Messages de soutien
Sélection de Remises de Prix 2011
Prativa SUBEDI - Nepal
A ceremony took place on 8 March 2012 for Prativa Subedi who received an international award from the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) in 2011 for her innovative work in bringing about positive economic and social changes in the lives of rural women; disadvantaged grassroots women are now becoming self-reliant and respected members of their community.
On 8 March 2012, Ms. Durga Ghimire, renowned senior activist, handed the prize certificate to the Nepalese Laureate Prativa Subedi, one of the 10 prizewinners of the WWSF Prize for women's creativity in rural life 2011 for her innovative work in bringing about positive economic and social changes in the lives of rural women, in the company of distinguished guests and more than one hundred social activists, grassroots leaders, NGOs representatives, and newspaper reporters. The event received wide media coverage. Grassroots leaders’ stories were captured and have been aired continuously for the past week on the radio and television. WACN will be sending a 2 minute segment of the ceremony soon to be posted on your blog. Please find one attached photo of Prativa Subedi published in a Popular National Daily with a blurb about WWSF and why Prativa received the award. Many FM radio stations read the caption on March 8th because of its significance to Women's Day. Indeed, choosing March 8th as the day to perform the ceremony proved to be a wise decision. News reporters were very interested in interviewing Prativa and the award helped highlight WACN's pivotal role in rural women's lives.
Saman Buth - Cambodia
Report for WWSF on the outcome of the Award Ceremony by Saman Buth, Cambodia (The Children and Life Association).
On 15th October 2011, Ms Saman Buth, (as one of the laureates among the 10 laureates receiving the WWSF Prize for women’s creativity in rural life 2011), organised a ceremony to encourage rural women to claim their right to gender equality.
Within the 2011 theme of ‘Claim your right to land and inheritance’, the Children and Life Association organised a ceremony that encouraged the empowerment of rural women to explore and comprehend gender equality.
The ceremony was held in Trorkeat Village, Trapaing Srey Commune, Mesang district, Prey Veng Province, Cambodia. It was organised with the cooperation of the local authority of Trorkeat village and the commune council members from two communes of Mesang. Official dignitaries from the relevant government departments were present. These included the Mesang district Governor, the Director of the Education Department, and the representative of the Department of Social Affairs. Local community villagers, teachers and students from the local commune school, and the monks from the local pagoda were also present and participated in the ceremony. Estimates suggest there over 250 people present, with 100 being adults.
The ceremony started at 8am with the following agenda:
- Introduction to the ceremony
- Topic and objective of the ceremony
- District Governor speech
- Director of district Department of Education speech
- Commune council members speeches
- Speeches from rural women representatives
- Singing about the role and responsibility of women and men in the family and community
- Role plays about the special role of women and families in the education of children both girls and boys, and the consequences of abuse, violence and exploitation of women and children.
Ms Saman Buth advised the community that she had been awarded this honour for her work within the community and other communities in Cambodia. She explained that she has been selected as one of 10 laureates for the 2011 Prize from WWSF. She was able to explain to her community, and to the women present that in particular, that this prize was a recognition of her strong cooperation with the communities, the local authority, the Non Government Organisations and strong support from humanitarian groups from Australia, Community Links with Cambodia, led by Ms Enza Santangelo and Barbara Jackson.
With their very kind support, Ms Saman Buth explained that she has been very fortunate to have multiple supports from so many people in her communities who believe in the value and strength of the rural women in each community in Cambodia. She has been able to work with extraordinary women and men, who have equalled shouldered the responsibility to bring to light the full rights for women, to ensure their dignity, their value as mothers in their community but also broadly as the ‘Mother of the World’ as is said in Cambodian society.
In their speeches, dignitaries from government departments, especially the female District Governor, demonstrated their strong support for improvement in gender equality and in the elimination of abuse, exploitation and violence against women and children. She encouraged young women to be exemplary leaders of their generation, stating that women are considered to have a key role in solving domestic, economic and social issues and are key role models for the development of their communities and society.
The members of the commune council (one of the government body established for supporting women and children), clarified their role and responsibility in the affairs of women and children. During the ceremony, the council members demonstrated an awareness of the issues and stressed that they did not hide any cases of violence, abuse and exploitation when they happen. Through their speeches, the commune council members have encouraged more women to empower the next generation of women to be leaders in order to protect women’s rights and their benefits. Discrimination against women was a core theme in the ceremony as was strengthening and encouraging women to be leaders for their community, just as Saman Buth has done.
Community participants appealed to their representatives to assist them in their efforts to fight violence and abuse in the home and to bring women and children real peace, respect and fully implementation of their rights. It was stressed that all women and men should have the same opportunity in get employment and education opportunities.
They also were impressed with the role play performances, performed by children and child peer educators of the Trorkeat village. The key message of the role play performances were to strongly advocate for rural women’s and children’s rights.
The well organised ceremony ended at 11am with all participants agreeing that it was a lot of fun and very informative. Many families were keen to send the message on to their family and friends and were excited by the potential for full equality, especially in their rural life and existence. Saman Buth ended the ceremony encouraging everyone present to keep in mind that the lives of women and their children need real peace and to have their rights respected.
Saman Buth
Director
Children and Life Association
15th October, 2011
Lydia Sasu - Ghana
Lydia Sasu from the Development Action Association in Ghana, Laureate of the WWSF Prize for Women's Creativity in rural life 2011, sent us a brief report of celebrations on the International Day for Rual Women - 15 October - in her country.
