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| News May 2008 |
News May 2008
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BRISBANE FEMINISM ONLINE – MAY 2008
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Hi People
Welcome to the May BFO newsletter.
May is the 9th Annual Brisbane Queer Film Festival month with an all women’s film night on the 26th. Reconciliation Week will include talks, forums and activities at various venues including the City Library on Mothers Day. In this, the post “Sorry” era, come and hear more at the ANTaR Healing Forum on Monday night.
Raw and Vulcana are offering active things to do, as are the fabulous Roller Derby Teams. There are a few feminist positions vacant and best of all Brisbane will be having it’s very own International Feminist Conference coming up in September.
Discussions this month are on Feminism and White Privilege and also Motherhood and Martyrdom – everyone welcome.
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. PRO CHOICE RALLY
3. TREES FOR MUM
4. 'COOLAMON: CARRYING THE CULTURE'
5. HEALING – SORRY IS THE FIRST STEP
6. THE JAMMED
7. MAY FEMINIST DISCUSSION EVENING
8. VULCANA CIRCUS CLASSES
9. PUBLIC FLOOR TALK BY DR SALLY BUTLER `CREATIVE THINKING IN ABORIGINAL ART`
10. PANIYIRI
11. ZILLMERE MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL
12. CHILDHOOD - END OF INNOCENCE
13. GRANTS- STRONGER COMMUNITY RELATIONS
14. HONESTLY WOMAN
15. THE 9TH ANNUAL BRISBANE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL
16. BRISBANE ROLLER DERBY
17. FEMINIST MOTHERHOOD FILM DISCUSSION
18. INTERNATIONAL GIRLS' SHORT FILMS
19. SEPARATION BOOK - 7TH EDITION
20. AFFECTIVE RHYTHMS IN DOMESTIC LIFE: SOUNDSCAPES AND THE QUEST FOR AFFECTIVE EQUILIBRIUM
21. RECONCILIATION WEEK
22. REFUGEE WOMEN'S FORUM
23. THE BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL FEMINIST CONFERENCE
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LOCAL NEWS
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1. RAW
May
RAW (Real Adventure Women) gives Brisbane women the opportunity to experience a variety of sporting and recreational activities in a safe, supportive and non-competitive environment. As part of the Brisbane City Council's Active and Healthy Lifestyle program it encourages women to participate in low cost 'come and try' activities across different themes such as 'Women on Water', 'Women on Wheels', and 'Women in the Wild'.
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:WHATSON:1969743166:pc=PC_1263,in_type=eevent,in_search2=46
2. PRO CHOICE RALLY
Saturday May 10
Over 80% of people in Australia support a woman’s right to choose abortion. Despite this, abortion remains on the criminal code in QLD and all other states and Territories except the ACT. Under QLD law, a woman who has an “unlawful” abortion can face up to 7 years imprisonment! Abortion was removed from the Crimes Act in the ACT in 2002 and it is high time that the QLD Government did the same. Saturday May 10, 1:30pm Parliament House, George St, City For more information contact The Pro-Choice Action Collective Email: prochoiceaction@gmail.com
3. TREES FOR MUM
Sunday 11 May
Trees for Mum is a free national event inviting children of all ages to celebrate their mum and the beauty of life, by planting a tree in her honour. The Trees for Mum program, which started as a small event in 2002 has grown into a national occasion with participants around Australia planting trees on Mother’s Day. Lauren Adlam and Deena Raphael brought Trees for Mum to life in May 2002. Both women lost mothers to cancer and were interested in doing something for other people who do not have mothers. Trees for Mum was created to give motherless children of all ages the opportunity to remember their mum whilst planting a tree – a beautiful symbol of new life.
