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| News March 2008 |
News March 2008
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BRISBANE FEMINISM ONLINE – MARCH 2008
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Hi People
I hope you all had a wonderful International Women’s Day and here is our newsletter for the rest of March and a bit of April. There are sporty things, funny things, activist things and contemplative things to enjoy. If you haven’t already done so, make sure you sign the equal pay petition and let the Government know it matters.
Spread the word …
Best regards
Kitty and Andrea
Brisbane Feminism Online 2008 Editors
Feedback welcome to editor@brisbanefeminismonline.net
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IN THIS ISSUE
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LOCAL NEWS
1. REAL ADVENTURE WOMEN
2. ALL GIRL ROLLER DERBY IS HERE
3. EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN PETITION
4. I AM MY OWN WIFE
5. INSIDE OUT-BOTTOM UP: STRATEGIC NONVIOLENT ACTION FOR RIGHTS AND JUSTICE
6. WOMEN IN PHYSICS NATIONAL LECTURE TOUR
7. BOOK LAUNCH
8. MOTHERING, VIOLENCE, MILITARISM, WAR, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
9. WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
10. PALM SUNDAY – PEACE RALLY AND MARCH
11. KURIL DHAGUN NIGHT BY THE FIRE WITH... DR PETA STEPHENSON
12. NOT JUST DOTS: PART ONE - NOTIONS OF TRADITIONAL
13. GREAT THINKING, GREAT OUTCOMES: EDUCATION SEMINAR
14. FEMINIST DISCUSSION– THE INSTITUTIONS OF MONOGAMY AND MARRIAGE
15. HARMONY DAY
16. THINKING MOTHERS - THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER DREAM
17. EARTH HOUR
18. MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL FUNDRAISER
19. TARNISHED
20. IN CONVERSATION WITH HELEN GARNER
21. PARADISE CITY
22. THE TRUTH ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN CONFERENCE 2008 SYDNEY
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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LOCAL NEWS
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1. REAL ADVENTURE WOMEN
March
RAW is an exciting women's outdoor activity program offered by Brisbane City Council. RAW aims to give women aged 16 years and over the opportunity to experience sporting and recreational activities in a friendly environment. The program of activities is designed to suit both beginners and those with more experience. Through the RAW program, women living in Brisbane can meet new friends while learning some great new skills. The list of activities varies between programs. It includes a range of indoor, outdoor and water sports; from archery to power boating to tai chi. A range of specialist providers runs each activity so you know you're receiving expert instruction.
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:WHATSON::in_type=eevent,in_search2=46
2. ALL GIRL ROLLER DERBY IS HERE
Sundays
Newbies wanted for all girl Roller Derby. If you are 18+, don't mind a few bruises and are looking for spills and thrills, join us for derby skills for beginners skating session! All shapes, sizes and skill levels welcome. Please contact via email to confirm training time. Northern Brisbane Rollers Albany Creek Skateaway Centro Albany. 700 Albany Creek Road, Albany Creek Quad skates and protective gear available to hire (or BYO) Training $15 + hire
michellefielding at gmail dot com
3. EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN PETITION
March
Men and women in Australia are equal, right? Wrong! Can you guess, for every dollar a man earns, how much a woman earns? Here's a hint - it's one of the biggest gaps of all developed nations. And even more worrying? We're not even heading in the right direction; the gap is getting bigger. It's a pretty sobering statistic for a country that prides itself on being egalitarian - so we've created a pay calculator to show just how the other half lives. Click here to find out what you'd earn as the opposite sex, then sign our petition demanding equal pay for women. The world celebrates International Women's Day this week and despite a century of struggle, whether it's in the classroom or the boardroom, women across Australia are still not earning equal pay. That's simply not good enough. But what can we do about it? From paid maternity leave to high-quality affordable childcare - a people's movement has the power to convince politicians and corporations to actively remove the stubborn systemic inequalities that still exist, to ensure productive participation - for equal reward. Click here, whether you're male or female, to try your hand at our new pay calculator. The results may surprise you:
www.getup.org.au/campaign/HowTheOtherHalfEarns
4. I AM MY OWN WIFE
10 March - 5 April 2008
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, American playwright Doug Wright stumbled across the amazing story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf - a true survivor. Defying two of the most repressive regimes of the 20th Century - the Nazis and then the East German Communists - Charlotte courageously provided a refuge for Berlin's avant-garde, eventually becoming regarded as a national treasure. What's even more astonishing is that Charlotte was a man, living as a woman. But as Wright began researching Charlotte's life more closely, some disturbing contradictions began to emerge, leading him to question whether Charlotte really was the uncompromised hero she presented. Wright's Pulitzer Prize-winning play weaves his own interviews with Charlotte into a rich fabric of real and imagined characters, inviting us to compare our own everyday actions and compromises with Charlotte's extraordinary life.
