WMC Women Under Siege
January 29, 2013 | Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Sussan Tahmasebi |
International,
Violence against women
Voices from the ground: How to help Syria’s humanitarian crisis
In recent months, the International Civil Society Action Network’s (ICAN) staff have held regular in-person and online consultations with Syrian civil society activists based inside the country or those who have recently left. They are providing relief and development support to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). This brief summarizes key priorities and recommendations on immediate humanitarian issues that must be addressed by the international community.
WMC Women Under Siege
Why I’m breaking the cycle of violence in Afghanistan
I never realized how devastating our culture was for women until my brother-in-law tortured my sister. Growing up in Afghanistan, I had already watched my father beat my mother—but that was seen as just another part of daily life. Then the cycle of violence continued when I myself became an abuser.
WMC FBomb
Your Happiness Is Not A Competition
Most of us tend to compare ourselves to others and then determine our self worth depending on how we measure up. This habit of comparing and competing might be addictive, but it can also be very harmf...
WMC FBomb
Saturday Vids: Trade of Innocents
I recently came across a movie that takes on the issue of human trafficking called Trade of Innocents starring Mira Sorvino and Dermot Mulroney. Although it doesn't look like the film is getting wid...
WMC FBomb
Israel's "Photoshop Law"
As of January 1, what the media has dubbed the “Photoshop Law” has gone into effect in Israel. This law mandates that models working in Israel have to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 18.5, th...
WMC Women Under Siege
January 23, 2013 Media,
Violence against women
Women’s Media Center, Columbia University sponsoring symposium on sexualized violence
The Women’s Media Center and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health on Friday are sponsoring a free symposium to discuss how to end global sexualized violence.
WMC FBomb
January 22, 2013 | Sarah E |
Feminism,
Gender-based violence,
International,
Religion,
Violence against women
The Surprising Similarities Between Burqas and Short Skirts
The Burqa ban is the cause of much debate in France. The ban sparked a discussion about human rights: do the citizens of France have free will to wear whatever they want? Is the next step to silence p...
WMC FBomb
Dear Schools, Please Stop Discriminating Based on Pregnancy. Thanks, Title IX
Imagine you’re an honors student at a community college. You’re doing great: you’ve got a merit-based scholarship and you’re enjoying your classes. You’re also pregnant and excited to welcome the new ...
WMC FBomb
Saturday Vids: Feminism F.A.Q's
Jarrah Hodge, writer and editor of Gender Focus, has a great vlog called "Feminism F.A.Q's" in which she answers basic questions about feminism. If you've ever had trouble answering your friends' ques...
WMC Women Under Siege
When will I 'earn' my right to safety?
Delhi. Ohio. Nepal. Around the world, women are suffering sexual assaults so heinous that they are making the headlines on an almost daily basis. And yet, almost inconceivably, governments, members of the judiciary, and authority figures around the world continue to advocate that the solution lies with women—that their behavior is to blame and that their behavior has the power somehow, magically, to prevent rape.
WMC FBomb
January 17, 2013 | Fran H |
Arts and culture,
Feminism
Feminism Is Not A Word We Use In Polite Society
They wanted to be blondes, all of them, at some point in their lives.
Natural honey or not, they believed when
Marilyn cooed, old, white male screenwriters her puppeteers,
“Gentlemen prefer blondes...
WMC FBomb
WMC FBomb
Saturday Vids: Girls Season 2
Season 2 of Lena Dunham's Girls premieres tomorrow. Feminists have had some pretty varied responses to Dunham's show...but what do you think? Will you be watching?
...
WMC FBomb
A (Rookie) Rookie Feminist
As a teenager, sometimes I believe that our generation is hopeless. Just walking through the hallway you can hear certain things that would make you want to sit everyone down on the spot and explain h...
WMC FBomb
Why I'm Not A "Feminist"
...because I'm actually a Feminist!. What's the difference? I use the term "Feminist" to refer to “Feminist” a stereotypical media character who exists to destroy what I call "Feminist!s" (the real de...
WMC Women Under Siege
January 03, 2013 | Lauren Wolfe |
Violence against women
What can we do to end rape in 2013?
On Tuesday, I wrote a piece for CNN calling to make 2013 The Year to End Rape. I know it’s wishful—there’s a lot to try to end: global legal failings that allow rapists to commit crimes with impunity; attitudes that blame the victim, leading to suicides and honor killings; misogyny that conditions men (and women) to view women and girls as less than human, as objects to be controlled.
WMC FBomb
It Starts In Childhood
This is the 21st century and women are somehow still being undermined all over the world. Incredible, isn't it? But what is the problem? What is making this cycle continue through all the years of fig...
WMC Women Under Siege
End culture of rape in 2013
On December 16, a young medical student in one of India's major cities was gang-raped, her body destroyed by the bodies of the men who allegedly assaulted her and also by the rusting metal bar doctors say they used to penetrate her. The bar removed part of her intestines. The rest were removed in a hospital far from home where she struggled for her life for just a few days.
WMC FBomb
The Opportunities and Perils of Being A North Korean Woman
While in the car I recently listened to an NPR story by Louisa Lim called Out of Desperation, North Korean Women become Breadwinners. Although considering North Korea's traditionally patriarchal socie...
WMC Women Under Siege
An open letter to the chief minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit
Dear Mrs. Dixit: I have read your comments on the Delhi gang-rape. I applaud your honesty in admitting failure, in admitting the dangerous condition of Delhi for women and your determination that there must be change. In a more cynical mood, I think that it is easy for you to make these admissions considering that you are not in charge of security. However, you are in charge of the city and the mindset thriving in it makes this your responsibility.
WMC Women Under Siege
A garden in Afghanistan: Women, roses, and guns
Sometimes an image comes across my desk that really grabs me. I was lucky enough to have this happen recently when I received a holiday card from a Belgian photographer named Wendy Marijnissen in my email. I clicked and found a strange twilight enveloping a garden of soft trees and red roses. In the middle of the picture a guard stands awkwardly with a gun. Plastic tents billow in the background. What exactly was I looking at? I asked Marijnissen to tell me more:
WMC FBomb
Embracing Femme
Ever since I was 11 years old, I’ve always been femme, to some extent. The extent of my femme depends really on my overall well-being. The better I feel, the more femme I am. The more makeup I put on,...
WMC Women Under Siege
Sexualized violence in Syria: Keeping track of a crisis in motion
On a still warm day in October, I sat on a panel of mostly Syrian women at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. One woman wore a wool scarf draped around her shoulders in the black, red, and green of the Free Syrian Army. Most wore a hijab, the Islamic headscarf. Turn by turn, we described our work documenting and assisting Syrian women and children who were drawn into the ongoing Syrian conflict.
WMC FBomb
Does It Make Me A Bitch To Turn Him Down?
In the midst of last year’s prom frenzy, as I was pulling my car out of the parking lot and waiting in line to leave, one of my friends popped into my car for a chat. He was irate: “Have you heard abo...
WMC FBomb
An Interview with Hudson Taylor of Athlete Ally
Hudson Taylor, a lifelong athlete and three-time NCAA All-American wrestler, is the founder of Athlete Ally, a nonprofit sports resource which, according to its website: "encourages all individuals in...