ON TIBETAN WOMEN The Status of Tibetan Women 1995-2000
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A. Statement of Report The Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) respectfully submits this NGO Alternative Report on the status of Tibetan women for the Beijing Plus Five initiative - Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty First Century to be sponsored by the United Nations. Though the community of Tibetan women includes those living both in and out of exile, this report addresses primarily the issues concerning Tibetan women living inside Chinese occupied Tibet. It is the perspective of TWA that Tibetan women living inside Tibet are facing dire circumstances and, therefore, we have chosen to focus energy here regarding this report. Since the 1995 Beijing Conference, TWA, being the sole organization in the Tibetan community in exile to focus exclusively on women’s issues, has worked hard to continue to shed awareness on the status of Tibetan women both within their exiled community and the international community. After Beijing, the TWA delegation toured Tibetan settlements throughout India and Nepal to update exiled residents on the happenings in Beijing. TWA has enjoyed increased international recognition via the media and numerous developing relationships with international NGO's since 1995. Since 1995, TWA has become more accepted in the local and international community and has played an important role particularly in the Asian-Pacific region. TWA representatives were able to attend several post-Beijing symposiums including two in Thailand, one in Katmandu, Nepal, one in Manila, Philippines, and one in Sri Lanka. TWA was also able to complete a report to the Committee on the Status of Women as part of the preparatory process for the June 2000 conference in New York. With the informational assistance of many Tibet support organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, TWA has been able to prepare this Alternative Report so as to ensure that the voice of Tibetan women is not forgotten. As much as possible, this Alternative Report examines the issues regarding Tibetan women living in Tibet with respect to the Beijing Platform for Action. In this report, Tibet refers to the full area of the Tibetan plateau. Besides the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), Tibet also includes areas of Kham and Amdo that are now incorporated into Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Ganau, Sichuan and Yunnan. It is worth noting that the Chinese authorities define the Tibetan region as only the TAR. This report is submitted with the understanding that Tibet is not formally accepted into the United Nations and we regret this fact. Nonetheless, the voice of Tibetan women is a vital one that must be considered in the international conversation on the status of women. We hope that the information provided in this Alternative Report will urge the international community to pay close attention to the issues facing Tibetan women living in Tibet. As we have acknowledged here, Tibetan women in Tibet live under severe restrictions to their political, religious, reproductive and social freedoms. There is a severe lack of fundamental human rights that, five years after the establishment of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), continues to a horrific degree. B. Tibetan Women’s Association The Tibetan Women's Association is a non-governmental organization that was originally founded in Tibet in 1959 by a group of Tibetan women who came together to protest the forceful occupation of their homeland by the Chinese authorities. In 1984, TWA was reestablished by Tibetan women living in exile in India and currently has over 10,000 members and 40 branches worldwide. TWA's main objective is to raise public awareness of the abuses faced by Tibetan women in Chinese-occupied Tibet. Through extensive publicity and involvement in national and international affairs, TWA alerts communities to the gender-specific human rights abuses committed against Tibetan women in the form of forced birth control policies such as sterilization’s and abortions, and restrictions on religious, political, social and cultural freedoms. In exile, TWA places great priority on the contributions of Tibetan women towards the preservation and promotion of the distinct religion, culture and identity of the Tibetan people. TWA serves the Tibetan community as a whole with activities addressing religious and cultural issues, educational needs, social welfare, as well as the environment and the political participation and social empowerment of women. C. Platform of Tibetan Women As we turnover into a new millennium, Tibetan women welcome the opportunity to contribute to the international dialogue concerning the status of women throughout the world. Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty First Century is a relevant theme for focus for the UN General Assembly follow up conference to Beijing in June 2000. Tibetan women and all Tibetan people, however, remain in the significant position of approaching these issues from not just a gender perspective, but from a perspective of living in a state of foreign occupation and exile. We cannot attempt to separate the two issues of justice for Tibetan women and justice for the Tibetan people. The efforts are interdependent - as the main obstacle to the fulfillment of women's equality, development and peace in Tibet is this very state of occupation and, consequently, the conditions created by it. Due to the illegal occupation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), by definition, Tibetan women living in and out of exile have been severely restricted in their ability to contribute to their own advancement - geographically, institutionally and politically. For example, unlike many of our sisters around the world who have joined together in their countries to form various governmental and non-governmental organizations to promote their rights, Tibet's one women's organization, TWA, exists only in exile. It has become virtually impossible for Tibetan women living inside Tibet to mobilize in solidarity without taking grave risks. Furthermore, for both Tibetan women living in Tibet and in exile, there is the issue of consistency of access to