http://www.ourbrisbane.com/whatson/performingarts/event.php?eid=94498&sd=2008-03-14&ed=2008-03-16&s=3,5&action=submit
5. INSIDE OUT-BOTTOM UP: STRATEGIC NONVIOLENT ACTION FOR RIGHTS AND JUSTICE
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
This seminar will focus on civic power and strategies for nonviolent action to fight oppression, win rights, justice and accountability. The discussion will also consider recent or ongoing movements and campaigns that are expanding the frontiers of nonviolent strategies and methods. Complementary copies of educational books, documentaries, and materials will be distributed to participants. Shaazka Beyerle is an educator and researcher on people power, and a Senior Advisor with the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. She speaks, writes, and facilitates seminars on civilian-based power and strategic nonviolent action. She has published articles on people power, the Middle East, foreign affairs, culture, and art in Al Hayat/Dar Al Hayat, CommonDreams.org, European Affairs, Europe Magazine, Foreign Policy, International Herald Tribune, OpenDemocracy.net, The Independent, TruthOut.org, and the Washington Times. Formerly a journalist, she covered the Middle East and Southern Africa for WorldView Magazine (National Peace Corps Association), and reviewed fiction and nonfiction books. Ms. Beyerle lived in Jerusalem from 1997-2000. While overseas, she consulted with the Bethlehem 2000 Project and was the International Press Manager for the Jerusalem Film Festival (2000). Prior to moving to the Middle East, Ms. Beyerle was the founding Vice President of The European Institute. She holds an M.A. in International Relations from George Washington University, a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Toronto, and conducted graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm Room: Seminar Room CCCS402, Level 4 UQ Location: Forgan Smith Building (St Lucia) Event Information
URL: http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/index.htm
http://www.uq.edu.au/events/event_view.php?event_id=4074
6. WOMEN IN PHYSICS NATIONAL LECTURE TOUR
Friday, 14 March 2008
Prof. Tanya Monro - Emerging optical fibres for applications beyond data transmission- New classes of optical fibres are rapidly emerging that allow fibres to be used well beyond their established role in data transmission and into applications in a broad range of areas including sensing, biology, medicine, defence and optical data processing. These developments have been enabled by research in a diverse range of areas including physics, materials science, process engineering and fluid mechanics. Recent progress in a range of areas will be reviewed. In particular, the use of tiny air holes to modify the propagation of light will be described. Professor Tanya Monro is Chair of Photonics and Director, DSTO Centre of Expertise in Photonics (CoEP), University of Adelaide. She has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Bragg Gold medal for the best physics PhD thesis in Australia (1998), and the Cosmos magazine Bright Spark Award (2006). Her research focusses on the development of optical fibres in new materials (in particular soft glasses) and the application of new fibre concepts to a range of applications, in particular in defence and sensing. The Centre of Expertise in Photonics is world-class, and the first of its kind in Australia. Since its establishment in 2005, Professor Monro has built the centre into a team of 20 researchers. Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm Room: 222UQ Location: Parnell Building (St Lucia)Event Information Description: Afternoon tea served from 3:30pm in the Parnell Tea Room. Everyone welcome!
