No words needed

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Danger in Complacency

Last night, I went with friends to see the movie "The Hangover." After the film, however, the topic of conversation ended up being about a preview for the film, "Bruno" (being released on July 10th, 2009.) "Bruno" supposedly documents the antics of a gay australian fashion writer while simultaneously perpetuating the stereotype associated with a flamboyantly gay man. Of course, much controversy surrounds the films release as people ask the question of whether or not this is good for the LGBTQ community? Many involved in the film's production argue that by being so over-the-top the film exposes homophobia instead of perpetuating stereotypes. Hmmm....tell that to the 8th graders who will undoubtedly use lines from the film to taunt and tease any guy who displays even the slightest bit of effeminate behavior. In other words, a fine line exists between encouraging stereotypes and using hyperbole to expose prejudice. In my opinion, one main factor in crossing that line might be THE AUDIENCE. And, who is seeing these films? Sure -- adults, members of the LGBTQ community, but, undoubtedly a large percentage of people who may not understand that we are laughing at exposed homophobia instead of the homosexual character. (right, I know the movie is rated "R" but I also live on the planet earth where somehow underaged people STILL make their way into the theater...what.a.shock.)

Now, to be clear, this does not mean that I believe the film should not be released. In fact, I am truly excited to see it. But, I also believe some are undoubtedly going to take the wrong message away from the film and I wonder what can be done about this? Should the film have a disclaimer, as has been suggested by some, stating that the film does not encourage bigotry of any sort? I don't know.

What I do know is that there is certainly a little too much complacency--people have been to quick to assume that audiences will laugh at homophobia instead of homosexuality. Read some hate crimes statistics, talk to LGBTQ youth who have come out in junior high and high school, talk to the activists who are still working on EQUAL RIGHTS for the LGBTQ community--opinions might change. I am all for a good movie and a great laugh, but let's also realize that real lives can and will be affected by the sensitive subject matter and it would be nice to hear a little bit more about that and a little less about how this is just a flat-out WIN for LGBTQ visibility.

Here is a NYTIMES article that discusses some varying perspectives.

The women in Iran

I have been waiting to hear a woman's perspective on the turmoil in Iran, and finally found this article on Forbes.com. As we know, journalists in Iran have been censored, imprisoned or worse, so coverage has not been complete through no fault of the journalists.

The woman interviewed in this article has not returned to Iran since 1984, and although I appreciate her perspective, I would like to hear more from women protesting in the streets. Who knows how this will end, and where women will stand after the ash has settled, but they are absolutely part of the fight.

This just might make you smile

A blog about global feminism may be many things, but a humor factory it is usually not. The stories we post here often leave me thoughtful, angry, or sad, but rarely amused. I really wanted to post this story, therefore, about a 17th century nun who defied gender norms and played by her own rules. Sister Mary Ward sounds like an intelligent, funny and entertaining woman. And I can't help but laugh at the fact that the same church that imprisoned her and called her a heretic is now considering giving her their highest honor- canonization. I hope her story makes you smile too

Legal Reform and Women's Rights

I had a professor at Georgetown, somewhat famous for throwing chalk at us in fits of literary excitement, who was a Muslim woman. When we covered "women" briefly in her history of Islam class, she told us that most Muslim women viewed feminism as an exclusively western movement that would destroy families. I desperately wanted to talk about this further, but trying to cover the entire history of Islam in one semester is a bit daunting, so we moved right along.

I thought of her tonight when I read this article, and really wish I could discuss it with her in class (minus the flying chalk). There is often a discrepancy between law and practice, but I do still hold some belief that the laws on the books have some power. I felt encouraged by this article, especially the grass roots, localized movement that inspired the legal reform.

The State of Reproductive Rights in Latin America

This article was a very informative and quick read about the legislation limiting women's reproductive rights in several Latin American countries. I greatly appreciate that they mention the percentage of women raped or sexually abused as children in Honduras, as these are important facts to remember. (I wish that they had identified the "Honduran NGO" though!)

