This week's news from the front includes some battles won as well as battles that we are still fighting.
Reproductive Health
Here's a couple telling their story about how a Nebraska ban on abortions past 20 weeks brought them greater agony than they might have had otherwise. As you watch the video, think about how such bans are supposed to protect fetuses from the pain they might feel after 20 weeks. Then imagine the pain of feeling the uterus wall pressing in.
http://abcnews.go.com/...
A coalition of groups in Texas are mobilizing to get women to clinics for abortion and other reproductive health care after the closing of many clinics under their draconian new anti-abortion law. They are getting volunteers to transport and house women with no clinic nearby. This past Monday, they hosted an online telethon with an impressive list of celebrity supporters. I only managed to see a few short clips of it since the signal here was weak. They raised a good amount of money, but more would be welcome for this ongoing work.
https://www.facebook.com/...
http://www.nuestrotexas.org/...
There is a bill coming up in Congress that would establish a self-supporting insurance fund that would assure income to women after a birth, or during an illness. Here's a petition to encourage your representatives in Congress to support the bill:
http://action.momsrising.org/...
Violence Against Women
In India, after the global outrage at stories of rapes that left women and one man dead, laws about rape were changed and recently the adult perpetrators of the rape and beating of a young woman and her companion on a New Delhi bus, were given the death penalty. Yet, while arguing for legalization and taxation of gambling, a police chief compared it to rape: if you can't stop it you may as well enjoy it. He said the quote was taken out of context, but I have put it in context and it is just as outrageous.
The rape remarks came after a fatal rape of a 23-year old woman on a bus in New Delhi. This attack caused nationwide outrage and forced the government to change rape laws and create fast-track courts for rape cases. New laws introduced after the attack make stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment a crime. They also provide for the death penalty for repeat offenders or for rape attacks that lead to the victim’s deat
Here is a petition calling for his resignation:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/...
Let's save girls in Indonesia from having to pass a virginity test before enrolling in high school - boys would not have to pass such a test - and, besides the invasive and humiliating nature of such a test, requiring it could further victimize victims of rape.
http://www.globalpost.com/...
Meanwhile in Ghana, where police have not been enforcing laws against rape, 160 girls sued the government for not protecting them - and won! This story wins my profile in courage award for this week.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
https://secure.avaaz.org/...
Women and Culture
In India, there is a product for bleaching your intimate body parts - no, this isn't from The Onion. Color is a big issue in India, and the caste system was always about rating color. But this ad takes the prize for shaming women for their bodies. (They talk of vaginas, but clearly mean the external organs, clitoris and/or vulva.)
http://jezebel.com/...
And speaking of body image, have you ever wondered what lingerie would look like on your body instead of some model's? Even plus-size models tend to be a size 14. Well, here's a site that, following a customer's suggestion, now is using real-life women to model their lingerie.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...