Women's Views on News |
- Disgust after sexism at university debate
- Women in Black vigil for Tibet
- Sports round-up: 4-10 March
- Gathering Momentum? Not in the UK
| Disgust after sexism at university debate Posted: 11 Mar 2013 10:00 AM PDT
Students at Glasgow University have come out in protest after female speakers were heckled with sexist abuse at Glasgow University Union’s annual inter-university Ancients Debating Championship last week. Guest speakers Rebecca Meredith, from Cambridge University, and Marlena Valles, from Edinburgh University, reached the finals of the Championship, only to be faced with sexist heckling from male spectators. “Unlike the other six individuals in the final, we were booed, heckled with ‘shame woman’ and exposed to sexual comments and queries of “what qualifications does a woman possibly have to be here”‘ Rebecca Meredith wrote in a Huffington Post article. “None of the male speakers faced the same treatment. “After the debate, a member of this group shouted “get that woman out of my chamber” as my [debating] partner Marlena passed”. When female students objected to the treatment of Meredith and Valles, one was called a “frigid bitch”. Others were told by the organisers of the tournament and Glasgow University Union (GUU) committee members to sit down and not “cause trouble”. Meredith writes that “I myself confronted one of the male members concerned, and the GUU committee, only to be told that it was “to be expected” and “par for the course” that women would be booed in the GUU chamber”. And, she wrote, the committee ‘accepted we were booed because we were women, not for any other reason, but refused to take action against their members’. Meredith, who has been ranked one of the top 20 speakers in the world, described the experience as “one of the most unpleasant incidents of my life”. Anger over the two women’s treatment led the Glasgow University Feminist Society to organise a rally protesting this incident as well as ”a long line of chauvinistic behaviour” by the GUU. Originally a men-only union, the GUU was integrated in 1980, despite 139 of its members voting against women being allowed to join. Perhaps most depressingly, the ’139 Club’ was later formed to ‘honour’ those who voted for it to remain a men-only union, and held annual dinners on the anniversary of the vote to ‘celebrate’ the 139 dissenters. The dinners were only barred from the campus in 2011. Two members of the GUU are now facing disciplinary hearings after the incident at the Debating Championship, and a university spokesman has said “The university cannot and will not tolerate abusive, threatening or sexist behaviour. “The principal has written to the two women speakers to apologise … an investigation by the GUU is now ongoing.” Female students at the University of Glasgow are now coming out about their experiences of abuse from GUU members: from the all too common groping of female body parts to the fear of rape. And Caroline Moore, a Philosophy student at Glasgow, has started a petition demanding the GUU commits to ‘zero tolerance on misogyny’. The petition calls on the GUU to “denounce the actions of these members and … to demonstrate their commitment to a sexism-free GUU by undertaking a gender equality training session.” Five Glasgow University societies have also written a public letter to the GUU stating that they will break their affiliation with the Union until those responsible for the heckling are appropriately disciplined. The Cambridge Union has ‘promised not to send any of its debaters to the union until sexism has been dealt with’. In a statement to WVoN, Caroline Moore said “The incident at the Ancients embodies an entire culture of misogyny that has gone on far too long. “This is our opportunity to change these damaging attitudes and send the message to students of the past, present, and future: that sexism does not belong in our union.”  |
| Women in Black vigil for Tibet Posted: 11 Mar 2013 06:48 AM PDT
Women in Black will be holding a vigil on 12 March to mark the anniversary of the Tibetan women's uprising, and to mark our objection to ongoing gender specific abuses happening in occupied Tibet. Notably, gender specific torture, forced abortions and sterilisations. The vigil will happen on Tuesday, 12 March, at the Edith Cavell statue on St Martin's Place, opposite the entrance to London's National Portrait Gallery, from 5pm until 6pm. The vigil will be silent, women-only, and – if possible – please wear black. On 12 March 1959 thousands of women gathered on the ground called Dri-bu-Yul-Khai Thang in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. This demonstration was an act of spontaneous non violent resistance to the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese authorities responded by resorting to brute force, and arrested the leaders of the movement and many other innocent women. They were sentenced to indefinite prison terms, and many of them were mercilessly beaten to death. However, these repressive measures did not dampen the women's courage, and they did not let themselves be cowered by the Chinese; the events of that day lead to the birth of the Tibetan Women's Association (TWA). A main objective of the Tibetan Women's Association is to promote awareness at the local and international level of human rights abuses in Tibet. TWA has also initiated projects to address the various social welfare, educational and environmental needs of the exile community. Women in Black is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. Not so much an organisation, more a means of communicating and a formula for action. An important focus is challenging the militarist policies of our own governments. “Women in Black” was inspired by earlier movements of women who demonstrated on the streets, particularly Black Sash, in South Africa, and the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, seeking the “disappeared” in the political repression in Argentina. But Women in Black also shares a genealogy with groups of women explicitly refusing violence, militarism and war, such as the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom formed in 1918, and the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp in the UK and related groups around the world opposing the deployment of US missiles in the eighties. Women in Black began in 1988 in Israel. Responding to what they considered serious violations of human rights by Israeli soldiers in the Occupied Territories, the women held vigil every Friday in central Jerusalem, wearing black clothing in mourning for all victims of the conflict. The initiative soon spread to various other locations in Israel, with women standing weekly in main squares of cities or at junctions on inter-city highways. The movement