Women's Views on News |
- Human rights recital in Newcastle
- Why the awkward dance is imperative
- Sports round-up: 11-17 February
- One Billion rose
- Her name was Reeva Steenkamp
| Human rights recital in Newcastle Posted: 18 Feb 2013 10:15 AM PST
Even the preamble is splendid: ‘Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people…’ On International Women's Day Monica Ross and her ever-changing co-performers will participate in her 52nd event, and recite from memory the entire Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Hundreds of people from all over the world have already lent their voices to help Monica in her quest to celebrate the dignity and sanctity of every single human life through a proposed 60 acts of memory and multilingual performance. And as her ambitious project nears a climax, artist Monica Ross is preparing to stage the 52nd event at Globe Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne on 8 March. Rashida Davison, director of Globe Gallery said: "We're delighted to be staging this performance at the Gallery and it's particularly poignant that it will fall on International Women's Day. "We invite people from across the North East to take part in this collective recitation with Monica. It is, she points out, a chance to learn one of the Articles from the Declaration and recite it in public, in your own language, and be a part of a unique performance. "Everyone is welcome and we hope that the recitation will fully reflect the many voices and languages of the North East, including Sign Language. "You don’t have to be a performer or an actor – this is about ordinary people demonstrating that they care about human rights. "The emphasis is not on perfect recall, but on the attempt to remember and the difficulty of fulfilling the Declaration's call to keep it 'constantly in mind,' especially when under pressure." Monica performed the first recitation in the ‘act of memory’ series as a solo piece to mark the 60th anniversary of the Declaration in 2008. And since then hundreds of people of various ages and from diverse communities, including a class of 8 year-olds, have memorised and publicly recited Articles from the Declaration, either individually or collectively and in more than 40 languages. The origins of 'Anniversary – an act of memory' go back to July 2005 when Monica was inspired to read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the first time in the aftermath of the London bombings and the subsequent death of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot by police at London's Stockwell Tube Station after being mistaken for a terrorist. "I went to read the Declaration for the first time," she said, "and I got one sentence in and I was so shocked at my own complacency – one, that I had never read it; two, that I assumed that I knew what it said, but I didn't; and also that I had this very privileged, Western relationship to the document, which was 'well, we don't really need it, everything's fine here'. "I decided that I would try and learn it off by heart to see if I could make it part of me and then the second step was to try and recite it publicly, to do a public action where you repeat it as a form of dissemination or reproduction." Monica's first public recital by memory of the Declaration was staged as a solo performance entitled 'rightsrepeated – an act of memory' in London in 2005. "I did it at the special request of a friend," said Monica. "I really thought I would never do it again. “I thought people would think it was boring, old-fashioned," that people would think her a ’1970s performance artist’, ‘not very interesting’. She was wrong. Her ‘rightsrepeated’ performance evolved into the 'Anniversary – an act of memory' series which began in 2008. Recitations have taken place at remarkably diverse venues, including the British Library, Brighton seafront, the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral, and the House of Commons. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. The world's most translated document, it is available in more than 380 languages, with Plain English and Signed versions. It contains 30 Articles which express the rights to which every human being is entitled inherently, for instance the stipulations that no one should be subjected to torture or arbitrary detention, the right to freedom of expression and the right of equality before the law. Prior to reading the Declaration for the first time, Monica asked herself how it would be possible for someone to stand up for their principles and ideals in the face of overwhelming opposition, particularly opposition from people in authority. The Declaration provided her answer: "You must need to have some kind of ethical system that is so part of you that it just kicks in," she said. "But more than that, you would need to feel, particularly if you are in a situation where you are outnumbered by different opinions, that there is a bigger community out there that actually does share your view and perhaps these two things would help you to be courageous or stand up for your own or other people's rights." Newcastle's Globe Gallery will be hosting a free introductory talk to interested would-be participants and anyone else who wants to learn more about the project. Join Monica on 21 February from 7pm – 8.30pm. The limited space is allocated on a first come basis. To register for this event please email actsofmemory@globegallery.org or phone: 0191 597 9278 Entry to the performance at Globe Gallery on 8 March is free but space is limited, so you will need to register for this, too – please do so via actsofmemory@globegallery.org  |
| Why the awkward dance is imperative Posted: 18 Feb 2013 04:15 AM PST
