Moderna Vaccine

 Brenna Rath receives the first round of the vaccine

Arizona Army National Guard Spc. Brenna Rath receives the first round of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Papago Park Military Reservation in Phoenix, Dec. 21, 2020.

She Haat launched at Bagh Pashog (Himachal)

 CM inaugurates Kaushal Vikas Kendra in Pachhad assembly constituency 

Sirmaur//Shimla: 17th December 2020: (The Women screen)::

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur Ji inaugurated Rs. 70 lakh ‘She Haat’, a way site amenities, Rural Haat, local shop, restaurant, guest room and Kaushal vikas Kendra at Bagh Pashog village in Pachhad assembly constituency of Sirmour district, virtually from Shimla today. 

The project is unique in the entire country and will create self-employment opportunities for the women of the area

Jai Ram Thakur Ji said that the whole project was being run by a group of twenty-five SHG women to empower them for self-employment by selling traditional, natural, organic produce and also serve Pahari food, and provide homestay facilities to the visitors. He said that this project was a unique project in the entire country for women and by the women to serve all.

'She Haat' have modern amenities and will definitely boost tourism in the area

Chief Minister said that the ‘She Haat’ also have a two bed room guest house, solar power plant, rain water harvesting system and waste composting, acupressure track and air purifying plants. It has e-vehicle for women to easily ply from their houses, will also be used to ferry natural spring water, he added.

Jai Ram Thakur Ji said that the women in this ‘She Haat’would work in three shifts. He said that the State Government was committed to expand this experiment in other parts of the State as it would provide gainful employment opportunities to the rural women of the State. He said that this would not only provide a glimpse of the State’s culture, cuisine and tradition, but also make women folk self reliant.  Chief Minister said that people of the Pachhad area had given their wholehearted support in the bye elections and BJP candidate Reena Kashyap won by a huge margin. He urged the people of the State to elect honest, hardworking and dedicated candidates in the Panchayati Raj Institutions elections so that the pace of development get boost in at the grass-root level. 

MP Suresh Kashyap said that ‘She Haat’ was an innovative scheme envisioned by the Chief Minister for women empowerment and making them economically independent. He said that State Government has initiated several schemes for ensuring empowerment of the women and other weaker sections of the society. He said that it was the BJP Government in the State that made a provision of 50 per cent reservation in the PRIs for the women.  

Force Focus: A better understanding

 At Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia 

An airwoman participates in a program that allows service members to gain a better understanding of one another's work at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 12, 2020.

Julie Blanks: master’s in military strategy

 Expert in civilian personnel plans too 

New Delhi: 3rd October 2020: (US Dod//The Women Screen)::

Executive Director, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness

Ms. Julie Blanks is the Executive Director, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. 

In her previous capacity, she served as the Principal Director for Military Community and Family Policy, and assisted the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy with a broad portfolio that includes policy, advocacy, and oversight of all community support to service members and families including quality of life issues; family and casualty assistance; morale, welfare and recreation programs; Military OneSource program; and policy oversight of the Defense Department's commissary and exchange services.

Earlier, Ms. Blanks served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy where she was responsible for policy and oversight of civilian personnel plans, policies and programs that affect Department of Defense employees worldwide.

Ms. Blanks entered federal service in 2001. She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College where she earned a master’s degree in military strategy. She holds two additional master’s degrees, one in social work from the University of Alabama and the other in human resources management from Troy University.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication at Auburn University.

Courtesy: US DoD

COVID-19 pandemic is not just a health issue

Date: Friday, March 20, 2020

 It is a profound shock to our societies and economies 

Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, 

She is UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director

One thing is clear about the COVID-19 pandemic, as stock markets tumble, schools and universities close, people stockpile supplies and home becomes a different and crowded space: this is not just a health issue. It is a profound shock to our societies and economies, exposing the deficiencies of public and private arrangements that currently function only if women play multiple and underpaid roles.

