Cablegate: Engagement On Uk Women's Issues
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHLO #0261/01 0351436
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041436Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4866
UNCLAS LONDON 000261
SIPDIS
EUR/PGI FOR KUYKENDALL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KWMN XG PHUM UK
SUBJECT: ENGAGEMENT ON UK WOMEN'S ISSUES
REF: STATE 124579
1. (U) Summary: The government is active in promoting
women's rights and there is a robust set of non-governmental
organizations working on women's issues. Post consults with
women's groups on a regular basis on a range of issues
including violence against women, Muslim women's issues, and
sex trafficking. In 2009, we brought together activists
combating violence against women and produced a video
highlighting their work. Post also has sponsored visits by
British Muslim women to the US and by American Muslim women
to the UK to help women learn from each others' experiences
in the two countries. End Summary.
Strong Governmental/Non-Governmental Women's Rights Sectors
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2. (U) The UK has a well-developed set of governmental and
non-governmental institutions for addressing women's issues.
There is a cabinet-level Minister for Women and Equality, who
heads the Government Equalities Office (GEO), which was
established in 2007. The GEO is responsible for ensuring
that women receive equal treatment in public services,
promoting women's equality in private and public sector labor
markets, combating violence against women, and for
shepherding the Equalities Bill through Parliament. The
Equalities Bill will attempt to unify various bills that
prohibit discrimination as well as to impose responsibilities
on public bodies to promote equality and eliminate the gender
pay gap.
3. (U) The UK's Department for International Development
(DFID) has made maternal health and education of girls among
its top development priorities, especially in conflict-ridden
and fragile states. The Embassy is engaging with the UK
government to ensure U.S. and UK assistance strategies are
complementary.
4. (U) The non-governmental sector is also robust. There
are hundreds of non-governmental organizations working on a
wide range of women's issues. These groups work in a variety
of ways, from providing shelters and rape counseling to
public policy advocacy. One of the most important
institutions is the Women's National Commission (WNC). The
WNC is a politically independent, government-funded body that
acts as an umbrella organization for over 550 smaller groups.
It helps women's groups coordinate their efforts and
represent their interests to the government.
Post Activities: Combating Violence Against Women
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5. (U) Post meets regularly with human rights organizations
and women's activists to keep current with women's issues in
the UK. We attended a day-long conference on trafficking in
persons led by the Serious Organized Crime Agency, the
Metropolitan Police, and celebrity anti-trafficking activist
Emma Thompson. The DCM recently convened a meeting that
brought together representatives of nine women's
organizations who work to prevent violence against women.
After the meeting, we interviewed the participants and
created a Youtube video highlighting their work. The
participants said they appreciated the high-level USG
interest and hoped that it could lead to connections with
American organizations working on women's issues.
Post Activities: Outreach to Muslim Women
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6. (U) The Embassy regularly includes Muslim women as part
of its overall Muslim outreach programs. In May 2009 the
Embassy funded a group of nine Muslim women from Bradford, a
Northern English city with a large Muslim population, to
visit San Diego, New York, and Washington, DC. They met with
American NGOs and community activists to compare how women,
and especially Muslim women, address community and women's
issues in the UK and the U.S. Participants commented that
the U.S. was much more open to and accepting of Muslims than
they had imagined, and they were impressed with the spirit of
volunteerism in the U.S. The Embassy will send another group
of Muslim women to go on a similar program in the spring of
2010. The Embassy provided grants to bring the authors of
the book "Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak
Out" to the UK on two different occasions over the past two
years. The authors shared and compared their experiences in
speaking engagements with a variety of different audiences.
Suggestion for Future Activities
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7. (U) A number of women's rights activists have told
Emboffs that they would like to increase their interactions
with U.S. counterparts in order to learn from each other's
experiences. One of the most important contributions the
Embassy can make is to facilitate these connections. Post
has made an effort to put the WNC in touch with the White
House Council on Women and Girls, since the 30-year-old WNC
has considerable institutional knowledge that could be useful
to the White House Council. Post will try to find other
opportunities to match up UK and U.S. organizations and would
value the Department's aid in identifying U.S. partners to
work with women's groups abroad.
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