Women

Down to Earth No 64  March 2005

For many tsunami survivors whose homes and livelihoods were totally swept away in the early hours of December 26th, rebuilding their lives means starting from scratch. What lies ahead for these shattered communities and who will decide what happens next?

Acehnese civil society organisations are highlighting the overriding need for participation by the affected communities in the reconstruction and recovery processes and for transparency and accountability in the use of funds.

Down to Earth No 64  March 2005

Far more women, children and the elderly died in the quake-tsunami than teenagers and men. In Lambada village, there were only 105 survivors from a population of over 2,100; of these only 5 were women. This is not atypical. The overall gender balance in Aceh may have been changed by 20% or more.

The reasons why so many women died may never be known. Many stayed to save their children when the first tsunami struck. Others could not run fast enough to higher ground while carrying babies and toddlers.

Down to Earth No 63  November 2004

Women in Indonesia are disadvantaged by poverty and marginalised by the development process. Control over the natural resources that sustain their lives remains largely out of their hands.

Down to Earth No 63  November 2004

International

Down to Earth No 62   August 2004

Community holds Newmont to account
Villagers from Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi have lodged complaints with the police over the devastating health impacts of Newmont Minahasa Raya's gold mine. At least 30 people are believed to have died as a result of the heavy metal pollution caused by the mine, which dumps tailings on the sea-bed.

Down to Earth No. 61, May 2004

The government of President Megawati has caved in to pressure from international mining companies to allow open-pit mining in protected forests, paving the way for yet more forest destruction and marginalisation of forest-dependent communities.

The go-ahead for mining in protected forests came on March 11, with a new Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perpu) No. 1/2004 on Changes to Law No. 41 of 1999 on Forestry. The regulation adds two extra paragraphs (83A and 83B) to the 1999 law.

Down to Earth No 56  February 2003

The severely damaging impacts of mining on women have been highlighted in a new report, launched by Oxfam Community Aid Abroad on November 25th, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Oxfam Community Aid's report, Tunnel Vision: Women, Mining and Communities, is a compilation of papers presented at a forum convened in Melbourne in June last year to explore the impacts of mining on women in local communities.