We applaud the efforts of governments who are taking extraordinary measures to stop the spread of infections. And the strong leadership, from grassroots to head of state, providing well targeted response, from Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Solberg addressing national anxieties, to Prime Minister Ardern highlighting welfare in her economic measures.

With children out of school, mothers at home may still work, but many have also become teachers and caregivers, with consequences for those previously employed in those roles. For the 8.5 million women migrant domestic workers, often on insecure contracts, income loss also affects their dependents back at home. Professional women like South Korean mother-of-two Sung So-young are reporting the dilemma of needing to return to the office but are having to forgo that to enable their higher-earning partners’ continued work. As schools close in more countries, the number of mothers facing this across the world rises and the consequences accumulate.

By the middle of March there were 207,855 confirmed cases in 166 countries, areas or territories. Without data that is disaggregated by sex, however, these numbers give us only part of the story of the impact on women and men. We need far more sex-disaggregated data to tell us how the situation is evolving, including on differing rates of infection, differential economic impacts, differential care burden, and incidence of domestic violence and sexual abuse. 

Even without this, experience from previous major epidemics points us to specific strengths and vulnerabilities that we can look out for and be proactive to safeguard. Where governments or businesses put income protection in place, this can ease these dilemmas, sustain incomes and avoid driving households into poverty. This response must also include those in the informal economy, where most women who work outside home make their livelihood. Such social protection is best directed specifically to women.

The 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and the 2015-2016 Zika epidemic in Latin America provide essential, gendered public health and socioeconomic lessons. Women in those outbreaks were exposed to both health and economic risks, as they are again now, in ways intrinsically connected with their roles in the community and responsibilities as caregivers within the home and family.

For example, both Ebola and Zika infections are potentially catastrophic for pregnant women. Yet during both previous outbreaks, access to family planning services were very limited, and pregnant and lactating women were excluded from vaccination against the viruses. This underlines the importance of sustained maternal health services to avoid a resurgence of birth-related deaths, and equal access for women to the development and use of all medical products including vaccines once produced.

In Liberia, 85 per cent of daily market traders are women. Their livelihoods and economic security suffered as Ebola-related travel restrictions limited trade and affected perishable goods. Back then, together with the Central Bank of Liberia, we were able to help thousands of women cross-border traders to save and expand their businesses through cash transfers via mobile technology. This highlights the importance of looking ahead to women’s roles in recovery measures, and to the innovative use of technology to problem-solve.

This is a moment for governments to recognize both the enormity of the contribution women make and the precarity of so many. This includes a focus on sectors where women are over-represented and underpaid, such as daily wage earners, small business owners, those working in cleaning, caring, cashiering and catering sectors and in the informal economy.

Globally, women make up 70 per cent of frontline workers in the health and social sector, like nurses, midwives, cleaners and laundry workers. We need mitigation strategies that specifically target both the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on women and that support and build women’s resilience, as we saw in Liberia and elsewhere. And to make those responses as well designed as possible, women should be fully engaged in their creation, be priority recipients of aid, and partners in building the longer-term solutions.

We are learning more every day from the arc of the pandemic in China. We have been working closely there with country leadership as part of the UN collective response. Joint campaigns have reached 1 billion people, with communications that raise awareness through public health information, combat stigma and discrimination, reflect women’s specific needs, promote women’s leadership and contributions and develop recovery plans that link equality, health and the economy.

I am proud that our UN Women team has been there every step of the way, making sure of access to gender responsive information and collaborating with sister agencies like UNFPA which has been mobilizing support for pregnant women and safe conditions for childbirth. We are also working with women’s organizations all over the world, for example with the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) where women, especially in highly segregated environments, can lack critical information. Here, women have organized themselves into a network that educates women and girls about keeping safe and avoiding infections.

