Columbia's Women-Owned Coffee, Oman's Trapped Workers and Bridging Gender Gaps; Here's Around the World in 5
In today's edition, Document Women highlights how to close the gender gaps globally, trapped migrant workers in Oman, Colombia's women-owned coffee, femicide in Egypt, and much more.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II shook the world and took most of the attention away from everything else but here are stories from around the world.
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Oman
A recent report by Do Bold, an organization that works to assist and repatriate migrant workers trapped in the Gulf, found that Oman is failing to protect migrant domestic workers who are victims of human trafficking, trapped in abusive households and subjected to physical and sexual violence with no access to justice or a safe route home.
Do bold interviewed 469 domestic workers from Sierra Leone working in Oman and concluded that all but one of them were victims of forced labour and human trafficking.
Migrant domestic workers in Oman work under the kafala sponsorship system, which ties their legal status to their employer. If a worker breaks the contract and leaves – or runs away, if they are victims of abuse, for example – it is considered a crime and can lead to the worker being jailed.
Read more here.
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Egypt
CW: gender-based violence
A young woman has been murdered in Egypt after turning down a marriage proposal from her killer. Amani Abdul-Karim is the third female murder victim in Egypt in just three months – each was murdered after refusing to marry the killer.
Read more here.
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Colombia
Diana Hoyos has created Muchacha, a coffee company that exclusively works with women-owned companies. Muchacha’s specialty coffee bags are decorated with the names of the women who are leading in the coffee industry, such as Inés, Victoria, Valentina, and Alma.
After working for several Colombian companies that men mostly led, experiencing workplace harassment, and feeling that her talent was underestimated, Hoyos created Muchacha to creatively use her skills while promoting women's empowerment in the coffee industry in Colombia.
This brand [Muchacha] is related to the way I see things and to the way I feel about women without losing our femininity.- Diana Hoyos
From farming and harvesting to exporting and importing to roasting the coffee beans, women lead every step of the way under Muchacha’s supply chain. Every coffee bag also comes with a QR code where you can discover the women behind the coffee you purchased and even get in touch with them.
Read more here.
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Iran
This week, Two women were sentenced to death in Iran on charges of "corruption on earth" and human trafficking, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
"Contrary to news published online, the sentenced have deceived and trafficked young women and girls out of the country by promising them educational and work opportunities, thus leading to the suicide of several of their victims," IRNA said.
Read more about it here.
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Global
Out of 190 countries surveyed, the World Bank found that women were on equal legal standing with men in just 12 countries.
This week, Kristalina Georgieva of the International Monetary Fund talked about appropriate economic and financial policies that can help bridge the gap between genders and improve economies by supporting the recovery and building resilience against future shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A dividend for women, in other words, is a dividend for all,” Georgieva says.
Read more about it here.