http://www.treesformum.com/AboutUs/treesformum-AboutUs.aspx
4. 'COOLAMON: CARRYING THE CULTURE'
11 May (Sunday) 2008
- Celebration Day - will feature live dance performances by the Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal dancers and the Wagga Torres Strait Islander dancers and musical arrangements by up and coming musicians including Poetic Murriz and Just 2 Black Fullas. Artists, writers and lecturers within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities will also share their knowledge of their culture on the day. Part of 'Coolamon: Carrying the Culture'. Brisbane Square Library, City Centre
5. HEALING – SORRY IS THE FIRST STEP
Monday 12th May
ANTaR Qld is hosting an evening forum on Healing – Sorry is the First Step in the lead-up to 26th May Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week 2008. Since the release of the Bringing them Home Report in 1997 Linkup has been helping families reunite across the generations. Join us to discuss the issues faced by Australia’s stolen generation, understand the consequences of intergenerational trauma in Australia, and support the call for the implementation of the Bringing Them Home recommendations “.. the horrible crime of genocide is unthinkable in Australia ... That we detest all forms of genocide ... arises from the fact that we are a moral people” Leslie Haylen, Labor Member for Parkes parliamentary debate on Australia's ratification of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, June 1949. A light supper will be provided This forum will be relevant to anyone interested in reconciliation and justice, anyone working in the social services and counsellors and social workers wanting to understand more about Indigenous issues RSVP to ANTaR Qld 3844 9800 or office@antarqld.com.au for catering purposes by 9th May
6. THE JAMMED
Thursday 15th May
A screening of the Australian film, The Jammed, which is based on the court records of an Australian human trafficking case, will take place on Thursday 15 May, 7.00 – 9.30 p.m., at the Duhig Hall, Lourdes Hill College, 86 Hawthorne Road, Hawthorne, Some discussion about the film and a cuppa will follow the screening. Sr Pauline Coll Chair of Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) at Pauline@brisnet.org.au or on 3395 6872
7. MAY FEMINIST DISCUSSION EVENING
Thursday 15th May
Join BFO on Thursday night to discuss the thorny topic of black and white feminisms and the realities of white privilege. The reading for the night is On Prisons, Borders, Safety, and Privilege: An Open Letter to White Feminists By Jessica Hoffmann, http://www.alternet.org/story/81260/ and if you cannot make it in person then put your thoughts online at: http://bfoblogstoo.blogspot.com/
Email kitty for more details: kitty@brisbanefeminismonline.net
8. VULCANA CIRCUS CLASSES
May Start
Term Two Vulcana Women’s Circus Classes start 13th May 9th July. Offering arials, tissue, acrobalance and more
http://www.vulcana.org.au/Term%202%202008%20brochure%20all.pdf
9. PUBLIC FLOOR TALK BY DR SALLY BUTLER `CREATIVE THINKING IN ABORIGINAL ART`
Friday, 16 May 2008
This talk will focus on art works by Dorothy Napangardi, Arthur Pambegan, Gloria Petyarre and George Tjungurrayi on display in the UQ Art Museum, and will discuss how their linear patterns manifest creative thinking in Aboriginal art. Dr Sally Butler is Senior Lecturer in Art History in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History, The University of Queensland. In 2007 she curated and wrote the publication for `Our Way, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Lockhart River`, a major survey exhibition which toured to Singapore and America. Dr Butler’s research focus is contemporary Australian art and, in particular, Australian Indigenous art. Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm UQ Location: James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre (St Lucia) Event Information
http://www.uq.edu.au/events/event_view.php?event_id=4228
10. PANIYIRI
17 & 18 May 2008
Paniyiri - Australia's largest Greek Festival. Now into its 32nd successful year, Paniyiri is a community initiative of the 25,000-strong Greek community of South East Queensland.
11. ZILLMERE MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL
17 May (Saturday) 2008
Zillmere Multicultural Festival Visit themed style villages with traditional cuisines, Free Children’s Activities, Authentic Arts & Crafts, traditional games, hands-on activities, live performances and Interactive Workshops. Free Event. 10am – 5pm, O’Callaghan Park, Zillmere Road, Zillmere. For more information please visit the website or call 3865 2361
http://www.zmfestival.org/
12. CHILDHOOD - END OF INNOCENCE
18th May – 29th June
A series of films from around the world that tell life from a child’s perspective. Sundays at 2pm
http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/events/films
13. GRANTS- STRONGER COMMUNITY RELATIONS
23 MAY 2008
Communities across Australia are being encouraged to apply for funds to develop projects that promote stronger community relations and address iissues of racial, cultural and religious intolerance. Applications must be lodged with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship by 6pm Eastern Standard Time, 23 May 2008. For further information visit http://www.harmony.gov.au/grants/index.htm or contact the community relations funding hotline 1800 782 002.