did not adopt any formal program other than opposition to the occupation, and local groups were autonomous in deciding such issues as whether or not to open participation to men as well as women. At the peak of the Intifada there were thirty vigils in different locations throughout the country. The number dwindled sharply after the Oslo Agreement in 1993, when it seemed that peace with the Palestinians was at hand, and picked up again when violent events proved that hope to have been premature. The focus was quite precise, in order to be able to draw in a wide group of women. The vigils were predictable: same site, regular intervals. The women wore black. They were seen by, and provoked reactions from, many passers-by on foot and in vehicles, some of whom heckled and abused them, both in sexualized terms (“whores”) and for their politics (“traitors”). Their policy was not to shout back but to maintain silence and dignity. In other countries, including Canada, the USA, Australia, and many European countries, Women in Black vigils soon began to be organised in support of those in Israel. In Berkeley, California, for example, Women in Black has been standing weekly since 1988. In the UK at this time, women (mainly Jewish, with Palestinians and others) picketed the offices of the Israeli state airline, El Al. It is impossible to name all the separate groups in the various countries that emerged since the mid 1990s, but do look them up on their individual pages on this website. And join them. In London, Women in Black normally hold vigils every Wednesday between 6 and 7 pm at the Edith Cavell Statue, opposite the door of the National Portrait Gallery, on St Martin's Place, London WC2. The vigils are silent, women-only and if possible we wear black. Join us this week on 12 March from 5pm until 6pm.  |
| Posted: 11 Mar 2013 04:00 AM PDT
Rugby Union: The latest round of Six Nations matches took place this weekend and saw wins for Ireland, England and Wales. Ireland were crowned Six Nations Champions for the first time in their history as they beat France 15-10 at the Ashbourne RFC stadium on 9 March. Although Niamh Briggs scored the first try, France had taken a 10-5 lead by half time. Prop forward Ailis Egan went over for a well-deserved try in the second half which was converted by Briggs. The Irish drove home the advantage by scoring a late penalty, again from Briggs, from which the French could not come back. The Grand Slam is still a possibility for Ireland with the last round of matches taking place next week, when they take on Italy in Milan. England bounced back from their disappointing performance against France at Twickenham with a convincing win against Italy 34-0 at Esher. The result never looked in doubt and a strong England side went in at half time with a 29-0 lead. The second half proved scrappy as England took their foot off the accelerator and Italy improved in defence. First half tries from captain Sarah Hunter, Joanna McGilchrist, Sally Tuson and Roz Crowley, along with some fine kicking from Amber Reed, left the home side well on top. Emily Scott rounded off the scoring with a sixth try in the second half in a game in which, in truth, their opponents never looked like scoring. In the third game of the weekend Wales triumphed 13-0 over Scotland at the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow. The appalling weather conditions obviously played a part as Wales managed only a single penalty in the first half to go in 3-0 up at half time. There were no further scores until Charlie Murray touched down in the 71st minute, before Sioned Harries sealed the win with another try two minutes before the end. Speed Skating: Elise Christie put aside the disappointment of crashing out of the 1500m final at the World Short-track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary on March 8 by taking an historic bronze medal in the 1000m on March 10. In doing so she became the first British woman to take any speed skating World Championship medal. Christie had been devastated by a collision with reigning Olympic Champion Yang Zhou on Friday. "It was obviously a particularly aggressive race, especially in the last few laps and I'm just a bit gutted when it gets taken away from you and there's nothing you can do about it," she told the BBC. The 22-year old Scot finished a fantastic third behind Meng Wang of China and Jorien ter Mors of the Netherlands. Windsurfing: On 6 March, Bryony Shaw took silver at the RS:X Windsurfing World Championships in Buzios, Brazil. She was lying in bronze medal position going into the final day of competition, trailing the Israeli Maayan Davidovich by three points. However, in the medal race Shaw took an excellent fourth place while Davidovich could only come in ninth, meaning the Briton overtook her score to claim the silver. Football: The Cyprus Cup got underway on March 6, with all the home nations but Wales taking part. The teams are split into three groups. Group A: England, Italy, New Zealand and Scotland; Group B: Canada, Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland; and Group C: South Africa, South Korea, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In the first round of matches on March 6, New Zealand beat Scotland 1-0, England beat Italy 4-2 and the Republic of Ireland demolished Northern Ireland 5-1. On March 8 Scotland and England played out a classic 4-4 draw. Scotland took the lead in the ninth minute with a goal from Lisa Evans. Ellen White equalised in the 40th before Toni Duggan took the lead for England in first half stoppage time. Scotland came out all guns blazing in the second half, scoring two quick goals through Jane Ross and Kim Little, but a goal from Rachel Williams brought England level again in the 73rd minute. England looked to have won it with a Kelly Smith strike in the 77th minute, but Scotland were not to be beaten and equalised once more with a goal from Emma Mitchell. In the other matches, the Republic of Ireland beat South Africa 1-0, and Northern Ireland were beaten 3-0 by South Korea. The remaining round of matches takes place on March 11 with the final on March 13. Look out for next week's update to find out who came out on top. Disability Swimming: On the first day of competition at the British Gas International meet in Leeds, Jessica-Jane Applegate broke her own British record in the S14 category to claim victory in the MC 100m Freestyle. Tennis: Heather Watson and Laura Robson both crashed out in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. British number one, Watson, was beaten in straight sets by Irina-Camelia Begu from Romania 6-2 6-4. Robson lost to Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson after taking the first set, 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1.
