Fawcett Society Veil Report

The Fawcett Society has a new report out on the issue of the veil and ethnic minority women. It covers:

• Choice: Should women have the right to choose to wear the veil in all situations?
  Secularism: Where does the veil fit within a secular British culture? How do we reconcile religion and democracy?
• The veil as a sign or symbol: The veil can signify meaning to others and signs can be powerful. What does the veil communicate in Britain?
• Feminism: What is the 'feminist position' on the veil? How can feminists work in solidarity with women who wear the veil?
• Policy recommendations: There are nine ways that policy makers can meet the needs of Muslim women. It is especially important to focus on: women's rights, gender equality, practical action from government to grassroots, and evidence rather than theory.

To read the full report of the debate and learn more about Fawcett's new 'Seeing Double' project on ethnic minority women go here

Vogue's strict rules for working out

It's January and there is no way that I am even going to venture near a gym in the next two months, but for those of you who do, the lovely people at Vogue have some 'rules' that you need to follow. Apparently when women go to the gym it is not so much to exercise as it is to transmit a multitude of social signals to the world. So for those of you who think that throwing on a t-shirt is ok, here are some strict regulatory rules a la Vogue:

1. "Make a priority of what you're wearing to the gym," she says. "It's not just a work out – you might be meeting friends there, or networking, or even getting a date. So it's important that you've given some thought to what you're wearing."
2. "Everyone doesn't want to look like everyone else these days so try to customise your looks – it's all about showing off your own attitude. My favourite piece of Nike's spring collection is the 8-in-1 top, which you can literally wear in 8 different ways, depending on your mood and the stage of your work out. It really lets you get creative."
3. "The key to wearing sportswear both outside and in the gym is layering. Then you look chic outside in your long-sleeved top but when you strip down to the Nike Airborn top as you get into your workout, you still have the look."
4. "Comfort is of course key but I would say that keeping the look streamlined is really important. Baggy leggings and over-sized T-shirts are not always the way to go, just because you're in the gym. Try to balance the comfort and fit of your wardrobe as equal priorities."

Honestly, it's a wonder these women manage to leave the house ....

Subtext Magazine Issue #2

Yay, my copy of the second edition of Subtext has arrived! And it has a fab glossy cover! Now I have no excuse to read Heat magazine ...

Researching Violence Against Women

Having completed a gender research degree, I am abnormally interested in research methodologies. My friend Jennifer, who specialises in gender-based violence in a development context, will love this. And its free on the net! My knowledge of the issues is sadly lacking, so I think this might be a good entry-point for me practically speaking.

Researching Violence Against Women: A Practical Guide for Researchers and Activists

This manual, written by Mary Ellsberg and Lori Heise from PATH, is a co-publication of PATH and WHO, published in 2005. It draws on the collective experiences and insights of many individuals, and in particular from the implementation of the WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women in over 10 countries.

The manual has been developed in response to the growing need to improve the quality, quantity, and comparability of international data on physical and sexual abuse. It outlines some of the methodological and ethical challenges of conducting research on violence against women and describes a range of innovative techniques that have been used to address these challenges.

Direct Link to 259-page Manual: http://www.path.org/files/GBV_rvaw_complete.pdf

World Bank and IMF Gender reports released

I am trying to get in touch with my roots, as in why I was interested in feminism in the first place, (answer: feminist international relations theory) and so will be reading these newly released reports as 'light reading'. I might have been out of IR for a while but I remember enough about the World Bank and the IMF to know to read very critically and cynically ...

Improving women's lives: World Bank (WB) actions since Beijing
This Report describes the role of the World Bank in the international effort to promote gender equality and empower women. Looking ahead, the WB's support to empower women and girls will emphasize three areas:
1) supporting gender-relevant policy analysis, dialogue, and operational work
2) promoting greater gender equality through private sector development
3) working more closely with civil society and development partners.

The Report is available online here

Gender Guide to World Bank and IMF Policy-Based Lending
This Gender Guide, prepared by Suzanna Dennis and Elaine Zuckerman, describes the impact on people's lives, particularly on women, of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) policy-based loans: loans to developing countries that require governments to reform economic, financial and trade policies. These “reforms”—also known as loan conditionalities—generally bypass local democratic processes and contribute to the feminization of poverty.

The guide is available online here

Banana Skirts

Courtesy of the Women in London message board, there's a new radio show called 'Banana Skirts' which unearths lesser known and marginalised female pioneers of blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz.

It's currently on every Tuesday night at 10.30-11.30pm at Resonance FM (which is on 104.4fm, or can be listened to online at www.resonancefm.com)

It's OK to hate Condoleeza

Article over on Alternet by Gloria Steinem which makes the rather obvious point that women do not have to back anti-feminist women. But because this is Alternet you then have a ridiculous comments section where everyone thinks equality of opportunity is all that feminists want and so what is left to complain about? Grr.

http://www.alternet.org/stories/46621/

Doomsday Clock nears midnight ...

My god, human beings can be so ridiculously sensationalist sometimes ...

