Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 29 Sep 2014 06:14 AM PDT
It tackles the crosscutting facets of complicity as they play out within our relationships to our bodies, each other, our communities, to media representations and to mobilisation. In "Toxic Wars" vs. Conscientious Feminism Minna Salami draws upon cross-cultural activism and dialogue to offer ‘Conscientious Feminism’ as an antidote to ‘toxic feminism’ and an ethical ‘compass that can be used to navigate the labyrinth of oppression’. Touched by Patsey’s struggles in the Oscar-winning film ’12 Years a Slave’, Karen Williams describes how the film helped her to recognise and articulate the depths of latter day racism in her own ‘Public Life of Intimate Violence’. In ‘Washing Our Dirty Linen in Public’ Sukhwant Dhaliwal reflects on 25 years of Women Against Fundamentalism, a coalition of women brought together in the aftermath of the Rushdie affair. For Dhaliwal, control of women's bodies and minds lies at the heart of all religious fundamentalism. Carolyn Wysinger takes us on a journey into the corporate workplace, where, as the ‘first boi in’, her inventive transgression of gender dress codes also means getting used to ‘the daily stares, the interested glances of some and the disdain of others.’ Stunning traditional henna designs on hands, backs and legs are the subject of artist Hina Ali’s photo essay, exploring skin as a ‘repository of honour and canvass of oppression’. What use is diversity in popular culture when it still conforms to narrow aesthetic norms? Sunny Singh discusses women’s “range of life stories, complete with joys and tragedies”. In a vivid and sometimes playful account, cultural critic and ‘master code-switcher’ Désirée Wariaro explores racial mixedness. ‘Ontological doubt’ is a constant companion for the ‘tragic mulatto’ when ‘much of the world is blind to the inherent genius of the way my body dissects and pollutes tradition.’ Honour-based violence (HBV) is part of a spectrum of violence against women that all too readily has become associated with certain cultures. Drawing from her research and activism Aisha K. Gill tackles the racialisation of HBV and women’s complicity with it. Professor Heidi Mizra reflects upon her involvement in black feminism and the changes she has witnessed over the past 30 years. She is hopeful about new generations of activists and reminds us that “black women's activism has been central in tackling problems within our local communities”. Complicit no More’s Kindle edition is available now.  |
| Posted: 29 Sep 2014 03:44 AM PDT
By Claire Moore. Women are not alone in experiencing domestic violence, but we are the majority of victims – and when we are it rarely makes headline news. Why? Because it is commonplace. And when it is covered by the media it’s usually towards the back of the paper and the story is often about our killer, his previous achievements, struggles. We are often forgotten or blamed – seen as 'wife of'… Far too frequently we discover that the dead women had asked for help, and that the killers were known to the police and had a history of domestic violence. The inevitable statement is released and we are told ‘lessons will be learned’. I have worked to raise awareness of domestic violence for over 19 years and I have heard this said too many times. I want those lessons to be learned now – for women to be listened to and believed – because domestic violence murders are preventable. Awareness and understanding is key. Along with properly funded specialist support services. As a professional touring theatre company, Certain Curtain Theatre Company has been involved with raising awareness of domestic abuse for over 19 years – writing and producing original dramas to reach women’s groups, the general public and providing training events for voluntary and statutory organisations. Has been trying to combat the age-old attitudes of ‘why doesn’t she just leave?’ and ‘I’d never put with that’. I am a firm believer that drama helps people connect with the issues on an emotional as well as intellectual level, and that this leads to real change and understanding. For the last few years I have been keeping a list of the women murdered through domestic violence and have used them as part of a display that we have whenever we perform our domestic abuse dramas – I wanted to put a name to each crime and personalise the statistics for our audiences. It always has a big impact. Especially when you see the wide age range of women. Many groups have taken copies of the lists and one in Devon created a tree of remembrance from it last year. I know I am not alone in feeling the frustration and anger at the lack of media and society’s interest and concern at how many of us are killed by known men – how whenever we are murdered we are often blamed, and ignored, and our killers’ careers and personalities are made the main part of the story. So I wanted to have a visual remembrance walk – #DeadWomenWalking. We will walk to Downing Street. This will be a peaceful, creative ‘Murder March’ to remember and represent the women murdered in the UK by their partners, ex-partners or family members, i.e. domestic violence murders. Since the election in 2010 there have been more than 400 domestic violence murders. This #DeadWomenWalking walk to Downing Street is to raise awareness of the women behind the statistics of domestic violence murders. It will take place on 23 November 2014, to coincide with International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women that week. I realise my choice of name for the march with the hashtag – #deadwomenwalking – might not sit well with everyone, but I feel strongly that we need to be bold and honest about the reality of domestic violence. Murders such as these are preventable and these women would be walking around today if it wasn’t for domestic violence. And too many cases have involved men with a history of domestic violence who were known by the police. If we are to get people to take notice we need to be upfront about the reality of male violence. If you can help me by supporting the event please do. I need financial help to help pay for T-shirt printing, insurance and things like that.  |
| Did Scottish women win the day? Posted: 29 Sep 2014 01:09 AM PDT
The arguments for and against Scottish independence seemed in the end to focus largely on the financial implications of independence and the viability of financial independence, but a larger story unfolded in the last ten days before the vote.: the power of women's votes was widely regarded as the decider. Both campaigns realised early on that women would be important in deciding the outcome but the Yes campaign, with its ringing values of fairness and equality, spoke most directly to women voters. And now, after what was a most truly divided campaign, it is not surprising that the opinions on whether women voters were pro or anti the nationalist movement are split. The Better Together campaign attracted much criticism for its sexist video depicting what were apparently ‘real women's voices’. The video stressed that undecided women were being influenced by their husband's political opinions, their role as mothers and the need to protect their children's future. The Women for Independence campaign also featured attributed women's voices, in this case a broad range of women speaking through their blog. These were not women worrying about their children's future or what their husband was saying. These were women talking about true gender equality – addressing both the individual and structural causes of gender inequality. Writing with wit and humour and passion about what country they want to build going forward. Is it a shame then that the vote went against those voices? There are many that might say that just asking the questions has lifted the lid on Scottish women's voices. In the wake of the No vote the SNP has seen a significant rise in membership – up to over 40,000 from 25,000 in the week following the election, but there is no indication of how many of those new members are women. Other political parties – the Scottish Greens and the Socialists (SSP) – have reported rises in membership too, but again we don’t have a gender breakdown. Women are, however, leading the next chapter in Scotland, with Nicola Sturgeon now likely to become First Minister – and if she does all three leaders of the largest Scottish political parties will be women. This seems a far cry from male-dominated Westminster. There are many questions about going forward, but what is clear is that there is no going back, for Scottish women and the whole of the UK.  |
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