France to seal the right to abortion in its constitution as world marks International Women's Day
Paris (AP): France's leadership will use a Napoleon-era press to seal the right to abortion into the country's constitution in a historic ceremony on Friday that's open to the public and designed to show support to women across the world on International Women's Day.
France is the first country to explicitly guarantee abortion rights in the national charter.
While abortion is a deeply divisive issue in the United States, it's legal in nearly all of Europe and overwhelmingly supported in France, where it's seen more as a question of public health and not politics. French legislators approved the constitutional amendment on Monday in a 780-72 vote that was backed by many far-right lawmakers.
Friday's ceremony, held on the cobblestones of Vendome Plaza in Paris, is a key event on a day focused on advancing women's rights globally. Marches, protests and conferences are being held from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Mexico City and beyond.
The French constitutional amendment has been hailed by women's rights advocates around the world, including places where women struggle to access birth control or maternal health care.
French President Emmanuel Macron called it a direct result of the US Supreme Court ruling in 2022 rescinding long-held abortion rights.
Macron's critics questioned why he pursued the measure in a country with no obvious threat to abortion rights but where women face a multitude of other problems.
France has a persistently high rate of women killed by their partners and challenges remain in prosecuting sexual abuse against women by powerful celebrities and other men. French women also see lower pay and pensions especially women who are not white.
Macron's government said the abortion amendment was important to avoid a US-like scenario for women in France, as hard-right groups are gaining ground and seeking to turn back the clock on freedoms around Europe.
Macron will preside over the constitutional ceremony. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti will use a 100-kilogram (220-pound) press from 1810 to imprint the amendment in France's 1958 constitution.
It will include the phrase saying, "the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion, which is guaranteed.' The ceremony will be held outdoors with the public invited, in another first.
France follows in the footsteps of the former Yugoslavia, whose 1974 constitution included the phrase: "A person is free to decide on having children.' Yugoslavia's successor states retained similar language in their constitutions, though they did not spell out guaranteed abortion rights.
In Ireland, voters will decide on Friday whether to change the constitution to remove passages referring to women's domestic duties and broadening the definition of the family.
Protesters in Istanbul plan to call attention to violence against women, and rallies are expected in many cities. Protests are often political and, at times, violent, rooted in women's efforts to improve their rights as workers. This year's global theme is "Inspire Inclusion."
In Jakarta, Indonesian demonstrators demanded the government adopt the International Labour Organisation's Conventions concerning gender equality and eliminating violence and harassment in the workplace. In Thailand, where Parliament is discussing laws on labour's rights and welfare, labour rights groups organised a march to the Government House to petition for better work conditions.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a cut in the price of cooking gas cylinders by 100 rupees (USD 1.20) on Friday. He posted on the social media platform X that the move to cut household costs was "in line with our commitment to empowering women."
Officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977, International Women's Day is a national holiday in some 20 countries including Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan.
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LPG crisis triggers migrant worker exodus from Kerala ahead of Ramzan, polls
Kochi (PTI): The ongoing LPG crisis, which has led to the mass closure of restaurants and hotels across Kerala, has triggered an exodus of migrant workers returning to their native places, as Ramzan approaches and elections are to be held in West Bengal and Assam.
Restaurant and hotel operators are trying to retain their staff from other states, fearing that if migrant workers leave now, they may not return until after the election.
G Jayapal, state president of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA), told PTI that migrant workers from West Bengal and Assam were expected to return home a week before the elections in their respective states.
“However, with the LPG crisis forcing hotels and restaurants to shut down, migrant workers will start returning to their native places early. They will return only after the elections. Also, Ramzan will be celebrated next week, and people who were working in restaurants will start returning to their states due to the lack of jobs here,” he said.
Jayapal said that, in addition to exploring alternative cooking fuels, restaurant operators are also trying to prevent workers from leaving early, expecting that the LPG crisis will be resolved soon.
“A majority of the workforce in hotels and restaurants are migrant workers. Restaurants are desperate to keep them here. However, small-scale restaurant operators find it hard to maintain staff when their shops are closed,” he said.
Binoy Peter of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), which closely monitors migrant worker movements, told PTI that around 50 per cent of Kerala's migrant workforce comes from the poll-bound states of Assam and West Bengal.
“With hotels closed, migrant workers in the hospitality sector have started moving to their native places. Apart from restaurant closures, the movement is also triggered by Ramzan and the elections in West Bengal and Assam. Reserved tickets in trains to these states are already in the waiting list,” he said.
Usually, migrant workers from Kerala return home mainly during the local body polls in their state.
However, this time, due to the SIR procedure, workers are anxious and want to cast their votes in the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam, Peter said.
“Usually, once migrant workers return to their native places, they come back only after one or two months. This will put all sectors in Kerala that depend on them in a crisis,” he said.
Shibin, owner of KLR Facility, which supplies workers, especially housekeeping staff, to major malls and hotels, said that after the LPG crisis, migrants have already started returning home.
“The LPG crisis is only one factor for their movement. The major factor is the elections in West Bengal and Assam. We have already started facing the heat as a number of workers have moved back to their native places,” he said.
Shibin said he used to provide 25 migrant workers for housekeeping at a major mall in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Now we have only five workers from other states there. We are managing the situation by recruiting local women for the work. We have already informed the companies to which we supply manpower and requested their cooperation until the elections in West Bengal and Assam are over,” he said.
