Women's Views on News |
- Symbol of gender equality or Soviet pawn?
- Events 17 June – 23 June
- Sports round-up: 10 – 16 June
- Cervical cancer and screening awareness
| Symbol of gender equality or Soviet pawn? Posted: 17 Jun 2013 06:59 AM PDT
In 1963 a young Russian factory worker was plucked from obscurity and sent into space. Valentina Tereshkova worked at a textile mill in Yaroslavl, 150 miles north-east of Moscow. She enjoyed organising picnics and taking part in parachute jumps on weekends, but none of her colleagues knew about her ambitions to enter space until her name was read out on the radio. She beat 400 applicants and trained alongside four other women, all of whom had technical qualifications, but Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, picked her for her proletarian credentials and propaganda potential. Her father was a tractor driver, killed at the Finnish border in World War 11. Tereshkova orbited the Earth alone for three days. At the time this was longer than the flying time of all the American astronauts put together. She returned to earth safely and then went back to the factory, albeit in an open-topped car covered in flowers. Tereshkova's face appeared on postage stamps, songs were written about her and she became a symbol of gender equality. Despite this, Tereshkova faced hostility from her colleagues. In his diary, Nikolai Kamanin, Tereshkova’s head of training at Star City, the Soviet space programme's HQ, claimed she overslept and failed to communicate with ground control during the re-entry phase, and medics accused her of vomiting and losing consciousness during the flight. Tereshkova became the first female general in the Soviet armed forces and was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist party. When she married fellow cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev, Khrushchev gave her away. The couple had to get the personal agreement of Khrushchev’s successor Leonid Brezhnev before they could divorce. "We were all amateur parachutists,” she told the Independet recently, “but we weren't pilots, so the main thing was to train us as pilots. Nowadays, space crews have different people to do different tasks, but back then you had to be the pilot, the engineer, the doctor and the navigator.” she told the Independent recently. She believes that international co-operation is very much the future of space travel. "Back then, it was all about competition of course.” But even back in the Soviet period, she says there was a certain bond between cosmonauts and astronauts. "The Westerners came to our training facility in later years, and they felt that special brotherhood we have," she says. "It doesn't matter what country or what political system you are from. Space brings you together." But she is nostalgic for the days of the Soviet Union. She told the Independent: "Just as for everyone who remembers the Soviet Union, it is a deep personal tragedy for me that it collapsed," she says. "It was a great tragedy for all the people. But now we are living in new times, and we need to do everything to make Russia a great country again." An enthusiastic supporter of Vladimir Putin, she is an MP for his United Russia party and vice chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Duma, Russia's parliament. "I support him in absolutely everything he does. He wants to make our country one of the most important in the world again, and to improve the lives of everyone in it," she said. It would be twenty years before another woman, Soviet Svetlana Savitskaya, was sent into space.  |
| Posted: 17 Jun 2013 03:58 AM PDT
Charity and Fundraising: 23 June: International Widows' Day Charity Walk A 5k charity walk/run in Hyde Park, London, on 23 June – organised by The Loomba Foundation to mark International Widows’ Day. All money raised will go to support the work of The Loomba Foundation helping widows and their children around the world. To register, go to: The Loomba Foundation 5k . "On this International Widows' Day, let us resolve to end all discrimination against the world's widows, and to enable them to enjoy their full human rights. The benefits will extend to their children, communities and society as a whole." Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Conferences: 21 June: WEN Wales annual conference Sports Wales, Sophia Close, Cardiff, CF11. 10.30am-4.30pm AGM 4.30pm: Join the Women’s Equality Network in exploring CEDAW and equality for women in Wales and across the UK, and discussing the tools available to us to work towards true equality for women. Speakers include Welsh Ministers, Dr Marsha Scott; Zarin Hainsworth OBE; Jan Grasty President of UN women UK and Emma Ritch. The event also has limited spaces for stands and display tables, for organisations to raise awareness of their work with women from across Wales and the UK; to book a stand click here. 23 June: Capitalist development, witch hunting and the construction of sexual and racial inequality past and present, by Silvia Federici at the Toynbee Hall, 28, Commercial Street, London E1 6AB at 6.00pm To book tickets click here. Entertainment: 20 June: SARSVL Launch Benefit Gig in Leeds at 7.00pm Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds (SARVL) is having a benefit gig at Leeds Met Student's Union, Woodhouse Building, City Campus, Leeds LS1 3HE. The event will include live performances from poets, musicians and DJs. Acts are still being confirmed. There will also be a raffle. 