14. HONESTLY WOMAN
20th May
Honestly Woman: the magazine for and about enterprising independent women in urban, regional and rural areas of Australia who go about their business with heart and humour. HW women have loads of courage, conscience, resilience, stubbornness AND opinions!
http://www.honestlywoman.com.au/page.cfm?pageCode=submitContent
15. THE 9TH ANNUAL BRISBANE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL
23 - 29 May 2008
This year’s program is the biggest in the ninth-year history of the festival, with an eclectic selection of award winning features, shorts and documentaries from around the world to deliver a festival that will make you laugh, make you cry, inspire you, shock you – and, as always, challenge the dominant paradigm. Cast your votes for the Brisbane Queer Film Festival short film competition finalists at the Opening Night Gala, and then kick up your heels at the biggest queer party of the year, featuring Scissor Sisters’ Tour DJ Sammy Jo. Presented by Brisbane Powerhouse and Volkswagen, the Brisbane Queer Film Festival will engage you in a cinematic experience that no other festival can offer. See the Brisbane Powerhouse website for full details and tickets. Book online or call 07 3358 8600.
http://www.ourbrisbane.com/whatson/queer-film-festival/index.htm
16. BRISBANE ROLLER DERBY
May on
If you can’t play nice play Roller Derby. All grrrl skating teams in Brisbane. Check out websites for details on what, where, who and how.
http://rollerderby.com.au/
http://www.myspace.com/evildoll13
17. FEMINIST MOTHERHOOD FILM DISCUSSION
Sunday 25th May
Come along for the Australian screening of the light-hearted documentary "Martyred Moms - The Movie" and take part in the discussion afterwards. This American short film has just toured the U.S. independent film circuit and now is your chance to see it in Brisbane. Why do mothers feel so guilty all the time? How do we upend the guilt that leads to our martyrdom? What might our own mum have to do with our mother guilt? 11am-12.15pm on Sunday, 25 May 2008 Room E301 of the Forgan Smith Building (building no. 1 and main building of the Great Court), The University of Queensland, St Lucia (parking available). Brought to you by The School of Social Science, The University of Queensland and Brisbane Feminism Online
http://www.brisbanefeminismonline.net/
18. INTERNATIONAL GIRLS' SHORT FILMS
26 May 2008
A great selection of international short films for the girls. LOVE IS LOVE - This short muses on how life might be for heterosexuals, if the world were totally gay and they were the queers ones.
BONNE MERE - Alfred has left northern France to look for his mother in Marseille. She works as a prostitute, and he changes his name to be near her. B TEME (IN THE THEME) - A young married lesbian couple celebrate their first wedding anniversary. NO BIKINI - A look back at a few glorious days in Robin's childhood... When she was seven, she spent her holidays at a swimming camp. She decided to do without her bikini top and managed to pass for a boy for several weeks on end.DIR GESTIR (FAMILY REUNION) - New York lesbian Katrin struggles to come out to her relatives back in Iceland, but revelations at a family reunion challenge all her assumptions. HJERTEKLIPP (HEARTCUT) - Eva is 16 years old and falls in love with Inger. Inger is her father's new girlfriend. Heartcut is a warm and humorous drama between a father, a girlfriend, and a daughter that didn't want to, but couldn't resist. A story about first love. FLOWERS AT THE PARK - Easy going Ana and neurotic Lola arrange to meet in the park. Lola will bring flowers and Ana will bring doubt and excuses. LONG AGO - A hairstyle that won't go away mirrors the difficulty of moving on after a romance has ended. PAGINAS DE MENINA (PAGES OF A GIRL) - Ingrid is a young woman whose life opens up to new options when she meets her older, more experienced book store manager, Sylvia. 7pm
http://www.ourbrisbane.com/whatson/performingarts/partner_events.php?eid=97933
19. SEPARATION BOOK - 7TH EDITION
The Latest edition of our most popular publication is now available. It has been extensively updated to reflect legislative changes to Family Law and includes expanded sections on mediation pathways and children's issues. For the first time in several years we have had to raise the price of the Separation Booklet due to increased publishing costs. However, clients of WLS are able to receive a free copy of the book, upon request.
