Gender Equality and Women in the Arctic

298 Pages·2002·1.79 MB·English

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ISSN 1236-2115
ISBN 952-00-1226-5
Cover picture: Janne Pallari
Photos: Mervi Autti
Layout: AT-Julkaisutoimisto Oy
Printing: Hakapaino Oy, Helsinki 2002
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Contents
FOREWORD..............................................................................................................................9
I OPENING ADDRESSES.............................................................................................13
Opening Address, Eva Biaudet, Minister for Gender Equality, Finland...................15
United Nations Activities, Carolyn Hannan, Director of United Nations
Division for Gender Equality.......................................................................................20
Gender Equality is Quality of Life, Carita Peltonen, Nordic Council of Ministers.28
CROSS-CUTTING THEMES......................................................................................31
Breaking Trail: Women of the Arctic Shaping the Future,
Honourable Audrey McLaughlin................................................................................31
Where Have all the Fishes Gone? Men Shaping the Marine Arctic Future,
Bente Aasjord................................................................................................................36
II WOMEN AND WORK IN THE ARCTIC.................................................................44
Women on the Labour Market and Equal Opportunities,
Ole Dorph, Minister for Gender Equality, Greenland...............................................47
Women’s Living Conditions and Employment Opportunities,
Tamara Rumyantseva ...................................................................................................51
Understanding Our Past as a Key to Understanding Our Future,
Arliss Sturgulewski .......................................................................................................60
WOMEN AS ENTREPRENERUS...............................................................................65
Arctic Inspirations: Women Creating Small Businesses and Personal Success
in Small Communities, Linda Chamberlain ..............................................................65
Supporting Russian Women Making Their Way, Lena Allheim ...............................68
NATURAL RESOURCES, USE OF LAND, LAND RIGHTS....................................73
Women and Natural Resources in the Circumpolar North: Striving for
Sustainable Development Through Leadership, Joanna Kafarowski........................73
Indigenous Women and Sustainable Development – Identity and Land Rights,
Irja Seurujärvi-Kari ......................................................................................................79
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LIVING CONDITIONS.................................................................................................83
Rural Women and Men in the Arkhangelsk Region: Coping Strategies
with Marginalisation, Natalia Koukarenko...................................................................83
Constructing Life Through Learning – Women and Their Life Narratives
in Rural Northern Finland, Seija Keskitalo-Foley........................................................96
Women of Sakha Republic: New Social Roles in the Changing World,
Sardana Boyakova.........................................................................................................105
OCCUPATIONS, CAPACITY BUILDING, KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION...........109
Women with Higher Education: Is it a Way to Professional Success?
Elena Kudryashova........................................................................................................109
Raising Women’s Consciousness about Gender Issues in the North, Päivi Naskali ...118
III GENDER IN THE SELF-DETERMINATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES .....126
The Sámi Parliament in Norway: Limited Access for Women,
Vigdis Stordahl..............................................................................................................129
The Role of Governmental Structures and NGOs in Forming New Types of
Relations with the Indigenous Peoples of the North, Fenya Lekhanova..................135
Diplomatic Leadership: A Building Block to Strengthen the Role of Women
in Public Office, Honourable Glenna F. Hansen........................................................139
GENDER ROLES IN THE GOVERNANCE OF INDIGENOUS
INSTITUTIONS ...........................................................................................................144
Institutional Development in the NWT: Women’s Involvement in
Self Government Negotiations, Stephanie Irlbacher Fox ..........................................144
She’s a Politician: Inuit Women’s Participation in Elite Politics, Tina Minor..........152
LEADERSHIP IN THE COMMUNITIES, EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN........156
Sámi Women’s Equal Rights – Yesterday and Tomorrow, Maria Kråik ....................156
Building from Strength: A Study of Community in the North American Arctic,
