Saturday, August 18, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Azealia Banks’ Dazed & Confused cover sparks controversy

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Brogan Driscoll
WVoN co-editor 

The photo of rapper Azealia Banks on the cover of the September issue of Dazed & Confused magazine has polarised opinion.

Showing the Harlem born singer smoking a bright pink condom as though it were a cigar with the headline “Azealia Banks Blows Up”, the photo has been banned in seven countries to date.

Dazed magazine Tweeted: “Just been told our upcoming @AZEALIABANKS cover has been banned from 7 countries so far. Thank God for the Internet, huh?”

The artist, who rose to prominence earlier this year following the international success of her single 212, has a reputation for being sexually outspoken and coining the term “kunt” – the plural of which is “kuntz”, in case you’re wondering.

Does her confidence in her sexuality – on the Dazed cover, in her lyrics and in her performances – show her reclaiming a sexual space hitherto reserved exclusively for men, pornography and private spaces?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Nepal bans women under 30 from working in Middle East

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT

Natasha Wilson
WVoN co-editor

Nepal has banned women under 30 from working in Middle Eastern countries following reports of sexual abuse and exploitation.

The ban comes 18 months after the government lifted a 12 year ban on women working in Gulf countries, imposed after an abused woman working in Kuwait committed suicide.

It is estimated that around 1,000 women leave Nepal for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait everyday for jobs as housemaids.

Most Nepalese migrant workers are thought to be working in India, but up to 70,000 are working in Gulf countries, lured by better wages which they can send home to their families.

“Young female workers are reported to have been sexually and psychologically exploited in Gulf countries,” Information Minister Raj Kishor Yadav said in the Himalayan Times English-language daily newspaper.

“So the cabinet decided to set the age bar for women migrant workers in the Gulf. Women above 30 years of age are at low risk of such exploitation”, he said.

Maiti Nepal, which works to prevent trafficking of Nepalese women abroad, welcomed the announcement.

Director Bishwa Khadka said: “We have met several housemaids who were not only raped by their masters but also forced to have sex with the masters’ relatives.

“They are confined to the house and live in a situation akin to slavery”.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that banning young women from working in the Gulf was not the solution to the problem and the government should instead find a way to make it safe for women to travel abroad to work.

"Nepal is right to be concerned about its migrant domestic workers, but imposing a ban on women under 30 from traveling to the Gulf does not solve the problem and discriminates against young women", said Nisha Varia, senior women's rights researcher at HRW.

"A better strategy would be to crack down on abusive recruitment practices, ensure that women migrate with an enforceable contract in hand, and equip embassies to respond quickly to complaints of abuse."

HRW added that the ban would make women who are in desperate need of work migrate illegally, putting them at greater risk of exploitation and abuse.

Members of Russian punk band, Pussy Riot, found guilty of hooliganism

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT

Brogan Driscoll
WVoN co-editor 

UPDATE: Pussy Riot have been given two years in prison, to start from the begining of their custody (March 2012).

Three members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

The trio were arrested after they performed a song  in one of Moscow’s biggest cathedrals to protest against the policies of Russian president Putin and the church’s part in supporting his regime (see WVoN coverage).

Wearing colourful balaclavas the group performed their single Punk Prayer , which calls on the Virgin Mary to “throw Putin out”.

Judge Syrova said that the women were wearing "inappropriate clothes for a church" and claimed they shouted "blasphemous and sacrilegious words hurtful to believers".

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, and Maria Alyokhina, 24, have been in custody since their arrest in March.

The trial has gripped the international community, with people from Madonna to Paul McCartney calling for the release of the three women (see WVoN story).

Clare Balding: a new kind of Olympic heroine

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Faye Mooney
WVoN co-editor

The London 2012 euphoria has finally subsided, but good news is still on the cards for British broadcaster Clare Balding, who has just sealed a deal to present Channel 4 racing, and will be the anchor for Channel 4's coverage of the Paralympic Games.

The news follows an "Olympic Gold" broadcasting performance by Balding throughout London Games.

Praise for her professional and authoritative presenting style during the Olympics has come gushing forth from every quarter, from the Guardian to the Independent, even the Daily Mail – and, of course, the twittersphere.

A particular highlight was her joyously hilarious interview with Burt le Clos after his son won an unexpected gold medal in the 200m Butterfly, in which she managed to simultaneously put the excited parent at ease and indulge his excitement.

The sports blog Deadspin went so far as to call it the "media moment of the Olympics".

She has also been credited with creating the amusing Mo Farah "mobot" celebratory dance. Indeed, anyone who has seen her on panel shows such as "Would I Lie to You" will be familiar with her sharp sense of humour and ability to handle herself amongst the "laddish" banter.