http://www.wlsq.org.au/
20. AFFECTIVE RHYTHMS IN DOMESTIC LIFE: SOUNDSCAPES AND THE QUEST FOR AFFECTIVE EQUILIBRIUM
Tuesday 27th May 2008
Associate Professor Jo Ann Taachi This seminar will explore sonic and affective aspects of domestic living. Based on an ethnographic study of radio sound in domestic spaces, it is about affective relationships and individual ‘mood’, or ‘feeling’, in routinised everyday domestic life in the context of wider society. It is about establishing the notion of ‘affective rhythms’ in everyday life. Through exploring the affective qualities of radio and other recorded sound and its capacity for mood generation in the home, this seminar explores personal affective states and personal organisation. These things are considered in relation to aspects of sociality, how sound can act to create links through time and space. The concept of ‘affective rhythm’ forces us to consider the idea of mood in the light of the routine nature of everyday domestic life. Affective rhythm’ relates both to mood, and to routine. It is the combination of both that allows the possibility of thinking about sound and affect, and how they relate to, and integrate with, routine everyday life. Underlying this research is a recognition of the impetus in domestic settings to achieve affective equilibrium which helps us to make our lives meaningful and feelingful. How we feel is important and the consumption of media, and in this study, specifically the use of radio sound, plays a significant role. 2.00pm-3.30pm Social Sciences and Humanities Library Conference Room Level 1 Duhig Building
http://www.cccs.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=81567&pid=16096
21. RECONCILIATION WEEK
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2008 is: Reconciliation: it's all our story.
27 May - 3 June
Contact - Phone: 02 6273 9200
Fax: 02 6273 9201
Email: anna.boots@reconciliation.org.au
Website:www.reconciliation.org.au/i-cms.isp
22. REFUGEE WOMEN'S FORUM
28th June
A Refugee Women's Forum is being planned on 28 June as part of Refugee Week 2008.The aim of this forum is to showcase the wonderful achievements of refugee women in Brisbane and to explore opportunities for collaboration and development. The organizing team are looking for 12 willing women to act as scribes and small group facilitators to lead and record small group discussions for approximately 90 minutes in the afternoon of Sat 28th June (venue to be confirmed). This is a historic event and we would welcome your contributions and support. Grace Samuel from QPASTT will be soon distributing invitations and guidelines for facilitators and scribes. Please email Grace on gracesamuel@qpastt.org.au or phone 3120 1533 if you are able to offer your time and skills on the day.
http://www.barc.org.au/cms/
23. THE BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL FEMINIST CONFERENCE
September 08
The Brisbane International Feminist Conference 2008 aims to further feminist dialogues about the status of women and the continued violence against women and children as human rights violations. Conference organisers believe that the status of women in Australia and indeed globally, has been on the decline in the last decade. The 2008 International Feminist Conference’s overall goal is to provide a forum to bring feminist thinkers, researchers, academics, service providers and community women together, to share information about pressing violations against women and children.
http://www.brisfeministconference08.org.au/
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POSITIONS VACANT
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Positions Vacant
Closing in May
http://www.qcoss.org.au/Article.aspx?type=job
Position Vacant : Health Promotions Officer
13th May
http://www.womhealth.org.au/positionsvacant/Health%20Promotion%20Officer.htm
Position Vacant:12 Month Locum Young Women’s Health & Childbirth Educator
Monday 31st May
Organisation: Young Parents Program (YPP) Location: Kedron Brisbane Young Parents Program is a small community based organization. The YPP team provides health and support services to pregnant and parenting young women through individual support, counselling, antenatal education, support groups, advocacy and community education. YPP is looking for a locum Young Women’s Health & Childbirth Educator for 12 months, to commence employment in June 08. The position is for 32 hours per week and is paid at SACS level 5.3. Salary sacrificing and other above award conditions are available. Working hours are flexible depending upon organisational need, but are between business hours Monday to Friday. For more information or a selection package please phone 33579944 or email ypp@iinet.net.au. Applications close: 4pm Monday 31st May, 2008.