Congratulations to CNN Women's Refugee Commission Honorees

Two women were honored for advocacy and services to their communities. Here are the official, and inspiring, bios:

Dr. Shamail Azimi was the first woman physician to return to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in December 2001, leading a team of female doctors who delivered life-saving maternal and child health care services.

Mariatu Kamara was 12 years old when young rebels in Sierra Leone captured her and cut off both her hands. Now 22, Mariatu is a successful college student in Toronto, Canada, where she is studying to become a counselor for abused women and children. Her personal experiences of war and its aftermath are the subject of her new memoir, The Bite of the Mango.

Machismo: The "Hidden Genocide" in Latin America

Whenever women's rights activists compare sexism to something genderless (genocide) they are bound to draw immediate criticism of exaggeration. After all, if it were truly a genocide it would affect more than just one targeted group of people, right?

I do take particular interest in this region, as I work with primarily Latina women who have been victims of gender based violence both here and in their home country. Every woman's story is unique, but the almost unanimous opinion is that the reaction to and criminalization of gender based violence is much stronger and more condemning here than in any of their home countries. (The unanimity might only be disturbed by the few who feel that the police here don't protect them either.)

I would love to hear readers' opinions on this article. Do you think Ms. Ruiz Diaz is exaggerating for shock value? Do you think Latin America's chauvinism and gender based violence are more pronounced/prevalent/ accepted than in other regions in the world?

The Perils of Pregnancy

On April 6, I posted about the mortal dangers facing pregnant women caught in the violent civil war in Sri Lanka.

I was going to post about the Four women elected to Kuwait's parliament, but NY Times OP ed columnist Nicholas Kristof's piece about maternal morality rates in Sierra Leone caught my attention. One in ten pregnant women dies in childbirth there. One in ten.

If you're interested in learning more or taking action, check out the following websites:

White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood

CARE

Averting Maternal Death and Disability

Also read the bill introduced in Congress meant to increase the United States' awareness and financial commitment to solving this problem.

Read the full OP ed piece here.

The Power of the Powerless

There are many different ways to be a dissident. Most think of protests, yelling, confrontation, even violence. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been forced to dissent differently than most, but in doing so has created an opposition harder for the military junta in Myanmar to erase. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for the past 13 years. She has not been able to lead any rallies or march on any capitols, but she cannot be ignored. She was released briefly in 2002 but the overwhelming support, demonstrated by people cheering her on the streets when they saw her, was too disturbing to the junta and thus she was returned to house arrest.

I have spoken with male friends before about the difference between some men and women and their styles of dissent, so this article was particularly intersting to me. How many ways can we fight for change before it finally comes?

Rape as a Weapon of War

There was a wonderful article in the May 11 issue of the Christian Science Monitor exploring how rape has been used as a weapon of war in Colombia. Although this is nothing new to those of us familiar with the disproportionate amount of violence against women and girls, it's still refreshing to see it explicitly addressed in the media.

At the end of the article, there are links to articles addressing rape as a tactical weapon in the Congo and Iraq.

Does anyone know of any other good articles/books on this topic?

Mahila Paksh

This is an exciting post! Mahila Paksh is an Indian newspaper started by a man (they can be feminists too!) after brainstorming with his wife and grown daughter about a better news outlet for women in India.

The article says:

Together the three chalked out a plan for the newspaper that would not only inform women, but motivate them to fight for themselves. They would give women a platform to air their grievances, while also teaching them how to individually and collectively tackle their problems. They decided they didn’t want to represent women - they wanted to make women capable enough to represent themselves.

Yes! This should always be our ultimate goal! Supporting others as they fight their own fight. Read the whole article here.

Roxana Saberi to be freed

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi is expected to be freed today. She has been jailed in Iran since January, and was originally sentenced to an 8 year prison term. She was first arrested for buying alcohol, but was quickly accused of spying for the US. International pressure from many women's rights groups, as well as political leaders who vocally disaproved of the trumped up charges no doubt helped overturn the original 8 year sentence.

