Finalmente! Una ventata d'aria fresca. Una donna musulmana, femminista, che decide, dopo attenta riflessione, di non indossare più il velo.

Una scelta coraggiosa e controcorrente, che merita attenzione e visibilità.

Riporto alcuni brani dell'articolo dii Ala Abbas e, di seguito, il link diretto dove potrete leggere tutto nella sua interezza.

In the religious sect my parents belong to, hijab is incumbent on girls from the age of nine and is defined as the covering of everything apart from the hands and face.

I had egalitarian notions of modesty as a child and couldn’t understand the difference between a girl showing her legs and a boy showing his. I remember on a school trip once, a girl of probably around eight or nine took her top off in the scorching summer heat just like all the other boys were doing. The girl was reprimanded by others for having “no shame”. While I understood it was a rare sight, I felt this judgment was a little unfair, as her chest looked no different from the boys’.

Becoming so used to wearing it, and living in a cosmopolitan city like London, I forgot I even wore something that set me apart from people around me. It became second nature and a part of my skin that I would feel incomplete without.

If you go from being a non-hijabi to a hijabi, everyone loves you for your newfound piety. But I’ve never seen this happen the other way round. Once you wear the hijab, and everyone knows you for it, showing up without it somehow makes you feel even more naked than someone who never wore it in the first place. I can only speak for myself, of course, but it was partly due to the fear of these attitudes that I came to the conclusion that the hijab was unnecessary long before I made the decision not to wear it. I made this decision only recently, and it has been a shock to the system. Most of my old acquaintances have no idea, and I haven’t made the bold step of ‘coming out’ completely. I still remember how some of my mum’s friends were always at the ready to point out if I wasn’t covered properly. What would they think of my poor mum now?

In an ideal world the rules of modesty for women should be no different than those for men.

In Galles la Health Commission Whales ha annunciato che le operazioni relative al cambio di sesso saranno finanziate dallo stato. Con questa decsione tutto il Regno Unito presenta alle persone transessuali e transgender la possibilità di cure mediche di base gratuite.

Transgender patients in Wales will be given access to funding for gender reassignment therapy, bringing the country into line with other UK nations.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/14/20090423/tpl-wales-funds-sex-change-therapy-81c5b50.html

A HCW spokesman said: "We have been working with the Gender Trust on the development of a policy for accessing this treatment in Wales.

The Gender Trust and Press for Change, another organisation for transgender people, have welcomed the move.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8012981.stm

Il sito Bbc news riporta un interessante articolo sulla situazione reale delle persone transgender nel Galles.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8014567.stm

Elaina Cohen claims that Labour councillor Mahmood Hussain said he would not support her application for an inner-city ward because 'my Muslim members don't want you because you are Jewish'.

She said: 'I am shocked and upset that a member of the Labour Party in this day and age could even think something like that, let alone say it.

Lorraine Briscoe, who runs a local community association, was sitting next to Mrs Cohen when the conversation took place on speakerphone last Tuesday.

'I was disgusted that a councillor could make comments like that in 2009,' she said.

'He told her, "They will not vote for someone who is white and Jewish. My Muslim members don't want you because you are Jewish".

'Elaina then asked him if he had talked to his Muslim members about it and he said, "I don't want to talk about it with you" and hung up.

Per la prima volta nella storia una donna ha ricevuto il titolo di Poet Laureate.

La poetessa Carol Ann Duffy è inoltre la prima persona dichiaratamente gay a ricevere tale onore.

Britain on Friday awarded the role of national poet laureate to Carol Ann Duffy — the first woman to hold a post that has been filled by William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Ted Hughes.

Duffy is also the first openly gay laureate.

The laureate is officially appointed by the queen on the advice of the government. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Duffy "a truly brilliant modern poet who has stretched our imaginations by putting the whole range of human experiences into lines that capture the emotions perfectly."

Duffy has published more than 30 books — plays and children's stories as well as poems that mix accessible modern language with traditional forms such as the sonnet. Her work often displays a sly, feminist take on history and contains a strong vein of social commentary.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieItEBK-U3u7s51LDR7bbNlp2onAD97TFJ4G0

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/world/europe/02poet.html?_r=2&emc=eta1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8027767.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm

Il sito Witchwox riporta un'interessante analisi storica retrospettiva sul fenomeno della caccia alle streghe.

