Friday, March 4, 2011 at 04:39PM 
Sophie Ellis Bextor, image used with permission of ActionAid UKMonday, February 28, 2011 at 04:23PM 
Raising awareness is one thing, acting to drive the change is another. Last week I was posting about ActionAid UK's Get Lippy campaign sharing stories of various women, whose work I find inspiring. Today I am sending my message to all of them, hoping that you will join me:
Please keep up your great work! You are very brave and strong to stand up for the rights of all of us! Your dedication is inspiring for your communities, but also for all women watching your stories all around the globe!I am really privileged to know you from your brave words and pictures!
Action Aid UK is also asking for contributions from us, women seemingly living in better, more privileged conditions. Do share your story - let's see how we all feel about being a woman.
ActionAid, Get Lippy, IWD, Women in ACTIVISM & FUNDRAISING, FUNDRAISING, NON-PROFIT Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 04:24PM 
Nazziwa Annet, with her baby Nakasumba Jackline, 6 months. Photo credits Jenny Matthews/ActionAid.Now, according to ActionAid UK:
The police did not arrest Ssempiija for three months after the attack during which time he continued to threaten Nazziwa and her family. He was only taken into custody earlier this month after development agency ActionAid gave the local police force money to pay for the petrol to go to the area and arrest him. ActionAid also supported Nazziwa in bringing the case against herhusband. Activists say that the police have no budget to tackle domestic violence cases, which are widespread in Uganda. According to a 2006 government survey 68 per cent of Ugandan women had suffered physical violence within the home within the previous twelve months. ActionAid are pushing the Resident State Attorney to lodge an appeal by 28th February.
The police did not arrest Ssempiija for three months after the attack during which time he continued to threaten Nazziwa and her family. He was only taken into custody earlier this month after development agency ActionAid gave the local police force money to pay for the petrol to go to the area and arrest him. ActionAid also supported Nazziwa in bringing the case against her husband.
Activists say that the police have no budget to tackle domestic violence cases, which are widespread in Uganda. According to a 2006 government survey 68 per cent of Ugandan women had suffered physical violence within the home within the previous twelve months.
ActionAid are pushing the Resident State Attorney to lodge an appeal by 28th February.
These are the facts. ActionAid is doing great job, and Nazziwa looks really calm and determined to change her life for better. I am really impressed. I am equally worried about the future of her family. Her father is right in saying it out loud: the husband might be back. I look at Nazziwa's face and I feel pain.
What do you know about pain? Pain combined with the lack of security and fear for your on life and the life of your closest. I used to feel that before, and honestly, I healed and I have forgotten. At the end of January, back in Cairo airport I felt aftertones of that feeling, which gave me shivers, occasionally made me cry. Yet, all this is nothing compared to the cruel act of attacking another person and leaving them with a major disability. With this, and the visible memory of what has never been deserved.
Because I do not believe that agression is justified, ever. There is no excuse for hurting the other person, and most definitely no justice in blaming the victim. Funnily enough yesterday I head this on the bus in Oxford:
My boyfriend is right, I should have told the bus driver what I think. And he is right stating that people like him AND I - people who feel it's ok to make similar statements, and people like me who think it's not polite to interrupt others - contribute to the social setup, which gives so much scope for domestic violence and abuse. Regardless of the region you live in.
What also shocks me in Nazziwa's story is the pain of having to live in the country where police "cannot afford enforcing the low and protect the community". Something is very wrong with this statement, and something has to be done to change it.
Well, I cannot get ont he place and change it, but I am glad some people do;) Way to go ActionAid UK!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 03:27PM 
This post is a part of Get Lippy series, result of ActionAid UK's campaign involving bloggers.
Today I would like to talk about injustice, probably once again because somehow my day has evolved around it. I work in social media marketing, fairly competitive industry and I very often tend to be misjudged by people who ring me simply in order to support their own views (no, if you join Facebook you cannot assume people will not comment and if they do, start deleting all opinions - yes, it is wrong - no, you do not really have to be on Facebook etc). I get frustrated, helpless.
Looking at it from a different point of view, it is extremely difficult not to misjudge people, specially if they pretend to be someone else just to trap us into the situation without the light at the end of the tunnel. There is no way one can predict the danger there...
Sometimes I wonder if we will be able to visualise the amount of injustice on the map of our globe in one colour to be able to measure it against the intensity and volume of change for good. I do not think I am a utopian, but I would like to see those two trends, real time, in colours, based on location. Sometimes I think the pot of work is bottomless, which really makes me sad. And then miracles like Ali's recent release happen, and I am hopeful again!
My son keeps on telling me I am not fair on him, as he feels the pain of having to follow the rules, my rules. My own teachers from high school would probably say that life is not supposed to be fair at all. Yet, there is so much we can do to make it a little bit more just. Start with clicking at this link and checking out what ActionAid UK has to offer!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 04:55PM 
This post is a response to ActionAid UK's call for bloggers to support their Get Lippy campaign.
Tonight we will talk about ANGER. Esther, as you can learn from the video I will embed below must have felt really angry learning that her house was burned down and the land was taken away. I do not own a house, but I have a mac for example, which is my source of income and I would be really pissed off it someone would suddenly decide to take it. Now, loosing a house and ALL possessions is something I can hardly imagine. OK, I was in a situation once when with one year old child I could pack only one back and head off, but I had a job - job completely unrelated to the house or the land. Hence why it is difficult for me to comprehend the scale of Esther's tragedy. Seven children...
Anger can be powerful in times when we are low and need to put up with unexpected events life is setting on our path. Anger is a natural reaction to danger and to attack. Most of the time though anger can destroy everything we have worked for - all gone, in once second. I myself was extremely angry this morning. I was so angry I demanded and cried - yes, I did. I might have been right somewhat, I might have had my reasons, but I still think it was an unacceptable feeling in all its limitless power. I felt overwhelmed. The reason why I write this is for you to understand that anger is toxic - once you become exposed to it it gets under your skins, it collects all your insecurities and worries and builds on those to strike again. Once planted anger can kill easily - with words, with gestures, with actions.
This is the reason why we need laws and protection...really from ourselves. We need to stop the injustice and the destruction caused by those who do not feel restricted and limited by objective rules of society. I am sad to see that in many countries still lack those rules. I am terrified to know that in the UK we still have the unspoken patterns to fight. But I have found my own way around it - I have found love and understanding in those who know me well, who are there for me when my own walls fall down and attempt to crash them. I strongly believe that this can be replicated on any scale by contradicting the wrong with lawful and the angry with the loved. So please, think about it and join the ActionAid UK's campaign - there is a lot you can do, with words, gestures and actions.