All of us engaged in this effort, whether public or private sector, need to take a coordinated, people-centred approach to rapidly building health system capacity in both developed and developing countries, making a conscious effort to put women front and centre. For example, creating better access to appropriate personal protective equipment for home-based caregivers, and removing obstacles to their work, by promoting flexible working arrangements, and ensuring supplies of menstrual hygiene products. These needs are even more important for areas under lockdown or quarantine. So too are considerations of gender-based violence that are exacerbated by these conditions, but may not receive the attention they need, in the drive to respond to the pandemic.

Violence against women is already an epidemic in all societies, without exception. Every day, on average, 137 women are killed by a member of their own family. We also know that levels of domestic violence and sexual exploitation spike when households are placed under the increased strains that come from security, health and money worries, and cramped and confined living conditions. We see this frequently among displaced populations in crowded refugee camps; and reported domestic violence has tripled recently in some countries practising social distancing.

Cyberviolence too has become a routine feature of the internet, and as movement restrictions increase online gaming and use of chat rooms, this is an area for vigilance to protect girls. Girls too can step up their own resistance work in this area, and lead with social media solutions. In China the hashtag #AntiDomesticViolenceDuringEpidemic has taken off, helping to expose violence as a risk during lockdown and linked to online resources.

COVID-19 provides us with an opportunity for radical, positive action to redress long-standing inequalities in multiple areas of women’s lives. There is scope for not just endurance, but recovery and growth. I ask governments and all other service providers including the private sector to take this opportunity to plan their response to COVID-19 as they have never done before, and fully take a gender perspective into account, proactively building gender expertise into response teams and embedding gender dimensions within response plans. For example, include surge funding for women’s shelters so they can provide for women who need to escape violent relationships, and aim economic support and bail outs specifically at retail sectors, hospitality and small businesses where women are predominantly employed on precarious contracts, if any, and are most vulnerable to forced cost-saving.

All of this needs funding; organizations responding to COVID-19 need budgeted resources for gender and social inclusion and I urge donors to include this in their support, viewing this as a constant, strongly positive element to include in development budgets and enhancing rather than cutting support to gender equality measures. Organizations serving women need assistance to bolster their response and to prepare for the recovery. This needs resources that many organizations lack. We appeal to funders to enhance their support for women rather than take an austerity approach. A global, coordinated response of the magnitude that followed the financial crisis is needed, constructed with a gender lens, and fully inclusive.

This is a time of reckoning for our national and personal values and a recognition of the strength of solidarity for public services and society as a whole. This is an opportunity to build back better, stronger, resilient and equal societies. It is a time for bold prioritization. Taking the right steps now with an eye to a restored future could bring both relief and hope to the women of the world.

(Courtesy: UN Women)

Anita Bhatia on Women and COVID-19:

Thursday: 26th March 2020

 Five things governments can do now 

--By UN Women Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia

Governments the world over are struggling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. While some voices have flagged the impacts on women, gender concerns are not yet shaping the decisions that mainly male leaders are making. At the same time, many of the impacts of COVID-19 are hitting women hardest. Here’s why:

First, while the economic and social impacts on all are severe, they are more so for women. Many of the industries in the formal economy directly affected by quarantines and lockdowns—travel, tourism, restaurants, food production—have very high female labour force participation. Women also constitute a large percentage of the informal economy in informal markets and agriculture around the world. In both developed and developing economies, many informal sector jobs—domestic workers, caregivers—are mostly done by women who typically lack health insurance and have no social safety net to fall back on. 

At the same time, women typically shoulder a greater burden of care. On average women did three times as much unpaid care work as men at home even before COVID-19. Now, formal sector female employees with children are balancing one or more of the following: work (if they still have it), childcare, homeschooling, elder care, and housework. Female-headed households are particularly vulnerable.

Second, the crisis is having an impact on women’s health and safety. Apart from the direct impacts of the disease, women may find it hard to access much needed maternal health services given that all services are being directed to essential medical needs. Availability of contraception and services for other needs may become disrupted. Women’s personal safety is also at risk. The very conditions that are needed to battle the disease—isolation, social distancing, restrictions on freedom of movement—are, perversely, the very conditions that feed into the hands of abusers who now find state-sanctioned circumstances tailor-made for unleashing abuse. 

