Women's Views on News |
- Refugees in London: two stories
- England in Super Six in cricket world cup
- Artist Linder Sterling in Paris and Wakefield
- New inquiry into abortion ethics
Refugees in London: two stories Posted: 07 Feb 2013 09:10 AM PST "When you walk down a street you see people from all around the world… But I do feel homesick." In a café in South London, a young Iranian woman told me she likes it here, but she is homesick. She is one of 15.2 million refugees worldwide. According to the UN Refugee Agency, there were almost 200,000 refugees living in the UK in 2011, most of them from Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Through the Migrant's Resource Centre in Pimlico, I met two refugee women who agreed to tell me about their lives. Their stories are very different, but both share a common sense of displacement, fear and loss, and are punctuated by the words "I had no choice", which haunt me long after I leave them. Yasmin* is 28 and from southeast Iran. She has a degree in civil engineering, and was about to embark on a Masters course, when being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time forced her to flee the country. "If you ask any Iranian, I think everybody wants to go back, but now the risk is very high," she said. Tania*, 38, from Pakistan, had a blossoming IT career in international commerce, when an unexpected pregnancy brought her here. Both have been unable to work since their arrival, and both tell me they didn't want to come: "It really was a last resort," said Tania. She arrived in the UK in 2006, pregnant, unmarried, and disgraced. "In our society you don't do that," she said, explaining why she felt unable to return to Pakistan. The Home Office refused her asylum application, and she has been reapplying ever since. The final straw, she told me, is that a UK court recently granted custody of her five-year-old son to his father in the Middle East. "It's not right for anyone to leave people behind like that," she said, and she should know – Tania herself is no stranger to being displaced. Originally from Pakistan, she spent most of her childhood in Egypt, where her father worked, and then studied in the UK before returning to work in Pakistan. Despite her qualifications and an IT job in corporate banking, Tania struggled to feel secure in the business world. "If you are a Pakistani woman, you are just working because you are not married." "I've got an education from the UK, so they entertain me to work, and even then it's not a guaranteed or a stable job because, at any time, if there's a man who needs that job, they're going to make it very clear that he gets it," she said. The offer of a job with a long-standing friend led Tania to the Middle East, where she began a relationship with her colleague and unexpectedly found herself pregnant, but still unmarried. "Being from such a conservative society, it wasn't a good idea to have an abortion," she said, adding that she had hoped the situation would be resolved by marriage. Her partner felt otherwise, and pressured Tania to end the pregnancy. When she didn't, he ended their relationship and her job. "I knew, at that time, the consequences were a lot, and there were consequences which we're suffering till today. It's just not ending. I don't see an end to it," she said. Yasmin, meanwhile, struggles to see an end to the political situation in Iran, which led to her exile. The daughter of an Iranian political activist, her parents moved to London in 2003, after her father claimed asylum here. Already over 18 at the time, Yasmin was refused a visa to come with them. "It was very tough to live in a country where you can't say [anything] about your father – it's really not safe to say [anything]," she explained. But Yasmin could scarcely have imagined then that she would later join them as an asylum seeker herself, after the fiercely contested 2009 election in Iran. "There were those who thought the election wasn't very clean to people because Mahmoud Admadinejad, our president, cheated on the results. People weren't happy about it," she said. She describes the Iranian regime as restrictive. "You can't express yourself as you are, you have to wear [a] hijab. “The hijab is not the matter, but when somebody says to you, 'you have to do it', you think you are like a doll that they play with." Here in London, Yasmin's hair is loose and uncovered. She pauses for a mouthful of cake, before continuing her story. Not long after the 2009 election, Yasmin was visiting a lecturer to discuss plans to continue her education, but got caught up in a student protest at the university. "The security [forces] of the regime took photos of the protestors and they took my picture as well," she said. "They arrested some people," she recalled. "It was horrible because I was surprised – I knew all the people weren't happy, but I didn't expect it in the university on the day that I had to go there." "Because my father was a political activist before, I was worried. One of my uncles said to me, 'it's not very safe to stay'." Afraid of what might happen, Yasmin decided to visit her family in England, thinking, "if everything is going to be ok then I'll come back and go to university." She had only been in London a week or two when her uncle phoned. Security forces had called her grandfather's house, where she had been living, and "it wasn't safe for me to go back." "I stayed here because I was afraid that if I go there, they'll ask me questions, they won't believe I was there [at the university demonstration] by mistake," Yasmin said. She switched to the second person, distancing herself from what she