21 June: Midsummer Night Picnic with Waltham Forest Rising, 7.30pm-9.30pm Waltham Forest Rising is a new grass roots organisation committed to taking action to end violence against women and girls in the London borough of Waltham Forest. The picnic, at the Table on the Marsh, will be a fun, family-friendly event to reclaim the marshes for everyone, with music and entertainment (acts still being confirmed), and a raffle to start off WF Rising's small projects fund to enable small projects to combat violence against women and girls in the borough. Check out the Facebook page for last-minute details. In case of bad weather, the picnic will take place instead at the Mill Community Centre on Coppermill Lane. Open Meeting: 18 June: 'Culture', the Cuts and Violence Against Women and Girls: an open meeting in Room V211 (2nd floor) of SOAS Vernon Square, Penton Rise (off Pentonville Road, not Russell Square) London WC1X 9EW at 6pm A public meeting where speakers from feminist, anti-racist and BMER women's organisations will make presentations, followed by a discussion, about violence against women and girls in Britain with particular emphasis on race, culture and the effects of government cuts in the sector. The Freedom Without Fear Platform will outline its objectives for the coming year and also give a brief update on developments with the anti-rape movement in India. Speakers include: Zlakha Ahmed, Director, Apna Haq, Rotherham; Carlene Firmin, principal policy advisor, office of the Children's Commissioner; Amrit Wilson, Freedom Without Fear Platform, and a speaker from Imkaan.  |
| Posted: 17 Jun 2013 03:00 AM PDT
Elena Baltacha won her first tournament in two years at second-tier event the ITF Nottingham Challenge. Baltacha beat Tadeja Majeric in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6 (9-7), on June 16. Baltacha's last trophy was at the same event in 2011. However, for Laura Robson, Heather Watson and Johanna Konta, this first week of the grass court season has not been so successful. Britain's top three women were all knocked out in the second round of the Aegon Classic on June 12, casting doubt over their readiness for Wimbledon. Watson, world number 54, lost in straight sets to Alla Kudryavtseva, number 189. Next to fall was British number one Robson, who faced a tough opponent in Daniela Hantuchova. The Slovakian is currently ranked number 61, but has been as high as the top five, and Robson was unable to match her experience. She also lost in straight sets. Little was expected of world number 140 Konta against 12th seed Kristina Mladenovic, and she was easily beaten by the Frenchwoman to snuff out British women's hopes at the tournament. All three will now head to Eastbourne for the Aegon International, no doubt hoping that their fortunes will improve before Wimbledon begins on June 24. Athletics: Jess Ennis-Hill has withdrawn from her second event in as many weeks. She was due to compete in three individual events at the Oslo Diamond League on June 13, but a stiff Achilles tendon forced her to withdraw. However, her coach Tony Minichiello has confirmed that she will compete in a full heptathlon at the end of the month. The Combined Events Challenge in Tallinn, Estonia on June 29 and 30 will be her first heptathlon since London 2012. Cycling: Laura Trott has been demoted to second place in the IG London Nocturne, after a review by British Cycling showed that fellow Brit Hannah Barnes finished inches ahead in the race on June 8. Barnes crossed the line just ahead of Trott in a photo finish. However, the win was originally awarded to Trott after Barnes was penalised for celebrating while close to lapped riders, a move deemed to be dangerous riding. Barnes criticised the decision. "The photo finish shows that I won," she told the BBC. "But there's some kind of regulation that you can't take both arms off handlebars to win, which is crazy because every single cyclist does that when they win a race. I don't think it's over". British Cycling officials decided to reverse the decision on June 15, reinstating Barnes as the winner. Trott admitted that she should not have won the race, saying that video footage clearly showed that Barnes finished ahead. Lizzie Armitstead leads the women's field in the run-up to the British road race championships, which will take place in Glasgow next week. Armitstead will not have to contend with Britain's most successful female road cyclists of the past decade. 2010 champion Emma Pooley will not be competing as she works on her PhD, while Nicole Cooke will be absent for the first time since 2001 after her retirement earlier this year. Barnes will also compete, along with Trott and her Olympic team pursuit teammates Joanna Rowsell and Dani King. Windsurfing: Plenty of British medal success at the Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth on June 13. Olympic bronze medallist Bryony Shaw claimed her second gold medal of the season in the RS:X class. Charlotte Dobson and Nicola Groves also took a win in the 49er FX class, while Ben Saxton and Hannah Diamond took victory in the Nacra 17. Triathlon: Vicky Holland has recovered well from a break for illness with a silver medal at the ETU Triathlon European Championships in Turkey. "I'm over the moon," she told the BBC. "I don't think I could have asked for more, especially not a medal. It's a championship medal and it's a medal for Great Britain, so it's right up there." Vanessa Law and Lois Rosindale finished 13th and 17th respectively.  |