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| Gathering Momentum? Not in the UK Posted: 11 Mar 2013 02:09 AM PDT
Last Friday, 8 March, marked, ostensibly, the 102nd celebration of International Women's Day. The theme this year was 'The Gender Agenda; Gathering Momentum'. Sadly, according to the Guardian, UK women are not gathering momentum or having their day when it comes to politics. The Guardian article examined the political standing of women in the UK and compared it to other countries around the world. It was shocking, no – more seriously depressing – to see that the UK are ranked 57th in the world for female political representation; Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand have a far healthier ranking. Many of the countries that are placed above the UK have far more serious economic, societal and political problems to deal with than we have. Many of them face war, poverty, corruption and political unrest. Some are also launching enormous battles against centuries of inequality and oppression of women. Yet they are turning tides by opening the political doors to their women. Brazil, Lithuania, South Korea and Argentina all have female presidents and in Bangladesh, the prime minister, her opposition leader and the foreign minister are all women. In India, the head of the governing party, the leader of the opposition and the chief minister of Delhi are women. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, who compiles the international ranking tables for women in parliaments, Rwanda tops the league, with 56.3 per cent female representation. At joint 57th position, the UK has only 22.5 per cent of women in elected parliament, or MPs. Given that in 2001, the UK ranked 33rd, either the rest of the world is addressing their political gender gaps at a far greater pace than the UK, or we have ground to a miserable and pathetic halt. So what exactly is going on in Westminster. And indeed the devolved parliaments? The 'Counting Women In' coalition published a report recently entitled 'Sex and Power 2013 – Who Runs Britain?' Well, we all know the short answer to that. But the report also looked at the institutional stubbornness holding up progress in our political system. Thirty years ago we were politically light years ahead of most other countries when we elected our first woman Prime Minister – love her or loathe her. Or loathe her. Now, only 17.4 per cent of women occupy the Cabinet, a ten-year low. In fact, and boy is this depressing, there are more millionaires in the Cabinet than women. And exactly how is this representative of the country's diverse demographic? The 'Sex and Power' report also reveals that women make up just 13.3 per cent of elected mayors, so political gender gaps are not just a national problem, but a local one too. The Counting Women In coalition describe the UK as being in 'a political crisis', where, at the current rate of progress, 'a child born today will be drawing her pension before she has an equal voice in the government of her country.' The report examines in detail the dearth of women at the top tables of public life and the impact this has, concluding that 'excluding them [that's us to you and me] from politics and other areas of public life means missing out on the substantial benefits greater involvement of women would bring, while also wasting the huge investment made in women and girls through the education system and beyond'. It also says that 'a more diverse body politic with a wider spread of expertise and reflecting the life experience of both halves of the human race would be better placed to lead us through the complex times that face us.' The report also goes on to make a series of recommendations based on its findings. These include positive action measures, addressing old fashioned and sexist attitudes about the role of women in public life and changing the culture of parliament. 'The House of Commons,’ it points out, ‘routinely sits until 10 pm at night, there is no consistent agreed parental leave policy for MPs and little in the way of childcare support for Members.' The bottom line is that a government needs to connect with its voters and understand who they are and what they need. So how do a bunch of over privileged ya-ya blowhards think that they can possibly address the needs, requirements and problems of a society half of which is made up of women? We are seriously going to have to address this problem if we are ever to have an elected government that is properly and demographically representative of the electorate they serve. That's right Cameron, serve. You-all are there to serve us. Let's see if he keeps his promise to have one third of women on his Ministerial roll call by the end of his first term as Prime Minister. Then let's see if he can get realistic and up that number to an equal and demographically representative one.  |
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