http://www.uq.edu.au/events/event_view.php?event_id=3996
7. BOOK LAUNCH
Saturday 15th March
The award winning first volume of poetry Anonymous Premonition By Yvette Holt is being launched at the ‘Talking Circle’ Kuril dhagum, State Library of Queensland in South Brisbane this Saturday 15th March from 3pm - 5 30pm. A member of the Bidjara Nation, Queensland – Brisbane born poet Yvette Holt, grew up in the south-western suburb on Inala where her parents have lived for more than forty years. A graduate from the University of Technology, Sydney – Yvette has been a public servant, activist, counsellor, educator; speaker on the well-being of Indigenous Australian families and continues to be socially active on numerous community, state and national boards where the elevation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is positively promoted. Yvette currently researches Indigenous Australian Literature and Lectures on Aboriginal Women’s Studies at the University of Queensland. The launch is free and includes entertainment from Paula Boo and Lis Connor. Please RSVP on h.barrell@uq.edu.au or 3365 2606.
8. MOTHERING, VIOLENCE, MILITARISM, WAR, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE OCTOBER 24-26, 2008 TORONTO
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS – March 15, 2008
We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, artists, NGOs, community agencies, service providers, journalists, mothers and others who work or research in this area. Cross-cultural, historical, and comparative work is encouraged. We encourage a variety of types of submissions including academic papers from all disciplines, workshops, creative submissions, performances, storytelling, visual arts, and other alternative formats. Topics can include (but are not limited to): Nationalism, militarism, and motherhood; violence against mothers and children; mothers and war across history and culture; motherhood and terrorism; mothers and human rights; peace building and peace/anti-militarism activism by mothers; peace keeping strategies of mothers; mothers against militarism; marriage, motherhood, and pregnancy in the military; Maternal Thinking; the Ethics of Care/the Politics of Peace; women writers and the critique of war; rhetoric of masculinity and violence against mothers; teaching social justice in the classroom as mothering for peace; educating children about war; parenting in war; teaching non-violence to children; mothers’ roles in post-conflict reconstruction; state violence against mothers; racism, ethnicity, and peace; impact of prolific small arms and light weapons on women; female suicide-bombers; women's contributions to (formal) peace agreements; suffering and survival of mothers in war; mothers and the dismantling of apartheid; mothers as activists in violent conflicts or militarized zones; roles of mothers in conflict; mothers as journalists during wartime; impact of violent conflict on mothers as refugees (asylum seekers and/or internally displaced persons); mothers of sons and/or daughters who serve in the military; gender-based violence of women in war and conflict; mothering and loss (of husbands/children); children and loss of mothers; mothers and children left behind in military communities: mothers who kill; domestic violence against mothers; the war on mothers; rape and/as terrorism; aboriginal mothers/children and residential schooling; social justice organizations for mothers (from MADD to Mothers Against War); patriotic mothering; activist mothering; representations/images of mothers and violence, war, and social justice issues; public policy and mother activists; legal responses to mother activists; reproductive violence; mother activists within indigenous communities; LBGT mothers and social justice issues; victims of violence in the military.
