Press Release
25th June 2019
“Shipping has been a male dominated industry for years, but now times are changing. Women are coming to sea and they are proving themselves.”
London. UK. On the international Day of the Seafarer, the campaign theme of which is ‘I Am On Board with gender equality‘ driven by the 2019 World Maritime Day theme (Empowering Women in the Maritime Community), Human Rights at Sea publishes the updated story and case study of Electro Technical Officer, Amreen Bano; an Indian seafarer who is helping to lead the way to increased inclusion and acceptance of women at sea.
The case study outlines the underpinning of her Muslim faith, her immediate family support, her constant drive in the face of bias and adversity, including the challenges she has faced to achieve her qualifications and Certificate of Competence as the first and youngest female ETO in India, in a previously male-dominated industry.
The charity’s Founder, David Hammond, and researcher Sayedeh Hajar Hejazi, met with Amreen in Mumbai in February after the first ‘Human Rights at Sea’ seminar in India, facilitated by Mrs. Saleha Zubair of the Women’s Wing of the Maritime Union of India.
At that meeting, along with other female merchant marine Officers, it was clear that there was new line of thinking, of professional and personal focus to both achieve and re-balance the current gender imbalance at sea.
Human Rights at Sea first introduced the concept of ‘Gender at Sea’ in 2015.
Important Note to Readers
Human Rights at Sea continues to publish educational materials, publications, investigative case studies of individual and family testimony highlighting unacceptable conditions onboard vessels of all tonnages, as well as throughout the associated maritime supply chain, in order to establish greater public awareness of the issues raised without compromising our editorial freedom.
The charity does not subscribe to any imposed protocols and agreements with other entities effectively limiting the ability to report freely and objectively disclose facts, including the reality of unacceptable labour and wider human rights abuses at sea.
The charity will therefore continue to take a legal and moral stand whenever and wherever it can to fairly advocate for the betterment of human rights, working conditions, and the reduction in abuse at sea. This includes pressing issues such as the criminalisation of seafarers and humanitarian rescuers, abuses towards migrants, impunity of flag States in transparently reacting to and addressing reported abuse, the expansion of the positive contributory role of civil society organisations in the maritime sector, and the provision of greater awareness of effective remedies when abuse occurs.
Our Ask in return
We rely on public and private donations to be able to continue this invaluable and independent work free of bias and interference and every donation, however small or large, goes to assure continuation of our transparent and objective front-end work ensuring that ‘human rights apply at sea, as they do on land’. Thank you.
https://www.justgiving.com/hras