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- By Karen Kortsch, ICUUW President
Greetings, dear friends of ICUUW,
Thanks to the dedication of so many of you, we are moving forward with new programs, committees, and strategies to develop a stronger, more powerful International Convocation of UU Women.
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- By Creamlimon Nongbri, Secretary, Seng Kynthei, Unitarian Union, North East India
On 20 December 2020, the Seng Kynthei Women’s Wing of the Unitarian Union of North East India (UUNEI) celebrated its 40th anniversary – in place of its Biennial Conference – at the Unitarian Church of Jowai. The event was organized by the local women’s association, under the leadership of Kong Tippor Shullai, Secretary of the Seng Kynthei Jowai Church.
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- By Karen Kortsch, ICUUW President
Dear Members and Friends,
After almost two years of dealing with the realities of a worldwide pandemic, we find ourselves trying to adjust to a “new normal.” When I wrote to you last, we in North America were seemingly emerging from the worst and were hopeful that victory over the virus was in sight. But the global health crisis is far from over. We must stay vigilant and ever mindful of our role in protecting the health of the most vulnerable among us. ICUUW members, along with our partners around the world, have been working to strengthen women’s voices and leadership despite continuing challenges.
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- By ICUUW Staff
On Saturday, October 17, more than 100 people participated in the first virtual service organized by UNOSZ, the Unitarian Women’s Association of Romania, in collaboration with ICUUW. This special occasion was a wonderful testimony to the strong ongoing collaboration between ICUUW and UNOSZ.
The virtual event on Zoom, moderated by Rev. Júlia Jobbágy, drew people from all over the world, from Hungary to England to the United States; in several village churches across Transylvania, the service was projected onto big screens. The service was conducted in Hungarian, but the English translations of the texts were provided in a chat box.
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- By ICUUW Staff
Friendship and Creativity in Troubled Times
U*U women worldwide have been meeting since spring on Zoom calls organized by ICUUW, gaining strength from and building on each other’s resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. As some participants put it, “we are in the same storm but not in the same boat,” but “when we get lonely, it will be together. When we are together, it will never be lonely.”
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- By Karen Kortsch, ICUUW President
Greetings, Members and Friends,
25 years ago, representatives of 189 nations unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women. Since then, all the countries involved in developing this platform have fallen short on their commitments. The global health crisis has intensified existing gender inequalities, threatening to undo a century’s worth of progress.
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- By ICUUW Staff
As Unitarians, we have been always taught that in case of conflicts, we should take into consideration the other party’s opinion – long-term understanding and peace can be achieved through compromise. However, in case of the current attacks on human rights in Poland this strategy would be totally wrong.
Since 2015, fundamentalist Catholic teachings have been injected into the Polish legal system. The rights to abortion have been dramatically limited to cases of rape, incest, and serious damage to the fetus. In July 2020, doctors and hospitals were granted rights to refuse to perform an abortion. The legislation on total abortion ban is lining up for convenient political circumstances to be approved by the Polish Parliament.
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- By ICUUW Staff
The women, they Zoomed
Across borders, oceans, land
To renew, help, love.
The haiku above from Jacqueline Thomas of Kentucky has captured the essence of a weekly online gathering of U*U women worldwide amid the global lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic that has altered all our lives.
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- By Rev. Addae A. Kraba, ICUUW President
Dear Members and Friends,
It has been both an honor and a pleasure to serve as president of ICUUW and to continue building on the progressive work of my predecessors. On ICUUW’s 10th anniversary, I am proud of the last two years’ achievements toward our mission to empower women and girls worldwide. Our dedicated network of individuals and organizations representing Unitarian * Universalists and women and men of progressive faith continue taking direct action to improve women and girls’ lives. The following are just a few of the highlights of the past two years.
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- By ICUUW Staff
Our gratitude go to all who responded to the urgent new challenges facing girls in Western Kenya. Our appeal over the summer raised $1,800 for our partners Acacia in Kenya (AIK)!
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- By ICUUW Staff
Thanks to the generous support of ICUUW members and friends, our 2019 Faithify crowdfunding campaign Empower Marginalized Bolivian Women to Create Change aiming to expand a leadership development program in Bolivia was met with success, surpassing our goal of $5,000.
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- By Major Elgiva Dora Shullai, India
From November 2019 to January 2020, Seng Kynthei – the Women’s Wing of the Unitarian Union of Northeast India – organized a variety of violence awareness and prevention programs involving over 600 schoolchildren, youth, and adults in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills.
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- By Enikő Benedek, Romania
I took part in a program focusing on awareness and prevention of domestic violence, organized by the UNOSZ and jointly sponsored by the Gábor Bethlen Fund and the ICUUW, November 29-December 1, 2019.
Why did I attend this seminar focusing on such a sensitive issue? Obviously, I have heard much about intimate partner violence. We all carry with us family patterns. I must admit that in my childhood I fought with those the same age as I. I slapped a boy when I was a university student, who dared grope me in a crowded bus. An angry person is capable of everything: slap, strike, scratch, bite, and even kill.