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SITES OF INTEREST
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Everyone's Got A Bottom
— a storybook for children aged 3-8 years
"This little book is badly needed for helping parents, carers, teachers and child care personnel to keep children safe." — Professor Freda Briggs
http://www.fpq.com.au/teaching_aids/everyones_got_a_bottom.stm
Security4Women
Security4Women (S4W) investigates the issues that impact on the lifelong economic well being of Australian women. We believe that long term economic wellbeing empowers women to make choices and it enriches all aspects of our lives including education, health, employment, safety and financial wellbeing. S4W is one of the four National Women’s Secretariats funded by the Office for Women.
http://www.security4women.com/
Online Health & Safety Workshop for Sex Workers
An online resource about safe sex and STD’s developed for sex workers but relevant to any sexually active woman
http://www.sqwisi.org.au/sqwisi/workshop/Workshop1.jsp
About StepOne
StepOne provides guidance and practical resources to councils and community groups interested in implementing community harmony initiatives in their local areas. The site features downloadable ‘best practice’ case studies covering a range of communities and issues, especially those which: * Reduce racism, intolerance, and negative stereotypes,Build positive and sustainable relationships between communities,Get communities working together and interacting,Deal with the ‘difficult stuff’ of living together, not just soft multiculturalism,Move beyond the ‘multicultural festival’ model (food, dance etc),Show us how to live in harmony, making the most of our racial, cultural, social and religious diversity.
http://www.stepone.org.au/
ErgoCarriers – best for mothers and babies
Keeping your baby close to you is the best way of introducing him or her to the world. The Ergo Baby Carrier enables you to do just that while freeing you to do all the things you need to do. Babies love it - and so will you!
http://www.tendernest.com.au/
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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Starhawk deported from Israel
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/03/16/18486094.php
Starhawk, well known American anarchist activist was deported by the Israeli government on Thursday. Altho she practices the Pagan religion, she is very proud of her Jewish heritage. Starhawk, author of many works celebrating the Goddess movement and Earth-based, feminist spirituality arrived in Tel Aviv Wednesday, 12 March. She was in Palestine to help teach a permaculture course in the northern West Bank as well as working with earth activists to develop a project in the Bethlehem area. (03/16/08)
Turkey's headscarf loosening
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3530
Standing outside of Istanbul's Bilgi University, first-year student Efna Yilmazer was wearing a bright orange, floral pattern headscarf and a big smile on her face. The Turkish parliament had recently passed a set of constitutional reforms lifting a decades-old ban on wearing headscarves in universities, and this was the first week that Yilmazer could openly wear hers to school. (03/17/08)
Pregnant man defends reproductive rights
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4581943&page=1
Thomas Beatie, a former woman who is now a pregnant man, defended his decision today to have a baby, saying he has a "right to have a biological child." Despite removing his breasts, growing a wispy beard and legally having his gender changed from female to male, Beatie, 34, kept his female sex organs intact because he hoped to have a child some day. After years of struggling with his sexual identity and deciding to live as a man, he did the most womanly thing possible -- he became pregnant. (04/03/08)
CO College punishes satire by students
http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/9096.html
Two students at Colorado College were found guilty of violating the school's conduct code regarding "violence" after they distributed a satirical flyer mocking a publication of the Feminist and Gender Studies program. As part of their punishment, student Chris Robinson and a second student have been required to hold a campus forum discussing issues brought up by their satirical publication. The students have turned to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help. (03/31/08)
UK, 1st human animal embryos bring opposition
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aJ3CQTnZHoVc&refer=exclusive
The creation of the U.K.'s first part-human, part-animal embryos may increase pressure on Parliament for tougher regulations on stem cell research. Lyle Armstrong and colleagues at Newcastle University made embryos using human cells and a cow egg, the college said yesterday in a statement on its Web site. Debate in the U.K. over the so-called hybrid embryos increased after Catholic leaders, in Easter sermons, attacked the technique used for making stem cells. (04/02/08)
FL abortions may require ultrasound
http://www.miamiherald.com/516/story/481033.html
