论文部分内容阅读
律师与马拉维传统的战斗
Seodi White has long been an outspoken campaigner for gender justice in Malawi. As the head of the Malawian chapter of Women in Law in Southern Africa （WLSA） and a mother of a young daughter， she is not only concerned with the rights of teenage girls， but also cultural practices that harm older， vulnerable women in Malawi.
One such custom is "widow cleansing，" a traditional practice in which a widow is expected to have sexual relations， "in order to cleanse her，" explains White.
"There is a belief that if she does not sleep with someone， the spirit of her dead husband will come and visit upon her and her family will be cursed，" she adds.
White says that the practice is not forced upon widows. Instead， she says， the tradition has become so much part of the culture that widows themselves call for it. And this tradition， which involves unprotected sex， increases the chances of HIV infection.
In recent times， there have been several initiatives by White's NGO to try and change the situation. One effort is to target the "professional cleansers" in attempt to get them to change their ways.
"Some have actually come out in the open and said： 'I used to be a commercial cleanser， I'm HIV positive， I've stopped and I go village by village telling other commercial cleansers to stop this.'"
A daughter of a professor of English， White grew up in Malawi in a relatively privileged family. She received her law degree in Botswana before moving to the UK to focus on gender and development studies.
White saw first-hand the difference that education can make to a woman's life， and that's why all her efforts to promote gender equality -- from campaigning against child marriage and domestic abuse to protecting widows' rights through her work as a lawyer -- have been shaped by the transformative power of education.
"I know the difference between an uneducated woman in Malawi and a person of education， as I am， and I decided to use my position to uplift others，" adds White.
"I decided I'm going to dedicate my life to dealing with injustice， just because I don't like it when a structure or system puts others in poverty， puts others in a position of inequality，" adds White.
Another campaign spearheaded by White is the fight against the prevalent culture of property grabbing. White says that all across the country widows are at risk of having their matrimonial property taken by their late husband's relatives， often leaving them and their children homeless.
"The way our family structures are done is that when a man and a woman get married they are not considered related，" says White. "A man is still looked at by his family as he is theirs and the woman is looked at by her family as she is theirs."
WSLA fought hard for more than 10 years to advance women's rights to keep their marital estate， calling for reform in Malawi's inheritance laws. Its campaign， which met strong resistance， finally succeeded in 2011 when the country's parliament voted to make property grabbing an offense and protect the spouse's and children's share in the deceased's assets.
White says that despite all the difficulties， it is victories like this that make her decision to commit her life in the fight against gender injustice worthwhile.
Seodi·White长期站在对抗不平等的最前沿，奔波于马拉维全国各地，推广教育的重要性，希望年轻女孩不要放弃学业，不要在十几岁时便结婚。
Seodi White has long been an outspoken campaigner for gender justice in Malawi. As the head of the Malawian chapter of Women in Law in Southern Africa （WLSA） and a mother of a young daughter， she is not only concerned with the rights of teenage girls， but also cultural practices that harm older， vulnerable women in Malawi.
One such custom is "widow cleansing，" a traditional practice in which a widow is expected to have sexual relations， "in order to cleanse her，" explains White.
"There is a belief that if she does not sleep with someone， the spirit of her dead husband will come and visit upon her and her family will be cursed，" she adds.
White says that the practice is not forced upon widows. Instead， she says， the tradition has become so much part of the culture that widows themselves call for it. And this tradition， which involves unprotected sex， increases the chances of HIV infection.
In recent times， there have been several initiatives by White's NGO to try and change the situation. One effort is to target the "professional cleansers" in attempt to get them to change their ways.
"Some have actually come out in the open and said： 'I used to be a commercial cleanser， I'm HIV positive， I've stopped and I go village by village telling other commercial cleansers to stop this.'"
A daughter of a professor of English， White grew up in Malawi in a relatively privileged family. She received her law degree in Botswana before moving to the UK to focus on gender and development studies.
White saw first-hand the difference that education can make to a woman's life， and that's why all her efforts to promote gender equality -- from campaigning against child marriage and domestic abuse to protecting widows' rights through her work as a lawyer -- have been shaped by the transformative power of education.
"I know the difference between an uneducated woman in Malawi and a person of education， as I am， and I decided to use my position to uplift others，" adds White.
"I decided I'm going to dedicate my life to dealing with injustice， just because I don't like it when a structure or system puts others in poverty， puts others in a position of inequality，" adds White.
Another campaign spearheaded by White is the fight against the prevalent culture of property grabbing. White says that all across the country widows are at risk of having their matrimonial property taken by their late husband's relatives， often leaving them and their children homeless.
"The way our family structures are done is that when a man and a woman get married they are not considered related，" says White. "A man is still looked at by his family as he is theirs and the woman is looked at by her family as she is theirs."
WSLA fought hard for more than 10 years to advance women's rights to keep their marital estate， calling for reform in Malawi's inheritance laws. Its campaign， which met strong resistance， finally succeeded in 2011 when the country's parliament voted to make property grabbing an offense and protect the spouse's and children's share in the deceased's assets.
White says that despite all the difficulties， it is victories like this that make her decision to commit her life in the fight against gender injustice worthwhile.
Seodi·White长期站在对抗不平等的最前沿，奔波于马拉维全国各地，推广教育的重要性，希望年轻女孩不要放弃学业，不要在十几岁时便结婚。