A one-day conference on feminism in London organised by Feminism in London 2009, is happening on 10th October, featuring some of the many feminist activist groups that are campaigning in and around London.
Venue: Conway Hall, London, WC1R 4RL
There will be talks, workshops and a chance to network. The event is for women and pro-feminist men.
For more information visit: the feminism in london website
Exclusive! New article - insights on motherhood, history and women’s rights by feminist academic Kimberley Osivwemu can be found at www.feministwebs.com/?page_id=30
The Rosa Fund for women and girls celebrated its first birthday in London last week, and Feminist webber Omena Osivwemu was one of their key note speakers, having gained one of their prestigious grants in their first round of giving. Seee the pictures on flickr
From Denise Marshall at Eaves housing…
THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE
On the 23rd June 2009 the GLA will be holding a meeting to discuss the Mayor’s strategy to end violence against women. It is expected that invited representatives from a wide variety of agencies will attend and discuss the measures proposed in the strategy, with GLA members of the ‘Health and Public Services Committee’ being able to ask a range of questions relating to the topic.
As a Women’s Organisation dedicated to challenging violence against women we were very pleased to have been asked if we were interested in attending the meeting as we saw it as a vital opportunity to inform members and to contribute to the debate. However, despite recognising the opportunity, we are going to have to turn this one down.
WHY?
Because British National Party Representative Richard Barnbrook (GLA member for Barking & Dagenham) is one of the members sitting on the ‘Health and Public Services Committee’. The inclusion of an openly racist, homophobic and sexist party representative on this committee is utterly inappropriate and therefore we have no option but to boycott the meeting.
That the BNP are even interested in a strategy aimed at tackling violence against women contradicts their much-publicised views on rape, domestic violence, and gender equality. In 2005 BNP member Nick Eriksen made his views about women perfectly clear, on his blog entry entitled:
‘Give her a slap!’
This came just a few months after writing about:
“the feminazi myth that rape is such a serious crime… Rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal. To suggest that rape, when conducted without violence, is a serious crime is like suggesting force-feeding women chocolate cake is a heinous offence. A woman would be more inconvenienced by having her handbag snatched.”
Although Eriksen was finally sacked as London Assembly election candidate, three years after making these comments, the BNP’s stance on women seems to have changed little. In February of this year Barnbrook himself told the BBC that the answer to the recession is
“for women to work at home”,
echoing one of the party’s fundamental principles that mothers “should never go out to work”, in fact “for a woman to consider a job or career more important than having children is, quite literally, unnatural.”
They go even further, explicitly stating in their 2007 BNP ‘mini-Manifesto’:
“Divorce and family laws and maintenance arrangements discriminate against men, and innocent men who are falsely accused of rape have their lives ruined while their lying accusers cannot even be named.”
Should the agencies working to challenge violence against women be forced to engage with a party who believe that women are, fundamentally, second class citizens? Isn’t it the case that any attempt to engage with the BNP or their representatives endorses and legitimises them as a political party and therefore their views on women, the LGBT community and anyone who is not ‘an indigenous Briton’?
Barnbrook and his party cannot claim to represent the women in their constituency any more than they can claim to represent anyone who is not an ‘indigenous Briton’. Furthermore, it is an insult to be asked to engage, on any level, with a party which doesn’t recognise rape as a crime; which believes that women should stay at home, and which tacitly endorses domestic violence. The inclusion of Barnbrook on this committee makes it impossible for us to contribute to the debate.
WHATEVER NEXT?
In May of this year ‘England 2018’ executives banned BNP members from future events to do with England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup, after Barnbrook turned up at their launch ‘as a representative of the GLA.’ Given the hard work that has been done to kick racism out of football this was an appropriate decision.
As an organisation we will not work with the BNP. We will not sit around a table with them because we do not believe that openly racist, homophobic misogynists have anything to contribute that is worth hearing. We will not lend legitimacy to their presence by fooling ourselves that they might be persuaded by the strength of our arguments or our passionate beliefs. We will not collude in any such charade.
We sincerely hope that the other invited individuals and organisations will support our view and boycott this meeting.
Research published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has claimed that gender attitudes in schools have not changed since the 1960s and girls are still far more likley to do hairdressing, catering and childcare courses, while boys go into mechanics and plumbing.
For more information visit The Guardian website
If you want to do some legal direct action to challenge the porn and raunch culture- then why not organise a Feminist Friday?
These are the national dates for activism…
Friday May 29th,
Friday June 26th,
Friday July 24th
Download the Feminist Friday Action Pack
Young women from YWCA projects, schools and colleges in Wolverhampton, tried their hand at male-dominated trades at an event aimed at tackling stereotypes about careers. Read more about this on the Children and Young People Now Website
30 girls aged 12-14 from six schools in the Moss Side and South Manchester areas have tackled self-respect and common misconceptions in a scheme launched in June last year, resulting in the production of an anti-stereotype manifesto voicing life lessons of positivity and strength. For more information visit the culture24 website
Did you know that there are nearly 20,000 local councillors in England and Wales but only around 30% of these are women? Women from minority ethnic backgrounds make up less than 1% of all councillors, despite being over 5% of the overall population. The Government Equalities Office want to encourage more women, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds to get involved and change this.
There are a range of events across the country where women can find out more about getting involved in public life. To register for the free events call 020 8481 3375 or go to the livegroup website
Afghan officials are investigating whether three incidents of poisonous gases being released at girls schools in the country are part of a deliberate, co-ordinated attack.
On Monday girls at a school in Kapisa province, north of Kabul, became ill with headaches, vomiting and dizziness after ‘strong fumes’ took over the school. Two other girls schools in a nearby town experienced similar incidents in April.
Authorities have sent blood samples to an American airbase to be tested, and advised that none of the girls are in serious danger. It is unknown what caused the fumes, but it is thought the Taleban may be behind the attacks. Under Taleban rule, girls were forbidden from attending school; there have been a number of attacks on schoolgirls in Afghanistan over the past year, a high incidence of which took place in the east and south of the country, where the Taleban are gaining strength.
Source: BBC News 12 May 2009