Back in March when shit hit the fan in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt the military were carrying out secret 'tests'. Women were being 'tested' to prove that they were virgins so that they could say they had not been sexually assaulted. This is based on their misguided thinking that if a woman is a virgin, the sexual assault will affect her much more than it otherwise might.
For women to accuse men of sexually assaulting them during the revolutionary uprising would not stand if they were not virgins. To be believed they had to be pure, untouched and virginal.
The thing is, when you 'test' for virginity by shoving your disgusting, non-medically trained hands up a women's vagina, more often than not, you'll end up breaking the hymen = NOT A VIRGIN. And then you've added to the list of women who are no longer eligible to complain about a sexual assault.
Well, one woman has defied all odds and IS COMPLAINING... to Human Rights Watch. It's extremely brave of her to do so given that the military are still very much in charge of Egypt and she could face worse assaults than a virginity test..
However, it gives women hope. That they too will be able to stand and fight for their rights without being tested for something that is so precious to us all.
S
Nov 6, 2011
Oct 16, 2011
If you're ugly.....you ain't going nowhere
Miss Representation Film - WATCH THIS - The film explores how the media’s misrepresentation of women has led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence.
We need more female representation in all public spheres - especially politics and in the media. People learn so much more from the media than any other source of information - it shapes our politics, our national discourse and our perceptions of what it is to be a man or a woman in today's society.
Women are too often judged on how they look, putting aside their intellectual capacity or power to make a difference. From a young age we are programmed to believe that we will be successful if we look good and men will appreciate us if we look good - from Barbies to silly rom-coms, the message is clear: Look beautiful and you'll make it.
Our media (which is predominantly made up of men..) seems to enjoy patronising and undermining strong women who are in powerful posts. A strong example that stands out is Mary Portas' insult directed at the female members of the cabinet, calling them all 'an ugly bunch'. Her insult along with 'Calm down dear..' undermine the integrity and public face of our most talented female politicians.
The same happened in Spain when Zapatero formed his cabinet, compromised of 9 female members (hurrah!) - but what did the media focus on? Their dress sense.... their looks.... their sensuality and the fact one of them was pregnant AND head of the armed forces.... how DARE a women lead our armed forces... isn't that a man's job? NO!
We must fight these preconceptions, fight for more female representation and put pressure on the media to create more female dominate roles to provide better role models for the future generation of women.
S
We need more female representation in all public spheres - especially politics and in the media. People learn so much more from the media than any other source of information - it shapes our politics, our national discourse and our perceptions of what it is to be a man or a woman in today's society.
Women are too often judged on how they look, putting aside their intellectual capacity or power to make a difference. From a young age we are programmed to believe that we will be successful if we look good and men will appreciate us if we look good - from Barbies to silly rom-coms, the message is clear: Look beautiful and you'll make it.
Our media (which is predominantly made up of men..) seems to enjoy patronising and undermining strong women who are in powerful posts. A strong example that stands out is Mary Portas' insult directed at the female members of the cabinet, calling them all 'an ugly bunch'. Her insult along with 'Calm down dear..' undermine the integrity and public face of our most talented female politicians.
The same happened in Spain when Zapatero formed his cabinet, compromised of 9 female members (hurrah!) - but what did the media focus on? Their dress sense.... their looks.... their sensuality and the fact one of them was pregnant AND head of the armed forces.... how DARE a women lead our armed forces... isn't that a man's job? NO!
We must fight these preconceptions, fight for more female representation and put pressure on the media to create more female dominate roles to provide better role models for the future generation of women.
S
Oct 9, 2011
Women4Peace
And the winner for the Nobel Peace Prize is........
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia
Leymah Gbowee Liberia
Tawakul Karman,Yemen
awarded for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work."
The fact that these 3 women have been given the Nobel Peace prize is evidence that women are key to developing more stable, happier and fairer societies.
The only way to achieve gender equality in social, economic and political spheres is to give women a voice and give them the same opportunities as men to influence development at all levels.
Congratulations to these 3 amazing role models and let's hope they act as an inspiration for all societies to achieve true gender equality.
S
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia
Leymah Gbowee Liberia
Tawakul Karman,Yemen
awarded for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work."
The fact that these 3 women have been given the Nobel Peace prize is evidence that women are key to developing more stable, happier and fairer societies.
The only way to achieve gender equality in social, economic and political spheres is to give women a voice and give them the same opportunities as men to influence development at all levels.
Congratulations to these 3 amazing role models and let's hope they act as an inspiration for all societies to achieve true gender equality.
S
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