"The keepers of the so-called Doomsday Clock - which counts down to nuclear Armageddon - will on Wednesday move its hands forward for the first time in four years.
The Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists magazine said it was now the "most perilous period" since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Since 1947 the clock, with midnight representing nuclear apocalypse, has appeared on the cover of the magazine, which was founded by University of Chicago physicists alarmed about the dangers of the nuclear age.

The minute hand was last moved in February 2002, when it was pushed forward by two minutes, to seven minutes to midnight.

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking will be among scientists who speak when the Bulletin announces how far the hands will be moved this time. The magazine said the "major step" reflected growing concerns about a "second nuclear age" marked by grave threats including nuclear ambitions in Iran and North Korea and unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere.

The continuing "launch-ready" status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the US and Russia, was also a problem, as was escalating terrorism.

The magazine said new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power could increase proliferation risks.

The closest the clock has come to midnight is just two minutes away. That was in 1953, when the US and the Soviet Union tested thermonuclear devices within nine months of each other.
In 1991, in a wave of optimism at the end of the Cold War, it was set the furthest away, at 17 minutes to midnight."

Nadine Dorries blog

Stare into those vacant eyes if you dare ...

Ever since I did some pro-choice work mobilising against her crazy anti-choice Ten Minute Rule Bill I have become dangerously obsessed with Conservative MP Nadine Dorries' blog. If you want a really good example of how feminist discourses are re-appropriated via the 'we are just concerned for women's (mental) health' argument then view some of her entries here.

Although I must admit I agree with her 'Too Posh to Push' entry. However, it seems she is continuing with her mandatory 'cooling-off period' anti-choice offensive ...grrr. I am sooo tired of defending the limited gains we have made - this energy could be better used to push things forward. You know, to a stage were women had rights over their own bodies. Double grr.

Observer any better? Er no ..

Over on the F-word they were wondering if this weeks offering of the Observer Woman magazine would be any better than its usual poor standard. Much as always, we are back to clothes, food and skincream advertisements. For why the magazine is a complete shocker click here.

On the cover of today's edition was the promising proclamation that they would reveal the 'truth about female stereotypes' - but to be honest I wasn't terribly impressed. Whilst there were instances of 'cliche busting' there was no analysis of why these kinds of steretypes exist and how they become ingrained, so I consider it a pretty pointless exercise.

The worst part in my opinion was the 'Sex, Shoes, Money and Men - what do women want?' section where the presumption was obviously that all these women were heterosexual and the questions thrown at them included 'how many shoes do you own?' and 'who helps you?'. You can bet good money that men never get asked either of those questions.

The abortion ban article looks a bit more promising, so I'm off to read that. Hopefully I won't get distracted by the hard-hitting editorial on the first page waxing lyrical on the 'Return of the Scrunchy'.

Female Chauvinist Pigs

After my dalliance with British lesbian authors, (I read Sarah Water's FABULOUS 'The Night Watch' and Radclyffe Hall's depressing 'The Well of Loneliness' over Christmas) I am now going back to non-fiction. I resisted reading this when it first came out because its cover looked too chic-lit, but since simply every feminist in anti-porn debates seems to reference it, I'm going to give it a go. Will let you know how I find it.

Playboy Superstore coming near you!

Apparently London is getting its very own Playboy Mansion on Oxford Street this Spring. Lucky us!

Vogue UK reports that:

Hugh Hefner will open a 2,400-square-foot store on Oxford Street where we'll be able to buy rabbit-emblazoned lingerie, denim, sportswear, swimwear, cosmetics, jewellery and accessories, as well as the label's more exclusive Icons collection of eveningwear.

The London store will be going one-step further than sister stores in Melbourne, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur by featuring "a room in which shoppers can play video games and watch archive Playboy footage on plasma screens" thus giving us the full inter-active porn experience!

How much would you like to bet that they place the store at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street, directly across the road from the Disney Store? Also, what on earth is a Playboy store doing in supposedly conservative Muslim Kuala Lumpur? Surely further proof at how depressingly mainstream porn is now.

Theresa May? Come on!

Does anybody know what on earth was going through the heads of the Fawcett Society when they decided to recruit Conservative MP Theresa May to speak at their Inspiring Women event? I can't think of anything less inspiring or less feminist than listening to the women responsible for the Tory's highly offensive 'Shoes, Shopping and Politics event'. And paying for the privilege to have my inteligence insulted! The event also clashes with Abortion Right's Pro-choice National Lobby, which I would suggest everyone should attend instead. Perhaps I'll write to the Fawcett Society and tell them what I think. Do other people find this a little beyond the pale?

Women=objects=family values

This is an election advertisment for the US Republican party developed for the recent election which they thankfully lost. Fair to say this churns my stomach. Clearly, the assault of this woman and ‘family values’ are discursively tied together. Yet another example of woman’s bodies representing honour, family, virtue etc rather than having meaning themselves. The message is that women assaulted by men are no longer ‘virtuous’ and therfore they are ‘destroyed’ objects. This is incredibly offensive and tiresome. The comments on Alas, a blog (which I know nobody reads after the whole porn fiasco) look like they need a bit of a feminist shake up. Add yours here

I'm going to start posting more of this garbage because I need to get away from my pay-gap Fawcett style feminism and into more feminist cultural representation/image deconstruction.

