Amina and others

The news is all awash today with the story of Amina, writer of A Gay Girl in Damascus. It appears she may not be real.

But let’s not forget, amidst all this hoo-hah, that there are other journalists and bloggers – real others – being held in communicado by the Syrian authorities, where they are at risk of torture and ill-treatment.

It is believed that the following journalists are currently detained:

Dorothy Parvaz: Aljazeera.net correspondent, arrested on 29 April 2011.
Mahmoud Issa: Journalist and writer, arrested on 19 April 2011.
Khaled Sid Mohand, freelance journalist for a number of news outlets including Le Monde, arrested on 12 April 2011.
Zaid Mastu, Al-Arabiya net correspondent, arrested on 12 April 2011.
Mohamed Dibo: Journalist and writer, arrested on 12 April 2011.

More information, including what you can do, is available here.

Amnesty International has information about the ongoing situation in Syria here.

Fortress Britain

Every evening, when I’m sitting in my warm, secure house, tucking in to a hearty plate of food, I turn on my expensive flat screen TV and I hear news of those pesky brown people over in North Africa and the Arab Spring nations fighting each other – some minor matter to do with democracy, I gather. Anyway, it now seems that some of them have had the gall to come over to Europe to ‘escape the violence’. Quite a nuisance they’ve been in parts of Italy, sleeping in the streets, and requiring food. The Italian authorities have been calling for other EU countries to help ‘share the burden’ of dealing with these people, and I was growing quite pale at the thought that some of them might even make it as far as Britain. You can thus imagine my great relief when I heard about our own, dear Teresa May’s response on Monday. I was rather worried our government might not see these brown people for the workshy scroungers that they are, and might start saying we’d got to provide some sort of help to people who’ve been fighting against dictatorial regimes propped up by Western governments, had their lives ripped apart by violence, lost loved ones in the struggles, had to leave everything they own and come to a hostile continent, mostly populated by rich strangers who can’t seem to recognise a fellow human in genuine need when they’re staring them in the face. Luckily, Ms May poo-poohed any ridiculous notions of ‘burden-sharing’ and said that countries have got to co-operate to stop this huge deluge of brown people from entering Britain. So we can all sleep easily in our beds, knowing that our government will be working to strengthen our borders. A relief!

Writing about discrimination against Iranian Women

Here is a seemingly important article on “Iran’s women footballers banned from Olympics because of Islamic strip“. (It seems The Guardian has taken down all links/urls/copies of this article. Anyone with additional info, please share it in the comments.)

This [Iran-women-Olympic-strip] article/news story involves a very important matter as regards individual Islamic women (or teams of them) who cannot do something such as play a sport because of how they choose to dress, especially if that dress is something as important to them as their understanding of their religion. Perhaps some significant percentage of the women do not choose this form of dress, as Iran requires something like it. We do not know because the article appears not to say or to address this issue of choice. (Even oppressed women who have internalized sexist norms in a great many cases nonetheless have substantial autonomy and agentic skills.)

I regret that this news story is cast in terms of a focus on Iran. Perhaps a focus on Iran is required for the story to use the Olympics as a main example. The problem with that use, however, is that Islamic women in many places suffer discrimination for using this kind of dress in all kinds of sports venues besides the Olympics – I can think of many unfortunate cases of female high school athletes in the U.S., for instance.

Of course, I wish more people would read and understand Irshad Manji on such matters. One might think that my two paragraphs above are not sufficiently feminist because of how sexist the Islamic religion is. However, all forms of western monotheism are incredibly sexist (among other bad things) and I really do not see Islam as particularly bad for western religions as regards feminist concerns.

Ideally, if I were writing newspaper stories/articles I would write about how Iran massively oppresses women. I would also write about the oppression of women with regard to discrimination against them in the field of sports.

What I would NEVER do is write a story/article about Iranian athletes that does not even seem to mention, let alone strongly emphasize, how badly the Iran state treats women. (People go to jail all the time in Iran just for signing a peaceful petition saying that they support democratic reforms! And the lawyers in Iran who represent people who go to jail in Iran for doing something like signing a peaceful petition in support of democratic reforms are themselves sent to jail or worse.) It pains me to read the article with which this post began given the concern expressed in this paragraph and in the context of this entire post.

For related comments threads to two posts that document Iran state oppression of women, see:

What Do Iran And The U.S. Have In Common?

interested readers might especially want to check out comments numbered 12 through 20 at the post above

and

Urgent Petition To Save Sakineh

interested readers might want especially to check out comments numbered 5, 6, 8, 18, 19, 39, 45, 46, and 49 at the post above

Petition to free Amina

Jender reported earlier on the abduction of blogger, A Gay Girl in Damascus. You can sign a petition calling for her release here.

Got petition fatigue? Yes, it’s worth signing! The ongoing work of organisations like Amnesty International shows that it can make a difference to a person’s treatment, if the regime that has abducted them realises the world is looking. It can also make a huge difference to that person’s morale to know that people from all over the world care about their plight.

An invitation…

A message from the Black Women’s Rape Action Project:

We invite you to join London SlutWalk with us, this Saturday 11 June. In stark contrast to the way events are often structured, the London organisers approached our group seeking the active involvement of women of colour. We will be marching and speaking at the rally.

SlutWalks have taken place in a number of countries, and more are proposed including in India. Yet some Black feminists have condemned them as irrelevant to women of colour, and dismissed the organisers as ‘white middle-class women’. We reject this view.

SlutWalk is a much needed occasion to break down divisions and strengthen everyone’s right to protection and justice, no matter who we are, where we were raped or who raped us.

We want to make visible the 70% of women from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and elsewhere who are seeking asylum in the UK after suffering rape and other torture.

We want to make visible the women of colour protesting rape and/or racist attacks in Britain.

