Mahila Shanti Sena
WOMEN’S PEACE BRIGADE INTERNATIONAL • FOUNDED: FEBRUARY 2002
NEWSLETTER  VOLUME 5, #2  NOVEMBER, 2014
Compiled by: Dr. Rama Singh, Professor, Department of Biology and Centre for Peace Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Ph: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24378, Fax: (905) 522-6066; [email protected]; www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/gandhi
November 25 • International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
SPECIAL
ISSUE
Murdered and Missing
Aboriginal Women of Canada
1181 Confirmed
The drums will not remain silent
Why This International Day?
Facts and Figures
• Violence against women is a human rights violation
• Up to 70 per cent of women experience
violence in their lifetime.
• Violence against women is a consequence
of discrimination against women, in law
and also in practice, and of persisting
inequalities between men and women
• Violence against women impacts on,
and impedes, progress in many areas,
including poverty eradication, combating
HIV/AIDS, and peace and security
• Violence against women and girls is not
inevitable. Prevention is possible and essential
• Violence against women continues
to be a global pandemic.
• Between 500,000 to 2 million people are
trafficked annually into situations including
prostitution, forced labour, slavery or servitude,
according to estimates. Women and girls account
for about 80 per cent of the detected victims
• It is estimated that more than 130 million girls and
women alive today have undergone FGM/C, mainly
in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries.
• The cost of intimate partner violence in the
United States alone exceeds $5.8 billion
per year: $4.1 billion is for direct medical
and health care services, while productivity
losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.
On Februrary 13, The Native Women Association of Canada presented 21,000
signatures to the House of Commons, calling for a national inquiry
A national inquiry will cleanse
our conscience and help national healing
MSS – Partner Organizations
CANADA
Canadian Gandhi Foundation for World
Peace,
Edmonton, Canada
Mahila Shanti Sena (MSS)
(Women’s Peace Brigade International)
INDIA
ADITHI (NGO)
Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India
Asha Darshan
Kumarikata, Assam
Gandhi Peace Foundation
Rajghat, New Delhi, India
Gandhian Studies Foundation
Rajghat, Varanasi, U.P., India
Jaya Prakash Bharati (NGO)
Rasulpur, Saran, Bihar, India
Kasturba Gandhi Foundation
Agartala, Tripura, India
Mahila Shanti Sena
Manipur, India
Shrambharati (NGO)
Khadigram, Bihar, India
...Give women a chance...
…Make them agents of change…
...Help break the circle of poverty, violence and neglect...
...It (each village community) should be able to plan its
total life in terms of economy, education, health and other
things pertaining to local life. The village community
needs an army of peace-workers, who will not fight
among themselves but are willing to solve problems and
resolve conflicts and disputes peacefully. In this task of
neighbourhood-building, women are likely to be better
than men. That is the rationale of Mahila Shanti Sena...
..Can we not use her (woman’s) creative talents to
make society more human and enlightened?
Acharya Ramamurti
Serv Seva Sangh
Doimukh, Arunachal Pradesh
What is Mahila Shanti Sena?
Tamulpur Anchalik Gramdan Sangh
(TAGS)
Kumarikata, Assam, India
It is a peace movement
Vision Society for Interactive
Operational Needs (VISION)
Varanasi, India
Unnayan (NGO)
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
USA
Sustainable Economic and Educational
Development Society (SEEDS)
MSS (International)
Board Members
Subhash Dighe, Physiotherapist, Hamilton
Reva Joshee, Professor, OISE,
University of Toronto
Graeme MacQueen, Professor (Emeritus),
McMaster University
Sri Gopal Mohanty, Professor (Emeritus),
McMaster University
Anne Pearson, Assistant Professor,
Department of Religious Studies,
McMaster University
Karen Sihra, Graduate Student,
OISE, University of Toronto
Rama Singh, Professor,
Department of Biology, and Centre for
Peace Studies, McMaster University
Mark Vorobej, Professor,
Department of Philosophy,
McMaster University
Ashley White, Ottawa
MSS is a registered not-for-profit
organization in Canada.
Declaration: The opinions expressed
in this newsletter are those of the
authors and not neccessarily of MSS
or the partner orginizations.
•to empower women in order to build a peaceful and just society
•to raise mass awareness among women to
realize their strength and power
•to focus on problems facing women such as violence,
poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and neglect.
•to provide training in the rudiments of peace,
democracy and development
•to promote Gandhian tradition of engaging
in constructive village service.
Participation in MSS peace movement is open to both men and women.
When did it start and what has followed?
•Conceptualized by Late Acharya Ramamurti, a revered
social activist and leader in Ganhian tradition.
•Created by rural women at the Buddhist City, Vaishali,
in Vashali Sabha held in Frebruary 2002.