http://www.yorku.ca/arm/MotheringViolence.html
9. WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
SAT 15 – SUN 16 MARCH
A weekend of keynote speakers, panel forums, interactive workshops and skills sessions, on issues from climate justice to the universality of human rights. Organised by a spectrum of social justice organisations, including Amnesty, UNSA, Friends of the Earth, Oxfam Australia, Oaktree, Engineers Without Borders and others. To be held at the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus on the weekend of 15-16 March Why ? to help you get informed, inspired, and involved in things that really matter, to see the links between them and how you can make a difference! Conference registration is FREE for any session or for full days; refreshments provided, lunches and films by donation. For enquiries or registrations, please contact: amnestyuq@hotmail.com
http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/services/index.cfm?action=dsp_community
10. PALM SUNDAY – PEACE RALLY AND MARCH
SUNDAY 16 MARCH 2008
The Peace Rally on Palm Sunday is very early this year – March16 – and we have an exciting and interesting program organised for Queens Park to be followed by a Peace March through the city. Please meet at Queens Park (City) 1.30pm
http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/services/index.cfm?action=dsp_community
11. KURIL DHAGUN NIGHT BY THE FIRE WITH... DR PETA STEPHENSON
Tue 18 Mar, 6.30pm
Come and enjoy a night by the fire with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists at kuril dhagun, the State Library's Indigenous Knowledge Centre. Sit and yarn with local artists and enjoy the glow of the fire surrounded by city lights. In March, celebrate Harmony Day with visiting writer and academic Dr Peta Stephenson at a night by the fire. Peta works as a research fellow at the University of Melbourne and specialises in the study of cross-cultural alliances between non-white migrant and Indigenous peoples. Come and have a chat with Peta, author of The Outsiders Within: Telling Australia’s Indigenous-Asian Story. Enjoy this opportunity to reflect on the potential of our cross-cultural heritage to foster a more inclusive sense of Australian identity. This night by the fire coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Venue: kuril dhagun, level 1 Date: Entry: Free, no booking required
http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/events/talks
12. NOT JUST DOTS: PART ONE - NOTIONS OF TRADITIONAL
19 March 2008
Dr Sally Butler presents an enlightening discussion debunking myths of 'the traditional' and explaining why such binary categories are not applicable to Australian Indigenous art. Dr Butler's talk addresses the fact that it is common to hear terms like 'traditional' used to describe particular Indigenous artworks as somehow more authentic than other works described as 'contemporary' and somehow tainted by Western society.
http://www.whatson.qut.edu.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WhatsOn.woa/wa/goNewsPage?newsEventID=15268
13. GREAT THINKING, GREAT OUTCOMES: EDUCATION SEMINAR
19 March 2008
Principal of Buranda State School and 2007 Faculty of Education Outstanding Alumni Award winner Lynne Hinton will describe the transformation and outstanding achievements of Buranda State School in the past decade as a result of introducing philosophy as a core subject for all students at the school. In the Good Thinking, Great Outcomes at Buranda State School seminar, Ms Hinton will outline how she led the school through a process of exciting and innovative curriculum and pedagogical reform that resulted in outstanding outcomes for students, teachers and the school itself. She believes children must be given opportunities to question, talk, wonder, imagine, puzzle and think 'alone and with others' so that they can learn to think clearly and well. Her presentation will give an insight into learning at Buranda State School and describes the changes that have occurred as a result of teaching philosophy to all students over the past decade.http://www.whatson.qut.edu.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WhatsOn.woa/wa/goNewsPage?newsEventID=15853
14. FEMINIST DISCUSSION NIGHT – THE INSTITUTIONS OF MONOGAMY AND MARRIAGE
Thursday 20th March
If you feel the urge to express your feminist opinions then come along to this month’s discussion evening to examine the institutions of monogamy and marriage. Email kitty for more information:
kitty@brisbanefeminismonline.net
15. HARMONY DAY
21 MAR 2008
Harmony Day provides an opportunity for us to celebrate our successes as a culturally diverse society, re-commit ourselves to harmony and say "no" to racial intolerance. Harmony Day at QUT celebrates diversity The QUT community comes together once a year to celebrate our successes as a culturally diverse society and re-commit ourselves to harmony and mutual respect. QUT will host a number of activities across all four campuses as part of the national Harmony Day program. Similar to the activities taking place across the nation, QUT's program offers awareness-raising activities on each campus which include a variety of cultural performances, guest speakers, a multi-faith commencement ceremony and information stalls.
http://www.whatson.qut.edu.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WhatsOn.woa/wa/goNewsPage?newsEventID=15578
www.harmony.gov.au
16. THINKING MOTHERS - THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER DREAM
Thursday 27 March, 7.30pm
Join us for a night of lively discussion on feminism, parenting and all the bits in-between. Venue will be in Paddington. Email to join the email list.
andrea.fox@tpg.com.au
17. EARTH HOUR
29 March (Saturday) 2008 -
Earth Hour are inviting residents and businesses join in cities across Australia and around the world in turning off their lights for one hour to generate awareness about the need to take action against climate change.
18. MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL FUNDRAISER
30 March (Sunday) 2008 –
Menopause the Musical Fundraiser 2pm matinee playing at the Twelfth Night Theatre, Bowen Hills. Two fundraising dates have been organised for Children by Choice on Sunday 30th March at 2pm matinee and Tuesday 1st April 2008 at 8pm. Tickets are pre-paid to be purchased from Friday 7th March, 2008. Tickets are $49.90 each or for groups 10 or more $39.90. For more information e-mail info[at]childrenbychoice.org.au
19. TARNISHED
1-5th april
After spectacular sell out seasons across the country, Brisbane’s own La La Parlour return with their award winning ultimate showgirl satire, 'Tarnished'. Brimming with breathtaking aerials, astounding acrobatics, deconstructed chorus lines, cake-desecration, whip cracking, deliciously decadent costumes and hilarious physical comedy; 'Tarnished' offers distinctly unashamed entertainment to audiences left gasping for breaths between laughs.
As skilled as they are scandalous, these sassy showgirls invite you to join their opulent celebration of pure desperation. Starring Australia’s Queen of Burlesque Imogen Kelly, The Happy Sideshow’s Tigerlil, Aerial Ascendant Kellie Vella and a little brat called Neridah…um… Waters.
http://www.jwcoca.qld.gov.au/02_cal/details.asp?ID=553
20. IN CONVERSATION WITH HELEN GARNER
Wed 9 Apr
A special opportunity to hear Helen Garner talking about her first novel in 15 years. The Spare Room is an extraordinary work of fiction from one of Australia’s best-selling and most admired writers. Garner’s dialogue is pitch perfect, her sense of pacing flawless as this novel draws to its terrible and transcendent finale. Helen Garner published her first novel, Monkey Grip, in 1977. She was best known as a fiction writer (The Children’s Bach, Postcards from Surfers, Cosmo Cosmolino, My Hard Heart) and freelance journalist until 1994, when The First Stone, her account of a university sexual harassment case, provoked a national controversy. Since then she has become one of Australia’s most respected writers of essays and non-fiction. In 2004 she published the best-selling Joe Cinque’s Consolation, about the murder of a young man in Canberra in 1997. Venue: slq Auditorium 1, level 2 Date: Wed 9 Apr, 6.30pm-7.30pm Entry: $10 full/ $8 conc, bookings qtix 136 246
http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/events/talks
21. PARADISE CITY
9 - 12 April 2008
A skater, a break-dancer, a BMX rider, an acrobat, a dancer and a fallen diva carve out a pleasure ground from a stark urban space, in this spectacular fusion of street-style and dance. Welcome to Paradise City, the show that turned Sydney Opera House into a skate park. See world champions with truly spectacular skills, choreographed in a breathtaking display that sweeps between poetry in motion and the sheer raw energy of a jam. Hear the diva sing against a live score of sumptuous Bach, driving beats and the crunch of skateboard wheels on concrete – through a surround sound system that pulls you right into the arena. Watch Australia’s finest urban artists, in a battle to reclaim the city with body, board and bike. Starring Australian BMX champion Simon O'Brien, b-boy Anthony 'Lamaroc' Lawang and skateboarder Petera Hona, together with vocalist Inga Liljestrom, physical theatre performer Alexandra Harrison and dancer Kathryn Puie. Co-creators Lee Wilson & Mirabelle Wouters. “An intensely absorbing, lyrical, nightlife street culture fantasia… More and more audiences should be invited into this strange paradise.” Keith Gallasch, RealTime
http://www.ourbrisbane.com/whatson/performingarts/partner_events.php?eid=95531
22. THE TRUTH ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN CONFERENCE 2008 SYDNEY
4-6 June 2008
Sydney NSW Presented by Women's Health NSW, Australian Healthcare Association, Feminist Bookshop - Sydney and Department of Health and Community Services NSW. The aim of the Conference is to create a cauldron of possibility where women can bring forth their ideas and research, their stories and experiences, so that women can have a solid grounding to work from. Further information: http://www.womenanddepression.herwill.net/modules/wfchannel/
http://www.aifs.gov.au/acssa/confdetails.html#tvaw08
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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Italian women rally for abortion rights
http://bcpapers.tricubemedia.net/medhat/article_story.php?cpid=841413&ctgry=w