Stay tuned for more news! And read the full story here.

Happy Mother's Day

I couldn't let the day pass without wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there.

Thank you for giving us examples of how to be strong women.
Thank you for showing us that women can and do deserve to be mothers and have a career.
Thank you for "staying home" and caring for us even though the work of raising children is not valued as it should be.
Thank you for navigating adoption agencies and foster care systems to find us.
Thank you for bravely living life as a same sex couple, even with all the disapproval you faced.
Thank you for living life honestly as a mom, even though you may have been born with male body parts.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Courage

Please read this article to be inspired by the courage of Afghan women. (Also see the post from April 5 for a further explanation of the law they were protesting).

Feminism in Sri Lanka

As you may know, violent warfare between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is all but destroying the small country. As to be expected, this violence has disproportionately affected women. As they do not participate in the fighting as frequently as their male relatives, they are often left defenseless in areas that are still susceptible to violence. It's hard to report on exactly what's happening due to the extreme censorship, but it is known that violence is tearing apart the population of approximately 20 million.

Among the many medical crises facing the approximately 70,000 people trapped in the main conflict zone (non-government controlled areas), thousands of women are pregnant and cannot access pre or postnatal care or medical assistance during labor. I must admit even I don't frequently think of pregnant women when I think of conflict zones, but this highly vulnerable population is left with much higher risk of death during childbirth when they have zero access to childcare. Although a huge percentage of the female world population never sees a doctor before, during, or after childbirth, this is still an unnecessary risk, and specifically female risk in conflict zones.

Afghani law explicitly discriminates against women

In a sad follow up to the March 3 post about domestic violence shelters increasing in Afghanistan, the NY Times ran a story today about President Hamid Karzai's disgusting support of a law that clearly limit the rights of Shiite women. The law, among other glaring problems, limits a woman's ability to leave the house, and obliges her to have sex with her husband at all times (unless "ill").

President Karzai's objection, a frequent one with non-western leaders, is that the western media has misconstrued the reality of the law. I call bogus. I cannot stand when discrimination against women is called a "cultural difference". I think when we started this blog, we hoped for a place where non-western and western feminists could convene and share thoughts, ideas and frustrations. Afghani, specifically Shiite women's voices are missing from this debate. If anyone reading this has any thoughts/feelings/connections with this debate, and feels like they lack the platform in which to express them, please do so.

For the full story, click here

G20 Summit

Because there is far too much to report about it, I would encourage everyone to read as many news stories as possible about the G20 summit. Which leaders seem to realize the important role poverty plays in gender inequality? Which countries' financial stability takes priority?

Abortion Criminalization in Brazil

The New York Times ran a story today on the controversy surrounding doctors who performed an abortion on a 9 year old Brazilian victim of incest. The girl and her 14 year old sister had been the victims of rape at the hands of their step father for years. Pregnant with twins, the young girl had to travel over 100 miles from her rural town in North Brazil to the nearest abortion clinic. Doctors ruled her womb was too small to support the pregnancy of twins, and performed an abortion. Upon learning of the abortion, a Brazilian archbishop ex-communicated everyone involved in the abortion except the step father accused of rape. In a country with more Catholics than any other in the world, this sentence carried a significant weight.

This story makes me feel tired. What progress have we made? How did this child find the courage to seek out an abortion? What are primarily male governments world wide doing to protect women who seek abortions?

Read the full story here.

Discrimination Against Indigenous Women

An interesting story about an anti-discrimination lawsuit in Nicaragua caught my eye this morning. Although it starts with a somewhat arbitrary anecdote about not being let into a club, the article then starts listing some nearly insurmountable odds for indigenous women in Nicaragua.

As with many women of color, these Nicaraguan indigenous women often have to chose which "part" of them is being discriminated against, although more than likely both non-white/male characteristics are equally as damning. The hierarchy of indigenous community leaders is almost completely male, as are those of the university, governmental, and corporate worlds. Women are openly discriminated against based on their city of origin, the university from which they graduated, and the accent with which they speak Spanish.