Karen Ericksen et. al. ....................................................................................................162
Technology and the Empowerment of Women: Examples from Norrbotten,
Maria Udén....................................................................................................................167
GENDER IN LEGISLATIVE PRACTICES:
A PANEL DISCUSSION OF WOMEN POLITICIANS ............................................174
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TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE...............................................................................177
Reclaiming Space for Indigenous Knowledge Practice: A Case Study of
the Recovery of the Traditional Art of Sankiluaq Grass Basket-Making,
Cindy Cowan...............................................................................................................177
The Traditional Knowledge of Nenets Women, Olga Terletskaya ..........................184
Pingnakurriuta (Always Trying) Reintroducing Traditional Yup’ik Indigenous
Practices, Esther A. Ilutsik..........................................................................................186
IV VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN...........................................................................189
Address by Margareta Winberg, Minister for Gender Equality, Sweden................191
Prioriting Domestic Violence as a Women’s Health Issue in the Arctic,
Linda Chamberlain.....................................................................................................195
BREAKING THE SILENCE AROUND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN...........198
Reporting About Violence Against Women in Mass Media, Maria Kostina..........198
Violence vs. Women, Nature and Democracy – Alternatives to the Politics
of “Arctic Othering”, Kaarina Kailo...........................................................................205
Incest – A Long Way to Escape, Merja Laitinen.......................................................216
WOMEN’S HEALTH IN THE ARCTIC...................................................................225
Connecting for Care: Telehealth and Women’s Services, Kathe Boucha................225
Women’s Centers in Alaska and Chukotka, Andrea J. Greene ................................230
The Health of the Women Equals the Health of the Families, Else Poulsen..........235
Sami Women’s Health – Experiences of a Family Physician in 1977-2002,
Aino Snellman ............................................................................................................239
EXERIENCES OF SERVICE SYSTEMS ...................................................................243
Tundrovichka – Support Services for Women, Yelena Antipina.............................243
Building a Trans-Regional East-West Service System in the Barents Region,
Aino Saarinen & Olga Liapounova ...........................................................................245
Family Wellness: Warriors Initiative, Leanndra Bergeron.......................................252
How do a Russian and a Norwegian Battered Woman Create New Meaningful
Stories? Siv Oltedal .....................................................................................................256
Report from the Nora Centre in Kirkenes, Norway, Annik Eriksson.....................268
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TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND PROSTITUTION...........................................271
Purchase of Women in the Barents Region – Myths, Reality and the Fight
Against Sex Slavery, Eva Engman ..............................................................................271
Trafficking for the Purposes of Prostitution – Outline for Joint Research,
Reet Nurmi..................................................................................................................276
Trafficking as a Result of Women’s Unemployment, Tatiana Antonova................283
V CLOSING OF THE CONFERENCE........................................................................285
Welcoming Words at the Conference Dinner, Ambassador Peter Stenlund..........287
Closing Address, Governor Hannele Pokka..............................................................289
Recommendations of Taking Wing Conference.......................................................292
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TAKING
WING
Welcome Reception,
in the front (left) Esther A. Ilutsik,
Marie Meade, Michelle Snyder
and Mary Kapsner
Welcome Reception,
Tiina Aikio and Reeti Hannula (left)
Opening Ceremony, Esther A. Ilutsik
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TAKING WING 9
Foreword
This report offers the contents of the plenary sessions and workshops of the Arctic Council
Gender Equality Conference TAKING WING to a wider public. The Government of Finland
was committed to the promotion of gender equality in the work of Arctic Council during
the Finnish Chairmanship in 2001-2002. The Finnish proposal of organising a conference on
women and gender equality in the Arctic was adopted by the Senior Officials of the Arctic
Council in June 2001. A Reference Group representing the Member States and the Permanent
Participants was set up to assist the host country in organising the conference.
