Women's Views on News |
- Rally against Russia’s anti-gay Olympics
- Sochi 2014: our Winter Olympics preview
- Juice’s single launch party is on
- University gender gap widens
| Rally against Russia’s anti-gay Olympics Posted: 04 Feb 2014 05:10 AM PST
In Russia, you can now be fined or arrested for speaking publicly about gay, lesbian, bi or trans issues; new laws have fuelled a massive surge in anti-gay violence within the country. But Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter states that "Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement" – and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has now confirmed that this includes sexual orientation. The International Olympic Committee have also confirmed that athletes have free speech in the Olympic press conferences. This means athletes can use the Winter Olympics to bring attention to the discrimination and pressure Vladimir Putin to repeal the hateful laws. The more athletes speak up, the more Putin will be forced to act. Raising the issue in press conferences will take – considerable – courage, but at least there is a way for athletes to start the discussion. Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter makes it very clear that any kind of discrimination is incompatible with the Olympic movement – which is why rights groups Athlete Ally and All Out launched the Principle 6 campaign. And athletes all over the world have already spoken out against Putin's stance, as Andre Banks, executive director and co-founder of All Out pointed out, but, he continued, "Olympic sponsors are failing to live up to their commitments." Sponsors, he said, "continue to look the other way while gays and lesbians in Russia suffer." And Peter Tatchell, director of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, added: "None of the corporate sponsors have explicitly condemned the Russian anti-gay law or homophobic violence in Russia. "They've made only general, vague equality statements. "This isn't good enough. "I would have expected them to make a simple statement such as: 'We are deeply concerned about new Russian legislation that discriminates against the LGBT community. 'We deplore the homophobic violence that is taking place in Russia.' "It is shameful and cowardly that they feel unable to say this. "The intensely homophobic atmosphere in Russia, orchestrated by President Putin's government, means it would be very unlikely for an openly gay athlete to be selected for the Russian Olympic squad. "The Kremlin has banned a Pride House – a social meeting space for gay athletes and spectators, like the one at the London 2012 Olympics. "These are clear breaches of the anti-discrimination Principle Six of the Olympic Charter. "Yet the International Olympic Committee has said and done nothing. "It is allowing the Russian government to ban a Pride House and has not required the Russians to give a written undertaking that they will not discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) athletes in the selection of Russia's team for the Olympics. "The IOC has hinted that any athlete who expresses support for LGBT equality during the games could face disciplinary action, possibly including expulsion and being stripped of any medals won. "The IOC's top priority is not Olympic values or human rights. It is driven by commercial interests. The Olympics are big business. "The host nation and corporate sponsors are king. Nothing must be allowed to detract from financial success and 'good news' PR – certainly not the plight of Russia's persecuted LGBTs. "The 1936 Berlin Olympics took place in an atmosphere of anti-Semitic hatred incited by the Nazi government. "The 2014 Sochi Olympics echo that hatred, only this time the victims of demonisation are LGBT people. "There are no Nuremburg laws or concentration camps but the hateful anti-gay propaganda is similar to the anti-Semitism stirred by the Nazis in the early 1930s. "How can there be normal sporting relations with an abnormal regime like Putin's Russia?" Tatchell asked. By openly showing support for Principle 6, everyone can celebrate the values that inspire the Olympic Games and stand in solidarity with lesbian, gay, bi and trans people in Russia and around the world. The list of Olympians and sportswomen supporting Principle 6 includes Sochi-bound Olympian Belle Brockhoff and Australian tennis player and four-time Olympian Rennae Stubbs; gold medallists and soccer players Megan Rapinoe and Lori Lindsey; soccer player Sally Shipard; two-time gold medallist rower Caryn Davies; US basketball star Teresa Edwards; Canadian speed skater Anastasia Bucsis; US Paralympic tennis player Sharon Kelleher, US speed skater and silver medalist Miriam Rothstein; Australian national soccer team players Michelle Heyman and Lydia Williams and world renowned endurance swimmer Diana Nyad – and others. Here in the UK you can show your support by joining the Sochi Winter Olympics protest on 5 February, from 6pm-7pm at Downing Street, Whitehall, London SW1A 2AA. At 6.30pm a delegation will deliver – to the nearby McDonald's, at 45-47 Whitehall SW1A 2BX – the 100,000 plus All Out petition calling on Olympic sponsors to speak out. You can sign this petition here. This protest is part of a Global Speak Out that is taking place on 5 February in cities around the world and aims to urge governments and the International Olympic Committee, to uphold Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter. It is also to call on Olympic corporate sponsors – such as Coca Cola, McDonald’s and Visa – to speak out against Russia's anti-gay law and homophobic violence. "The Global Speak Out means a lot to us here in St Petersburg, Russia", said Dmitry, one of the local organisers in St Petersburg. "Together with thousands of people around the world we are going to show Russian authorities they can't attack lesbian, gay, bi or trans (LGBT) Russians with impunity, without risking their international reputation and the success of our Olympics."  |