| Cervical cancer and screening awareness Posted: 17 Jun 2013 02:30 AM PDT
Probably not many as, other than an article here or here the events have received little attention, despite the fact that all women are implicated in this. All women between the ages of 25 and 64 who are registered with a GP in the UK are eligible for a free cervical screening test, which is carried out as an NHS service, every three to five years. But fewer women than before are now getting screened, so it’s clearly time to raise awareness about cervical cancer. Throughout the week of 9 – 15 June, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, the Eve Appeal and the Red Lippy Project were encouraging more women to go and get screened. Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is a charity dedicated to women and their families affected by cervical cancer or cervical abnormalities. Chloe Madeley, daughter of TV presenters Richard and Judy, has been raising awareness, and generating column inches, by posing in Sainsbury’s Tu underwear. Sainsbury's donated 50p from every pair of knickers they sold to Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust. Eve Appeal and the Red Lippy Project called on women to don red lipstick and tweet and facebook photos of themselves screening, and encourage donations to Eve Appeal. Celebrity Rita Oren got involved, tweeting to her thousands of followers. The Red Lippy project said that through this, they ‘wanted to make the little talked about cervical test less taboo’. But why this need to raise awareness around screening? Because, according to research, 20 per cent of women do not attend their screenings and the number of women aged 60-64 attending screenings has reached an all-time low. The picture is no better when it comes to young women, as 1 in 3 will ignore their first invite for a cervical smear. Yet cervical cancer is the most common type of cancer for women under 35. But screenings are a crucial preventative measure when it comes to cervical cancer, which kills 1000 women every year in the UK. It is estimated that early detection and treatment of abnormal cells prevents up to 75 per cent of cervical cancers from developing. Cervical cancer is almost always caused by persistent infection of the human papillovirus (HPV). An estimated 80 per cent of people will at one stage contract HPV, but most of the time it will not result in cancer. According to Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust there is also little public knowledge and understanding of smears and their results, although wareness of cervical cancer and about screening has increased over the past few years. The very public illness and death of Jade Goody from cervical cancer showed the nation that very young women could also be afflicted by the disease. And a dominant storyline in Eastenders in 2012 focussed on the character Tanya Branning as she discovered she had cervical cancer and underwent treatment. Yet despite this increase of awareness, there is still too much silence around cervical cancer screenings. What is it like? Awkward? Painful? Better to ignore it then. What if the tests come back abnormal? How serious is that? Better to ignore it then. In order to encourage more women to get screened regularly they need information to be more accessible. This will not only reinforce the importance of getting screened but also diminish some of the fear surrounding the process. Luckily, today we have the internet to help us out, which is an ideal forum for women to share experiences and knowledge that are rarely, if ever, covered in mainstream press and which might have hitherto been confined to school books or information sheets. One such resource is the Vagenda. It has a brilliant section, 'TMI' that covers a wealth of health experiences and issues women live through but rarely talk about. Specifically, there are some brilliant articles on cervical screenings. One for beginners, which among other things, points out that there is ‘not even five minutes of doctor-vagina contact. That includes going in the nurse's room, getting undressed and redressed as well as the speculum up your nunny. The speculum part is about 45 seconds to a minute, max’. Easy. Go. Vagina panic describes one contributor’s distress at finding out that her smear test came back abnormal. What exactly does ‘moderate dyskaryosis’ mean? It also explains just what happens at a colposcopy, a procedure which often follows any abnormal results and sounds miles worse than it is. So go and get screened when the letter from the NHS comes, because cervical cancer is another one of those things that really, really, really needs to be caught early.  |
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