Kvinnor och turism

[Elisabet]

"Turism öppnar dörren för kvinnor"?

Jag hajade till när jag på stiftets hemsida under Aktuellt läste att i ett uttalande från vatikanen sägs att turism kan förbättra kvinnors sociala status, särskilt i länder där kvinnors rättigheter inte erkänns. Det är kardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatikanens statssekreterare, som säger så i det han menar att turisternas medvetenhet om orättvisor ökar när de märker de förnedrande omständigheter kvinnor lever under.
Uttalandet kom med anledning av den återkommande världsturistdagen den 27 september, vars tema var Turism öppnar dörren för kvinnor.

Att jag reagerade ganska kraftigt var för att kardinalens uttalande står helt i motsats till den diskussion jag hört pågår i människorättskämpande grupper. Kvinnor i fattiga länder, dit billiga turistresor går, har fått det värre i och med turisme. Prostitution, trafficing och annan människohandel har ökat avsevärt. Kvinnor utnyttjas för en billig penning i hela turstindustrin.
Turisterna dras till billiga länder med lättköpta förlustelser.

Skarp kritik (mot temat för året) har också utgått från en ekumenisk sammanslutning, Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism (EKOT) vars medlemmar består av The Catholic Federation of Asian Bishops conference samt kyrkor i Afrika, Asien, Latinamerika m fl. Det finns att läsa på en site som sponsras bl a av World Council of Churches och Conference of European Churches, (Eni -om line) Jag citerar hela artikeln (har ej tid att översätta den, kanske någon annan vill göra det).

Elisabet

26 September 2007 | 07-0744 |

Church group castigates UN for tourism day

Michele Green
Singapore (ENI). The Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism has called for an end to the exploitation of women by the tourist industry, and criticised a decision by the United Nations to hold World Tourism Day on the theme, "Tourism Opens Doors For Women". "While ECOT acknowledges instances when women do benefit from tourism, this unfortunately does not apply to the majority of women involved in the world of tourism," the coalition said in a statement in advance of the UN day to be marked on 27 September.

The Thailand-based ecumenical group said that tourism often results in the sexual exploitation of women, and this in no way "opens doors for women" as described by the United Nations.

"A tourism that is propped up by images of women and the lure of sexual pleasures is not one that liberates women," the coalition added.

It said that not only does the tourism industry sexually exploit women, but that women themselves often do not receive fair payment for the work they do for the tourist industry.

"Yes, handicrafts and other items produced by women do attract the tourist dollar. But is the price paid for these products just? Are the wages of women in these enterprises fair? Is the trivialisation of culture that occurs in various tourist destinations, when women are dressed in indigenous dress as if in a costume to attract the tourist camera, the way to open doors for women?" the coalition said.

The group said it supported the United Nations' goal to halve world poverty by 2015, and that such a step would truly open doors and create opportunities for women. Meanwhile, it believed that the United Nations World Tourism Organization should use its position "to reflect the perspective of women who are disadvantaged and discriminated by tourism".

The ecumenical coalition began work in 1982. Its members include regional conferences of churches in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Pacific, as well as the Catholic Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.


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