| Sochi 2014: our Winter Olympics preview Posted: 04 Feb 2014 04:18 AM PST
The build-up to the 2014 Winter Games has probably been one of the more troubled in Olympic history. It is hard for anyone with an ounce of political awareness not be disturbed by some of the events leading up to the Games: from the release of the members of Pussy Riot and other "dissidents" to the whole "gay propaganda" scandal. And with the bombings in Volgograd and the threats from Sochi being on the borders of both Chechnya and Dagestan, the Russian government and security services will have their work cut out to ensure the Games will be safe and enjoyable for both competitors and visitors. Here is not the place to discuss the political ramifications of the decision to hold the event in Russia; from 7-23 February many a focus will be on the sport. So here’s a look at the British women to watch. Britain is sending its strongest Winter Olympics team ever. Britain's best medal haul so far was at the first Winter Olympics in 1924, held in Chamonix. This year could finally see that tally beaten. Top female contenders for a medal have to be the incredible skeleton duo of Shelley Rudman and Lizzie Yarnold. Yarnold has been making all the headlines this season, ending up World Cup champion by 152 points over the American Noelle Pikus-Place, with the redoubtable Shelley Rudman in third. During the World Cup series Yarnold won four golds, two silvers and one bronze. This was two wins in a row for the Britons as Rudman took the title in 2012. Rudman also won an Olympic silver in Turin in 2006. Elise Christie has been making big strides in the short track speed skating this season. She is the reigning European champion over 1,000m. Skip Eve Muirhead and her team are among the favourites to take gold in the women's curling.Her Scotland team took the world title in March 2013 and is now looking to go one better by taking the Olympic title. Muirhead has experience of the Olympics, finishing seventh in the 2010 Games, but her team of Anna Sloan, Claire Hamilton, Lauren Gray and Vicki Adams are all facing their first, so it will be up to Muirhead to lead from the front. It is not often we can say that we have a chance in skiing, but in freestyle skier, Katie Summerhayes, we have just that. She was the first British woman to win a World Cup skiing medal in 19 years last season and will be hoping to build on that success in Sochi. Finally, Jenny Jones has a chance, albeit an outside one, of a medal in the slopestyle snowboarding. Even if none of the above medal hopes come to pass, it will certainly be exciting stuff; there is an element of danger and chance that just is not present at the Summer Games. No-one knows this better than Alpine skier, Chemmy Alcott. Five months ago Alcott broke her leg and looked to be out of the running for a team place. Although her recovery has been steady, she has been unable to prove her fitness beyond doubt. However, the selectors have picked her, and, unsurprisingly, she is determined to do well. “I’m glad they’re taking this chance with me. And I’ll prove them right because I’ll ski fast,” she told the BBC. Other members of the team are Amanda Lightfoot in the biathlon and Paula Walker and Rebekah Wilson in bobsleigh. Rosamund Musgrave competes in the cross country skiing and Emma Lonsdale and Rowan Cheshire alongside Katie Summerhayes in the freestyle. We have representatives in the pairs, mixed ice dance and women's singles figure skating from Jenna McCorkell and Penny Coomes, and Stacey Kemp. Charlotte Gilmartin will hope to keep up with Elise Christie in the short track speed skating. The snowboarding team is completed by Zoe Gillings and Aimee Fuller. For the vast majority of the British team, Sochi will be their first Games. We can witness their highs, lows, triumphs and tribulations via all BBC platforms.  |
| Juice’s single launch party is on Posted: 04 Feb 2014 03:50 AM PST
Nonclassical is London's longest running and only monthly classical club night, at The Shacklewell Arms in East London, and presents “a winningly eclectic mix” with ensembles “jammed on to a tiny blue-lit stage, interspersed with much animated chat at the bar and modernist mixes from the DJ”. Founder Gabriel Prokofiev’s aim here is to reinvent the classical genre for a young audience that feels uncomfortable with the formal ways of the concert hall. He produces new CDs, puts on concerts of string quartets and singers in pubs and clubs, and once a year organises The Battle of the Bands. This year's joint winners of which were the Hermes Experiment and flautist Daniel Shao. For February, Nonclassical is celebrating women in contemporary classical music. And on 6 February the quirky, inventive all female vocal trio, Juice Vocal Ensemble, will be launching their single 'Heal You' – music by composer and performer Anna Meredith and lyrics by Philip Ridley – there. 'Heal You' is one of a collection of ten love songs, part of Juice's upcoming album, Laid Bare, which will be released in April and reveals Juice's wide-ranging, innovative musical sensibility. It is also the culmination of a project for which ten very diverse artists were each commissioned to write a 3-minute a cappella love song for Juice. These artists include Anna Meredith, Mica Leva aka Micachu (of Micachu and the Shapes), Gavin Bryars, award winning UK folk artist Jim Moray, Samuel Hall, Philip Neil Martin and Dai Fujikura. On the night they'll be performing these alongside adaptations of pop classics by Mariah Carey, Ledbelly, Rihanna, Erasure and Dawn Penn. Juice – which the Times called 'The 21st century's answer to the Swingles or the King's Singers' – are at the forefront of the UK's experimental/classical scene, performing new vocal music which draws on classical, world music, jazz, folk, pop, improvisation and theatre. They have featured on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM, and