•Attracted about 10,000 women in Bihar to Vaishali Sabha.
•Founded by Shrambharati (NGO, India) and McMaster University.
•Spread to North Eastern States of India, UP and Odisha.
•Held three conferences, one in Vashali (2002) and
supported by UNICEF and McMaster, the second in New
Delhi (2005) supported by CIDA, Govt of India and
McMaster, and the third in Sarnath, Varanasi (2007)
•MSS members getting elected to Panchayats
and elected women joining MSS
How does it operate?
It fosters awareness among women on all the above issues
through training camps, workshops and conferences and
spreading in regions by formation of MSS groups of five or ten.
It promotes neighbourhood building, peaceful settlement of
mutual conflicts, peace rallies. It encourages to join other women
groups, say self-help groups (SHG) for income generation.
Where is the
Women’s Rage?
1,200 silenced aboriginal
voices should be cause
for a national inquiry
By Rama Singh
Hamilton Spectator, June 20, 2014
The growing number of
missing, murdered native
women is a national tragedy.
In a parliamentary democracy with
multiple parties and adversarial
relationships it’s not surprising, or
rather common, to see parties hold
opposite positions on different
issues. However, from time to time
an issue rises above party politics
and calls on our conscience and the
government makes the right decision.
A recently released RCMP report
reviewed nearly 1,200 policereported incidents of 164 aboriginal
women considered missing and
1,017 murdered aboriginal women
between 1980 and 2012. Repeated
calls for a national inquiry have
been rebuffed by the federal
government. One wonders if the
simple reason the government
doesn’t want to launch an inquiry
is because doing so would be
backtracking from what it has been
telling the world — all is well with
Canadian aboriginal communities.
One would have thought a
national inquiry would provide
a mechanism for the nation
to come together to show
our collective concern for the
suffering of the aboriginal
community. Furthermore,
it will help us avoid similar
tragedies in the future, and
to help protect all the sisters,
daughters, mothers and
grandmothers of this great land.
The rape and killing of women
is not unique to any nation,
culture or religion. It is not
confined to the rich or the
poor. Nonetheless, the specific
circumstances vary from country
to country. The case of missing
or murdered aboriginal women
stands out as an egregious case
of violence against women.
All but a few of these 1,200
or so cases are the result of
persistent racist and sexist acts
of violence against poor and
vulnerable aboriginal women.
Racist and sexual crimes strike
at the heart of a community; no
greater insult can be inflicted
on the honour of a community.
These senseless deaths have
not only inflicted pain and
suffering on countless families,
but have also resulted in the
demoralization of aboriginal
communities as a whole —
making our brothers and
sisters feel no one cares, and
that the nation has abandoned
them in their hour of need.
The death of an aboriginal
woman may not always capture
the media’s attention; however,
the rape and murder of women
and children are heinous crimes
that, if not checked, can slowly
gnaw away at the soul of a
nation. These unsolved cases
are a shameful part of our
past, and a national tragedy.
Canada has been in the forefront
of nations in trying to uphold
international laws and treaties
pertaining to human rights and
human dignity. Canada has also
played a key role in UN resolutions
promoting national action plans to
protect women from violence. Canada
is helping to find abducted Nigerian
girls. It is time that Canada adopted
its own national plan of action to
stop violence against women. From
all corners of the country Canadians
have been calling on the government
to launch a public inquiry.
Canada is a great country, but no
country can become great by wealth
or power alone. Conscience must be
part of the foundation of all nations
aspiring to greatness. We need all
Canadians, irrespective of their
political affiliation, to stand united on
this issue and force the government
to launch a national inquiry.
A national inquiry will not bring
these women back. But an inquiry
will help heal a great national
wound, and it will provide lessons
for the younger generation on
how to respect women and avoid
inflicting dehumanizing suffering.
The aboriginal people of Canada
have been subject to disease and
decimation, starvation, sexual abuse
and assimilation and, miraculously,
they have survived and shown great
resilience. We cannot change the past.
We have learned from the wisdom
of the aboriginal community; we
can also learn from their suffering.
aboriginal people deserve this inquiry.
This is an issue that should weigh
on our conscience. Canadians are
a conscientious people, but who
speaks for the conscience of Canada?
Why is the government not listening?
Where is the women’s rage?
Rama Singh is professor of biology
at McMaster University and chair
of Gandhi Peace Festival.
[email protected]
3
The drums are silent
death, lack of self-esteem, bleak future, possible
drug abuse and sexual exploitation and then death.
Missing and murdered aboriginal
women deserve a national inquiry
Each MMAW case may have its own story but one
thing is for sure. These women did not die simply
because they were aboriginal. A few may have, at
the hand of racists and psychopaths, but
most probably died because of
their life circumstances, an
outcome of the aboriginal
condition that was
probably not too
different from
Fontaine’s.