Hundreds of women rallied in Rome and Naples today to protest police interrogation of a woman after she underwent an abortion. They also opposed a campaign push by some conservatives to change Italy's abortion law. State television said at least one woman was detained by police after protesters scuffled with officers when they tried to move the rally to a square in central Rome. (02/14/08)
Iranian feminist wins rights award
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23211310-5005961,00.html
IRANIAN feminist and journalist Parvin Ardalan has won the 2007 Olof Palme Prize for her women's rights campaign in Iran. Ms Ardalan, 36, was honoured for "making the demand for equal rights for men and women a central part of the struggle for democracy in Iran," a statement from the Olof Palme Memorial Fund said. The award is for outstanding achievement named after Palme, a popular Swedish prime minister who was gunned down by a lone attacker in February 1986, shortly after leaving a Stockholm cinema. (02/14/08)
Manila women fight contraception ban
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7234291.stm
Twenty of Manila's poorest residents have filed a legal challenge against what they say is a ban on contraception. The group - 16 women and four of their husbands - are fighting a policy which they say denies them access to condoms, to the pill and other effective forms of family planning. (02/11/08)
Amnesty Int'l to launch on Friction.tv
http://www.macroworldinvestor.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=296845791
Amnesty Channel To Launch On Friction.tv. Domestic violence videos ahead of International Women's Day to kick-start human rights debate on 'Speaker's Corner Online'. Appearing on the newly-launched "Amnesty" channel at www.friction.tv/amnestyinternational in time for International Women's Day on 8 March, they will feature Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart speaking about domestic violence in his family background, and Patrick and TV star Joanna Lumley doing voice-overs for an innovative "talking knuckles" domestic violence animation film. Other Amnesty-content videos are set to follow. (03/07/08)
UK, increased forced marriage concerns
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/03/06/107505/dcsf-seeks-explanation-from-bradford-for-33-missing.html
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has given Bradford Council and its education authority until next week to explain the whereabouts of 33 children who are missing from school rolls, amid forced marriage concerns.
HIV scandal in gay porn industry
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/7277000.stm
Three films have been withdrawn from sale following a Newsnight investigation into the health risks of so-called bareback gay porn - which shows men have unprotected sex. It follows concerns within the gay community that performers are being infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. (03/04/08)
Iran asked to lift travel ban on feminist
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=89514
The organizers of the Olof Palme Prize on Monday urged Iran to drop a ban on Iranian feminist and journalist Parvin Ardalan leaving her country to receive the 2007 award in Stockholm. "We expect the Iranian government to reconsider its decision and authorize Parvin Ardalan to leave Iran and come to Stockholm to receive the prize," the head of the Olof Palme Memorial Fund, Pierre Schori, said in a statement. (03/04/08)
China denies scrapping 1-child policy
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK7480520080302?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=22&sp=true
China has denied that it is studying the abandonment of its decades-old one-child policy, local media reported on Sunday, days after an official said the country was considering incremental changes. In an article headlined "News of abandoning the one-child policy is inconsistent with the facts," the Beijing News said China, the world's most populous nation, was sticking to its controversial system of family planning. (03/02/08)
Italy outlaws touching of own genitals
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/29/wcrotch129.xml
The Italian supreme court has outlawed men from touching their genitals in public. Crotch-grabbing is an ancient superstitious habit in Italy that is believed to ward off the evil eye - it is traditional for men to do it if passed by a hearse or when discussing serious illness or disasters. The phrase "Io mi tocco" ("I touch my") is as common as crossing fingers for good luck. (02/29/08)
Amnesty International calls out to Iran
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-02-28-voa51.cfm?rss=human%20rights%20and%20law