A woman seeking an abortion in Florida would first have to get an ultrasound and review or turn down seeing the picture of the fetus, under a bill that passed the state House Wednesday, largely along party lines. After nearly two hours of debate and questions, the House voted 70-45 to require doctors to perform an ultrasound any time a woman seeks an abortion and make the results available for review unless the woman signs a paper refusing to see it. A similar measure is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate next week. (04/03/08)
Prison sex change case gets new look
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/01/sex.change.killer.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest
The new commissioner of the state's prison system said Tuesday he plans to re-examine the case of a convicted killer suing the Department of Correction to try to get a sex-change operation. Prison officials have strenuously opposed a request from Michelle Kosilek to have the surgery, saying it could make her a target for sexual assault by other inmates. But Department of Correction Commissioner Harold Clarke, who took over the department in November, said he has not decided whether to continue to fight Kosilek's request. (04/01/08)
EU to propose landmark cybercrime guidelines
https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=PR218(2008)&Language=lanEnglish&Ver=original&Site=DC&BackColorInternet=F5CA75&BackColorIntranet=F5CA75&BackColorLogged=A9BACE
To reinforce the fight against internet-based crimes – from child pornography and racism to identity theft, fraud and cyber terrorism – a Council of Europe conference in Strasbourg on 1 and 2 April will gather experts from all over the world, as well as representatives of governments, police forces and the Internet industry – including Microsoft, eBay, Symantec and McAfee. In a series of workshops, participants will review the effectiveness of current cybercrime legislation, identify new threats and trends and discuss ways to improve international co-operation and the functioning of the 24/7 contact points. (03/28/08)
Married troops can live together in Iraq
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/COMBAT_MARRIAGES?SITE=IADES&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-03-31-23-13-38
In a historic but little-noticed change in policy, the Army is allowing scores of husband-and-wife soldiers to live and sleep together in the war zone - a move aimed at preserving marriages, boosting morale and perhaps bolstering re-enlistment rates at a time when the military is struggling to fill its ranks five years into the fighting. (04/01/08)
EU, Gay may have right to partner's pension
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aZIHAYO279to
The European Union's highest court ruled that a gay man may have the right to receive a share of his dead partner's pension in a case that could help define the rights of same-sex couples throughout Europe. Tadao Maruko, a 65-year-old German who has waged a three- year fight for his partner's life savings, argued he was discriminated against by a pension fund that refused to recognize the couple's relationship on par with marriage. (04/01/08)
Some Asians families in US choosing sons
http://www.wflxfox29.com/Global/story.asp?S=8097575&nav=menu98_3
Having sons is important to many Asian cultures. And now, it appears some American families from those groups are asserting the same preference. A new analysis of the 2000 Census shows that among U.S. born children of Chinese, Korean and Asian Indian parents, the odds of having a boy increase if the family already has a girl or two. The study's authors don't know what method is being used for sex selection, but they speculate that the most common is fetal ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby followed by disproportionate abortion of females. (03/31/08)
Students change the subject on feminism
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/A-degree-of-difficulty-for.3929233.jp
In July, the final batch of UK undergraduates in women's studies will graduate – all 12 of them – from London Metropolitan University. A course that was fashionable for many years in the wake of the 1960s' feminist movement and available at many universities, will disappear off the academic map (03/31/08)
Uruguay holds Latin America's first gay wedding
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080417/lf_afp/uruguaysocietygaymarriage_080417212518
Uruguay on Thursday became the first nation in Latin America to marry a gay couple, after a law allowing couples living together to formalize their union went into effect at the start of the year. (04/17/08)
Iran frees women's rights activist
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/080417/world/iran_rights_women
Iran has freed a women's rights activist in her fifties whose arrest prompted a public protest letter signed by hundreds of her fellow campaigners, the Kargozaran newspaper reported on Thursday. It said that women's rights and environmental activist Khadijeh Moghaddam, 56, had been freed on Wednesday following her arrest on suspicion of "acting against national security" on April 8. (04/17/08)
France targets extreme thinness
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D902HBCG0&show_article=1