Global Conference on Abortion 2007

This just came through on the email, and I'm so excited! Even though it's a year away, lol. Hope I'll still be in the UK to get behind it.

November 2006

Marie Stopes International

Global Conference on Abortion

23-24 October 2007

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre Westminster

It's to mark the 40th Anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act in the UK (itself a paternalistc piece of legislation which we need to lobby to change). The conference will not address the clinical issues around abortion, but will instead call on governments, funders, and decision makers from the UK, Europe and in the developing world to do something concrete to reduce the appalling loss of life due to unsafe abortion.

At least 70,000 women die every year due to unsafe abortion.

Despite all the rhetoric, promises and international commitments to reduce maternal mortality and provide women everywhere with access to quality sexual and reproductive health services, this death toll has remained unchanged for decades. This will be a great opportunity to lobby governments, hold them accountable and put abortion at the top of the national and international agenda!

For more information, please contact Tony Kerridge on+44 (0)20 7574 7353 or Diana Thomas on +44 (0)20 7574 7416 or email press@mariestopes.org.uk

If you are interested in attending this event, please contact LauraBrownlee on0207 324 4372 or email laura.brownlee@neilstewartassociates.co.uk

Gumtree nightmares

I'm once again going through the trauma that is flat-hunting in London, which means revisting the awful yellow and green website that I think everybody dreads. I've become quite taken with my lovely London Bridge place, but will probably end up heading north once again. Although, it is definitely cooler on the 'bad' side of the river. One thing is for sure, I must resist all antipodean flat shares!

Positively Women!

Positively Women is an organisation I have recently come across in regards to AIDS research and services. It's World Aids Day on the 1st of December, and I am looking at helping out in some capacity. I'd never heard of them before, but it looks like they do great work helping women who are living with HIV/AIDS in London. Plus they are the only national charity giving specific support services to women and families with HIV/AIDS!

So if you're thinking of distributing ribbons and the like on the day, it might be a very cool feminist thing to go through them and maybe donate some cash at the same time.

email amailey@positivelywomen.org.uk

website http://www.positivelywomen.org.uk/index.html

Uncovered meat and short skirts

Decent article in the latest edition of the New Statesman about rape and the disgraceful comments from an Australian Muslim cleric that sexual assault is the fault of the victim. So incredibly tiresome that people stil have to come out and argue against views such as this. Though misogynistic views operate universally, it certain doesn't encourage me to return to the motherland any time soon!

http://www.newstatesman.com/200611060025

IKWRO Annual Conference on "honour killings"

There are at least twelve murders in the name of 'honour' every year in Britain!

IKWRO are holding a conference on "honour" killings on the 1st December 2006 at the Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre. The conference will be a place for learning from different experiences, with case studies, discussion and networking. It's only £10 to attend, just email them to book.

The underlying purpose of “honour crimes” is to maintain men’s power in families and communities by denying women basic—and internationally recognized—rights to make autonomous decisions about issues such as marriage, divorce, and whether and with whom to have sex, in order to control female sexuality and reproductive function.

Download a location map, as well as flyers and posters to advertise the event as much as possible!

Stop the anti-choice offensive!

Please see the following press release from Abortion Rights regarding the very important pro-choice national lobby coming up later this month:

Public meeting 22nd November, 7pm — 9pm Room 10, House of Commons, Westminster

All pro-choice supporters welcome!

Speakers include:

• Polly Toynbee Guardian Columnist
• Dr Kate Paterson MRCOG, NFFP Consultant in Community Gynecology and Reproductive Health
• Laura Moffatt MP Labour Party
• Not-yet-announced Liberal Democrat MP
• Jacqui Lait MP Conservative Party
• Lorene Fabian AMICUS
• Rebecca Gill TUC Women's Officer
• Kat Stark NUS Women’s Officer

Following two years of relentless and misleading media campaigning, the anti-choice lobby has now turned to drive its dangerous agenda through parliament. Notwithstanding the defeat of a cynical anti-choice backbench bill at the end of October, the anti-choice lobby has pledged to continue with a Private Members’ Bill, an Adjournment debate and a Westminster Hall debate. The strategy is designed to ratchet up pressure for incremental restrictions in women’s crucial abortion rights – starting with later abortion.

This public meeting in Parliament, on the eve of the ballot for a Private Members’ Bill, is an opportunity to send a strong message to MPs that any attempts set back women's rights will be met with widespread and determined opposition. We look forward to seeing you there. Please email info@abortionrights.org.uk to register your place and for further details.

Organised by Abortion Rights. Abortion Rights is supported by: T&G, FBU, CWU, AMICUS, BECTU, UNISON, ASLEF, RMT, UCU, TSSA, NAPO, NUS Women’s Campaign and many others. Abortion Rights and NUS Women's Campaign are also organising an opportunity for you to lobby your MP and take part in a media photo event during the day.