Third, because the majority of frontline health workers—especially nurses—are women, their risk of infection is higher. (By some estimates 67 per cent global health force is women). So, while attention must be paid to ensuring safe conditions for ALL caregivers, special attention is needed for female nurses and carers—not only in access to personal protective equipment like masks but also for other needs such as menstrual hygiene products—that may be easily and inadvertently overlooked, but are essential to ensuring they are able to function well. 

Finally, it is striking how many of the key decision-makers in the process of designing and executing the pandemic response are men. When any one of us switches on the television anywhere in the world we see a sea of men. This is not surprising given that women still do not enjoy the same degree of participation in major decision-making bodies—governments, parliaments, cabinets or corporations—as men do. Only 25 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide are women, and less than 10 per cent of Heads of State or Government are women. While we have a few shining examples of women Heads of State or Government, women are conspicuous by their absence in decision-making fora in this pandemic. 

Here are five actions governments can take now to address these issues: 

First, ensure that the needs of female nurses and doctors are integrated into every aspect of the response effort. At a minimum, this means ensuring that menstrual hygiene products such as sanitary pads and tampons are available for female caregivers and frontline responders as part of personal protective equipment. This will ensure that they do not face unnecessary discomforts in already challenging situations. But most importantly, talk to the caregivers and listen to their needs and respond. They deserve all the support we can provide right now, particularly support in terms of much-needed critical medical equipment. 

Second, ensure that hotlines and services for all victims of domestic abuse are considered “essential services“ and are kept open and law enforcement is sensitized to the need to be responsive to calls from victims. Follow the example of Quebec and Ontario, which have included shelters for women survivors in the list of essential services. This will ensure that the pandemic does not inadvertently lead to more trauma, injury and deaths during the quarantine period, given the high proportion of violent deaths of women perpetrated by intimate partners. 

Third, bailout and stimulus packages must include social protection measures that reflect an understanding of women’s special circumstances and recognition of the care economy. This means ensuring health insurance benefits for those most in need and paid and/or sick leave for those unable to come to work because they are taking care of children or elders at home. 

For informal sector employees, who constitute the vast majority of the female labour force in developing economies, special efforts should be made to deliver compensatory payments. Identifying those informal sector workers will be a challenge and will need to take account of a country's particular circumstances, but it is worth the effort to ensure more equity in outcomes.

Fourth, leaders must find a way to include women in response and recovery decision-making. Whether at the local, municipal or national level, bringing the voices of women into decision-making will lead to better outcomes; we know from many settings that diversity of views will enrich a final decision. Alongside this, policy-makers should leverage the capacities of women’s organizations. Reaching out to enlist women’s groups will help ensure a more robust community response as their considerable networks can be leveraged to disseminate and amplify social distancing messaging. The Ebola response benefited from the involvement of women’s groups, why not this? 

Finally, policy makers must pay attention to what is happening in peoples’’ homes and support an equal sharing of the burden of care between women and men. There is a great opportunity to “unstereotype” the gender roles that play out in households in many parts of the world. One concrete action for governments, particularly for male leaders, is to join our campaign, HeForShe and stay tuned for more information about “HeforShe@home”, whereby we enlist men and boys to ensure that they are doing their fair share at home and alleviating some of the care burdens that fall disproportionately on women.

These actions and more are urgent. Building in the needs of women offers an opportunity for us to “build back better”.

What better tribute to our shared humanity than to implement policy actions that build a more equal world (UN Women)

Thursday: 26th March 2020

help for sexual assault survivors has not diminished

Wednesday 19th August 2020

 It remained continued even during the Corona Crisis 

Special Features from DOD: 19th August 2020: (DOD//The Women Screen)::

The Department of Defense (DOD) announced that help for sexual assault survivors has not diminished during the National Emergency declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once DOD put Force Health Protection measures in place, victim assistance professionals quickly shifted to telephone support, ensuring survivors received uninterrupted timely, professional, and quality assistance.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed all of our lives. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to helping our warriors and their families who may be seeking assistance with an experience of sexual assault,” said Dr. Nate Galbreath, acting director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO). “We want to assure everyone in the DOD community that we are still here to support them on their healing journey.”

