With the primaries winding down and the outcome not looking good, my thoughts are turning toward activism that doesn’t require the “correct” person(s) winning election. So let’s look at a few effective women warriors we haven’t profiled lately (with apologies to OB if she’s already featured them!).
Mari Copeny, “Little Miss Flint”: (born 2008) She brought President Obama’s and the nation’s attention to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. She wants us to realize that Flint is far from the only American city with aging water infrastructure and water quality problems. She organizes bottled water drives, and drives for clothing and school supplies for children in need. She brought Elon Musk to her school. She plans to run for President in 2044.
My advice to girls is to always believe in yourself and in the work that you are doing, even if the work is hard and it sometimes feels impossible…. You can do it. You can change the world right now.
Marley Dias, founder, #1000BlackGirlBooks: (born 2005) Sick of schoolbooks “all about white boys and their dogs,” she determined to promote books with black girls as main characters; in so doing, she has changed children’s literature and become an author herself.
Frustration is fuel that can lead to the development of an innovative and useful idea.
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Innovation comes from, one, acknowledging yourself; two, studying and understanding the problem, and three, finding a solution…. It’s a typical adventure in a hero story, which I now live today.
Margot Fink of Australia: Trans communication manager at Minus 18: (born 1994) Advocate for LGBTI youth in Victoria, works with police and schools on safety issues. Creates multimedia content. Organizes events, parades and festivals.
Since I started to volunteer, that timid quiet anxious young person would never have been able to accomplish what I have and I would have that sense of peace if not for that great community…. I want to expand that… and give young people voices.
Rania al Yassin of Kuwait: Now Queen Rania of Jordan: (born 1970) Degree in business, refugee with her family from the first Gulf War, worked for Apple until she met the Prince who unexpectedly became King. Advocate for education, public health, youth empowerment, cross-cultural dialogue. Outspoken opponent of “honor” killings. Uses technology for advocacy and to dispel stereotypes. Encourages innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, global education, and sustainable development. Honorary doctorate in science development and international cooperation.
I just wake up and feel like a regular person…. At the end of the day you are living your life for the people that you represent. It's an honour and a privilege to have that chance to make a difference—a qualitative difference in people's lives—and it's my responsibility to make the most out of that opportunity.
Unity Dow of Botswana: “Fearless legal eagle”: (born 1959) After becoming a lawyer, she sued her government to declare her children citizens and won after 5 years, equalizing citizenship rights of men and women. Botswana’s government then commissioned a study to determine and change other laws that discriminated against women. Unity Dow was the first female judge appointed to Botswana’s high court, found in favor of the Bushmen’s rights to their ancestral lands. Currently minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation.
When you start to practice you realize how just the language of the law is so male, the culture of the law is so male…. You're beginning to think, 'I don't think it should be like this, I have a right to be here, I've earned the right to be here and therefore this whole environment should be about me as well.’
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[About her citizenship case:]
There were times where I was really energized, feeling I'm going to win this battle; there were times where I really felt so despondent; there were times when I felt so angry, and I think I cried many more times during that period than any other time in my life.
There are, of course, innumerable others. Next time you’re feeling discouraged, I hope you’ll read more about them.
in other news
Around the World
Mexico
'We'll disappear': Thousands of Mexican women strike to protest femicide
Day Without Women protesters aim to shine a light on government inaction as more than ten women are murdered every day. https://www.theguardian.com/…
Australia
All About Women: Female police stations could help fix family violence, and other takeaways from the Sydney All About Women festival. https://www.theguardian.com/…
Reuters via medscape: An Australian court on Tuesday [March 3] ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay three women a total of A$2.6 million (US$1.7 million) plus legal costs as compensation for misleading patients and surgeons about the risks of its pelvic mesh implants.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Congolese Rape Survivors Re-Enact Trauma in New Film
Rape survivors in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo [took] their stories to the screen in a film [that premiered] in the United States [at the DC Independent Film Festival on Sunday, International Women's Day] written and acted by the women themselves.
