When: Tuesday, June 10, 6:30 – 10:30pm
Where: 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street, San Francisco
Tickets: $50 – no host bar
RSVP: Purchase your ticket online, email idexevents@idex.org, or call Gillian on (415) 824-8384 ex 201.
Featured Speaker: Anne Firth Murray, Founding President, the Global Fund for Women and Consulting Professor, Stanford University. Anne has recently published her book, From Outrage to Courage, which will be available at the event. Learn more at www.annefirthmurray.org.
Wander through captivating images of our work in Nepal, Bangladesh and Guatemala as you enjoy sumptuous appetizers. Bid on prints in our silent auction. Preview our Silent Auction items. Don't miss the premier of IDEX's first multimedia video highlighting our work in Nepal.
Reconnect with your friends at IDEX! This evening will be truly enjoyable and a great opportunity to learn more about our work.
Can’t make it! Consider making a donation, enter our drawing, or contact Gillian at (415) 824-8384 to discuss your bids on Silent Auction items.
Labels: Events
As violence continues to increase in Zimbabwe, a consortium of women leaders in that country are calling for urgent involvement from the African Union, the United Nations and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Read the full statement here.After the March 29 election in which the ruling party, ZANU-PF led by President Robert Mugabe lost to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), ZANU-PF has sanctioned violent attacks on targeted MDC supporters (real or perceived) in the urban and rural areas.
According to NGO leaders in Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF is conducting terror campaigns through the military and the youth militia. These campaigns are specifically affecting women and children living in the rural areas. Schools have closed due to the violence and teachers have leaving for their own safety. The figures are overwhelming. It is estimated that:
• 800 homes have been burned
• 10,000 people have fled their homes
• 40 people have been killed
• 7,000 teachers have fled their schools after being attacked or threatened
“Teachers have been upbraided by the ruling party for allegedly siding with the opposition during the nation’s disputed March elections, in which they served as poll monitors.” As stated in the New York Times.
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) reports over 2,000 cases of physical torture and beatings. The youngest reported female victim is a 15-year-old girl who was stripped naked together with her pregnant mother forced to lie down and beaten on the breasts and buttocks.
Actions:
Visit Amnesty International’s website to take direct actions on urgent issues in Zimbabwe.
Contact the African Union:
AU Southern Africa Regional Office (AU/ SARO)
Tel: +265 1 775 335
Fax: +265 1 775 330
Email: oau-saro@malawi.net
Attention: Ms. Susan Sikaneta, Executive Secretary of AU/SARO
African Union Headquarters
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: (251) 11 551 77 00
Fax:(251) 11 551 78 44
Website: www.africa-union.org
Attention: Mrs. Julia Dolly Joiner, Political Affairs Commissioner
Email: JoinerDJ@africa-union.org
Tel: (251) 11 551 77 00 ext 134
Fax:(251) 11 552 58 55
Message: Remind the AU that it is the role of the AU to step in as it is stated in The Constitutive Act of the African Union, which provides in Article 4 the "right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity [as well as a serious threat to legitimate order]."
Contact the United Nations in New York:
Website: www.un.org/
1-212- 963-8302
Ask for the office of Secretary General Ban Ki Moon
Message: Request UN intervention to help Zimbabwe. Cite the cases of violence (above) committed by the ruling party.
Resources:
Appeal from Women NGO leaders
Kubatana.net for the latest information on the elections, the run off and documented violence and news articles written across the world regarding Zimbabwe.
Allafrica.com for the latest news as it’s reported in 130 African news outlets. This is a good place to read the official line from the Zimbabwe state newspaper The Herald.