Continued Support//First Responders

Service members and adult dependents who have been victims of sexual assault still have access to the services of a sexual assault response coordinator (SARC) or sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR) victim advocates who can help them report the assault, and hold their alleged offenders appropriately accountable.

When any Service member or adult dependent reports a sexual assault, the SARC addresses the victim’s immediate safety needs, connects the victim to recovery-oriented resources, and assigns a SAPR victim advocate.

The SAPR victim advocate provides advocacy and assistance throughout the medical, investigative, and legal processes, as appropriate. Upon determining eligibility, SAPR victim advocates will inform the victim of his or her option to make a Restricted or Unrestricted report.  Those making a Restricted Report may also consider providing information to the Catch a Serial Offender (CATCH) program.

Special Victims Counsel (Army and Air Force) and Victims Legal Counsel (Navy and Marine Corps), chaplains, and healthcare providers also continue to be available. To find out how to connect with these providers, contact your local SARC and SAPR victim advocates through the DOD Safe Helpline at https://www.safehelpline.org/nearme or 877-995-5247.

DOD Safe Helpline

The DOD Safe Helpline is a hotline dedicated to members of the DOD community affected by sexual assault. Safe Helpline offers completely anonymous, confidential, 24/7 support available online at www.safehelpline.org or by calling 877-995-5247. In addition, the Safe Helpline Mobile App provides access to one-on-one support, peer-to-peer support, information, resources and access to self-care exercises 24/7, worldwide, on a mobile device. Safe Helpline personnel can provide crisis intervention support and – with their robust and verified database of resources across the nation -- refer members to care resources within their local community or to the closest SARC or SAPR victim advocate.

What is New//Electronic Forms

If SAPR personnel are unable to meet with a Service member in person due to COVID-19 restrictions, the SARC of SAPR victim advocate can explain the DD Form 2910, or “Victim Preference Statement,” and get the member’s verbal approval over the phone, as well as accept electronic signatures.

Up-to-Date Knowledge of SAFE Possibilities

In an effort to mitigate to any impacts the pandemic has had on the administration of  Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations (SAFEs), SARC and SAPR victim advocates worked with their SAFE providers to update response procedures. Individuals seeking a SAFE should telephone their installation SARC/SAPR victim advocate in advance for instructions on where and how to present for medical care. Service members experiencing injury, requiring immediate medical attention, should not delay in seeking assistance at an emergency room.

More Frequent Check-Ins

Travel Restrictions and Stay at Home Orders necessary to limit the spread of the pandemic may exacerbate stress for some, including Service members who now may be unable to move to their new duty stations. 

SARCs and SAPR victim advocates can check in with members more frequently (particularly if the member requests) or reinitiate contact with them (as circumstances indicate) to identify any safety issues or concerns.

Up-to-Date Info on Resource Access Amid COVID

As travel restrictions and Stay at Home orders begin to ease, installation commanders will have the authority to adjust restrictions based on local Health Protection Condition Levels. It is important to contact a local SARC/SAPR victim advocate to obtain the most current information. To find out how to connect with your local SARC and SAPR victim advocates, please contact the DOD Safe Helpline at https://www.safehelpline.org/nearme or 877-995-5247. 

Support for Women’s Empowerment Principles

Tuesday: 18th August 2020
 Leading companies in Vietnam sign the CEO Statement of 

Business leaders in Vietnam join the "Equality Means Business" Forum in Hanoi where they signed on to the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Photo: UN Women Vietnam

Hanoi: (Vietnam):: 18th August 2020: (UN Women//The Women Screen)::

Business leaders in Viet Nam join the "Equality Means Business" Forum in Ha Noi where they signed on to the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Photo: UN Women Viet Nam

Ha Noi, Viet Nam–Twenty-one business leaders in Viet Nam joining a forum hosted by UN Women have signed the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) as they charted the next steps to achieve gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.