The movie SEMA, meaning "speak out" in Swahili, is a fictional story about two rape survivors. Based on personal experiences, it follows their struggle to rebuild their lives, combat stigma and, in one case, accept the resulting child.
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Rape has been widely documented as a weapon of war in eastern Congo, which remains largely controlled by militia groups since the end of a 1998-2003 war in which foreign armies and rebels vied for control over mineral resources.
The film was created by about 60 members of the National Movement of Survivors of Sexual Violence, partly to raise awareness and partly as a form of therapy, said Tatiana Mukanire, the 36-year-old coordinator of the movement.
United Kingdom
"From nurses to taxi drivers, people across the Commonwealth will be offered training on how to spot signs of domestic abuse under a plan launched [last Friday], aimed at creating a network of skilled bystanders to intervene and support victims.” www.reuters.com/…
The project aims to reach and train people in positions to act and help those who might be abused but are struggling to seek assistance, said Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland ... "This is everybody's business .. It's an opportunity to say to people 'There is a need for you to assist because if you don't intervene ... that person's life may be at risk....'"
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The training is part of a wider program aimed at tackling domestic abuse in partnership with the NO MORE Foundation, a global network of 1,400 organizations working to stop domestic and sexual abuse.
The article also notes that victims may be male or female, straight or LGBT+.
Argentina
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Amid a renewed push in Argentina to legalize abortion,
filmmaker Andrea Testa hopes to spotlight the plight of young women in a country where campaigners say that every three hours a girl between 10 to 14 years old gives birth.
Testa's new documentary, "Girl Mother," follows women from socially vulnerable backgrounds who are forced to have children under Argentine law where abortion is illegal, except in cases of rape and when there is danger to life or health.
"Many girls are in this situation because of violence, not only because of unplanned pregnancies which they have to take care of," Testa, 32, said an interview with Reuters.
It comes at a time of potential tectonic shifts in Argentina, where President Alberto Fernandez is pushing a bill to Congress to legalize abortion that would make the country the first major economy in Latin America to do so....
Education
"1 in 3 boys don't believe girls have the same right to education, new survey finds": https://www.independent.co.uk/… Survey also finds discrimination against refugees (bet you’re not surprised). This was done in the UK, but I’m assuming the results would be similar in the US.
According to the survey, 89 per cent of respondents aged 14-30 believe that education is a basic human right. However, just 44 per cent strongly agreed that refugees deserve this right.
Additionally, just 62 per cent of boys aged 16 to 18 said they strongly believe that girls and boys have an equal right to education.
The survey found that young women felt differently - with 90 per cent of girls aged 16 to 18 strongly believing that they have an equal right to education, and 62 per cent of girls believing refugees should be afforded the same right.
What the heck, boys and girls? Would you rather have uneducated refugees??
“Education is the key which unlocks so many types of change - on climate, health, science and prosperity. We mustn’t lose sight of that,”
Sex Trafficking
Prince Andrew won't voluntarily cooperate in Epstein inquiry, prosecutor says
Despite public offer to help with investigation Andrew has ‘completely shut the door’, and New York attorney general is now considering other options.
https://www.theguardian.com/…
Porn
"World's biggest porn site under fire over rape and abuse videos": https://www.theguardian.com/...
"An online petition accusing Pornhub, the UK’s biggest open access porn site, from profiting from videos of rape and sexual abuse has reached over 350,000 signatures."
(Again, not likely just a UK story — come on, guys, tell me you’ve never watched.)
Sexual Assault and Rape
This bus driver deserves some serious reprimanding, to say the least... "Two Georgia boys stripped disabled girl naked and raped her on school bus after two weeks of horrific abuse": https://meaww.com/...
"The young girl recounted the horrific details of the assault — all within the view of the driver operating a bus that was specifically designed for students with special needs that contained only 3 or 4 rows of seating".
The driver was “separated from the district” after “half-heartedly” reporting he “noticed something”.
But it’s not just the driver: There was supposed to be a monitor on the bus. That person had been removed and was not replaced until after this rape had been reported and confirmed. Every bus had video and audio recordings that could be reviewed daily, but were not until afterward. So with multiple ways to ensure student safety, the district could not be bothered.
