Transforming Women’s lives and Fragile Societies — Empowerment through Education

Transforming the world through institutional imagination

Nurjehan Mawani honoured by UNIFEM Canada

Nurjehan Mawani was the recipient of the 2007 UNIFEM Canada Award. Formerly the Chairperson of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, she is now the AKDN Resident Representative to the Kygyz Republic. Photo: Courtesy of Nurjehan Mawani

"Institutional imagination" was the theme of Nurjehan Mawani's remarks as she accepted the UNIFEM Canada Award for 2007.

UNIFEM — the United Nations Development Fund for Women — works to end violence against women and reduce poverty and exclusion through economic empowerment and education. The award honours Mawani's work in advancing equality for women and girls.

In her role as the Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Mawani led its pioneering work on gender-related persecution and issued the groundbreaking Guidelines on Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution. They have since been adopted by many other countries, impacting the lives of thousands of refugee women and girls.

The Guidelines acknowledge that the traditional definition of human rights was inadequate and did not take into account "the unique ways in which women experience violence and conflict."¹ The old definition effectively excluded society's most vulnerable group from being protected.

It was the recognition of this deep unfairness that led Mawani to develop an institutional response that sought to effectively address a pressing need.

"As Canadians, we have a history of demonstrating institutional imagination in meeting the needs of vulnerable individuals and communities."
— Nurjehan Mawani speaking at the 2007 UNIFEM Canada Gala in Ottawa, Canada, 21 November 2007

She describes this approach as the application of institutional imagination, an idea that supports innovative strategies to bridge gaps between law, policy, and implementation by working across multiple levels and sectors simultaneously.

"It is not enough to be aware of the needs if the institutions in place do not know how to respond to them," said Mawani. "Sometimes we have to step outside of our comfort zone, be imaginative and take risks to find appropriate responses."

As a young woman, Mawani grew up in East Africa, which at the time was under colonial rule. The political and social environment was exclusionary, and presented huge inequities. The response by institutions of the Ismaili Imamat in that context was instrumental, not only to the restoration of human dignity but also in demonstrating the power that institutions can have in transforming perceptions within a society.

The experience taught her about the importance of access to opportunity, merit and hard work, and shaped the manner in which she conducted her life. Mawani notes "it is so important to believe in what you do, to have a purpose that takes you beyond yourself and to follow through with action."

Nurjehan Mawani together with Dr Ishenbai Abdurazakov, former State Secretary of the Kyrgyz Republic and his wife. Photo: Courtesy of Nurjehan Mawani

For Mawani the inspiration and motivation to push boundaries comes from her enduring faith in the human spirit. Throughout her career, she has actively promoted voluntarism, gender issues, multiculturalism and international development. In 1993, she was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada.

Following a distinguished career with the Public Service of Canada, Mawani is now the Resident Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in the Kyrgyz Republic. The role bridges her broad professional and volunteer experience with her personal commitment to the underlying ethic of compassion that guides the AKDN's endeavours.

In the Kyrgyz Republic, she is a firsthand witness to the work of the Imamat, and its impact on individuals, communities and societies, as she continues her journey to transform institutional imagination into an everyday reality.

 

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¹ Transforming Women's lives and Fragile Societies — Empowerment through Education. Remarks by Nurjehan Mawani at the 2007 UNIFEM Canada Gala, Ottawa, Canada, 21 November 2007.

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Girls are becoming as good as boys at mathematics, and are still better at reading

TRADITION has it that boys are good at counting and girls are good at reading. So much so that Mattel once produced a talking Barbie doll whose stock of phrases included "Math class is tough!"

 

Although much is made of differences between the brains of adult males and females, the sources of these differences are a matter of controversy. Some people put forward cultural explanations and note, for example, that when girls are taught separately from boys they often do better in subjects such as maths than if classes are mixed. Others claim that the differences are rooted in biology, are there from birth, and exist because girls' and boys' brains have evolved to handle information in different ways.

 

Luigi Guiso of the European University Institute in Florence and his colleagues have just published the results of a study which suggests that culture explains most of the difference in maths, at least. In this week's Science, they show that the gap in mathematics scores between boys and girls virtually disappears in countries with high levels of sexual equality, though the reading gap remains.

Dr Guiso took data from the 2003 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment. Some 276,000 15-year-olds from 40 countries sat the same maths and reading tests. The researchers compared the results, by country, with each other and with a number of different measures of social sexual equality. One measure was the World Economic Forum's gender-gap index, which reflects economic and political opportunities, education and well-being for women. Another was based on an index of cultural attitudes towards women. A third was the rate of female economic activity in a country, and the fourth measure looked at women's political participation.