Troverete citato Cornelius Loos, un prete cattolico romano olandese che all'epocasi era opposto allacaccia alle streghe. Un bravo ragazzo della sua epoca.

One of the fiercest Witch-hunts was in western Germany, in the second half of the 16th century. Men, women and children were dragged from their homes to be tortured and condemned by a jury of village folk. They were usually killed first and then their bodies burnt to make sure that they would not return from the grave.

The Dutch scholar Looos Callidius tried to persuade people that these claims were false. He wrote: "magic (magia) ought not to he called witchcraft (maleficium) , nor magicians (magi) witches (malefici) , and that the passage of Holy Scripture, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Maleficos non patieris vivere) , is to be understood of those who by a natural use of natural poisons inflict death."

This might not seem like its related, but Feminism is an important part of Witchcraft. The Witch Craze of 16-18th centuries was a crime against women; it was an issue of women's rights. The old religions gave women rights where the Church took them away. The Bible declared that women were responsible for all the ills of the world, and that they should be punished, and live as slaves to men. Christians believed that women were inherently sinful and their lustful nature attracted them to Witchcraft - which they equated with Devil worship. Because of this belief, 75% of the thousands of people tortured and killed for Witchcraft were women.

La Chiesa di Scozia ha recentemente approvato una sorta di moratoria nei confronti dell'ordinazione pastorale di persone gay dopo il caso del pastore Scott Reenie.

In a ground-breaking move, the church's ruling body voted by 326 to 267 in support of the Rev. Scott Rennie, the church said in a news release Sunday.

The 37-year-old's appointment at Queen's Cross Church in Aberdeen, on Scotland's northeast coast, provoked opposition from traditionalist members of the church and has led to fears it could cause a damaging split.

More than 400 Church or "Kirk" ministers and almost 5,000 Church of Scotland members are said to have signed an online petition, organized by the Fellowship of Confessing Churches, against the appointment.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/05/24/scotland.church.gay.minister/index.html

A debate on a call to ban openly homosexual people from appointment to the ministry was torpedoed by an 11th-hour motion that dominated the General Assembly yesterday.

Instead of proceeding with the vote – which many traditionalists had warned could split the Kirk – members agreed to establish a commission to study the issue and report back in 2011.

Until then, no more openly gay ministers can be appointed and no members can speak in public on the issue of openly homosexual, non-celibate ministers.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Kirk-orders-ban-on-gay.5300732.jp

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/8065563.stm

MUSLIM women and their Christian fiancés from across Europe are travelling to Oxford to get married because imams in their own countries refuse to perform the ceremonies.

Couples from Spain, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, France and Norway have all come to Dr Hargey after failing to find someone locally prepared to carry out the service.

Most had spent months looking for an imam, and many found Dr Hargey after contacting American Muslim leaders via the Internet.

Dr Hargey, who believes he is the only imam in the UK who openly performs the mixed marriages, said: “We do it because there is no prohibition in the Koran.

“Islam allows Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women and such marriages are common, but I am one of the only people who will do it the other way round.”

ONE of the first female priests to be ordained in the Diocese of Chester is to become the Church of England’s 13th woman Archdeacon.

Revd Canon Dr Judy Hunt, the Director of Mission and Ministry for the Diocese of Chester and a former Priest-in-Charge at Tilston and Shocklach, has been appointed Archdeacon of Suffolk.

Canon Hunt will take up her new role early in the autumn.

http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2009/06/08/clergywoman-dr-judy-hunt-of-the-chester-diocese-heads-for-the-top-59067-23818403/

The Women and Work Commission, which was established to consider how to close the gender pay gap, said it had widened to 22.6% from 21.9% in 2007.

Three years after its first report, the commission said women were still being pushed into "traditional" jobs.