In 2011, WVoN covered the story that Balding thinks that her popularity is down to the fact that, as she is openly gay, "women are not afraid that she'll nick their husbands".

However, it seems to me that her sexuality is far from the key to her growing status as a “national treasure” (I wasn't even aware that she was a lesbian).

It is possible that her popularity is, rather, simply down to the refreshing nature of her totally un-sexualised presenting.

Whilst broadcaster Gabby Logan also did an excellent job, there sometimes seemed to be a sense that she was the "sexy" face of the Olympic broadcasting team. However, as the Daily Mail points out, Balding completely refuses to flirt with viewers, colleagues or sportspeople.

Indeed, it is perhaps this that makes her such a remarkable broadcaster. She shines brightly in the male-dominated world of sports coverage and is often far better than them in terms of her knowledge and affability. She resists the temptation to use sex to procure credibility, and is all the more successful for doing so.

For women who feel unnerved by the still deeply masculine world of sport, Balding is a true inspiration. She is also an incredible role model for the gay community and a real heroine of the broadcasting world.

Sports Personality of the Year, anyone?

We should be valuing pregnant women and new mothers, not sacking them

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 04:00 AM PDT

Rachel Salmon
WVoN co-editor

A few years ago I attended a friend's baby shower.

My friend told the group that one of her husband's colleagues had been made redundant because she had a young child and was unable to work until 8pm like her male colleagues.

She worked for a large City bank in the UK and received a big pay-off. Some of the women said that they would be delighted to be made redundant.

Now one of the women has herself lost her job because of pregnancy. She is among 30,000 each year who are sacked or forced to leave their work because they are pregnant or looking after a young child.

A further 200,000 are treated less favourably because of pregnancy or maternity, according to a study by the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2005.

Valuing Maternity is a new campaign set up in the UK to fight maternity discrimination and improve services, information and support for pregnant women and new mothers.

Supported by the Maternity Alliance, unions like the National Union of Journalists and UNITE and advice groups like the Citizens Advice Bureau, it is encouraging women to tell their story.  Trudy's is typical.

Before she became pregnant, Trudy's boss said she was an excellent worker.  Her company was entering her work for national awards, and during her pregnancy her manager assured her that she would be able to return part-time.

As her maternity leave came to an end the boss changed tack and insisted that Trudy would not be able to fulfil the travel commitments of the job and suggested that a freelancer, who had been covering her role, should be retained with the same job title and equal responsibilities.

"My life was made absolute hell.  I was constantly undermined by the person I was sharing a job title with,” Trudy says.

"Meetings were held without me being there – even when I was in the office. I wasn't included in conversations essential to the running of the business."

Her work was often changed by her colleague at the behest of her boss.

"In short, I was seen to be no longer the trusted, respected employee I was previous to having a baby," says Trudy.

It all came to a head when her manager suggested that the freelance colleague should be promoted to a position above her, taking on Trudy’s responsibilities and leaving her with the less important work.

Trudy saw this as an attempt to demote her and launched an appeal with the support of her union.

While this was happening Trudy continued to work to the best of her ability. She did not take time off, even when she or her child was ill.

"My confidence was shattered.

"On a personal level, it affected my home life with my partner and child, and I would often be depressed and weepy on my days off."

Eventually Trudy took a job in a less prestigious department.

"I did feel that I had to compromise my career and I strongly feel that I could have continued in my previous role and excelled," she says.

After nine months working at the new job, she became pregnant again and is now on maternity leave. Her current manager is also a mum and extremely supportive.

“I have no doubt that after my previous maternity leave, my manager was actively trying to get rid of me and she was uncomfortable with employing mothers.

"I strongly believe that it was viewed by my managers that in becoming pregnant, I had decided to sacrifice my career; that as soon as I was a parent it somehow changed my commitment to work and my ability to do my job. I couldn't disagree more!" she concludes.

Louise Taft, a solicitor at Prolegal, says she has seen a rise in maternity discrimination cases since the onset of the recession in 2008.

"When the economy goes bad, the number of unfair dismissal cases as a whole goes up, but the proportion of pregnancy discrimination cases is about the same.

"We find many women are discriminated against when they have pregnancy related illnesses," she says.

Ros Bragg, director of Maternity Action, says the number of women seeking advice from her organisation has more than doubled in the last year.

"The redundancy process is used as a way of shifting pregnant women and new mothers out of their jobs.

"The processes can be complex and this can make it difficult for women to prove they lost their jobs due to pregnancy discrimination.”

Bragg says that the law offers women relatively good protection against discrimination.  The problem is with compliance.