An Amnesty International report is calling for Iranian authorities to stop harassing women human rights defenders and take urgent steps to dismantle discriminatory legislation. Iranian women are getting more vocal in their demands for equality before the law. The Amnesty International report says dozens of activists and supporters have been arrested in connection with their activities for the Campaign for Equality, founded in 2006. (02/28/08)
Nepal, Gay candidates challenge laws
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,23281895-5003402,00.html?from=public_rss
At least five Nepali gay men are contesting this year's elections in the hope of shattering taboos in the conservative nation, a gay candidate said. Homosexuality is effectively illegal in Nepal under a law banning "unnatural sex". Offenders can be jailed for up to a year. (02/26/08)
UN, US urges curb on forced marriages
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3503
Over 51 million girls under 18 in the developing world are forced to marry, a practice widely viewed as a violation of their human rights. U.S. advocates are now flagging congressional bills to help curb the practice. (02/25/08)
BC sex trade group wins co-op status
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080215/wl_canada_nm/canada_olympics_vancouver_brothel_col_1
A group of Canadian sex trade workers hoping to set up a legal "co-op" brothel in time for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver said on Friday they have won approval to incorporate themselves. The provincial government's designation of the group as a business co-operative is the first step in what organizers say will create a safer working environment for sex trade workers in the Pacific Coast city. (02/15/08)
Egypt ups arrests of HIV-positive suspects
http://ap.oakridger.com/stories/world/20080215/247445299.shtml
Egyptian police have stepped up arrests of persons suspected of having HIV, detaining four men this month in a crackdown that violates basic human rights, two international rights groups said Friday. New York-based Human Rights Watch and London-based Amnesty International warned in a joint statement that the arrests could undermine HIV/AIDS prevention effort as people in Egypt become increasingly afraid to seek information on the subject. (02/15/08)
UN to Saudis tackle Violence v. women
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-saudi-un-women.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=Saudi&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Saudi Arabia must create laws to protect women from violence and also allow them to play a bigger role in society and the workplace, the United Nations said on Thursday. "The lack of written laws governing private life constitutes a major obstacle to women's access to justice," said Yakin Erturk, the U.N.'s human rights expert on violence against women. (02/14/08)
Abortion figuring into Italy campaign
http://www.sunherald.com/311/story/366209.html
Abortion, not usually a major election topic in Italy, is playing an important role in early campaigning for April's parliamentary elections. Silvio Berlusconi, former prime minister and the front-runner to retake the job, recently said he favors the U.N. passing a moratorium on abortion. But he also stressed Tuesday that individuals - and his political allies - are free to make up their own minds. Meanwhile, a prominent conservative newspaper editor who reopened the debate announced his candidacy for parliament Tuesday and said he plans to run on an anti-abortion platform. (02/12/08)
UN: Child soldiers used in 13 countries
http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/UN_Children_in_Conflict.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=1&cxcat=0
The situation for children caught in conflict remains "grave and entirely unacceptable" because 58 groups in 13 countries still recruit and use child soldiers, according to a senior U.N. official. Undersecretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy told the U.N. Security Council Tuesday that in addition to being pressed into service, children in several countries are also killed, maimed, abducted and raped and denied access to humanitarian groups. (02/13/08)
U.S. women reporting rape in Iraq in limbo
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/13/america/abuse.php
With thousands of women filling jobs as contractors in the Iraq war zone, the problem of rapes and sexual assaults has increased, along with other forms of crime among contractors. Comprehensive statistics on sexual assaults among contractors are unavailable, however, because no one in the government or contracting industry is tracking them.. (02/13/08)
Sweden, refusing to sell pup to lesbian = fine