 

On average, girls' maths scores were, as expected, lower than those of boys. However, the gap was largest in countries with the least equality between the sexes (by any score), such as Turkey. It vanished in countries such as Norway and Sweden, where the sexes are more or less on a par with one another. The researchers also did some additional statistical checks to ensure the correlation was material, and not generated by another, third variable that is correlated with sexual equality, such as GDP per person. They say their data therefore show that improvements in maths scores are related not to economic development, but directly to improvements in the social position of women.

The one mathematical gap that did not disappear was the differences between girls and boys in geometry. This seems to have no relation to sexual equality, and may allow men to cling on to their famed claim to be better at navigating than women are. However, the gap in reading scores not only remained, but got bigger as the sexes became more equal. Average reading scores were higher for girls than for boys in all countries. But in more equal societies, not only were the girls as good at maths as the boys, their advantage in reading had increased.

This suggests an interesting paradox. At first sight, girls' rise to mathematical equality suggests they should be invading maths-heavy professions such as engineering—and that if they are not, the implication might be that prejudice is keeping them out. However, as David Ricardo observed almost 200 years ago, economic optimisation is about comparative advantage. The rise in female reading scores alongside their maths scores suggests that female comparative advantage in this area has not changed. According to Paola Sapienza, a professor of finance at Northwestern University in Illinois who is one of the paper's authors, that is just what has happened. Other studies of gifted girls, she says, show that even though the girls had the ability, fewer than expected ended up reading maths and sciences at university. Instead, they went on to be become successful in areas such as law.

 

In other words, girls may acquire an absolute advantage over boys as a result of equal treatment. This is something that society, more broadly, has not yet taken on board. Mattel may wish to take note that among Teen Talk Barbie's 270 phrases concerning shopping, parties and clothes, at least one might usefully have been, "Dostoevsky rocks!"

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Deadly dames of Andheri-Virar local

A group of 25 women who had faced harassment while commuting decided to learn self-defence techniques dressed in their everday clothes; three weeks later the confident women are ready to take on any pervert or robber

BAPU DEEDWANIA

Fed-up of constantly feeling vulnerable while using public transport, a group of 25 women train commuters decided to do something about it. They got together and hired a karate coach to teach them self-defence techniques. What's different about this motley crew, however, is that they all train in the attire they travel in.
    So, thrice a week these women, who commute between Andheri to Virar every day, gather at S M Public High School at Bhayandar to learn self-defence techniques in saris, salwar kameezes and jeans. Their coach is Mukesh Bharti, who usually coaches students at the school.
    Forty-five-year-old Gayatri Singh, who is part of the group, said, "I am here because of something that happened to me recently. I was carrying a bag of vegetables and was on my way to home when a young boy suddenly snatched my bag and ran away. This happened in broad daylight on a busy street. I also lost by wallet with the bag."
    Mukesh said he saw a valid point in their request. "I coach them in the outfits they wear while commuting. They cannot be expected to wear a uniform and step out. I am amazed at their enthusiasm and response. To suit their purpose I am coaching them in techniques that they can use effectively for their defence," he said.
HOW IT STARTED
It all started when the group met frequently on the Churchgate-Virar local. Most of them travelled in the second class compartment and often found themselves in each other's company.
    "From our conversations we figured that most of us had encountered some untoward incident on the train or on the streets. These included chain- and wallet-snatching wallets, pulling of dupattas and perverts touching us," said Mona Agarwal, a resident of Naughar Road in Bhayendar.
    It may be noted that in the past six months there has been a significant increase in the number of chain-snatching incidents on local trains between Andheri and Virar.
    These ladies then decided that they had to come up with a solution. "We decided to learn self-defence which will come in handy in any situation," said Asha Singh, a resident of Talao Road.
    When they approached the school, the management was more than willing to oblige. Sangeeta Sharma, principal of the school, said, "It is really nice to see them take the initiative to learn how to deal with adverse situation in life."
    The women, who have been training for the last three weeks say that these techniques have raised their confidence levels and they can now take on any robber or pervert.
HEAR THIS ONE

Two months ago I was robbed of a 5-tola gold chain when I got off the train at Bhayandar station. Two men ran past me after pulling my chain and disappeared in a flash. At the class, I am learning specifically how to deal with such cases. — Asha Singh, 40

Last month, when I came out of the bank after withdrawing some cash, two men on a motorcycle snatched my purse and fled. I lodged a police complaint but nothing happened. I have now learnt a technique that can help me fight with robbers on two-wheelers. — Mona Agarwal, 38

A month-and-a-half ago I was on my way to drop my 3-year-old son to school when a pervert pushed me. I grabbed him and started slapping him and people around me gathered to help. I was inspired by the other women and joined their group. — M Manju, 24

MY MAN, YOU'LL BE VERY SARI INDEED!

45-year-old Gayatri Singh learns how to flatten a robber

HOO! Mona Agarwal

HAAH! Asha Singh

HAAI! Poonam Vishwakarma

YAAH! Nikita Agarwal

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RESPECT THE WOMAN BCOZ.......

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