partners are on the ground in Dhaka supporting the rescue effort. Our staff have been blogging about what they've seen on our international website.
 
Highstreet clothing giants Mango and Primark, among others, are being called on to defend their use of factories in the building as criticism centres in on ‘sweatshop’ style working conditions and scant regard for workforce welfare.

Many of our brilliant supporters have already been in touch, particularly via social media, asking how they can help.

If you are keen to contribute to the rescue effort and support the ActionAid’s work in Dhaka, please donate via our Emergencies Action Fund.

Last Friday one of our super supporters - Margaret Doak, 79, from Kent - rowed a half-marathon distance in her local gym to raise money for ActionAid. Completing the distance in just two hours she raised a whopping £2,200 - with pledges still coming in. All the money will be doubled - as part of the ActionAid Ready for Anything appeal which sees the UK government matching all funds raised until 3 May 2013.

Margaret said, “I was delighted that I completed the row in that time. I’d done it a few times before, but you just never know on the day.” With her local paper popping in to the gym on the day - and friends and fellow gymgoers lending support, I was in no doubt that Margaret would achieve her goal.

I had spoken to her a couple of weeks previously and was wowed by her enthusiasm and tenacity. She had heard in passing about the idea of rowing to raise money and decided to give it a go. Formerly a teacher, Margaret, hasn't always been an active person though. It was only after an accident when she broke her leg at the age of 41 that she got into physical activity.

But as a charity-focused person, raising money to benefit other people was nothing new for Margaret. She had even founded and run her own charity. When I asked her why she chose to support ActionAid this time around, she told me:

“I’ve always felt a passion for helping the world's poorest people.” Margaret told me that she had researched the charity and that she liked that ActionAid raise money for the people who need it the most, with input from local organisations and communities as to how funds should be spent. ActionAid's emphasis on the effect of poverty on women also appealed to Margaret - from girls who have to stay at home rather than go to school, to women who care for other people's families as well as their own in a conflict situation.  

What an inspirational woman! Why not check out top tips on how to fundraise and be active for ActionAid - and change the lives of people throughout the world through creating your own challenge.

In a move that has garnered outrage on Twitter, the Ugandan minister for ethics and integrity has announced plans to plans to ban the miniskirt as part of the religiously conservative country’s severe anti-pornography bill. This particular portion of the legislation is meant to lessen a woman’s chance of being raped. Under the law, women caught wearing miniskirts will be arrested.
 
The thinking behind this move, that women ‘invite’ sexual assault by their way of dressing or behaviour, is lamentably not new, nor limited to Uganda. You need only look to the Slut Walks of 2011 to see that women face this institutionally entrenched prejudice around the world.
 
The legislative tactics here are also not entirely new: in 2008 the previous ethics minister attempted to prohibit the wearing of low-cut dresses, saying it was like walking “naked” in the street, thus distracting drivers and causing road traffic accidents.
 
Uganda is no stranger to socially conservative policies and actions – earlier this year it deported the UK producer of a “gay” play – so the miniskirt announcement should not come entirely as a surprise. But as suggested by a number of Ugandans who took to Twitter to protest with #savetheminiskirt, the government has bigger fish to fry. Poverty, health, education and infrastructure, for starters.

But this is not just about the Ugandan parliament overlooking critical domestic issues to debate womenswear; it’s an ominous attempt to curtail the rights of women and cast them as licentious beings who are to be blamed if they are sexually assaulted.

Rape is a serious problem in Africa that does deserve legislative attention, though it is neither helpful nor productive to place responsibility on the shoulders of the victims by proscribing items of clothing. Rape in Africa is part of the larger problem of violence against women globally, but is also borne of the continent’s own unique issues, one of which is vast gender inequality.

Women's rights form a large part of the work of ActionAid Uganda. We’ve operated in-country since 1982 and run a number of programmes focused on educating women about their rights and on improving gender equality. This includes not only challenging sexist stereotypes and protecting women from sexual and physical abuse, but also informing women of their rights to land ownership, food and education.

It is a brave woman who demands to be heard here. Luckily, the rugged mountains that have hewn the region’s fierce independent streak have also produced some equally indomitable women. 

The region’s latest hero is 40-year-old Badam Ziri, who has declared her intent to run for a parliamentary seat in Bajaur, which is a subdivision of the territory. In a place where women's votes have been banned, against the federal government’s will, Badam’s decision is a courageous one that risks angering Taliban militants. She remains undeterred: "There will be a lot of people opposing me, but we will try our best." 

Another inspiring tribal Pakistani woman is Maria Toorpakai Wazir, a star female squash player from Waziristan who for years disguised herself as a boy in order to play the sport - and then suffered condemnation when her gender became known. Her father was threatened with “dire consquences” if he continued to allow her to play. Maria now trains in Toronto with Canadian squash champion Jonathon Power, who says she could become “the best player in the world”. 

ActionAid welcomes all moves towards women’s advancement and is working towards a future in which women can speak their minds, leave their houses unaccompanied and run for office without fear of recrimination. ActionAid Pakistan has women’s rights at the heart of its programming. We stand firmly behind Malala's goal of bringing “peace and girls’ education to every part of [Pakistan] and across the globe”. We are helping to form women’s groups in rural areas to teach women and girls about their rights, as well as the three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic).

We prioritised women in our emergency response to the devastating floods of 2010 and in 2006 fought for reforming the unjust Huhood Ordinances a set of laws which discriminate against women by criminalising rape victims. As Pakistan is set to become the largest recipient of British aid – £450 million by 2015 – we will continue to advance women’s rights and gender equality in Pakistan.