The composition of the reference group was as follows:
Valerie Hume, A/Chief, Resource Planning and Conservation, DIAND, Canada
Mari-Anna Suurmunne, Political Officer, Canadian Embassy, Finland
Tove Søvndahl Petersen, Greenland Home Rule
Karen Hegelund Møller, Greenland Home Rule
Valgerður H. Bjarnadóttir, Director, Centre for Gender Equality, Iceland
Leila Räsänen, Ministerial Advisor, Chairperson of the Reference Group, Finland
Johanna Lammi, Executive Secretary, Arctic Council Secretariat, Finland
Mari Grut, Northern Feminist University, Norway
Ingunn Limstrand, Northern Feminist University, Norway
Vera Smorchkova, Head of Section, Ministry of the Federation National and Migration
Policy, Russian Federation
Elena Kudryashova, Professor, Pomor State University, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
Britt-Marie Lugnet-Häggberg, Equality Expert, County of Norrbotten, Sweden
Sarah Barton, Senior Vice President, Rise Alaska
Karen Pearson, Director, Division of Public Health, Dept. of Health & Social Services,
Alaska
Beatrice Soila, Economic Officer, U.S. Embassy, Finland
Fenya Lekhanova, Vice-president, Russian Association of the Indigenous Peoples of
the North
Jorunn Eikjok, Researcher, Saami Council
Gunn Britt Retter, Technical Advisor, Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat
Carita Peltonen, Senior Adviser, Nordic Council of Ministers
Helka Urponen, Director, University of Lapland, Continuing Education Centre, Finland
Marja-Leena Porsanger, Conference secretary, Rovaniemi-Lapland Congresses, Finland
Laura Tohka, Conference co-ordinator, University of Tampere, Finland
10 TAKING WING
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health took the main responsibility of organising the
conference supported by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Education. The Nordic
Council of Ministers acted in co-operation with the host country and supported the conference
financially.
200 participants from all member states of the Arctic Council: Canada, Denmark/
Greenland, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Russian Federation, Sweden and USA/Alaska, and
representatives of the Permanent Participants – Arctic Athabascan Council, Gwich’in Council
International, Inuit Cirucmpolar Conference, RAIPON and Saami Council – the Northern
Forum and other observers of the Arctic Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the
Arctic Council chairmanship, indigenous and non-indigenous women’s organisations,
administrators and researchers attended the conference held in Saariselkä, Inari, Finland
3 — 6 August 2002.
The primary goal of the conference was to promote the integration of the issue of gender
equality in the activities of the existing organisations and governmental institutions in the
Arctic including the Arctic Council. Another goal of the conference was to raise decision-
makers’ awareness of the situation of women in the Arctic. The conference also provided a
forum for Arctic indigenous and other women to meet each other, to discuss common interests,
and to start and strengthen networking.
The keynote speakers included Eva Biaudet, Minister for Health and Social Services and
Minister for Gender Equality in Finland; Margareta Winberg, Minister of Agriculture, Food
and Fisheries and Minister for Gender Equality in Sweden; Ole Dorph, Minister of Social Services,
Labour and Gender Equality in Greenland; Carolyn Hannan, Director of the UN Division for
the Advancement of Women (DAW); Carita Peltonen, Senior Adviser at Nordic Council of
Ministers; Honourable Audrey McLaughlin, former leader of the New Democratic Party, Canada;
Bente Aasjord, researcher, Norway; Tamara Rumyantseva, Vice-Governor of Arkhangelsk Region,
Russian Federation; Arliss Sturgulewski, Former State Senator, Alaska; Honourable Glenna F.
Hansen, Commissioner of North-West Territories, Canada; Vigdis Stordahl, Associate Professor
at University of Tromsø, Norway; Fenya Lekhanova, Vice-President of RAIPON; Linda
Chamberlain, PhD, Project Director, Alaska and Hannele Pokka, Governor of Lapland, Finland.
The plenary sessions were chaired by Ambassador Marjatta Rasi, Permanent Representative
of Finland to the UN, President Anne Nuorgam from Saami Council and Ambassador Adele
Dion from Canada. Professor Elena Kudryashova and Dr. Natalia Koukarenko from Pomor
State University acted as vice-chairpersons.
The conference was about women and gender in the Arctic. Issues brought to debate were
considered from an arctic viewpoint, as well as from the viewpoint of indigenous women and
indigenous peoples. Social, economic and cultural change were a further crosscutting theme
of the conference. The theme Women and Work in the Arctic dealt with the fundamental issue
of earning one’s living and economy in the Arctic. This theme covered issues such as living
conditions and occupations, capacity building and knowledge, women as entrepreneurs, land
rights, and the use of natural resources as an economic base. The theme Gender in the self-