By Rama Singh
The ink on the RCMP report on the murdered and
missing aboriginal women (MMAW) of Canada had
hardly dried when we heard of the unfortunate
case of Tina Fontaine. The wrapped-up body of
the 15-year-old aboriginal girl was pulled from
the bottom of the Red River in Winnipeg Aug.
17. She had been missing since Aug. 9. Fontaine
adds to the growing list of 1,181 cases of MMAW
from 1980 to 2012 reported by RCMP last May.
Fontaine’s case has intensified the calls for a national
inquiry from all corners of Canada. Assembly of
First Nations, premiers of all provinces, Canadian
Human Rights Commission, National Women’s
Association of Canada, the federal NDP and
ordinary men and women have added their voice.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper is not moved;
he remains in a state of denial. In his remarks
about Fontaine, he said “we should not view
this as a sociological phenomenon; we should
view it as a crime.” His cabinet colleagues agree
with him. They speak with one voice: The prime
minister is right, Fontaine’s case is one of crime,
of law and order; no need for a national inquiry.
The prime minister is wrong. To see that Fontaine’s
death is a crime and a sociological phenomenon all
one has to do is read the story of her short life. A
broken family, a toddler separated from her parents,
raised by her aunt then put into the custody of
Manitoba Child and Family Services, isolation, an
alcoholic mother, a cancer-ridden father beaten to
4
Some
victims have
shown signs of
inflicted pain beyond
description. These cases
are more than simple crimes.
I have spent hours thinking about why the prime
minister would not want to order an inquiry. Harper’s
governing style in general and his stand on the case
of MMAW in particular, remind me of the social
structure controlled by alpha males in some species.
“Alpha male” refers to the organizational power
structure where one dominant male sits at the
top of the power hierarchy controlling many
females and his offspring.
The alpha male is surrounded
by many subordinate
males who, from time
to time, challenge
his authority
but generally
of dissent — all point toward the makeup of a
society run by alpha males. Aboriginal women
are facing a tyranny of neglect, denial and half
measures. A female prime minister would likely
have ordered a national inquiry long ago.
Murdered and missing women cannot speak
for themselves. Fontaine cannot speak. But we
can, you can. Women in parliament can.
Where are the aboriginal young men and where
are their drums? The silence of their drums speaks
of a society of neglect and hopelessness.
Why does the prime minister not want to order
an inquiry? It is not because he is unaware of
the situation, he is not ignorant; he is daily
surrounded by cabinet ministers and advisers
and government has no problem in deciding and
redressing some of the wrongs of the past —
from the abuses of the residential school system
to the War Measures Act to internment. This
often does not involve more than offering an
apology or finding some funds for a memorial.
These things happened in the past for which this
government cannot be blamed. It’s good politics.
In the case of MMAW, however, the prime minister
knows only too well that a national inquiry
would involve more than tallying who died and
where; it would involve why they died, it would
involve digging deep into the social causes and
possible political neglect and mishandling of
aboriginal people. The outcome of the inquiry
frightens the government. This government does
not want the world to know what will come
out of such an inquiry, not on their watch.
An inquiry will probably happen. The question is not
if but when. We must let the government know where
we stand, where Canadians stand. An inquiry will
be a waste of time unless there is a genuine desire
to find a transformative solution. The inquiry can
galvanize public support for a national plan of action.
do not dare
and remain
silent. Obedience is
rewarded, insubordination
is shunned. Females are
controlled and suppressed.
The structure of our current parliamentary
democracy — fewer women in the parliament,
their silence on the issue of the aboriginal cases
and most of all, the closed party caucus, the lack
I say to the young people: Break your silence, sound
the drum, speak up. Join hands and let the circle of
friends stretch from coast to coast to coast in support
of aboriginal women. It’s the right thing to do.
Rama Singh is a professor in the department of biology and
past-chair of Gandhi Peace Festival. Gandhi Peace Festival
Advisory Committee has written to Prime Minister Harper
asking for a national inquiry.
Hamilton Spectator, September 17, 2014.
5
Missing and Murdered
Aboriginal Women
RCMP National Report: Executive summary
In late 2013, the Commissioner of the RCMP
initiated an RCMP led study of reported incidents
of missing and murdered Aboriginal women across
all police jurisdictions in Canada. This report
summarizes that effort and will guide Canadian Police
operational decisionmaking on a solid foundation.
It will mean more targeted crime prevention,
better community engagement and enhanced
accountability for criminal investigations. It will also
assist operational planning from the detachment
to national level. In sum, it reveals the following:
• Police-recorded incidents of Aboriginal
female homicides and unresolved missing
Aboriginal females in this revie total 1,181 164 missing and 1,017 homicide victims.
