|
Donation | Support HER | Contact HER | 中文 |
 |
|
| After the election…… | |
|
The LegCo elections on September 7 are finally over. Besides paying attention to the three candidates from the League of Social Democrats (LSD) that were elected, and the loss of the Liberal Party, did you notice how many female candidates were elected? |
|
|
|
In the newly-elected Legislative Council, only 11 councillors are women, which is a mere 18% of the 60 members in total. Compared to last term, there has been no improvement in the percentage of women councillors being elected. Additionally, only a few councillors clearly included women’s issues in their election agenda. From this, we can see that although half of the population in Hong Kong is women, women’s participation in politics and women’s rights have been neglected by mainstream society. As a charitable organization that promotes women’s rights, HER Fund allocates funds every year to support projects promoting women’s participation in politics, encouraging women to actively participate and express themselves in the affairs of society. For example, the “Women Civic Leaders Training Course” covered in the last edition of the e-newsletter was one of the projects that benefited from our fund allocation this year. |
|
Therefore, your support means so much for bringing this change! In days to come, HER Fund will continue supporting projects to advance women’s participation in politics and women’s rights. Our goal is to encourage more women to participate in politics and civic society, in order to bring women’s voice into the Legco, to encourage women’s participation and to open up discussion on this topic in society. Please make a donation to support HER Fund’s fund allocation work in 2009/2010! |
|
| Back |
 |
|
| Volunteer Introduction | |
|
Kelly: I am a volunteer for and a donor to HER Fund.
“Linda (Executive
Director of HER Fund) was my supervisor in university. One day, she invited me
to help in a fund-raising activity of HER Fund. From then on, I became a
volunteer for HER Fund. |
|
|
|
I have helped as volunteers in various occasions with HER Fund. For example, during the World Grant Prix for Women’s Volleyball last year, I participated in fund-raising activity outside the Hong Kong Coliseum. And, during the "2 Hearts in 1 : 3 Legged Walk for Gender Equality" charity event this year, I was responsible for contacting and liaising with some of the sponsors and other paperwork. In terms of volunteering for HER Fund, the most important factor to consider is time constraints; of course I hope to contribute my time to do more meaningful things. Although HER Fund is a relatively small organization, it has always been able to hold fund-raising events on a large scale. This is something I find quite impressive, and it is also part of the reason why I want to be a volunteer for HER Fund. |
|
Recently, I
also became a monthly donor to HER Fund because I got to know HER Fund more
during the experience of volunteering. In comparison to other larger and
more famous charities, I think HER Fund, being a relatively small
organization, needs my support and donations more; also, there aren’t a lot
of local organizations that focus on women’s rights. By donating to HER
Fund, I hope I can help local women in need. Additionally, I deeply believe
that HER Fund will make good use of my donations, by allocating funds to
support various local
women’s projects.” Click here to see how to support HER Fund! | |
|
Back | |
| Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus?! | |
|
In our daily lives, we tend to mix up “sex” and “gender” and stick to stereotypical views on men and women. We will have a mini-exposé on The Ten Common Myths on Gender.
Misunderstanding #5: “Why can’t I bare my breasts?” At home, it is not an uncommon sight to see Dad watching TV shirtless during
summer. On the street, we also often see shirtless men working, walking around,
or simply chatting. Legally speaking, it is okay for men to show their breasts.
A mother is browsing around the
streets with her newborn. When the hungry baby begins to cry, the woman goes to
a nearby park to breastfeed him. Then comes the park attendant, who begins to
chastise the woman: “You cannot bare your breasts in public.” We all know that
breastfeeding is good for babies; even the Hospital Authority promotes
breastfeeding! So why are mothers punished for this natural act? |
|
|
In a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Breastfeeding Mothers’ Association in 2007 on 380 people, nearly 98% of respondents felt that Hong Kong does not provide enough infant nurseries in public venues. Some mothers are forced to breastfeed their babies in garbage rooms, and others are resigned to breastfeeding in smelly cubicles in washrooms. Nowadays, it seems more shopping centers are starting to provide nursery rooms, but have you used them? Each nursery can only accommodate one family; you may have to wait for over an hour if you want to use them. These facilities don’t even exist in government-funded public facilities and gardens. Think about it: as a mother, besides baring your breasts in public to breastfeed, is there really another choice? If it is a “Yes”, that would be to stay at home all day! This natural duty has become a burden or even a punishment to mothers because of the limited facilities due to the discriminative social attitude. |
|
|
From the recent contaminated milk scandals, we can see that the rights of breastfeeding mothers cannot be neglected. This also proves that if needs of women are supported by society, when their rights are respected, not only do the women benefit, their children, families and society as a whole will benefit as well. |
 |
| The 5th Annual General Meeting |
|
The 5th Annual General Meeting will be held on October 16, 2008 (Thursday) at 6:30p.m. at HER Fund office. The new Executive Committee Members will be elected during the AGM. All members and supporters are welcome to attend. |
|
HER Fund is a member of the International Network of
Women's Funds (INWF), |
| Please forward HER News to 5 of your friends who concerns about the women issue |