In image-conscious France, it may soon be a crime to glamorize the ultra-thin. A new French bill cracks down on Web sites that advise anorexics on how to starve—and could be used to hit fashion industry heavyweights, too. The groundbreaking bill, adopted Tuesday by Parliament's lower house, recommends fines of up to $71,000 and three-year prison sentences for offenders who encourage "extreme thinness." It goes to the Senate in the coming weeks. (04/15/08)
8-year-old girl divorces husband
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351388,00.html
An eight-year-old Yemeni girl was granted a divorce from an arranged marriage she was forced into in just the second grade. Nojud Mohammed Ali said she was forced to marry under an agreement reached between her unemployed father and 28-year-old former husband, Faez Ali Thameur, earlier this year, AFP reported. "They asked me to sign the marriage contract and remain in my father's house until I was 18," the girl told AFP. "But a week after signing, my father and my mother forced me to go live with him." (04/15/08)
Italy, Porn star unveils campaign
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL1080561820080411
She had no desire to be just another smiling face in Italian politics. So when porn star Milly D'Abbraccio designed her campaign posters, it was obvious she was going to show off her bottom. Targeting her male fan base, the veteran of Italy's adult entertainment industry has plastered images of her derriere all around the Eternal City in a bid to win a seat in Rome's city hall.
ACT abandons same-sex civil unions plans
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080504/2/16q1i.html
The ACT government has been forced to abandon plans to legally recognise same-sex civil union ceremonies after the Rudd government refused to support the move. The ACT government originally passed its Civil Partnerships Bill in 2006 but it was disallowed by the Howard government. Mr Corbell had hoped the new federal government would take a different approach, especially after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised in December not to interfere with state and territory legislation. But Mr Corbell said the ACT had been presented with a "stark choice" by the new government: proceed with the legislation and face certain veto or change the legislation. (05/04/08)
Iran, suspended lashing for feminist
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Gulf%2C+Middle+East+%26+Africa&month=May2008&file=World_News2008050223626.xml
Iran has handed a feminist a suspended sentence of 10 lashes and six months in prison, the Kargozaran newspaper reported yesterday, in the fourth such punishment for a women's rights activist in Iran within weeks. The sentence for Rezvan Moghadam imposed by Tehran's revolutionary tribunal is suspended for three years, meaning it will be implemented if she repeats the stated offence within that time.(05/02/08)
Congress passes anti-genetic discrimination bill
http://www.miamiherald.com/889/story/516696.html
Congress sent President Bush a bill Thursday forbidding employers and insurance companies from using genetic tests showing people are at risk of developing cancer, heart disease or other ailments to reject their job applications, promotions or health care coverage, or in setting premiums. Bush was expected soon to sign the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which lawmakers and advocates called "the first major civil rights act of the 21st century." Federal law already bans discrimination by race and gender. (05/01/08)
Iraq, honor killings on the rise
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/83710/
In Basra alone, police acknowledge that 15 women a month are murdered for breaching Islamic dress codes. Others say the number is higher. Violence against women is rampant, rising every day with the power of the militias. Beheadings, rapes, beatings, suicides through self-immolation, genital mutilation, trafficking and child abuse masquerading as marriage of girls as young as nine are all on the increase. (04/30/08)
DC madam commits suicide
http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/16113019/detail.html
Washington escort service operator Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed suicide Thursday by hanging herself in the garden shed behind her mother's home in Florida, police said. She was convicted April 15 by a federal jury of money laundering, using the mail for illegal purposes and racketeering. Prosecutors said Palfrey operated a prostitution service for 13 years, but she denied her escort service engaged in prostitution, saying that if any of the women engaged in sex acts for money, they did so without her knowledge. Palfrey faced a maximum of 55 years in prison and was free pending her sentencing July 24. One of her escort service employees committed suicide in January, before she was scheduled to go on trial on prostitution charges. (05/01/08)
NY judges challenge gov. in asylum case
http://www.silive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1209512945247040.xml&storylist=simetro
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Tuesday "grew increasingly impatient and sometimes angry" while listening to arguments from government lawyers in an asylum case concerning three women who underwent female genital cutting in Guinea, the AP/Staten Island Advance reports. The panel will determine if the Board of Immigration Appeals was right to deny asylum to the women and allow for their deportation.
