Women's Views on News |
- What is ‘breast ironing’ and why is no one talking about it?
- Canadian company faces claims of ageism
- US launches strategy against gender-based violence
- Augusta National Golf Club admits women (finally)
What is ‘breast ironing’ and why is no one talking about it? Posted: 22 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT Heather Kennedy Some parents go to great lengths to stop their children growing up too fast. But unlike restricting access to the internet or imposing a ban on makeup and boyfriends, the practice of 'breast ironing' involves real, physical pain. "Breast ironing is done in private and it is a secret between mother and daughter. When breasts grow early, people try by all means to make them disappear" Margaret Nyuydzewira from CAME Women and Girls Development Agency explained. Breast ironing is associated with Cameroon, but it’s also happening in the UK and other parts of Africa, says Nyuydzewira. Which is why CAME have recently launched a campaign, funded by Trust for London, to tackle breast ironing in West London. "Of course it's happening in the UK" Nyuydzewira explained. "But, like elsewhere, no one wants to talk about it". So what exactly is it? According to Wikipedia, breast ironing “is the pounding and massaging of a pubescent girl’s breasts using hard or heated objects, to try to make them stop developing or disappear”. Aside from being incredibly painful, breast ironing can lead to a host of serious health problems including cancer, cysts and infections. It is usually carried out by the girl’s mother to try to protect her from sexual harassment in parts of the world where boys and men think that girls whose breasts have begun to grow are ready for sex. “My aunt and my mother pounded my chest every day when I was barely 10 years old. I cried endlessly" said Brenda Mahop, one woman reliving her experience of breast ironing. For victims of breast ironing, it's a traumatic experience that leaves them mutilated for life. Some never go on to develop breasts. And yet the issue has been largely ignored by western mainstream media (with the notable exception of WVoN). True, the Guardian earlier this year printed a piece titled Getting it off their chests: Women in Cameroon speak out against breast ironing. It was also reported on briefly in a digest called 'News of the Weird'. Anxieties and obsessions over the pubescent female body are rife in most societies. But the phenomenon of breast ironing paints a disturbing picture of a social order where a girl's entrance into womanhood is profoundly dangerous. Rape, forced marriage, poor sexual health; these are just some of the things that come from being a woman in a deeply patriarchal society. And mothers who know this only too keenly are resorting to desperate and brutal measures to preserve their daughter's childhoods. "As Africans, our girls experience worse violence than most. Mothers want to protect their daughters from sexual assault, the risk of HIV, early marriage, teenage pregnancy, early sexual activity. “They are trying to protect them from male violence but in turn they're hurting their children" Nyuydzewira explained. In a recent survey, CAME and the health organisation GTZ Cameroon found that 41% of mothers asked said they agreed with breast ironing. CAME are trying to re-educate communities around breast ironing whilst promoting health and women's rights. Their campaign roots breast ironing firmly within a much broader tradition of violence against women and the social and economic disadvantages that fuel it. Despite the work done by CAME, we remain in the dark about the full extent and impact of breast ironing. "I've spoken to so many women who have been victims of breast ironing and have developed cancer, but we need more research to know more about the link" Nyuydzewira said. CAME is also calling on the Government to make breast ironing an official crime under UK law, a move they hope will shatter the silence and raise awareness of the risks associated with it. |
Canadian company faces claims of ageism Posted: 22 Aug 2012 04:30 AM PDT Seven women, aged 62 to 78, have recently filed a human rights complaint against Canada’s largest product demonstration company. The women claim they lost their jobs as supermarket product demonstrators for InStore Focus for not looking like “soccer moms". The women – based in London – depended on their part-time jobs as "brand ambassadors" with the product sampling giant. They are now seeking $25,000 each in damages for "insult to dignity" and a combined $38,000 in lost wages. The women worked an average of 14 to 28 hours a week but their hours were cut to zero between last summer and autumn because of an alleged downturn in business. At the same time, however, InStore was advertising for 12 new brand ambassadors. Lone Thompson, 64, had worked for InStore Focus for 15 years. She was told that the company wanted “someone who represents the Mom who does most of the shopping.” Beth Walden, a lawyer with Human Rights Legal Support Centre, who is representing the women said: "People can believe that their age has something to do with (the loss of a job), but it can be hard to get the evidence. Here it's very clear. "This case highlights how vulnerable older workers are and older women in particular." |
US launches strategy against gender-based violence Posted: 22 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT Natalie Calkin The US last week launched a new approach to address gender-based violence. The strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally will ensure greater coordination between US-government agencies and other stakeholders. It will also enhance integration of gender-based violence prevention and response efforts into existing US government work. The strategy was launched at the White House following an Executive Order by President Obama, who highlighted the need for action and policy intervention to tackle gender-based violence. Confirming his adminstration’s commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, he emphasised that violence against women is “a human rights challenge .. a public health challenge, and a barrier to civic, social, political, and economic participation [of women]“. The executive order also requires a new inter-agency working group to be established that will coordinate the implementation of the strategy and ensure it benefits millions of women and girls around the world. US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, will jointly chair the inter-agency working group with Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the US agency for International Development (USAID). In a press release, the White House said Obama aims to “promote gender equality in U.S. foreign policy and to bring about a world in which all individuals can pursue their aspirations without the threat of violence”. One in three women worldwide have been beaten, forced into sex or otherwise abused, the White House said, listing intimate partner violence as the most prevalent form of violence against women. With 11 weeks to go before elections, some say that both Obama and Mitt Romney (the Republican presidential candidate) are looking to secure women’s votes. Women made up 53% of the electorate in the 2008 US election, and their votes gave Obama 13 points over his then opponent John McCain. However, in a week in which Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin suggested that women can’t get pregnant from “legitimate rape”, we can only hope that Obama does not have too much difficulty persuading women to vote for him. |
Augusta National Golf Club admits women (finally) Posted: 22 Aug 2012 01:00 AM PDT The Augusta National Golf Club announced on Monday that it would finally allow women to join. Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore were announced as the first female members of the highly selective club. Chairman Billy Payne described the admission of Rice and Moore as "a significant and positive time in our Club's history." The 80 year old club and host of the Masters had repeatedly refused to admit female members, in spite of increasing pressure to do so. Protests against the male-only membership have been going on for the last decade. According to activist Martha Burk, who protested against the club in 2002, the issue is not one of women getting to play golf – women have long been allowed to play at Augusta – but the power and influence membership brings. “Let’s face it. It was never about golf. It’s about access to power, access to the place where deals are made and money passes hands," Burk told The Wall Street Journal. Rice, who is currently a professor of political economy at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, said "I have visited Augusta National on several occasions and look forward to playing golf, renewing friendships and forming new ones through this very special opportunity." Payne, who refused to consider the possibility of admitting women in 2006, did not comment directly on the club's history of hostility towards female members nor did he give any reasons for the historic decision. However, he did say that "it will be a proud moment when we present Condoleeza and Darla their Green Jackets when the Club opens this [autumn]." |
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