Needless to say, I hope she wins her lawsuit. Bigly.
More Sexual Assault and Rape — specifically, Weinstein
Finally, a little justice: Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years!!!
Weinstein stuck to the standard talking points at his sentencing hearing, claiming men are "confused" about consent, and even decrying a lack of "due process" after he was tried by a jury and found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
New York judge James Burke, New York Supreme Court, imposed 20 years for a first-degree criminal sex act and 3 years for a third-degree rape, to run consecutively. https://www.theguardian.com/...
Will he get off for good behavior? Maybe not. https://www.nbcnews.com/... He has 10 years of probation after the 23 when/if he gets out. And he still faces charges in LA.
Standing trial in a court of law and a jury debating, then rendering a verdict, with the judge pronouncing sentence, is the very definition of due process. Just sayin.
How will this win play out in terms of greater safety in the lives of ordinary women?
The MeToo Backlash, HBR: https://hbr.org/...
Surveys found that both men and women are well aware of what sexual harassment is. Only about 20% of harassed women reported it, for fear of negative consequences and a "troublemaker" label. Because of #MeToo, 74% of women thought they'd be more likely to speak out and 77% of men thought they'd be more careful to be appropriate. But about a fifth of men said they'd be less likely to hire attractive women, or to hire women at all for jobs involving close interactions with men. And 27% of men avoid one-on-one meetings with women, "the Mike Pence effect".
Researchers found that most harassment training is ineffective because it teaches what harassment is, which everyone already knows. More effective is training that reduces sexism and builds character.
Their data also shows that people of high character—those who display virtues such as courage—are less likely to harass and more likely to intervene when others do.
Polygamy
Polygamy is about to be decriminalised in Utah. Is it good news for women?
Advocates say the criminalisation of polygamy made it hard for women who needed help to get it – and hope a new bill will allow them to step out of the shadows. https://www.theguardian.com/...
Reproductive News
Whoever is our nominee needs to adopt this: As reported by Walter Einenkel, "Sanders releases big reproductive justice plan to codify Roe v. Wade into law,” https://www.dailykos.com/… It starts with repealing the Hyde Amendment.
Sanders’ policy also puts forth a plan to “Codify Roe v. Wade in legislative statute,” while also requiring “all judicial nominees to support Roe v. Wade as settled law.” Sanders hopes that... he can appeal to many segments of the electorate who may not fully understand the positive ramifications of the universal healthcare model…. Sanders also points to a need to end the black maternal mortality crisis by increasing funding in communities of color and working for “women of color-led community organizations”....
The Sanders plan also includes pushes to... improve patient safety..., including limits on over-working medical staff…. It is nice to see the campaign working to explain the nuances of how economic, racial, and gender justice are tied together by policy.
More like this from all politicians and reporters, please!
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has proclaimed March 10 as Abortion Provider Appreciation Day
On Tuesday, Gender Justice and the Whole Woman’s Health Alliance announced the news and applauded Frey’s proclamation. National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day first began in 1996 to honor the life of Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider who was shot and killed on March 10, 1993.
The proclamation also comes days after abortion providers and their attorneys argued before the Supreme Court in the June Medical Services v. Russo case. The result of the case could impact abortion access across the country.
Frey says the proclamation honors a local abortion provider, Whole Woman’s Health, which has provided reproductive health care to Minnesotans since 2012.
“Every day, abortion providers like [these] deliver high quality care in the face of harassment and threats to abortion access at the federal and local levels,” Frey said. “I’m proud to recognize today as Abortion Provider Appreciation Day to celebrate Whole Woman’s Health as an essential part of our community.”
The Supreme Court isn’t expected to make a decision in June Medical Service v. Russo until later this year.
“This Bill Could Send Women Who Perform Their Own Abortions to Prison for 15 Years”: https://www.vice.com/… This is a Utah law and includes women who take abortion pills, and will of course most heavily impact those with poor access to abortion facilities. It would be triggered if SCOTUS overturns Roe v. Wade.