was about to describe: "then maybe you go to prison, maybe they rape you, torture you. Everything has happened. "They are like animals, they do everything they want, they don't care about people at all." Shortly after her uncle's phone call in 2009, Yasmin applied for asylum. She was granted refugee status three years later, in November 2012. Tania, on the other hand, is still waiting. "I've been asking the Home Office to give me some leave so that I can start working – I'm absolutely useless if I'm not working," she toldme. "I'm hoping to get at least [permission to] work and travel, to get some normality, have a normal life. “It was ok the first five years because I had my son and I was so engrossed in him and his studies," she added, her voice trembling slightly. Her son's departure, just six months earlier, is naturally still raw. "The only thing that was really good in my life throughout was Ben* being born and even that was taken away from me – I'm stranded here, totally. He didn't want to leave." Tania's status as an asylum seeker means she is unable even to visit her son, and her frustration was obvious. "I'll only pull through when my son comes back. That's the end – I mean, my ultimate end – is him coming back, because I don't want him to be in a place where he's left everyone behind." She's trying to be proactive about it, and speaks highly of the support provided by her local GP. "I've been going to therapy," she said, adding, "I started a course on special educational needs, and I'm currently volunteering at the library, doing the homework club." Like Tania, Yasmin and her family have built a new life for themselves. Her younger sisters, in London since 2003, "speak English like natives," she told me. She herself is learning English thanks to free courses provided by the Migrants Resource Centre. In the short-term, her plan is to train here as a teacher and be able to move out of her parents' home, but eventually "of course I want to go to my country, if the regime changes and they don't do anything to me." Although she longs to return home one day, Yasmin said life in London has been fine: "I've not had a very tough time here." Despite initially worrying that she might be arrested, Yasmin found the Home Office supportive: "I think because I was a young lady they treated me very well, and because I was really afraid and I was crying." Nevertheless her asylum claim was repeatedly delayed while she obtained written evidence from her uncle, which she says the Home Office then lost. That was a frustrating time, because "it wasn't my fault that they lost the evidence", but Yasmin said that doing yoga has really "helped me to use the energy for good." "As an asylum seeker you haven't any bank account, you don't have any ID, you can't work. “If you start to work they can arrest you because you don't have permission, and all these negative things for a long time make you really mentally ill," she says. "This has happened and you have no choice – the hard part of the story is that you have no choice." *All names have been changed, and some place names have been redacted. |
England in Super Six in cricket world cup Posted: 07 Feb 2013 03:00 AM PST
Charlotte Edwards is captain of an England team now apparently recovered from a slow start to the tournament to lead group A going into the Super Six stage. England's defence of their 2009 World Cup title started badly, with a shock defeat on 1 February to Sri Lanka, the lowest ranked team in the tournament. With star player Sarah Taylor out of the match with a hamstring injury, England played well below their best, and were unable to defend their total of 238-8 against Sri Lanka's batters. Despite a close contest, the defending champions were beaten by one wicket, the first time they have ever lost to Sri Lanka in any form of the game. The result followed a loss to New Zealand in England's final warm-up match and with just 48 hours before their next match, England needed to recover quickly to avoid being knocked out during the group stage. Back on the field on 3 February, England turned their fortunes around with an emphatic victory over hosts India, with a record-breaking century from captain Edwards boosting the team to a 32-run win. Edwards' score of 109 saw her overtake Australia's Belinda Clark as the all-time leading run-scorer in women's one day internationals. England played the West Indies in their final group match on 5 February. The West Indies won the toss, and surprisingly chose to bat first in conditions favouring bowlers. England took full advantage of the decision, bowling their opponents out for 101 on their way to a six wicket win. England pace bowler Anya Shrubsole told the BBC that the team were confident ahead of their next match. "There are always some things you can improve on, but we'll head into the Super Six with some confidence. We're gaining momentum now after some good wins." The top three teams from both groups now carry their points forward to the Super Six where they will each play each other. The top two teams then advance to the final on 17 February. Following their loss to Sri Lanka on 5 February, host nation India are out of the tournament. The group B loser was Pakistan, who failed to win a match. England will face group B winners Australia on 8 February, and are scheduled to play South Africa on 9 February and New Zealand on 13 February. |
Artist Linder Sterling in Paris and Wakefield Posted: 07 Feb 2013 02:30 AM PST
