Women's Views on News |
- Catholic church protests Vagina Monologues in Guam
- Round-up of news story links, week ending March 2, 2012
- Right-wing radio host calls student “slut” for using birth control pills
- Feminist lesbian activist in UK condemns marriage
- EU women debate – live blogging
- Join Million Women Rise on the march this Saturday in London
| Catholic church protests Vagina Monologues in Guam Posted: 02 Mar 2012 11:32 AM PST
The Catholic Archdiocese of Hagatna, Guam, came out in protest of the University of Guam production of the Vagina Monologues last week. A group of approximately 10 men and women staged a peaceful protest over the three nights of the production of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues. They carried banners with Christian messages of chastity that also asked the Catholics amongst the audience not to attend the performances. The group also spoke to the queue of theatre-goers, many of them University of Guam students, telling them that Ensler's play is sinful and anti-Catholic. Marie Pablo, one of the protesters, said: "in our culture here in Guam you don't even mention the word vagina. It's a degrading thing to mention it." "Degrading" was a common descriptor when protestors talked about the Vagina Monologues, many of whom had seen clips of the production on You Tube and based their assessments on these viewings. Ensler's Vagina Monologues, first staged in 1996, focus on the diverse experiences women from a variety of cultures have with their bodies with a particular focus on their sexualities. The play became a force for change after Ensler launched V-Day, a worldwide initiative to end violence against women. While some of the monologues are provocative and humorous, many of them focus on sexual violations within families and war zones. The current production of the Vagina Monologues in Guam marks the fourth time that the play has been staged and the fourth time that the Catholic Archdiocese has protested at the performances. Deacon Frank Tenorio, leader of the protest, called the Vagina Monologues, "the worst pornography ever" and argued that there are other ways to fundraise for organizations that work to end violence against women. His wife, Maria Tenorio, argued that the play promotes lesbianism and puts women at risk. She said: "how many men in there when you talk about this part of a woman are going to go wild? Their imaginations go wild and [men will] maybe come out and rape somebody." Guam’s population is predominantly Catholic and so some of the theatre-goers were intimidated by the protestors' tactics of direct confrontation. However, they were not deterred from seeing the play. In fact, about 100 people each night could not secure tickets and left without seeing it. One of the attendees, James Sellmann, explained that the production was one of the best he had seen, particularly because of its transformative effects on the audience. Joleen Guzman, a student at the University of Guam and practicing Catholic said: "A play that talks about vaginas and life experiences, in my eyes is not a sin, but more like a step closer to finding themselves and healing." Guzman's sentiments are echoed in the experiences of the Vagina Monologues’ cast and the director. Laurie Raymundo, who performed "The Vagina Workshop," argued for the power of the play for the audience and the cast. She said: "each time I have done the Vagina Monologues (and this is my fourth production), it is a cathartic and empowering experience. Every woman who comes to take part in this show has her own unique story and comes away strengthened and validated by the experience and by the friendships she has made in the process." Vagina Monologues’ director, Michelle Blas, is no stranger to the protestors. She directed a 2005 production of Ensler's play and was confronted with the same group of banners and protests. She said: ” I just think its ironic that a majority of the protestors were older women, silently holding up signs, while the only man that I saw was the one preaching to the crowd. “Yet, another example of men attempting to control women..which as we know is at the heart of abuse and violence and what the Vagina Monologues is trying to change.” The three performances of the Vagina Monologues at the University of Guam raised $4000 for Island Girl Power, Erica's House, VARO and Oasis Empowerment Centre. This week the theatre is premiering "I Famalao’an ni Manmesngon," or "The Women who Endure," a collection of monologues written by local women. The Catholic Archdiocese intends to protest this production, even though none of them has had access to the script.
