DEFENDING WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In Poland, Sandra Grzelaszyk, 20, has been campaigning for women’s rights, in particular their right to access abortion. Poland already has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, and earlier this year a bill was brought before parliament which would ban abortion in cases of severe and fatal foetal impairments. Unable to protest in the streets because of the lockdown, Sandra and her fellow campaigners moved their activism online. They posted pictures and videos inviting people to make their voices heard by signing Amnesty International Poland’s petition to stop the bill becoming law. So far more than 80,000 people have signed the petition.
“Leaders are using the pandemic to increase their power or change the law. We were really angry that the government could do something like this during a really hard time for everyone, without them having the opportunity to protest their objections. The choice to have an abortion is an individual choice every time. Only the woman herself can know what decision is best for her. I don’t think the foetus is more important than the life of a woman. People can have different plans for their life, not everybody wants family and children and that’s okay. I see people who want to control women’s bodies, but women are not property. I am a woman and I just want to live my life without fear or being controlled just because of my gender.”
DISTRIBUTING FACE MASKS
In Senegal, Mamadou Diagne, 25, has been distributing face masks to some of the people most exposed to the risk of COVID-19 and to try to slow down the spread of the virus. So far, he and his fellow volunteers have distributed 1,000 masks to market traders, who must wear face coverings and use hand sanitizer under rules set by the mayor. The masks themselves were donated by a former Amnesty activist now living in the Netherlands.
“People are happy to receive these masks because it hasn’t been possible for everyone to get hold of them. The traders are in contact with people all day long, so they are more exposed than others. If they catch the virus, they can spread it very quickly. We also want to distribute masks to beggars and talibés (children who are forced to beg by Qur’anic school teachers). They are vulnerable because like traders, they are in contact with people all day. Fighting this pandemic is not easy. People have a fear of this coronavirus. If they hear a rumour that this person or that person has COVID-19, they are stigmatized and the infected person is shamed.”
FIGHTING XENOPHOBIA
In Malaysia, Heidy Quah, the 26-year-old founder of Refuge for the Refugees, has been helping some of the most marginalised people in society. Heidy’s NGO provides schooling to refugee children, but during the pandemic she has adapted to meet the needs of refugee families. Heidy has been distributing essentials such as rice, eggs and milk powder to refugee families who have been hit hard by the “movement control order” which was introduced to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Heidy has also been speaking out about the Malaysian government’s treatment of refugees during the crisis. On the pretext of fighting COVID-19, the government has rounded up thousands of undocumented migrants, including children, and put them in detention centres. Heidy’s Facebook posts denouncing the deplorable conditions in these centres have resulted in death threats, online harassment and questioning by the police – but she is determined to use her voice. Her right and the right of other activists like her to freedom of expression has been defended by Amnesty.
“The mass arrests led to overcrowding in detention centres. Because of overcrowding, we saw a spike in cases in detention centres. We’ve seen a big spike in numbers of COVID-19 cases in detention centres, and because of the cramped environment, it spreads like wildfire. We’ve heard stories of babies being born in detention centres, and upon birth, they are declared COVID-19 positive. This is how dire the situation is right now. I really cannot imagine what it’s like to have to be worried sick for my safety. My frustration is why do we need to treat other human beings in such a nasty way? How would I want to be treated if one day I get detained? What would I want the communities around me to do? What can I do with the privilege I have? It isn’t about having a fancy house, big fancy cars and holidays. What it really is, is having a voice. And having my voice counted for.”