China, children sold into slavery
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK27749620080429?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=22&sp=true
Thousands of children in southwest China have been sold into slavery like "cabbages", to work as labourers in more prosperous areas such as the booming southern province of Guangdong, a newspaper said on Tuesday. China announced a nationwide crackdown on slavery and child labor last year after reports that hundreds of poor farmers, children and mentally disabled were forced to work in kilns and mines in Shanxi province and neighboring Henan. (04/29/08)
Aussie same sex couples included under laws
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=aTXDPP1zGl7E
The Australian government said today it plans to remove discrimination against same-sex couples from about 100 laws covering taxation, welfare and employment entitlements, meeting an election pledge. Under the proposed changes, gays in long-term relationships will be treated the same as other de facto couples, Attorney- General Robert McClelland said in a statement. (04/30/08)
Abused Afghan women often up end in jail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080430.wchoke30/BNStory/National/home
Trafficked across the border from Pakistan with her 3-year-old son, Rukhma was handed to an Afghan who raped and abused her, then beat the toddler to death as she watched helplessly. He was jailed for 20 years for murder, but Rukhma ended up in prison too. Rukhma, who doesn't know her age but looks younger than 20, had put up with her mistreatment for three months last summer before seeking protection and justice from authorities. Instead she was given a four-year sentence on Dec. 5 for adultery and "escaping her house" in Pakistan, even though she says she was kidnapped and raped. (04/30/08)
MO, morning after pill restriction is error
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080430.wchoke30/BNStory/National/home
Pro-abortion-rights Missouri Senators were briefly on the record Tuesday as supporting a bill with language that labeled the so-called "morning after" abortion pill a controlled substance. The bill, designed to track the sale of controlled substances and cold medicines, would have labeled the controversial RU-486 abortion pill a controlled substance. That put it in the same category as codeine, morphine, opium and pain pills. Turns out it wasn't supposed to be in the bill. It was left in because of a clerical error. The House had originally tacked it on as amendment. (04/30/08)
Canada, People can't invite violent sex acts
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080430.wchoke30/BNStory/National/home
A willing partner to "rough sex" could not legally consent to be choked into unconsciousness and sexually violated, an Ottawa judge has ruled in a bizarre case involving a couple whose eight-year relationship featured a raunchy sex life. Judge Dianne Nicholas, of the Ontario Court, convicted the defendant of sexually assaulting his partner during a sex session in which he choked her into unconsciousness and then committed a sex act on her inert body. "It is my belief that the reasonable man would conclude that choking someone to the point of unconsciousness does interfere with that person's 'health or comfort,' and can, in some cases, endanger life," Judge Nicholas said. (04/30/08)
NC, Monitors taken off four sex offenders
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/story/1053739.html
Four sex offenders hooked to satellite tracking systems had ankle bracelets and signal boxes removed after a Wake Superior Court judge ruled they shouldn't be subject to lifetime monitoring. The ruling Thursday by Judge Ripley Rand was the latest rejection of the state's attempts to track sex offenders who have finished their sentences. Across the state, 122 people are subject to tracking, and many are contesting it. (04/29/08)
UK, legal abortions, 40 year anniversary
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/abortion-act-forty-years-of-freedom-to-choose-816116.html
The Abortion Act, which took effect 40 years ago today [Sunday], was designed to end an illegal trade in back-street operations that frequently led to women suffering terrible injuries. Dr David Paintin, a retired obstetrician, had to deal regularly with the aftermath of illegal abortions. "When I was first appointed in the early 1960s at St Mary's Hospital, London, we were admitting five to 10 women a day with pain and bleeding from early pregnancy," he said. "At the time we just called them incomplete abortions." The number of women opting for abortion has more than doubled since 1968. In 2006 there were just over 200,000 procedures in the UK. (04/27/08)
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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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