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080211/od_afp/swedencourtgaysrightsanimaloffbeat_080211195619
Stockholm's appeals court on Monday found a kennel owner who had refused to sell a puppy to a lesbian woman guilty of discrimination, slapping her with a 20,000-kronor (2,300-euro, 3,100-dollar) fine. The kennel owner, 51-year-old Anette Sjoeholm, was guilty of "discrimination in the form of harassment," the court said in its ruling, which echoed a lower-court finding in 2006. (02/11/08)
Saudi woman gets death penalty for witchcraft
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56400
A Saudi Arabian court's decision to execute a woman for witchcraft has drawn the protest of international human rights groups. The trial and conviction of Fawza Falih is a "miscarriage of justice," said Human Rights Watch in an appeal to King Abdullah, the BBC reported. Among Falih's accusers is a man who alleged she made him impotent. (02/14/08)
Turkey battles over head scarf ban
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0211/p07s02-wome.html
With its vote Saturday ending a decades-old ban on wearing head scarves in public universities, Turkey's parliament may have marked a historical moment in the ongoing struggle between religion and secularism in this predominantly Muslim country. But concerns remain in Turkey that the government's zeal for lifting the ban could undermine other reforms, particularly those relating to democratization and the country's ongoing European Union membership bid. (02/11/08)
Gaza, Honor killings continue
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4271093&page=1
Honor killing is prevalent throughout the Arab world and has become a big problem within Israel's Arab communities. Dozens of young women have been killed in recent years for offending their families' strict Arab and Islamic code of behavior. In one neighborhood of Ramle, seven women from the same extended family have been killed in as many years. (02/11/08)
UK, Plan to cut phone links to callgirls
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3342045.ece
MINISTERS want to block the phone numbers of prostitutes who advertise their services in newspapers and telephone booths in an attempt to stifle the illegal sex trade. Police forces would identify suspected prostitutes to the telephone companies, which would be required to cut off their numbers. The proposal has emerged in a six-month review of prostitution laws by ministers from three government departments. They are also considering making it illegal to pay for sex. (02/10/08)
Turkey to lift ban on hijab
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/09/turkey.headscarf.ap/index.html
Turkey's parliament has amended the constitution, lifting a decades-old ban on Islamic head scarves at the country's universities, despite fierce opposition from the secular establishment. (02/09/08)
Canada, Harems pay off -- literally
http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/02/08/4834588-sun.html
Hundreds of GTA Muslim men in polygamous marriages -- some with a harem of wives -- are receiving welfare and social benefits for each of their spouses, thanks to the city and province, Muslim leaders say. Mumtaz Ali, president of the Canadian Society of Muslims, said wives in polygamous marriages are recognized as spouses under the Ontario Family Law Act, providing they were legally married under Muslim laws abroad (02/08/08)
Dutch cabinet to restrict burqas?
http://www.losbanosenterprise.com/24hour/global/story/3808814p-13373458c.html
The Dutch Cabinet said Friday it wants to ban burqas from all schools and prevent government employees from wearing the head-to-toe Islamic robes, but said it was impossible to outlaw them altogether. (02/09/08)
Aussie, Woman sues psych clinic over rape
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/woman-sues-psych-clinic-over-hood-rape/2008/02/09/1202234230433.html
THE exclusive Victoria Clinic is being sued by a woman who suffered a terrifying rape on the last night of what had been a successful three-week treatment for severe depression. The 44-year-old Melbourne woman was tied up, hooded with a pillowcase and raped in the ensuite of her private room just hours before she was due to be discharged. (02/10/08)
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Brisbane Feminism Online (BFO) is a not for profit newsletter service aimed at bringing together the feminist community and strengthening the collective power of the feminist movement in our home city of Brisbane, Australia. Input and feedback is welcome. Our thanks to local women’s organisations, national organisations and ifeminist news.
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