“Kentucky House passes bill specifying women have no constitutional right to abortion”: https://www.courier-journal.com/… Note Democrats and women fighting the good fight:
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, called the bill "another arrogant, patronizing piece of legislation" meant to belittle women.
Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, while holding her newborn infant, spoke against HB 67 and said women with nonviable pregnancies must maintain their right to have an abortion, which the constitutional amendment would take away.
Elizabeth Warren
Once again, voters tell us that women are always good enough to support our leaders, but never quite good enough to lead. What is it about the United States? There are of course articles saying she lost because she's a woman. And there are of course articles saying the problem wasn't "a woman," it was "this woman”. This article comes the closest to what I think: "Elizabeth Warren's Women Stare Into a 2020 Void," https://newrepublic.com/...
I’ve watched the debates, and Warren is hands down the smartest and most competent person on stage. But it just doesn’t matter. It’s as if the Democratic electorate has collectively decided that it tried the girl candidate once and it did not work out, so never again.
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No woman is ever the “right” woman… it doesn’t matter if you think bigger and deeper than everyone else, connect the dots, win the debates, and plot the real-world strategy, all while grounding it in extraordinary humanity and humility: She’s still going to lose.
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We came of age having received the tidy assurance that we were equal and could do anything. Then we actually grew up.
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Folks are fine with women doing the custodial work of democracy. Sinking candidates that shouldn’t be there, writing actual plans for the progressive revolution, and in Black women’s case—us showing up to vote, as long as we don’t demand too much.
Sports — The Good and the Bad (besides they won’t be around much now)
"U.S. Soccer Argues Women's National Team Doesn't Deserve Equal Pay Because They Are Less Skilled And Have Less 'Responsibility' Than Men": https://www.comicsands.com/…
In follow-up to the soccer story, however: “Head Of U.S. Soccer Resigns After Equal Pay Backlash”: https://www.huffpost.com/...
”Carlos Cordeiro, the president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, resigned Thursday amid the fallout over an equal pay lawsuit filed by dozens of players on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.
…
Cordeiro’s decision comes after BuzzFeed News published court documents from an equal pay lawsuit filed by 28 women on the national team, in which attorneys for the federation argued that the women’s team’s players should not be paid the same salaries as men because male soccer players had greater skill and carried “more responsibility” than their female counterparts.”
Volkswagen and Coca-Cola, major soccer sponsors, found these arguments “unacceptable and offensive”. Whoops! Soccer has a new legal team. Soccer is most likely in violation of their morals clauses in their contracts with sponsors.
Cordeiro’s replacement is Cindy Parlow Cone, former women’s player and VP. She will serve at least for a year, until the next election. The men’s union has issued a statement in solidarity with the women! The case is now likely to settle. Heh.
and finally, please remember to wash your hands often!
Relearning to Wash our Hands, a prayer poem by Dori Midnight
(please click the link to read the whole poem, I can only excerpt!)
We are humans relearning to wash our hands.
Washing our hands is an act of love.
Washing our hands is an act of care.
Washing our hands is an act that puts the hyper-vigilant body at ease.
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My friends, it is always true, these things.
It has already been time.
It is always true that we should move with care and intention, asking "Do you want to bump elbows instead?" with everyone we meet.
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It is already time that we might want to know who in our neighborhood has cancer, who has a new baby, who is old, with children in another state, who has extra water, who has a root cellar, who is a nurse, who has a garden full of elecampane and nettles.
It is already time that temporarily non-disabled people think about people living with chronic illness and disabled folks, that young people think about old people.
It is already time to stop using synthetic fragrances to not smell like bodies, to pretend like we’re all not dying.
It is already time to not take it personally when someone doesn’t want to hug you.
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Science says: Compassion strengthens the immune system.
We already know that, but capitalism gives us amnesia and tricks us into thinking it’s the thing that protect us, but it’s the way we hold the thing, the way we do the thing.
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It is time to think about stardust and geological time, redwoods and dance parties and mushrooms remediating toxic soil.
As always, this is a group effort! Many thanks to: Angmar, SandraLLAP, Tara the Anti-Social Social Worker, Mettle Fatigue, and the WOW crew for links and discussion!