Women's Rights/CURRENTS
Lest we forget Shell...
In November 1995 the New York Times called it the morality tale of the 20th century: the judicial murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight colleagues from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MoSOP) by the Nigerian Government at the behest of Royal Dutch Shell Corporation.
This month marks the ninth anniversary of the hanging of the Ogoni Nine. Yet for all the outrage (Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth and Shell was persona non grata for most activists around the world for a couple of years) Ken’s body has still not been returned for proper burial and his name is still listed amongst murderers in Nigeria.
Although Ogoni is almost used as a byword for social justice for indigenous peoples impacted by resource extraction around the Earth, little has changed on the ground for these heroic people. But there are some promising developments. The new, supposedly democratic Government of Nigeria is suing Shell for the clean-up of the Niger Delta. Surviving members of the Ogoni Nine’s families are suing Shell in US courts and are expected to go to a jury trial in the next several months. And Ken’s brother, Owens Wiwa, and his son, Ken Junior, are organizing a memorial for the 10th anniversary in November 2005. Watch this space for details.
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