The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris is currently presenting the first retrospective exhibition of the work of British artist Linder Sterling this month. Comprised of some 200 works drawn from four decades, this exhibition offers a comprehensive survey of the depth and diversity of her work. As well as focusing on her artistic output, this exhibition seeks to embrace the breadth of Sterling’s creative spirit and collaborative energy in the fields of art, fashion, music, and dance. One of Sterling’s best known works is a collage of found images from pornographic and household magazines that featured as the cover for punk band Buzzcocks’ single ‘Orgasm Addict’. It is an image that has become something of an icon of the era, but it also represents the essence of so many of the concerns that have appeared in increasingly complex and sophisticated forms throughout her work since. For Sterling, pornographic, household and cookery magazines, and men's and women's interests are subjects analogous to one another. Each represents a monstrous creation of insatiable desire and a commercially motivated reinforcement of constructed identities and expectations of behaviour. Common to all is an attention to seductive images that still today continue to perpetuate a particular representation of women that Sterling’s work calls unpalatable. Sterling also has an exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield from 16 February – 12 May, where she will employ collage as two-dimensional prints and three-dimensional light-box sculptures. Drawing on her research into sculptor Barbara Hepworth, these new works will combine images of ballerinas from the 1970s with natural forms, referencing both Hepworth's love of dance, and her engagement with the landscape. The exhibition will culminate in a new performance piece entitled ‘The Ultimate Form’ which will present collage as a visual and sensory experience using choreography and music on 11 May, from 1 – 2pm, entrance to which is free. This is a collaboration with Northern Ballet, and performed with Wakefield City Soul Club, South Asian Arts UK ‘and others’. Commissioned by The Hepworth Wakefield, the ballet premiered on 31 January 2013 at the opening of Linder's retrospective at the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris. |
New inquiry into abortion ethics Posted: 07 Feb 2013 01:00 AM PST
Government officials and MPs have been asked to investigate the delicate case of abortion and disability. Currently the Abortion Act of 1967 allows abortion up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. However, it is currently legal to terminate a pregnancy up to full-term on the grounds of disability. In such cases, doctors have to confirm that "there is a substantial risk that if the child was born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped." It was found that 146 of the 190,000 abortions carried out in 2011 took place after the 24 week limit. According to Department of Health statistics 2,307 abortions were carried out in 2011 under Abortion Act 1967 Ground E, for disability. More than 500 of the 190,000 abortions followed screening for Down's syndrome. Less than half of the total number of abortions were recorded by the Department of Health, suggesting that abortions had taken place without any concrete reason such as physical or mental disability. The 2010 Equality Act says that discrimination against any disability is prohibited, so a person with a disability cannot be treated “less favourably” than one without. In light of this, the choice to abort a ‘disabled’ foetus at a late stage of pregnancy, or even at all, has raised some ethical concerns among MPs as well as the wider public. Tory MP Fiona Bruce who will head the new cross-party inquiry, insisted that, ”bearing in mind both medical advances and advances in our attitudes to disability over recent years,” an open debate was necessary to discuss whether new legislation should be introduced. “The majority of the Commission have a particular interest in disability and we are keen to receive evidence from as many people as possible to enable a thorough analysis of the current law and practice,” she said. The debate has raised serious questions about whether the abortion of disabled babies could be regarded as discrimination. The issue has sparked varying opinions from the pro-life and the pro-choice forums. Ann Furedi, pro-choice activist and chief executive of BPAS, the UK’s largest independent abortion provide, argued that discrimination claims over unborn children were unjustified. “Abortion for fetal abnormality is not eugenic, unethical or immoral. It is simply one form of abortion,” she said. “Abortion in any instance should be based on a right women have to make decisions about their own lives. “This is important because it implies a respect for women’s moral worth and their moral autonomy. “The principle that we should be allowed to make decisions on the basis of our conscience and act on them is an important one, to deny this to women in pregnancy is to deny them an integral expression of their humanity,” she said. Pro-Life argued in a letter published last year in the Daily Telegraph that ‘The athletes [in the Paralympics] produced such astonishing examples of courage and triumph over disability that we now have to re-think what we mean by 'disabled’ and 'able’.” The inquiry committee includes Fiona Bruce, Labour's Virendra Sharma, and Baroness Hollins, president of the British Medical Association (BMA). The inquiry will be comprised of oral and written evidence which will be analysed in a report to be launched in May 2013. Written evidence submissions will be accepted until 5pm on 6 March. The form and guidance can be downloaded here. |
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