Archive for December, 2006

The sacrifice

Published by
Sarah
at December 30, 2006 in Iraq, Saddam Hussein, Uncategorized, death, imperialism and war. 1 Comment

This is huge. Iraqi Tyrant Saddam Hussein has been executed in Iraq at sunrise this morning.

Shortly before the execution, Saddam’s hat was removed and Saddam was asked if he wanted to say something, al-Askari said.

“No I don’t want to,” al-Askari, who was present at the execution, quoted Saddam as saying. Saddam repeated a prayer after a Sunni Muslim cleric who was present.

“Saddam later was taken to the gallows and refused to have his head covered with a hood,” al-Askari said. “Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: `God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab’.”

Even in death the wily old Baathist shows understanding of the three hot buttons which rule the hearts and minds of the region- Islam/ism, Arab nationalism/pride and Palestine. An basic understanding of which the invading powers have thoroughly underestimated.

Ironically his execution takes place on the day of the Muslim “Eid-ul-Adha.” On this day Muslims are required to sacrifice an animal or give to the poor in commemoration of Abraham’s willingess to sacrifice his son.

So now Saddam has been sacrificed on the altar of the new Iraqi justice system.

It is a boost for an embattled imperial power struggling to extricate itself from the increasingly uncontrollable quagmire the Iraqi adventure has become.

Let’s hope Hussein’s blood sacrifice helps absolve some of the bloodbath that the Iraqi disaster invasion has descended into.

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Lily Mazahery on the Ayatollah’s theocracy

Published by
Sarah
at December 21, 2006 in Ayatollah's Theocracy, Islam, fundamentalism, law, religion, violence against women and women in power. 0 Comments

A transcript of an awesome speech made by an Iranian-American attorney Lily Mazahery, Head of the Washington-based Legal Rights Institute, on the human rights situation of women and girls under the Iranian legal system. 

These are the type of women that western feminists need to get behind. This links to my earlier thread about the powerful potential of western muslim women to instigate change via non-violent means through the power of ideas.

This kind of global grassroots movement by people who are deeply rooted and have a genuine passion and knowledge of the societies they are attempting to reform makes them powerful agents for change.

Such awe-inspiring women include figures such as  Iranian activist Mehrangiz Kar and Shirin Ebadi- winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize and a personal hero of mine.

This ‘insider’ status gives these women a unique mandate- A free pass from the ‘imperialist’ tag of those who speak without such ‘insider’ status or use human rights atrocities and feminist arguments as a cover for racist agendas.

 

 

 

Issue four pdf now live

Published by
Anna
at December 16, 2006 in In other news. 2 Comments

The pdf for Issue four is now live. Download here or read the magazine online.

UNICEF report: 7000 fewer girls born in India every day

Published by
Anna
at December 15, 2006 in World, struggle and violence against women. 1 Comment

In some states, the minister said, newborn girls have been killed by pouring sand or tobacco juice into their nostrils.

“The minute the child is born and she opens her mouth to cry, they put sand into her mouth and her nostrils so she chokes and dies,” Chowdhury said, referring to cases in the western desert state of Rajasthan.

“They bury infants into pots alive and bury the pots. They put tobacco into her mouth. They hang them upside down like a bunch of flowers to dry,” she said.

“We have more passion for tigers of this country. We have people fighting for stray dogs on the road. But you have a whole society that ruthlessly hunts down girl children.”

That’s the Indian Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury talking about the still prevalant practice of female infanticide in India. According to her 10 million girl children have been killed in India in the past 20 years.

Unfortunately it will continue to hapen until women gain even a semblance of equality in that country but that’s far from realised. Girl children will continue to be thought of as not only worthless but a burden until they have the means to economic equality, education and social acceptance.

Headline of the day

Published by
Anna
at December 14, 2006 in In other news. 0 Comments

The nature of the panopticon

Published by
Anna
at December 12, 2006 in sexism and wtf?!. 1 Comment

“She’s not very attractive”

I heard that sentence uttered in relation to Bindi Irwin the other day. Have we really got to a point in society where discussing the attractiveness of an eight year old is acceptable?

Is the line between women and girls being blurred so much that the atractiveness, or apparent lack thereof, of an eight year old becomes a talking point amongst grown men. That is just plain creepy let alone the societal implications of this. Me and a friend were discussing just the other day the increasing trend of young girls dressing like women.

I don’t know if I agree with Bindi Irwin’s pervasiveness in the media of late, the fintess dvd for kids (WTF?!), the shows, it sounds like an awful lot of pressure to be putting on a young child. But I don’t have any idea what’s going on inside the family, perhaps it’s what she actually wants to do. In any case what I find more worrying is this focus on whether she’s beautiful enough to be in the public eye. As if it’s offensive that anyone who doesn’t adhere to the [bullshit] mainstream ideal of beauty is in the media; that she shouldn’t be there, EVEN IF SHE’S EIGHT!