My friend and I managed to get the afternoon of 14 February off work and we signed up to one of the many One Billion Rising Facebook events organised by local women. Supporting the aim of Eve Ensler’s V-day event – to raise awareness of the 1 in 3 women worldwide who will be victims of rape or violence – we skim read the day's requirements of wearing red and black and joining in a protest to Dance! Strike! Rise! Simple enough, we thought, and on the day we found ourselves in the office bathroom running late and asking if our outfits were "black and red enough". The answer was of course, no. They were not. My friend was in something maroon and I in a compilation of dark blues. We decided the best course of action was to wear red lipstick, and off we trotted to the London Eye to meet with the other two hundred women who had signed up to the protest. So there we were – late, approaching a crowd of about one hundred people all in red and black who were holding banners and awkwardly buzzing around murmuring some song/chant as a CD player hummed in the background. 'Oh dear,' I whispered to my friend as we arrived at the group. We simultaneously whipped out our camera phones to give our awkward hands some sort of purpose – and to have 'evidence' for work to prove we didn't just take our free charity afternoon off and head straight to the shops. A few seconds in and about fifteen women and children started doing 'the dance' which we clapped along to. It soon fizzled out and I spotted a few friends making a beeline towards us, obviously feeling as awkward as we did. Our small group consoled ourselves that not one of us had learned the associated dance to the protest theme tune of 'Break the Chain', and we followed the smaller than expected protest as we moved along the riverside towards the South Bank Centre. "Guys we are going in and doing the dance!" shouted the leader as we milled around the entrance. "Are you ready to break the chain?" she asked. Silence. Heads down, we walked into the centre. Visitors trying to enjoy an afternoon drink looked on apprehensively. We found our place in the middle of the centre and suddenly camera crews and photographers appeared from nowhere as we set up the little CD player. Guilt washed over me as I realised that by not joining the enthusiastic few, we were making their impact futile and our attendance at the whole thing pretty pointless. "Sod it!" said my friend, clearly thinking the same thing, and we joined the group preparing to bust some moves. And as the music started the cameras began rolling and the photographers moved in for a shot. As we didn’t know the dance, at first we just danced randomly, holding hands and laughing like we were in a much dreaded aerobics class. But soon we were catching on to the choreography. We also couldn’t sing along, having not memorised the song, but we started 'whooping' as the noise rose, spurring on the other dancers and drawing more attention to ourselves. Three minutes in and we had a crowd, our cheeks were flushed and I couldn’t stop smiling. Bouncing up and down I started to feel like it was all happening in slow motion. I looked at my friends as they smiled back and I realised we were actually making a difference. We looked ridiculous and I started to sweat but we were over the awkwardness and now this protest, the cause and the dance, mattered. I started to think how relevant this small experience was. I knew I needed to be there, I knew what is happening to women across the world isn't right and that society for too long has allowed the atrocities that women face go on – but why? Maybe it is because until someone actually points out that there are approximately one billion women who will indefinitely suffer at the hands of rape and violence, and some of us haven't been able to find the bravery speak out, or even listen. This lesson was more powerful than the message itself. That awkward dance reminded me that I needed to overcome the awkwardness and surpass my own fear of being a lone voice. Because really, all it could take is that one voice, one dance or one protest to raise awareness and put a stop to the impending violence and rape of one of those billion women. This realisation spurred me on and I danced harder and more ridiculously than I ever have. Sitting in a coffee shop afterwards, I saw one of the younger protesters setting off to trudge home with a smile on her face and still holding her banner aloft. And I thought: "Here is to awkward dancing. Here is to breaking the chain.”  |
| Sports round-up: 11-17 February Posted: 18 Feb 2013 03:21 AM PST
Cricket: After a disappointing tournament, England have finished third in the cricket World Cup after beating New Zealand by four wickets in the third place play off on 15 February. England failed to reach the final despite a 15-run win in their final Super Six match, also against New Zealand, on 13 February. Despite some strong matches, England's losses to Sri Lanka in the opening round and Australia in the Super Six left them vulnerable, with their chances of reaching the final dependent on the results of other matches. A win by the West Indies over Australia crushed their hopes of defending their title. Captain Charlotte Edwards admitted she was "bitterly disappointed", and blamed the result on England's inconsistency in the early rounds of the tournament. Cycling: GB's all-conquering cyclists have been talking up their chances at next week's World Track Championships in Minsk, Belarus. Double Olympic gold medallist Laura Trott will compete in omnium and the team pursuit, but has said that she will focus on defending Britain's crown in the team event. Team GB will be the overwhelming favourites for the world title, having only lost once since the event's introduction in 2008. "Obviously I want to win them both," said Trott. "Team pursuit is still my main focus so we will get that one in the bag first hopefully and then that might spur me on to win the omnium." Trott's team mate Dani King was equally confident about GB's chances, saying: "”We never sit back and relax. Even as world and Olympic champions, we can’t just think we’re the best. “If anything, it makes me train even harder because I want to be in the team for every single race." Joanna Rowsell, who