"Many women are not aware of their rights. Few are able to access advice when they need it particularly in light of cuts in advice services.

"Few have the personal or financial resources to pursue a case in late pregnancy or when looking after a new baby."

Bragg says the Government should send a clear message to employers that they must comply with their legal obligations to pregnant women and new mothers.

"Unfortunately we are seeing messages from Government that pregnant women are a burden," she says.

Well funded advice and information to enable women to exercise their rights and research into the effects of pregnancy discrimination in different industry sectors with targeted intervention to address this is also vital.

Bragg says in the absence of up to date research it is difficult to say which sectors are the worst offenders, but believes that women in the care industry may face particular problems.

"A lot of women are care workers and there is very poor practice in relation to manual handling in these jobs, leaving pregnant women having to choose either to leave their jobs or move and lift people or heavy equipment," she says.

"Women are often very anxious that they are perceived as trouble makers when they are merely asserting the rights assigned to them in legislation. This reflects very negative attitudes towards pregnant women in the workplace at the moment."

Bragg believes that discrimination faced by migrant women is often compounded when they become pregnant.  Maternity Action recently published an advice leaflet in Polish, as they are one of the largest groups of women from abroad having babies in the UK.

"Demand has been enormous. The number of downloads has been greater than the number of Polish women who had babies in the UK," she says.

Chemotherapy may be safe in pregnancy, study reveals

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT

Rachel Salmon
WVoN co-editor

Women with breast cancer should not ease up on their chemotherapy treatment while pregnant, a new study has found.

The results of the German research, published in the Lancet, found little or no evidence that undergoing a course of chemotherapy for breast cancer when pregnant led to health defects in babies.

Professor Sibylle Loibl, of the German Breast Group which led the study, said:

"If our findings are confirmed by other studies, breast cancer during pregnancy could be treated as it is in non-pregnant women without putting fetal and maternal outcomes at substantially increased risk."

The researchers are advising the one in a thousand women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer when pregnant, to proceed with the treatment as normal after the first trimester and not opt for an early delivery.

“Ideally, you would avoid chemotherapy in the first trimester of pregnancy.

“The thought is that the fetus is really developing at that stage and the organs are being developed,” Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York told ABC News.

The study followed 400 women, 197 of whom underwent chemotherapy. Whilst babies whose mothers received chemotherapy were lighter, they were no more at risk of birth defects, blood disorders or loss of hair.

And while babies of mothers receiving chemotherapy had more complications, the group with the highest rate of complications were those born premature.

Cases of pregnant women with breast cancer are on the increase, this is thought to be because women are choosing to have children later.

The symptoms can sometimes be confused with pregnancy symptoms, making the disease complex to treat.

Scientists have also found that high hormone levels during pregnancy do not cause the recurrence of hormone-sensitive breast cancer strains.

Tunisian women protest over possible erosion of their rights

Posted: 17 Aug 2012 01:00 AM PDT

Joanna Perkin
WVoN co-editor

On Monday Tunisian women ‘celebrated’ National Women's Day with a mass demonstration in Tunis in a bid to ensure their rights continue to be enshrined in the country’s constitution.

Thousands of Tunisians, mostly women, gathered in the capital to protest against the draft constitution, which is currently being drawn up by the Islamist government.

Reuters put the number of protestors at around 6000 while All Africa put the number nearer to 30,000.

Specifically, the protestors were objecting to the wording of Article 27, which supposedly refers to women as ‘complementary’ to men.

In 1956 a law was passed in Tunisia granting women equal rights to men. The Personal Status Code banned polygamy, decreed that consent from both a man and woman was required for a civil marriage or divorce to proceed and that this could only happen through the courts, and introduced equal rights for both sexes in schools and at work.

Today, Tunisia is seen as one of the most progressive of the Arab states with women working in nearly every sector of society, including politics, and making up nearly 60% of the students in Tunisian universities.

Some believe that the wording of the draft constitution represents the start of the government's plans to erode women's rights.

Ahlam Belhadj, who chairs the Tunisian Democratic Women Association, said:

“Major retreats usually begin with one step. If we stay silent today, we will open the door to everything else and end up surprised by even more serious decisions.”

Others believe the objection to Article 27 has arisen as a direct result of mistranslation.

France 24 published the following translation: “The state guarantees to protect women's rights, as they stand, under the principle of man's complement within the family and man's partner in developing the country”.

The government has denied that the wording of Article 27, which has yet to be ratified, represents a regressive step for Tunisian women.

Farida al-Obeidi, chair of the government’s human rights and public freedoms panel, said the draft stipulated “sharing of roles and does not mean that women are worth less than men”.