Among the 43 recommendations put forward in the review were:

• Work experience placements for girls in occupations where women are traditionally not well represented

• Buddy programme to team girls together on placements in non-traditional sectors to help with their confidence

• Similar buddy system for apprenticeships and diplomas to allow participants to speak to successful women in similar jobs

• A careers adviser trained in challenging gender and socio-economic stereotyping for every school

• In childcare, the government should consider what could be done to boost wages and professionalise the sector, which still attracts mainly women workers

 Kat Banyard, campaigns officer of the Fawcett Society - which campaigns for equality between men and women - said she was disappointed by the focus of the report.

"The largest single cause of the pay gap is discrimination, the solution is not less segregation of roles, but paying women what they are worth," she added.

"Women are also being paid less by employers than their male counterparts, yet employers are under no obligation to check that women are not paid less."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8173445.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8044720.stm

Despite his sectarian, racist incitements that Jews are "scum...rats...pigs and monkeys," the chief cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Sheikh Abdul Rahman al Sudais, has been welcomed and invited to preach at the East London mosque in Whitechapel tonight, Tuesday evening, 4 August 2009. 

Al-Sudais, who has close ties to the Saudi elite, has also insulted Christians and Hindus, referring disparagingly to Christians as "cross-worshippers" and Hindus as "idol worshippers".

He has been banned from Canada for his anti-Semitism.

"The East London mosque received $US1m from the Saudis towards its new London Muslim Centre. The mosque's links to Saudi Arabia go back many years, according to the BBC.

"I don't understand why the Home Secretary is allowing al-Sudais into Britain, given that similar hate preachers have been banned. Is it because of the close business links between the British and Saudi establishments? " queried Mr Tatchell.

The Daily Telegraph has confirmed and reported this anti-Semitism, noting that al-Sudais has described Jews as "scum of the earth", "rats of the world" and "monkeys and pigs" and suggested that they would be annihilated.

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001TN5DH6QAa81fUGjIjMdBRP9EysgroO_SvpkxC9rtETNKGr07Rtm9pllZDNX6VBmd6R9UjhZ3h5nhtRmMDskCWLSwSduj_ZKsyCLapXbcx61t2Yym6jXloQ%3D%3D

http://www.petertatchell.net/

Dopo tante notizie legate all'integralismo religioso, ci voleva davvero qualcosa di positivo e rasserenante!

The Quakers sanctioned gay marriages yesterday and called on the Government to give same-sex couples who marry in their ceremonies the same standing as heterosexual people. At their annual gathering in York this week more than 1,600 Quakers agreed “to treat same-sex, committed relationships in the same way as opposite-sex marriages, reaffirming our central insight that marriage is the Lord’s work and we are but witnesses”.

The Junior Yearly Meeting, representing teenage Quakers, had already agreed earlier this week that “to deny the spiritual aspect of marriage to committed couples, based on their sexuality, is unjust”. 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6734687.ece

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a7t3Gxu.O8lI

Michael Hutchinson, of Quakers in Britain, said: "Many of our meetings have told us that there are homosexual couples who consider themselves to be married and believe this is as much a testimony of divine grace as a heterosexual marriage. They miss the public recognition of this in a religious ceremony."

During this week's meeting, Quakers spoke about their personal experiences and said "whereas there was a clear, visible path to celebration and recognition for opposite sex couples" the same was not always true for those in same-sex relationships.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/31/quakers-gay-marriage

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/quakers-to-allow-gay-marriages-1765433.html

"Currently women make up less than 1% of the construction workforce at the trade level," Mr Tutt says. "Astins aims to make that 8% by 2013.

In order to make a start in tackling the looming crisis Astins decided to target the 50% of the UK workforce that has historically been ignored in the industry - women.

So the firm set up one of the UK's first professional qualification courses in construction trades specifically aimed at women, an NVQ level two specialising in dry lining - or making partition walls to the uninitiated.

To make the London-based course more attractive it has offered fully subsidised places to the lucky apprentices and even free accommodation to those living outside London.

 "I see no reason why the women couldn't match that in the long term. It's not going to be in the next couple of years but once they've honed their skills in the next four to five years that's an achievable amount."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8127161.stm

Women in some of the UK’s leading finance companies receive around 80 per cent less in performance related pay than male colleagues, an inquiry by the Commission has found. The disparity is a major factor behind the massive gender pay gap in the finance sector.