rounded out the team at London 2012, is currently focusing on the road, and will be replaced in Minsk by world junior time trial champion Elinor Barker. Tennis: A shake-up in women's tennis management at the Lawn Tennis Association sees Britain's Fed Cup coach Iain Bates named as the new head of women's tennis, and former British number 1 Jeremy Bates appointed as lead women's coach. The move follows last week's Fed Cup win for Britain, when Laura Robson and Heather Watson led the team in securing a World Group II play-off in the international team tennis event. Elsewhere, Robson was knocked out of the Qatar Open in the first round, losing to Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-1. Athletics: Much of the media attention may have been focused on Mo Farah's return to the track, but last weekend's British Grand Prix in Birmingham was also a good event for British women. Farah’s 3000m win made it a double for Britain, following Helen Clitheroe's gold in the women's event earlier in the day. Jenny Meadows, competing for the first time since 2011 following an injury, came second in the 800m. Off the track, pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale won gold with a vault of 4.70m, and will now go into next month's European Indoor Championships with increased confidence. Taekwondo: Britain's first taekwondo Olympic gold medallist suffered a surprise defeat in her first appearance since London 2012 this week. Taekwondo's future as an Olympic sport was in the balance this week, as the International Olympic Committee considered the programme for the 2020 games. But the sport was given a reprieve when the committee axed wrestling instead. Jones spoke of her relief: “It's great news and I was worried the night before the decision," she said. "So many more people have taken up the sport and that [interest] would decrease if it was not in the Olympics."  |
| Posted: 18 Feb 2013 02:08 AM PST
There’s no denying that 14 February 2013 was a rare day of international unity as individuals were brought together – by a commitment to ending violence against women and girls – under the banner of One Billion Rising. The day began with beachside dance routines in Australia and ended with pressure on the US House of Representatives to reauthorise the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in America. Around the world there were flashmobs, marches, yoga-thons, lectures, walks, and drumming. By placing organisation of events firmly in the hands of those participating, RISINGs took many different forms around the globe. One thing they all shared however, was a common purpose: to raise awareness of sexual violence. In London’s Parliament Square, comedian Ruby Wax, actress Thandie Newton, and politician Yvette Cooper joined those around the capital to release 109 balloons in memory of the alleged number of women killed by men in 2012. This was followed by a flashmob dance routine – with choreography which one participant described as, “a story of a rise, a fight, and a victory” – by women from different ethnicities and cultures working in solidarity against violence. In Germany, V-Day was used by many to draw attention to the country’s dismal judicial record for convicting perpetrators of sexual violence. While a government study found that 40 per cent of women in Germany over 16 years of age had suffered physical or sexual violence – that’s nearly 16 million women – incidents reported to the police numbered only 8,118 in 2006 – a discrepancy that is blamed on inadequacies with the country’s legal definition of rape. This might explain why RISINGs took place in 126 different cities across Germany. What of Pakistan, the home of the inspirational Malala Yousafzi but a country which Human Rights Watch has revealed crimes of violence against women have reached epidemic proportions and domestic violence rates are as high as 90 per cent? While their RISING didn’t mimic the widespread marches seen in Afghanistan, the One Billion Rising Pakistan Facebook page revealed that they did participate from within the safety of university walls. ‘We didn’t dance … but we talked and it worked … it is very clear to us that the people of Pakistan are RISING!’ And in Delhi, the site of angry protests following the horrific rape and murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey, Parliament Street was just as crowded. But there the feeling was one of hope. Kamla Bhasin, the One Billion Rising coordinator for South Asia, said: “We don’t want violence; we want love,” and continued, to explain, “we want a just love, a love based on equality.” The three-hour event included dance performances from wheelchair-bound men and visually impaired women, a short drama about domestic violence, as well as protest poetry and songs written by young Indian women. Eve Ensler, leader and figurehead of the V-Day organisation, chose to rise at the City of Joy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a refuge she founded which offers a safe environment so that survivors of sexual violence can rebuild their lives before returning to their communities. In addition to the widespread international grassroots support, the One Billion Rising movement also received unprecedented official endorsements. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader in the US House of Reprosentatives, tweeted: ‘I rise with people of good conscience to stand up against intolerable acts of violence against women around the world.’ And Ban Ki Moon, UN General Secretary, released the following statement: ‘The global pandemic of violence against women and girls thrives in a culture of discrimination and impunity. We must speak out… “I am proud to emphatically raise my voice and join the chorus of all those taking part in the One Billion Rising campaign. “But this must be more than a day of advocacy,” he continued. “It must be a day that triggers action.’ And at 12.30pm on 14 February 2013, those working at the UN stopped work and held their own RISING. The UK’s prime minister, David Cameron, also tweeted his support: ‘I’m proud to add my voice to all those who stand to oppose violence against women and girls.’ The UK government’s commitment to any such the agenda was tested when a cross-party-group of members of parliament (MPs) timed a vote on the need for adequate provision of statutory Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) in British schools to coincide with the One Billion Rising event. Led by Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart, the discussion highlighted that this measure is seen as a necessary weapon to combat the prevalence of sexual and physical violence experienced by young women in the UK. The motion, however, passed without a vote. Stella Creasy MP tweeted her dissatisfaction: well @eveensler we took #1BillionRising 2 Parliament, but Govt still refuse 2 commit 2 Sex & rel’ship ed in schools! And if this were not a reminder that the issue of sexual violence needs continued pressure throughout the year, perhaps the grimmest awakener came later in the day with the revelation that a woman called Reeva Steenkamp had been shot dead. Though her murder should not count more highly than any of those remembered throughout the course of the One Billion Rising events around the world on 14 February 2013, its timing and the notoriety of the man accused of killing her – her boyfriend – should keep us focused on an issue which a very real problem for all women, around the world, 365 days a year.  |
| Posted: 18 Feb 2013 01:00 AM PST
A women’s charity is demanding that The Sun newspaper apologises and rewrites its coverage of the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. Steenkamp was found shot dead at the home of Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius in South Africa in the early hours of 14 February. By the next day, The Sun had summed up her death with the headline: ’3 shots. Screams. Silence. 3 more shots’. This was accompanied by a full page pic of a bikini-clad Steenkamp tugging at her bikini top. Subheadings included: ‘Valentine’s Horror’ and ‘Blade Runner Pistorius Murders Lover’. What none of them did was to include her name. Eaves, a group which supports women who have experienced violence, has written to The Sun’s editor, Dominic Mohan, demanding that he prints a full front page apology for the front cover; re-writes the whole story in more appropriate and measured terms reflecting the gravity of the issue; publishes a selection of the many letters of complaint that he will receive; publishes extracts from the Leveson Inquiry (p.665) in which he clearly states that the treatment of women by some tabloids degrades and demeans women; and publishes relevant extracts about media reporting of violence against women from the "Just the Women" report produced by four organisations – including Eaves – which gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. Eaves is not the only group to voice outrage. Hannah Curtis of Aylesbury has set up a change.org petition calling for the tabloid to apologise. It currently has around 3,500 signatures. Curtis writes: "By printing this picture, The Sun are sending out a message to its readers that women are a piece of meat, who aren’t safe from objectification even after their death." Steenkamp was due to give a speech to college students on the day she died – about violence against women and her own experience of domestic violence by a previous partner. As blogger Sian Norris points out: “She was a woman, a model, a law graduate, a woman who spoke out against violence against women. She was not just a sex object in a bikini.” Marina Hyde of The Guardian said that to The Sun she was simply ‘hot’, “…even as her corpse was lying in a Pretoria morgue awaiting a postmortem”. Hyde went on to say how the coverage described the incident as "a tragedy for South Africa, for sport, and for disability rights. “And – presumably to a lesser extent – because it was scarcely suggested in the scramble to get hold of bikini shots – for her family and friends”. A hashtag on Twitter emerged after the coverage #HerNameWasReevaSteenkamp. Tweets included: ‘#HerNameWasReevaSteenkamp she had a law degree and spoke out about violence against women, put that on your front page you misogynistic wankers’ and ‘The Sun’s family values: a woman is never too dead to be masturbation fodder. #HerNameWasReevaSteenkamp’ Sadly, it is not only The Sun who covered the story in this way. Paul Harris of The Guardian points out that the New York Post reduced the death of Steenkamp to "Blade Slays Blonde". The New York Post is owned by News Corps, the same company that owns The Sun. The Times – also from the News Corps stable – ran as its Saturday headline: ‘The anguish of Oscar’. Note the use of his first name, not surname, and the focus on his anguish. The Times then went on to describe how he was ‘clean shaven’ with ‘polished shoes’. But we shouldn’t be shocked by The Sun’s coverage says The Media Blog, which points out that The Sun knew exactly what it was doing by covering the story in this way. “The Sun was surely anticipating the angry response and subsequent Twitter storm. It knows its brand of journalism is offensive to many. “Former News Of The World features editor Jules Stenson wrote on Twitter earlier this week: ”If you want to be [a] successful Sun [editor], do the opposite of what people want you to do on Twitter.” “His tweet neatly sums up The Sun’s willingness – its need – to offend." Columnist Roy Greenslade also sums up the outrage and points out that The Sun has seven million readers – still Britain’s biggest selling paper – who don’t appear to view the paper’s content in terms of sexism. The likelihood is that as editor of The Sun, Mohan will listen to his readers and not the online petitioners – however much noise they make. WVoN is not linking to the story and accompanying picture as we do not want to give The Sun clickbait.  |
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