Are people so brainwashed into thinking that females, no matter their age, are there just as eye candy, that they should dress like women, that they should be taught from before the age of ten that it’s only their ‘attractiveness’ that matters in this world and who do you think you are appearing in the panopticon if you don’t bleach your hair, cake on the makeup and wear a short skirt - EVEN IF YOU’RE EIGHT!

Don’t answer that.

The mind boggles.

Did I mention we’re talking about an eight year old here?

BTW sorry for the absence. We shall be back to regular programming some time soon.

Hello Bois and Girls

Published by
Sarah
at December 7, 2006 in bisexuality, gay and lesbian. 3 Comments

My head started hurting after reading this article. In a good way. But you’ll be fine if you just remember butch, ‘bois’ and femmes are all women.

The classic is “Sarah” who wants to give up her swinging bachelor’s life for something more ‘traditional’.

“I’ve got this model of a household that’s probably sick to a lot of people that makes perfect sense to me,” she says. “What I want is to have a job, and have a life, and I want a partner with a job and a life to come home to, and a high standard of living, and I want us to have kids that go to school and do their homework and go on trips with their parents.” She smiles for a minute with the self-satisfaction of an athlete about to cream his opponent. “And, you know, at the end of a hard day, I would like to come home from work and have my wife suck my cock.”

The article goes on to ponder, “Is there something subversive about playing the role of the doting wife when your husband is a woman?”

The diversity of the gay world is phenomenal. It is like a mirror of heterosexual relationships, but like the mirror world reflects it in subversive, fun-park and caricatured ways, totally sending up the idea of fixed gender roles.

Which is why the Queer world will always find a home in feminism.

what day is it?

Published by
outfox
at December 6, 2006 in Politics, celebration, things to read and violence against women. 2 Comments

So, does everybody know that Amnesty Internationals’ 16 Days of Activism is on?

 Ok,now you do.

A global campaign, the 16 Days calls for an end to violence against women. Winding up on December 10th, International Human Rights Day, it symbolically links women’s rights with human rights.   
This year Amnesty International Australia’s aiming to collect 16,000 signatures in support of the Australian Government developing a National Plan of Action towards eliminating violence against women. 

It’s not too late to sign the petition or  check out events in several states including music festivals, art exhibits, letter writing events and a rally.  I’m feeling lucky to be in Brisbane again, so I can head to the That Takes Ovaries! open mike event this Friday.   


Since the release of That Takes Ovaries!, Rivka Solomon’s inspiring collection of real life women’s stories of courage, open mike and theatre events have been held worldwide for women to share their personal stories of bravery.
As part of the 16 Days of Activism it’s coming to Brisbane, with Wonder Woman, aka performance artist Evelyn Hartogh flying in to MC. Women are invited to join in the fun and share their tales this Friday at Avid Reader West End, from 5.20pm.  Men welcome too, so long as your stories about a woman in your life who’s done something that took Ovaries!

Should be good.

 

Issue four is up!

Published by
Anna
at December 5, 2006 in feminist media. 1 Comment

Well, issue four is now up. Head on over and check it out. There’s so much content it’s bursting at the seams. It was a bit of a rush and there’s still things to be finalised (such as the pdf) but never fear, it won’t take me as long to do this issue’s pdf as it took last issue, I promise!

I also still need to get around to writing an editorial about this issue’s theme. So, sorry for the delay in those things but there was only so much of my holiday I was willing to forfeit *smiles*.

I got back yesterday. Holidays are awesome.

Happy reading of Issue four folks.

East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet?

Published by
Sarah
at December 4, 2006 in Islam, Politics, World, feminist media, religion and women in power. 0 Comments

“100 of the savviest, smartest, most motivated, and influential Muslim women” have met this month in New York for the first ever Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equity (WISE) conference.

The way in which the western landscape has formed a crucible for the birth of Muslim feminism, and also broader calls for “Islamic Reformation” is interesting.

It seems appropriate that the most powerful catalyst for change will come from the “smart, savvy and influential Muslim women” that have flourished and achieved power and position within the west. The location of New York seems symbolic of this melding of cross-currents.

The way these women navigated the differences of opinion was laudable. They seemed to recognise their goal in the end was the same- empowerment and recognition of the basic human rights and dignity of the female person within both secular and religious contexts. Which is feminism at it’s basic really.

The question is can they work to effect real-world change in the places that really need it?

The speech of Mukhtaran Mai, a gang-rape survivor who now dedicates her life to building schools for girls in her village seemed to remind everyone where it was all at.

“Our only hope is the fight for justice. End oppression with education. To remain ignorant is a crime. To remain apathetic is a crime. It is a crime to avoid oppression. To remain silent about a crime is a crime.”

Change can only come from within and it seems western muslim women in particular, have the skills and knowledge to challenge authority, the opportunity to support activists; and the freedom to engage in serious lobbying efforts internationally.

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When (women) stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!