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| Round-up of news story links, week ending March 2, 2012 Posted: 02 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PST
They won't necessarily be from that day, but usually will not be more than a few days old. The following are the ones we’ve found today. Story links: UK: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/met-assured-rebekah-brooks-over-inquiry-7441602.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/illegal-payments-culture-at-sun-7444129.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/harrison-hired-despite-a4e-fraud-warning-7441303.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/27/pollution-caroline-spelman http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9106881/Sue-Townsend-the-difficult-years.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/28/review-rape-police-failings http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/mar/01/samantha-riggs-lawyer-to-watch http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/29/care-older-women-delivering-dignity NORTH AMERICA http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/02/201222384657116230.html MIDDLE EAST http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/28/arab-first-ladies-of-oppression AFRICA http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/feb/28/liberia-women-reluctant-to-relive-abuse AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA EUROPE http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15770811,00.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/27/germany-journalists-media-women-quota http://www.rferl.org/content/film_putins_kiss_on_nashi_activist_disillusionment/24488442.html ASIA http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/24/graffiti-street-art-kabul http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9112777/Chinese-kung-fu-actress-murdered.html GENERAL WORLD http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/international-street-harassment-week_b_1228198.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9108790/Attending-meetings-lowers-IQ-research.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/mar/02/female-face-farming-fao  |
| Right-wing radio host calls student “slut” for using birth control pills Posted: 02 Mar 2012 05:00 AM PST
US conservative commentator and radio host Rush Limbaugh told a student that she was a “slut” during his show on Wednesday. The shock jock ridiculed Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown University, for saying that birth control should be covered by insurance, even at religious institutions. Limbaugh dismissed Fluke's statement that women could be prescribed the pill for medical reasons and accused her of promoting promiscuity. "What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute," he said. "She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception." Fluke was banned from testifying at an all-male conception panel at a congressional hearing last month. The committee chair, Darrell Issa, said she was ‘unqualified’. It is worth remembering that Limbaugh knows what he’s talking about when it comes to medication – he was arrested with a suitcase full of Viagra on his way back from the Dominican Republic in 2006. The medication was prescribed in his doctor's name to protect Limbaugh's privacy, whereas the sex life of every American woman who chooses to use birth control can be national conversation for months and it is everyone's business. By the way those Viagras were paid for by Limbaugh's union-provided health insurance. Much to Limbaugh’s chagrin, the so called "Blunt Amendment" – a controversial amendment sponsored by Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) that would have overridden the Obama Administration’s new contraception coverage rule – was rejected by the senate by a 51-48 vote yesterday (March 1).  |
| Feminist lesbian activist in UK condemns marriage Posted: 02 Mar 2012 03:00 AM PST Samantha Reeve British journalist Julie Bindel said on Sky News recently that campaigns for marriage equality were a ‘waste of time and effort’. Instead she said it should be abolished and replaced by civil parternships for everyone. The founder of Justice for Women made the remarks in response to comments made by Stonewall founder Sir Ian McKellen. Bindel, a writer and activist, has also said in the past that lesbianism is a choice and has opposed transgender surgery. She claimed that marriage was an outdated institution ‘and if you like living in institutions it’s great’ She went on to say that gay rights acitivists had bigger fish to fry, such as homphobic bullying in schools and in the workplace. She said that equality can only be achieved through abolishing marriage and giving everyone the right to civil partnershisps, which hetrosexual couples currently do not enjoy. The debate around marriage, was she said, an expensive and priviledged debate. Certainly contentious issues, but does she have a point?  |
| EU women debate – live blogging Posted: 02 Mar 2012 01:54 AM PST