• There are 225 unsolved cases of either missing
or murdered Aboriginal females: 105 missing for
more than 30 days as of November 4, 2013, whose
cause of disappearance was categorized at the
time as “unknown” or “foul play suspected” and
120 unsolved homicides between 1980 and 2012.
• The total indicates that Aboriginal women
are over-represented among Canada’s
murdered and missing women.
• There are similarities across all female homicides.
Most homicides were committed by men and
most of the perpetrators knew their victims —
whether as an acquaintance or a spouse.
• The majority of all female homicides
are solved (close to 90%) and there is
little difference in solve rates between
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal victims.
This report concludes that the total number of
murdered and missing Aboriginal females exceeds
previous public estimates. This total significantly
contributes to the RCMP’s understanding of this
challenge, but it represents only a first step. It is the
RCMP’s intent to work with the originating agencies
responsible for the data herein to release as much of
it as possible to stakeholders. Already, the data on
missing Aboriginal women has been shared with the
National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified
6
Tina Fontaine was pulled from
the Red River in Winnipeg
Remains (NCMPUR), which will be liaising with
policing partners to publish additional cases on the
Canada’s Missing website (www.canadasmissing.
ca). Ultimately, the goal is to make information more
widely available after appropriate vetting. While
this matter is without question a policing concern,
it is also a much broader societal challenge.
The collation of this data was completed by
the RCMP and the assessments and conclusions
herein are those of the RCMP alone. The report
would not have been possible without the
support and contribution of the Canadian Centre
for Justice Statistics at Statistics Canada.
As with any effort of such magnitude, this report
needs to be caveated with a certain amount of
error and imprecision. This is for a number of
reasons: the period of time over which data was
collected was extensive; collection by investigators
means data is susceptible to human error and
interpretation; inconsistency of collection of variables
over the review period and across multiple data
sources; and, finally, definitional challenges.
The numbers that follow are the best available data
to which the RCMP had access to at the time the
information was collected. They will change as police
understanding of cases evolve, but as it stands, this
is the most comprehensive data that has ever been
assembled by the Canadian policing community
on missing and murdered Aboriginal women.
Full report can be obtained from:
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/pubs/mmaw-faapd-eng.pdf
Can You Hear the
Women Raging?
Society can no longer see gendered
violence as a women’s issue
Doreen Nicoll
Hamilton Spectator , June 26, 2014
It’s exam time now, so let’s take a pop quiz that I
give at the beginning of my workshops. Raise your
hand if you believe in human rights. Generally, every
hand in the room shoots sky high. Raise your hand
if you believe in women’s rights. Almost every hand
goes up. Now, raise your hand if you’re a feminist.
Most women and a few men are waving to me.
I always find the results interesting because women
rights are human rights. A feminist is any person
— female or male — who believes that women’s
rights are human rights and who works toward
equality for all women and girls. Ending gendered
violence is only one goal of the feminist movement.
African-American journalist and social activist
Evelyn Cunningham observed that, “women are
the only oppressed group in our society that lives
in intimate association with their oppressors.”
When I read Prof. Rama Singh’s Comment page
article, Where is the Women’s Rage? ( June 21), I
was pleased to know there was one more eloquent,
thought-provoking feminist role model who was
making public his outrage against gendered violence.
In answer to Prof. Singh’s question, “Where is
the women’s rage?” it’s everywhere in Canada if
you care to see it, read it and listen to it. Some of
us women have been raging a very long time.
Women are the victims the violence is visited upon.
For marginalized women this is an even greater
burden to bear. So, once again the victims are being
asked to defend themselves literally and figuratively.
Historically, men have had the power and
control and used this to their advantage in
abusive situations. It’s time for more men like
Prof. Singh to step up to add their energy and
their voices to those of the raging women.
Society can no longer see gendered violence as a
women’s issue. Let’s name it for what it is — men’s
issues. Some men are abusing their power within
work and intimate relationships. Some men have a
sense of entitlement that extends to taking women
forceably. Some men do not consider women to be
their equals, but rather their disposable property.
We need some feminist men to become
visible feminist role models who are able
talk about these men’s issues with other
men as well as young men and boys.
Only when men take ownership of the
issue of gendered violence can society
hope to find a lasting solution.
Doreen Nicoll is program co-ordinator for Women at
the Centre. [email protected]
7
STOP
"The abuse of women
and girls is the most
pervasive and
unaddressed human
rights violation on
earth."
JIMMY CARTER
Violence
Against
Women
"What is
poverty but a
passive form of
violence? When
a women does
back breaking work
for ten hours a day
but cannot feed
her family with her
earnings, society has
scorned her labor."
ELA BHATT
Gandhi
Peace Festival
Mahila Shanti Sena
Hamilton, Canada
www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/gandhi
Hamilton, Canada
www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/gandhi/mss
Women’s Peace Brigade International