information that is accurate and objective. There is essentially no ensured way for Tibetan women in exile to communicate with their sisters in Tibet due to the limitations employed by the Chinese State regarding information being able to enter and exit from Tibet. One of the only ways to gather information from Tibet is through the first hand accounts of newly escaped refugees. These conditions present a difficult scenario for Tibetan women to organize for change, as their resources to gather and bond are limited. As women that are unwillfully divided by foreign occupation, Tibetan women face a layer of challenges which directly impact the efforts needed to address the situations concerning their advancement. These challenges were relevant in 1995, and remain so today. The Beijing Platform for Action remains to be a beautiful document with immense relevance to Tibetan women in principle. Tibetan women are no different from their world sisters in that, as women, they face gender-based violence, discrimination and oppression in many forms. However, the situation of foreign occupation presents significant barriers for the Tibetan people and specifically Tibetan women to support each other in practical ways and implement the priorities of the BPFA. The reality is that as long as China defies international law and continues its gross human rights abuses of Tibetan women living in Tibet, the BPFA has little practical implications for Tibetan women. One exception, however, is Strategic Objective and Action E of the BPFA, Women and armed conflict. The BFA rightfully acknowledges the “systematic violations and situations” that exist in states of foreign occupation that serve as obstacles to the advancement of women. Such is the condition of Tibetan women living in Chinese occupied Tibet. Essentially, the mission of the platform of Tibetan women is a call to action to the international community for a monitoring and implementation of women's human rights inside Tibet. We fear that until the international community takes these viable steps, gender equality, development and peace for Tibetan women in Tibet will not occur. It is true that many of our world sisters have joined us in our struggle as exiled women. This support has indeed increased since the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCOW) and we consider it a most progressive outcome of that event. It must be noted that participation of Tibetan women in international conferences is difficult, though, due to the interference of Chinese authorities. Nonetheless, Tibetan women will not be silent. We highly value the opportunity to build relationships and contribute to the world conversation on women. We will continue our efforts to be part of international conferences and we join the international community of women in our belief in and pursuit of gender equality, development and peace. Furthermore, we applaud the existence and encourage the continuation of such forums, as they are not only informative in nature, but empowering as well. The very process itself of participating in international forums on women’s rights has certainly proved to be empowering for Tibetan women living in exile. We have been able to network with other women around the globe and connect with those that share similar circumstances. We have been able to self-analyze our movement and think more critically about our strategies. This has given us strength as Tibetans and as Tibetan women. We also predict and hope that it has served similarly for our Tibetan sisters living in Tibet, some of whom were part of the Chinese delegation at the FWCOW. For, we believe it is our Tibetan sisters living under foreign occupation that can benefit most from participating in such events. By participating in the international dialogue of women, we envision that Tibetan women inside Tibet can have the opportunity to be educated and hopeful - even if their participation is under the duress of the Chinese authorities. Additionally and importantly, we believe the Chinese government is more likely to involve Tibet women in their delegations if exiled Tibetan women are also present, as they may be conscious of the power of the truth to be revealed by Tibetan women living in exile. As one of the Tibetan Women’s Delegation (TWD) in Beijing stated upon returning - “The TWD suspected that the Chinese government had not planned on having TAR delegates attend the official Conference, but when they saw Tibetan exiles there, they quickly arranged to have two TAR delegates attend”. International conferences of women shed light on the reality of the status of women in the world. They are vital to the sustenance of the women’s movement and the Tibetan movement. We urge the UN, other regional and international bodies, and women’s groups to continue their production. The platform of Tibetan women would not be complete without addressing the issue of non-violent strategies and philosophies. For over 40 years the Tibetan people, under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, have been at the forefront of the non-violence movement. Despite the violent challenges that the Chinese government has set on Tibet, Tibetans have responded peacefully and continue to adhere to a philosophy of non-violence in solving conflict. Tibetan women have played a significant role in these peaceful strategies adhered to by the Tibetan people and this must be noted. We believe that the world community has much to gain from considering the non-violent perspective of Tibetan Buddhist culture. In 1989, the Dalai Lama was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of this effort. In order to strengthen the “culture of peace” that the world and the BPFA so strongly advocates, it naturally follows that the issues of women living in foreign occupation, such as Tibetan women, be considered greatly. Furthermore, taking action upon these issues should be a priority for the world community. As stated in the BPFA “in a world of continuing instability and violence, the implementation of cooperative approaches to peace and security is urgently needed”. Simply stating the desire for a peaceful world without practically implementing this ambition is nonsensical. We must now move forward from vision to action if we truly want a world culture of peace. |