We’ll be blogging live from the event this morning, so send in your comments and questions. 12.22 Okay, all finished. Thanks so much for all your comments and questions. #EUwomendebate 12.22 Heather McGregor asked how do we persuade the men to “relinquish the power”? Not by legislation, she says. Culture does need changing, but not the men who need to change, it’s women. Wants a culture whereby women’s aspirations and expectations are raised. As for those on low wages, way to resolve poverty is not to become one of them. #EUwomendebate 12.20 Marina Yannakoudakis MEP: Networking and female ambassadors – important means of supporting women #EUwomendebate 12.18 Marina Yannakoudakis MEP: Women bring added value and different perspectives, so do ppl from different member states – that’s the value of the EU #EUwomendebate 12.17 Mary Honeyball summing up – London is destination city for trafficking so EU has real job to limit extent of this modern day slavery. EU women’s ctt always taken issue of violence against women very seriously. Gives funds to groups fighting violence against women. Shows that trying to do what we can. Takes us onto issue of advertising and stereotyping – did report looking at link between portrayal of women as sex objects in adverts and fact that it does nothing to stop the violence (although not necessarily lead to it). Need to raise awareness of stereotyping of women in adverts in various media. Sun On Sunday still has page three. Education – need to start at school and throughout education process and images of women; what we expect of women. All have responsibility to do. #EUwomendebate 12.12 Emma Reynolds The UK alone can’t deal with the problem of trafficking – important that we are signed up to EU legislation #EUwomendebate 12.11 Emma Reynolds: Advice and mentoring from other women is extremely important #EUwomendebate 12.10 Emma Reynolds: We should be tremendously proud that 60& of graduates are women but it’s not filtering thro to workplace #EUwomendebate 12.05 Men succeed because they have clubs and organisations, that’s why networks are so important #EUwomendebate 12.04 Point from audience – all very well having parental leave and shared childcare, but women still need to have maternity leave to allow their bodies to recover and to bond with their baby. #EUwomendebate 12.00 Range of questions now about parental leave; sexual harassment in workplace; what are “women’s issues”; taxation; women’s loos and pensions. #EUwomendebate 11.53 Emma Reynolds – issue of low paid women very important. Hence the crucial role of minimum wage. Legislation does affect women at the bottom and as a government, you can affect women’s lives and minimum wage is excellent example. 11.51 Heather McGregor – Doesn’t matter what age you are, what sex you are if you want something badly enough. Don’t get to top of anything without lots of hard work. Have to put in the time. Need focus and have to make hard choices. Women have to learn to say no. 11.48 Heather McGregor – No such sentence as “I can’t do it” but needs an additional word “alone”. And are plenty of women who are alone. But some have partners and need support of them.
11.46 Marina Yannakoudakis MEP: Women in other countries need to be empowered and feel they can do what they want to do. #EUwomendebate 11.44 Marina Yannakoudakis MEP: Working to make the Women’s Committee in Europe the Women and Equalities Committee #EUwomendebate 11.41 Mary Honeyball: Women when they retire are significantly worse off than men. #EUwomendebate 11.40 Mary Honeyball: The position of older women is improving, but we still have a huge way to go #EUwomendebate 11.39 Mary Honeyball: Women have been disproportionately affected in the economic crisis in the EU #EUwomendebate 11.36 Emma Reynolds: Governments have a massive role to play in making sure women don’t become the victims of a financial crisis they didn’t create. 11.35 Emma Reynolds: I represent a constituency where the debate about the boardrooms is irrelevant to most women. 11.34 Emma Reynolds: It is only right that the parental leave is available to men and women. But men sometimes feel unable to take it. 11.32 Emma Reynolds: There are cultural pressures on men that discourage them from taking paternity leave 11.29 What is Europe doing for women in low-paid work, not just at board level? We’ll be discussing that next… 11.22 Audience – if don’t get it right at the top, doesn’t filter through. Women at the bottom and men at the top. Nothing filtering through. 11.20 Mary Honeyball – choice and culture are big issues. Number of women who can choose not to work is going down. Choice for people on lower incomes not same for people on lower incomes. What suggesting with quotas is to widen choice. Don’t do that by shutting things down. Quotas help to open up cultures where women don’t do as well as they would like. 11.17 Marina Yannakoudakis MEP Attitudes have changed and we shouldn’t look back and say we are downtrodden. Temporary measures/quotas can work. Two years after getting in as a Tory MP I have to work very hard to prove myself, as many women do. 11.14 Many brilliant women who got into parliament as a result of using the “blunt instrument” of positive discrimination. 11.13 Emma Reynolds – lots of women want to get into parliament. Only reason so many women succeeded in 1997 was because of women-only shortlist. Changed face of parliament. Had discrimination in Labour party as image of an MP was a white man. So lots of women not getting selected. To break the cultural barrier, needed temporary positive discrimination. Still have more women than any other party. 11.12 Heather McGregor – all focusing on the demand side. Women do not want to make difficult choices about how to use their time. Women who choose to use the hours in the week to further their career will go further. 11.10 In answer to a question about targets being quotas that aren’t being enforced. Heather McGregor says that is right and that is correct as they have a moral force. 11.08 Some of the responses on the issue of quotas and people saying women are only in a job because of them seems to be ‘So What?’ If it’s a means to an end, we should just brazen it out. Men have been helped by networks etc. 11.03 National Association of Women’s Organisations – challenged the view that quotas did not make a difference in Norway. Says changed attitudes enormously in the face of opposition from business. 10.59 Marina Yannakoudakis MEP says she agrees that we need to drive change but we can get there without legislation. 10.57 Emma Reynolds: ‘We are impatient and we want to drive progress. It’s not good enough that we don’t have 50 per cent of women in business or parliament.” 10.55 Mary Honeyball: “Of course you will have people say a woman is only in her job because of a quota, but for many there is no chance of them getting there without it. We’ve got to get through it and then we will have more women and things will be better.” 10.52 Heather McGregor - more legislation is unhelpful to business. Does not help to create more jobs. Does not believe in big government but EU commissioner, Vivienne Redding, unlikely to listen to her. Just need targets, not quotas. 10.50 Heather McGregor - should not just concentrate on demand side. Also need to focus on supply side. Just written a book and last thing she said in it – when you get to the top, remember to turn round and help the women behind you. Madeline Albright said – is special place in hell for women who don’t help other women. 10.48 Heather McGregor - year after Davies report, have inched from 12.5% to 15% but rate of appointments has gone from 10% to 2o-something%. Are some great women out there but don’t want quotas. Just get women on the board for the sake of it. Otherwise say she’s only on the board because she’s a woman. 10.47 Heather McGregor - Does not think that quotas are the way forward. Quotas in Norway not made any difference. Only two percent of CEOs are women. Will not improve the pipeline of women coming through so there is a pool of talent. Are other ways to achieve change. 10.46 Heather McGregor about to speak – businesswoman and entrepreneur being asked if is a role for legislation to encourage more gender equality. 10.44 ER: My concern is that women are being hit harder by austerity measures 10.44 Emma Reynolds: the Labour party is looking at Norway and Denmark for models about pay, maternity rights and childcare. 10.43 Emma Reynolds, shadow Europe minister: “My mother was sacked when she was pregnant with me and 34 and a half years later we still don’t have equal pay.” 10.40 Marina Yannakoudakis - been involved in report suggesting practical ways to help women and are therefore lots of practical ways that EU can help. Can come up with legislation as much as we want but if not practical won’t work. Don’t patronise me because I’m a woman, she concludes. 10.37 Marina Yannakoudakis - remember not all women want to work outside the home. Choice is very important. If go into business, need level playing field. Legislative quotas not the way. Companies need to do it voluntarily. She says that not worked in Norway because ‘token’ women been appointed to boardrooms. Do you agree with that? 10.36 Marina Yannakoudakis - MEP. Lots of areas, pay gap is one of them but part of bigger picture when talking about inequalities. Need to address them as a whole within difficult economic climate. Need to start from perspective of empowering women. Women can use crisis and come out on top as entrepreneurs. Do you agree? 10.36 Mary Honeyball Labour MEP thinks quotas are necessary to improve women’s representation in the boardroom. What do you think? 10.34 Does economic crisis mean a lowering of our ambitions? 10.31 Mary Honeyball: We need to get the 20 per cent pay gap down pretty rapidly and we won’t achieve it unless we actually force employers to do it. 10.29 Mary Honeyball says UK and EU facing severe recession, underpinning all we talk about today. But not everything costs money so can still move forward. Raised issue of non discrimination. What does that mean exactly? 10.29 Mary Honeyball: The economic crisis should underpin our discussion about women and pay, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things we can’t do for the future. 10.28 Mary Honeyball, MEP for Labour, about to talk to us about equality for women in the workplace and whether it can be achieved. Any questions anyone? 10.24 Shirin Wheeler of the BBC is chairing the event – keen to hear questions from Women’s Views on News readers – so do send them in. 10.21 Most of the speakers are now here. Just about to start so please send in your questions and comments. 10.10 It’s just been announced that we’re going to be starting in 5 minutes – when the panel are finished in meetings.. 10.04 The discussion today will be about closing the gender gap in pay in Europe. Let us know what you think as we go along.. 10.03 Nearly ready now to start. 09.55 Women are beginning to arrive for the debate. There will be a full house – dozens of women wanting to know about their place in Europe.  |