were the first UK prize winners in the history of the internationally renowned Tampere Vocal Festival, while their debut album 'Songspin' won an international Independent Music Award for Best Contemporary Classical Album in 2012. Featuring remixes by Camille producer MaJiker and Bjork collaborator Mikhail Karikis, Songspin was reviewed by The Observer as "Eighteen immaculately achieved tracks, spanning Elisabeth Lutyens to Gabriel Prokofiev via folk song and avant garde, enchant and enthrall". On 6 February there will be support from Loop Motion, which is Violeta Barrena, violin and loop station; and Martino Scovacricchi, cello and saxophone, performing their creative works for strings, saxophone and live loops. Specialising in contemporary western classical music, some of it written down, some created and improvised on stage, they make a formidable combination and reference a whole range of influences. And as always, Nonclassical’s resident DJs will be spinning the best in contemporary classical, avant-garde electronica and new music. Nonclassical, founded by composer Gabriel Prokofiev in 2004, is a club-night and record label based in East London. The Nonclassical record label has released 14 albums to date, with an ever-growing spectrum of music represented, such as Tansy Davies, Juice Vocal Ensemble, Aisha Orazbayeva, GeNIA, and Joby Burgess. Over the last few years 'classical club-nights' have become an increasingly visible feature of London's nightlife, fuelled by the next generation of classical performers, composers and promoters who are redefining the rules, and breaking out of the constraints of the traditional concert hall. The success of the night partly stems from the fact that it presents Classical as if it were Rock or Electronic music. Bands play through the pub's PA, everyone has a pint in their hand and perhaps most importantly there are DJs playing throughout the night. Classical music can – should (really really should, as far as I am concerned!) – be part of everyone's lives, and nights like these are one way of getting people to discover it.  |
| Posted: 04 Feb 2014 01:09 AM PST
A third more young women than men are now seeking higher education – a trend which some academic experts have called ‘unhealthy’. Latest application figures reveal 87,000 more women than men applied for courses starting at UK universities this year, increasing last year’s gender gap by a further 7,000. Indeed young men are fast becoming a ‘disadvantaged’ group, according to the head of the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS). "There remains a stubborn gap between male and female applicants which, on current trends, could eclipse the gap between rich and poor within a decade," said Dr Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive of UCAS. "Young men are becoming a disadvantaged group in terms of going to university and this underperformance needs urgent focus across the education sector," Cook continued. One academic, Professor Alan Smithers, from the Centre for Education and Employment at Buckingham University, has an interesting solution to the problem, saying: "The solution put forward by some universities to combat disadvantage was to offer pupils from state schools positions on lower grades than independent schools. "Perhaps universities should now admit men on lower grades – although I suppose at the moment that could be illegal. "One thing is becoming clear – the advantage conferred by independent schools is now less than the advantage obtained by being a female." An advantage purely for begin female? This must be a first. Perhaps the patriarchy is finally backfiring on itself; the gender values placed on boys and girls at a very young age mean that boys are more likely to make choices that reaffirm their masculinity, and unfortunately that does not usually include opting for a nursing degree. The gender gap in education takes root long before our teenagers are filling out their UCAS application forms; last year almost 25 per cent of GCSE exams sat by girls were graded A* or A, but less than 18 per cent of boys achieved the same results. Even before secondary school we see girls and boys being encouraged to take up gender-stereotyped play and pastimes – chemistry sets for boys, nurses uniforms for girls. It’s no wonder that when they get to secondary school they may feel their choices are limited to what they are expected to do as a boy or a girl. And at university this is no different. One reason cited for the decline in male applications and the increase in female is the careers they are opting for; women are much more likely to take up nursing and teaching, which are now taught in universities, and men are more attracted to vocational careers and ‘trades’. That may sound like a sexist assumption, but unfortunately the statistics back this up. Just take a look at these figures illustrating the gender divide in apprenticeships: only 3 per cent of engineering apprentices are women, compared to 90 per cent of teaching assistants. We need to start before our kids even get to school if we want to help them break the gender stereotyping that is shaping their career options. Nor should the recent figures from UCAS distract us from the fact that there is still a big class divide in access to higher education; in fact, the gender gap is even wider in the most disadvantaged communities. Conor Ryan, director of research and communication at the Sutton Trust charity, said there is still a 2.5-fold gap between applicants from poor and better off backgrounds. He also said: "[The UCAS] report shows that the gap between boys' and girls' applications from disadvantaged areas has widened with young women from the most disadvantaged communities much more likely to apply to university than young men." Another reason why everyone except white, middle-class men stands to gain from feminism.  |
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