Sisterhood Is Global Institute
Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI) was established in 1984 to improve women's rights on the local, national, regional, and global levels. SIGI has members from 70 countries, maintains a network of over 1,300 individuals and organizations worldwide, and has branch offices in several regions. SlGl's main goals are: to inform the public about human rights abuses committed against women; to inform women of the basic rights guaranteed to them in international human rights conventions and empower them to achieve the rights they consider significant; to facilitate participation of women from the Global South in international debates concerning their rights; and to encourage women from all races, cultures, religions, classes, ages, and abilities to work together to define and achieve common goals. SIGI is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in consultative status with the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
SIGI achieves its goals by organizing and implementing the following:
Urgent Action Alert System--SIGI researches and distributes information regarding human rights abuses committed against women to members of the Sisterhood is Global Network, comprised of over 1,000 women and men worldwide. They in turn send letters and cables to government officials and newspapers requesting that specific action be taken or ceased. SIGI also collects petitions, arranges high-level diplomatic meetings, lobbies government representatives, prepares news releases, and offers legal assistance through an international network in support of particular cases.
Women to Women Dialogues in order to ensure equitable representation of women from the Global South in international debates concerning their rights, SIGI organizes conferences to enable women from various racial, cultural, religious, professional, educational and social-economic backgrounds to discuss human rights related issues of priority. SIGI has organized dialogues to address the following issues: Religion, Culture and Women's Human Rights in the Muslim World (Washington, D.C.); Refugee Women in Times of Conflict (Athens, Greece); Integrating Women in Commerce and Industry (Lusaka, Zambia); and Implementing the Beijing Platform for Action in Muslim Societies (Washington, D.C.). Syracuse University Press published the papers from the first Washington, D.C. conference. The papers from the second Washington, D.C. conference are currently being compiled and edited tor publication.
Women's Human Rights Education Project--The project renders internationally accepted human rights concepts accessible to women at the grassroots level. SIGI members from select regions work with affiliate members to develop the methodology and material necessary to translate human rights principles into the appropriate cultural context by using texts, traditions, and role models respected by grassroots populations. They identify and train community leaders to communicate the information in select countries. Project coordinators work closely with women at the grassroots level to evaluate the project to ensure effective implementation.
In May, 1996, following the Implementing the Beijing P/at/orm for Action in Muslim Societies conference, SIGI organized a Human Rights Education Workshop, which was structured to allow for informal but focused exchange of ideas. Participants introduced programs and projects, including pilot projects underway in Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Iran.
Asma Khader, President of the Jordanian Women's Union, described a fascinating series of projects involving youth in her country. Seven years ago, a group of girls organized a conference on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in which they compared the CRC to their local laws. In 1992, leaflets, each containing a few articles of the CRC, were dropped from airplanes. Children were motivated to collect leaflets to cover all 54 articles, at which time they could claim a prize. However, before receiving the prize, the child was required to answer a series of questions to demonstrate that they understood the CRC. In 1995, 500 youth, ranging in age front 12-17 years, and equally representing males and females, gathered to review the Jordanian Children's Law in light of the CRC. As a result Or this conference, the law was redrafted
For more information about SIGI and the Jordanian project, contact:
Sisterhood Is Global institute, 4343 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 201, Bethesda,
MD 20814, 301-657-2017 and 30l-657-4355 (voice) and 301 -657-4381 (fax).