The companies endorsed the Statement in the presence of the “Equality Means Business” forum organizers – UN Women, the EU Delegation in Viet Nam and the Viet Nam Women Entrepreneur Council (VWEC) under the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). They agreed to continue encouraging more businesses in the country to sign on.

Established by UN Women and United Nations Global Compact, the WEPs promote business practices that empower female workers. Signatories commit to take seven steps including giving women senior corporate posts and treating all workers fairly. UN Women also works to promote women in the private sector through its WeEmpowerAsia programme, which is funded by the European Union. The programme involves Viet Nam and six other Asian countries.

During the forum, the company representatives exchanged ideas on enhancing enterprise competitiveness, promotion of women’s participation in supply chains, and strategies for investing in women’s business leadership and talent. They also underlined the need for strong corporate leadership to scale ambitions into actions.

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, UN Women Viet Nam Country Representative, opened the gathering noting how empowering women strengthens the bottom line of businesses: “There is a direct correlation between investing in women’s employment and GDP per capita: countries with greater gender equality have faster-growing and more competitive economies. Likewise, businesses with greater gender equality display higher returns, higher levels of productivity and competitiveness, with better labour force and work environments.”

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh, Chairwoman of the Viet Nam Women Entrepreneur Council (VWEC), shared at the forum: “Expansion of employment opportunities, dedication and promotion for women and men in community, at the workplace and in supply chain will exploit potentiality, strength of all. This is the perfect supplement and foundation to achieve the prosperity and sustainability of each country and company.”    

Tom Corrie, First Counsellor and Deputy Head of Cooperation Section at the European Union Delegation to Viet Nam said: “Viet Nam ranks the 3rd among ASEAN countries, in terms of gender gap score and in terms of economic participation and opportunities. Obviously, further efforts need to be placed on women economic empowerment. And I am glad to see European companies signing CEO’ commitment to Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), promoted by the WeEmpowerAsia programme, for which the EU is pleased to contribute.”

At present, there are 3,358 WEPs signatories worldwide, of which 67 are in Viet Nam including the 21 new signatories that had signed at the event.

The event, held ahead of World Entrepreneurs Day on August 21, saw the participation of Vietnamese as well as European businesses based in the country that highlighted the need to strengthen trade and cooperation links between European and Vietnamese markets as both sides continue advancing women’s economic rights and opportunities. (UN women)

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UN Women AsiaPacific

@unwomenasia

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Aug 18

Leading companies in #VietNam today signed the 

@WEPrinciples

 as they chart the next steps to empowering more women! READ MORE: https://bit.ly/2Q5e7Vm

This Time Women Day to be celebrated during Night

International Womens Day to be Celebrated in city on Intervening Night of  March 7 & 8 

Walkathon  Cultural Events, Stall to be set up for women 

ADC (D) Reviews Arrangements Regarding This Event 

Urges city residents to participate in this event in large numbers 

Ludhiana: 2nd March 2020: (The Women Screen Bureau)::

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Mrs Amrit Singh today informed that International Women’s Day would be organised in the city on the intervening night of March 7 and 8, 2020. She said that a walkathon, cultural events, stalls etc would be set up during this event.

A meeting to review the arrangements for this event was chaired by ADC (D) Mrs Amrit Singh in her office, here today.

She informed that the walkathon would be flagged off by Deputy Commissioner Mr Pradeep Kumar Agrawal from Fountain Chowk at 10 pm on the intervening night of March 7 and 8, 2020. She said that the cultural events and stalls of different government departments, NGOs and self help groups would be organised in the grounds of Government College for Girls, here.

Mrs Amrit Singh urged all the government departments to ensure that all arrangements for this event are put in place on time. She said that the main aim of organising this event is to create a sense of security in the minds of women.