| Join Million Women Rise on the march this Saturday in London Posted: 02 Mar 2012 01:00 AM PST  Credit: Rebecca Radmore Nina Kelly Two women are killed every week at the hands of a partner or ex-partner. And 167 women are raped every day. One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. You might wonder if these statistics are for a country at war? Are they global averages, including lawless states and tyrannical regimes? No. These facts represent the reality for women in the UK in the 21st century; for me and you, or for your mother, your sisters, your girlfriend or wife. If you accept the truth – that violence against women is thriving in our midst – you may ask what is being done to tackle it. But with pitiful rape conviction rates and no properly resourced strategy to protect women from violence, you'll find little from those who hold the power to change things. What's more, the women's sector, including the services that exist for vulnerable women, from rape counselling services to refuge centres, is being decimated by government funding cuts. This is why 10,000 women will march through the streets of London this Saturday, 3 March, 2012. And this is why all women should join us on the Million Women Rise march. Million Women Rise (MWR) was born in 2007 from an exasperated conversation between founder Sabrina Qureshi and coalition member Fatina Liza, both of whom have worked with women survivors of abuse. Neither understood why nothing was being done to heal this sickness in our society. Less than a year later, on International Women's Day, 8 March 2008, more than 5,000 women joined Sabrina and Fatina on the first Million Women Rise demonstration. The number of protesters on the women-only march has grown since then and the event has become an annual fixture. Speaking to me ahead of the fifth MWR march in London this weekend, Sabrina said: "I realised that the people who needed to do something were us. “The powers that be don't recognise this issue, so it's up to us to make change happen. As I always say, quoting June Jordan’s poem, 'we are the ones we have been waiting for'." MWR's existence is itself testament to what you can achieve with only dogged determination and a passion for what is right on your side. MWR has no funding and is run entirely by volunteers. Sabrina has been invited to Downing Street, met with government ministers, spoken on national news platforms and won awards. All because she turned an important idea into a reality for millions of women. The march itself has a defiant but celebratory feel to it, and is a genuine joy to be a part of. MWR is about all women, and particularly welcomes more marginalised voices from women from the black community and disabled women. Many of the marchers you speak to have never been on a demonstration before, with young girls wearing red lipstick and Ugg boots, marching alongside the women's sector's old guard of seasoned activists. Babies are pushed in prams, while older women bring up the rear in the minibus; all women are welcome. Each year there is a colour theme and this year it is purple, which signifies dignity and was one of the Suffragettes' colours. Most women wear something to fit the theme, but the colours are always many. Visually, the march is a glorious spectacle of brightness and movement. I've often thought how fantastic the images, taken by onlookers from the third floor of department stores on Oxford Street, must be. As we snake around the neon lights of Piccadilly Circus, drummers and dancers lead the way for a rhythmic throng, all chanting, whistling and singing. But what does this have to do with ending violence against women? Well, we know that nothing gets done without someone making it happen; a critical mass of people is needed to demand change. There will be no political will to end violence against women if there isn't a visible show of determination on the ground from ordinary people – us. Million Women Rise has arguably already had an important impact by contributing to the Labour-created cross-governmental violence against girls and women strategy, which the current administration has kept in all but name. However, while this action plan remains unfunded and barely implemented, there is still work for MWR and its supporters to do. Million Women Rise has also had an impact on the wider women's sector and debates around feminism. Vivienne Hayes, chief executive of the Women's Resource Centre, which acts as an office base for MWR, says: "One of Million Women Rise's defining qualities is its championship of diversity. “In the past few years it has become the norm to see women from different backgrounds included in panel events and called upon for opinion. Million Women Rise's proud stance as a black-led coalition has gone a long way to support this change. "Million Women Rise has helped to make women's rights accessible for all women, rather than an elite and privileged group. “The most marginalised women are truly welcomed on the marches as the organisers really understand the importance of inclusivity." Perhaps just as important an achievement is the feeling of empowerment all marchers experience, many of whom do not feel they are listened to in the ordinary running of things. Survivors of violence and rape and women who work tirelessly in small voluntary organisations that are losing vital funding don't get many opportunities to shout about such injustice on the capital's busiest thoroughfares. This is one reason for the march being women-only, to ensure a feeling of safety for these women and their children. But the decision is also an extension of MWR's desire to give a platform for female voices, which so often go unheard within mixed gender groups. That being said, MWR recognises that it would be impossible to achieve its aims without the majority of men, who are appalled by violence against women, on board. So if you are a man reading this please cheer us on from the sidelines, encourage your female friends and relatives to get involved, donate and think about getting involved in the White Ribbon Campaign. And if you are a woman, join us.  |
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