WMC News & Features
Election Coverage Falls Short on “Women’s Issues”
The mainstream media misses the complexity of women’s lives in representing what’s important to women voters. The author (left) calls for a far more nuanced public conversation.
WMC FBomb
Stand With Malala
Malala Yousafzai has spent the last 3 years of her life in the pursuit of education and equality. As a result, she has spent the last 13 days in a hospital bed in Birmingham, England.
At 11 years old...
WMC Women Under Siege
With our campaign partners, we call on DRC to address increased insecurity in eastern Congo
We of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict stand with the women and men who are protesting today by organizing a ville morte in Bukavu. Last week, we were shocked to learn about the apparent assassination attempt on world-renowned surgeon, anti-rape activist, and our esteemed colleague: Dr. Denis Mukwege.
WMC News & Features
October 29, 2012 | Marianne Schnall |
Arts and culture,
International,
Politics,
Violence against women
"I Am Neda"—Beyond the Icon
The author, founder of Feminist.com, interviews the first-time filmmaker who is winning awards for her documentary on the woman whose death on the streets of Tehran helped kindle Iran's democracy movement.
WMC FBomb
An Interview with Peta Lindsay
Over the past few months, we have been inundated with news about Obama and Romney -- especially about their policies in terms of women. But did you know that there's a woman running for president? You...
WMC Women Under Siege
How the UK rejects refugees fleeing sexualized violence
A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angelique had already lived through horror. Her father had been a politician. During the civil war, rebel soldiers had come to the family compound, burned their house, and killed Angelique’s parents. She had been taken to prison, where she was made the sex slave of the prison governor. Despite the persecution she’d experienced, she was refused asylum.
WMC FBomb
Female Bodies and Positive Rhetoric
I recently came across a great article over at Healthy Is The New Skinny. I love it not just because it celebrates Christina Hendricks as one of the few contemporary celebrities who has healthy amount...
WMC Women Under Siege
Abused from Ethiopia to England: My story as a raped refugee
The day my life changed I was 23 years old. I come from Ethiopia. I always loved writing, and as soon as I finished high school I started to work at a newspaper. In 2001, I was reporting a student demonstration. The police came and started shooting people.
WMC News & Features
My Life in a Binder
The author, after three decades maneuvering through corporate America, writes about what it means to be one of a binder full of women, and how to break free.
WMC FBomb
On Cougars, Catfights and Cows
Fox, cow, bitch, vixen, cougar, whale, chick. What do these terms have in common? They refer to animals. Anything else? They also refer to women.
As someone who learned to speak English as a second l...
WMC Women Under Siege
Beneath the law: When the system inherently favors the rapist
Back in April, I wrote for WMC’s Women Under Siege about the legal gender imbalance female victims of sexualized violence face around the world. But a disturbing recent investigation by the independent Indian weekly newsmagazine Tehelka suggests that the miscarriage of justice in some cases of rape and sexual assault might be linked to prejudice on the part of those delivering justice, rather than bias within the law itself.
WMC News & Features
Mongolian Women’s Hard-Won Victory
A small group of committed legislators in the Mongolian parliament are taking on the challenge of meeting the basic needs of women and children.
WMC FBomb
Why Does No One Talk About Sexual Assault in the LGTBQ Community?
For the most part, I exist within two realms: That of American women and that of LGBT Americans. When a friend makes the playful joke that my life is “sooo gay,” I can only agree. But it’s also “sooo ...
WMC FBomb
Support Women Artists Sunday: Kimbra
New Zealand pop singer Kimbra is a soulful vocalist with a bent toward jazzy R&B and indie rock-influenced dance music. Born Kimbra Johnson in Hamilton, New Zealand, Kimbra first began taking guit...
WMC FBomb
October 18, 2012 | Molly B |
Arts and culture
Girl
You don’t get to say
That because I was born with these parts
And not those
That I have to wear eyeliner
Or make someone breakfast
Or suck a dick
You don’t get to say
That I’m not a nice young lady...
WMC News & Features
Australia's Leader Meets Sexist Attacks Head On
Misogynist political talk has become a national issue in Australia after Prime Minister Julia Gillard confronted the Opposition leader for participating in sexist dialogue that this commentary's author had recently helped document.
WMC Women Under Siege
It’s not what women wear, it’s how we treat them: Revisiting the hijab
In September, I wrote a piece for WMC’s Women Under Siege about the hijab, or headscarf, and sexual assault against women in conservative Muslim societies. I chronicled the experiences of my sister Neelo, who experienced sharp harassment as a young girl while wearing a hijab in Pakistan. The premise of the piece was simple enough.
WMC News & Features
The Reality of the GOP Platform on Abortion
The author, who has conducted research in Mexico, offers a reality check on what could happen to U.S. women if the GOP succeeds in criminalizing abortion.
WMC FBomb
Who (Doesn’t) Run The World? Girls.
Only 20% of political leaders in the world are women. Women leaders are under-represented in every country, from Nepal, where my organization works, to the United States, where only 17% of Congress is...
WMC FBomb
A Newbie's Rant About Not Wanting Kids
“We’re constantly exposed to the stereotype that the only type of women who don’t want kids are the ones that choose a career over a family and who end up old, crazy cat ladies after retirement. W...
WMC News & Features
Why Teens’ Attitudes Matter
WMC contest winner Adora Svitak today delivers the Girls’ State of the Union Message at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Here she investigates what teens really think about sex.
WMC Women Under Siege
Rape in war: Are we getting it wrong?
Good news! We were wrong! Women are not being raped in terrible numbers around the world in conflict! I wish I could really say that. All day I’ve been hearing how a new report out today “upends” conventional wisdom on sexualized violence in war—that we’ve all got it wrong, that the media is misleading the world into thinking all conflicts are laden with rape, that statistics have been badly skewed in ways that make the problem seem worse than it is.
WMC Women Under Siege
No more moments of silence: How do we get from 'Take Back the Night' to 'Taking Down Rape Culture'?
On October 4, I gave the keynote address at St. John’s University in Queens, New York, for “Take Back the Night,” an international yearly march that began in the 1970s to protest violence against women. This is a version of that address.
WMC News & Features
October 08, 2012 | Ravenna Koenig |
Economy
New York's Firefighting Women
Women firefighters have served New York City for 30 years, but their numbers are still tiny in comparison to men. Recently a pioneer among them, Brenda Berkman, examined why.
WMC FBomb
Ladies Abound On The Small Screen--But Not Behind It
Mindy Kaling, breakout star of the Emmy-winning TV show, The Office, garners a lot of attention for her wit and comedic timing as Kelly Kapoor, Dunder Mifflin’s token mean girl and general hot mess. E...