We want to make visible the women of colour everywhere who are fighting for justice after reporting attacks by men in positions of authority. Like the placards at the Paris SlutWalk march referring to the Black refugee housekeeper who has accused the ex-head of the IMF of attempted rape: ‘We are all chamber maids’.

We are meeting at the top of Piccadilly 1pm to stroll, roll, holler or stomp to Trafalgar Square for a lively rally. Look for BWRAP’s turquoise banner. Everyone is welcome.
Bring your placards, banners, slogans and chants.

A Gay Girl in Damascus…

…blogs about the Revolution. She is currently in hiding, as she is being pursued by security forces. Her family have all left their home. Please have a look.

Women Fight to Maintain Their Role in the Building of a New Egypt

Women Fight to Maintain Their Role in the Building of a New Egypt (good NY Times article)

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/world/middleeast/06cairo.html

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Excerpts:

“…Egypt’s popular revolution was the work of men and women, bringing together housewives and fruit sellers, businesswomen and students. At its height, roughly one quarter of the million protesters who poured into the square each day were women. Veiled and unveiled women shouted, fought and slept in the streets alongside men, upending traditional expectations of their behavior.

The challenge now, activists here say, is to make sure that women maintain their involvement as the nation lurches forward, so that their contribution to the revolution is not forgotten…”

“…There have been disappointments outside the square, too. The committee of eight legal experts appointed by the military authorities to revise the Constitution did not include a single woman or, according to Amal abd al-Hadi, a longtime feminist here, anyone with a gender-sensitive perspective.

As a result, one proposed revision states that the Egyptian president may not be married to a “non-Egyptian woman” — seemingly ruling out the possibility of a woman as president…”

“…A coalition including Nawal el-Saadawi, a leading feminist, is planning a million women’s march for Tuesday, with no set agenda other than to promote democracy. Ms. Diaa said that she planned to stay home now to give the new prime minister a chance to work and to help her children. But she said she would return to the streets if Mr. Sharaf did not quickly make democratic changes.

“I don’t see a difference between men and women,” she said, talking about her many days of protesting. “The only difference is that men are more able to take the sticks of the thugs. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a voice. I believe that I have a voice, so I can’t stay at home. I have a responsibility. I can be one of a million.”

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Interested readers might also want to check out these three older posts:

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1) Egyptian Women Protesting

https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/egyptian-women-protesting/

2) Gender at the Egyptian Protests

https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/gender-at-the-egyptian-protests/

3) Why We Need Women in War Zones

https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/why-we-need-women-in-war-zones/

We are here because…

Video footage from the All African Women’s Group of women asylum-seekers. The accounts talk about the violence and horror they endured back home and their fight for justice here.

From the Press Release:

It is a testimony to women’s strength and courage, that despite great trauma, we find ways of overcoming silence and invisibility. Many of those interviewed have survived rape and other forms of torture, seen their loved ones killed, been driven from their home by wars, endured years of separation from their children, suffered violent and abusive relationships, been imprisoned/detained . . . yet have refused to give up. Some have won safety and protection, but for countless others, the daily battle for survival and justice continues, made harder in a climate where the services and resources we all need are being cut to the bone.

We hope you will: watch, listen, comment, and want to work with us to stop the injustices which are exposed in these extraordinary interviews.

Berlusconi faces the wrath of Italy’s women

Berlusconi allegation triggers protest by women across Italy

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“Hundreds of thousands of women took to the streets across Italy on Sunday to demand better treatment for women, days after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi came under investigation for engaging in prostitution with a minor…”

…”Women in this country are denigrated by the repeated, indecent and ostentatious representation of women as a naked sexual object on offer in newspapers, televisions and advertising,” said protest organizer Ida Poletto, a married hotel manager who has two sons. “It’s intolerable.”…

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/13/AR2011021303189.html

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Berlusconi faces the wrath of Italy’s women

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/berlusconi-faces-the-wrath-of-italys-women-2213879.html

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UN Women begins today, January 1, 2011

UN Women officially begins today. They even have a new website (along with redirects for many of the previous links to the former UN Women website, and at least some previous links with no place to go). Here is the new UN Women website:

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http://www.unwomen.org/

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UN Women is now the main UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Here is an “About” link and a “Frequently Asked Questions” link:

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About:

http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/about-un-women/

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Frequently Asked Questions:

http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/faq/

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UN Women appears to have seven specific focus areas (all devoted to gender equality and the empowerment of women): Violence Against Women, Peace and Security, Leadership and Participation, National Planning and Budgeting, Human Rights, Economic Empowerment, and Millennium Development Goals. Here is a link to a webpage for more on these focus areas:

http://www.unwomen.org/focus-areas/

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The current UN Executive Board, elected on 11/10/10, includes Saudi Arabia. For comments on or related to this controversial board member and related facts, events, new stories, etc, interested readers can check out the thread to the following Feminist Philosophers post:

Saudi Arabia on UN Women Board

https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/saudi-arabia-on-un-women-board/

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The UN Women website indicates in the “Governance” section of the “About” webpage that the following international agreements guide the work of UN Women:

1) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/convention.htm

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[On this agreement, interested readers might want to note/know one of the official reservations with which Saudi Arabia ratified CEDAW: “The Kingdom does not consider itself bound by paragraph 2 of article 9 of the Convention…” Paragraph 2 of article 9 of the convention states: “Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.”]

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2) Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (PFA)

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/

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3) UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000) [and resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009) and 1960 (2010)]

http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1325%282000%29

http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1820%282008%29

http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1888%282009%29

http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1889%282009%29

http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1960%282010%29

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4) Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/background.html

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

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Let us hope and see whether “This ambitious new organization consolidates and scales up UN actions to achieve gender equality, offering the promise of accelerated progress in realizing the rights of women worldwide.”