Recommendations in the report include:

• Appointing a board member to set the tone, champion the issues and drive change
• Incorporating equality and diversity into organisational and individual objectives
• Undertaking annual equal pay audits and publishing the data
• Ensuring maternity, paternity and parental support schemes are in place and effective
• Monitoring the implementation and impact of policy on gender equality

The Commission has now begun the third phase of its Inquiry which will involve collaboration with finance companies, employees, industry associations, leaders, regulators and trade unions to develop more targeted solutions to the gender inequalities identified in its report.

 http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre/inquiry-finds-women-in-leading-finance-companies-receive-around-80-per-cent-less-in-bonuses/

Mindful of our strong desire to find a way of journeying together, in a context where people cannot yet reach agreement over the ordination of women to the priesthood, we have been reflecting on the Eucharistic arrangements which we made in the light of the appointment of the first woman canon to the cathedral staff.

http://www.blackburncathedral.com/news-details.asp?news_id=20

Blackburn Cathedral is changing the way Holy Communion is offered at its main Sunday Eucharist.

The change will mean that the practice of offering wafers blessed by a male priest, when a female priest was presiding, will be discontinued. This practice was introduced a year ago, following the appointment of the first female Canon to the Cathedral staff.

“It will now be the case that the sacrament at any celebration of the Eucharist will be consecrated solely by the person who is presiding,” said a statement from the Chapter, the Cathedral’s governing body.

The arrangement of having separate wafers marked an attempt by the Cathedral to maintain unity among people holding different opinions about women’s ordination, the Chapter said.

“We now regret the course of action that we took,” said the Chapter statement. “We apologise for any hurt or pain that this has caused.

 http://www.blackburn.anglican.org/news_more.asp?news_id=64¤t_id=1

THE COMMITTEE responsible for the progress of the women-bishops legislation through Synod is seeking to reverse the decision made in July 2008 to proceed by code of conduct only. Those who cannot accept the authority of women bishops have argued that their position should be protected by statute.

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=83190

The amended legislation is also a U-turn on a proposal published last year that would have endorsed the authority of a diocesan bishop who would have retained the right to delegate certain functions to another bishop. Under such a proposal, diocesan bishops could have ultimately refused to delegate their authority and a parish would have needed a judicial review to overturn the decision. It was one of several steps designed to heal a rift that peaked last July during an angry and emotional meeting of Synod.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/09/church-removes-power-from-women

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6275489/Women-bishops-may-not-be-equal-to-men-under-controversial-new-Church-of-England-proposals.html

On Equal Pay Day individuals and groups across the country will be taking action to mark the day that women effectively receive their last pay cheque of the year. This is because the 17.1% full-time gender pay gap is equivalent to men being paid all year round while women work for free after 30th October. Equal Pay Day 2009 is calling on the Government to get tough on pay inequality in the UK.

http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=728

La Equality and Human Rights Commission ha pubblicato una ricerca esaustiva a livello nazionale che analizza vari aspetti della vita delle persone trans: la scuola, la famiglia, il lavoro, l'assistenza medica, la violenza, la discriminazione, etc. 

Nel link troverete l'intera pubblicazione.

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/research/trans_research_review_rep27.pdf

Sono 15 le donne arcidiacono nella Chiesa d'Inghilterra.

The Revd Christine Wilson, currently Vicar of Goring-by-Sea in the Diocese of Chichester, is to be the new Archdeacon of Chesterfield. She succeeds the Venerable David Garnett.

Bishop Alastair made the announcement to his Diocese this morning and said: " I am delighted to welcome Christine to the Diocese of Derby and look forward to working with her."

http://www.derby.anglican.org/news/?i201

A drive is under way to encourage more women in mid and west Wales to enter occupations usually dominated by men.

Local Labour AM Joyce Watson has set up an online forum, Women in Construction, in collaboration with colleges across the region.

She said about 75% of working women in Wales were found in sectors such as cleaning, catering and caring.

The forum is designed for women already working in the construction industry and those wishing to join it.

Yesterday, all eyes – well, Fleet Street's anyway – were on PMQs but in Westminster Hall a handful of honourable members were grappling with the application of sex discrimination laws to religious organisations.

Ben Chapman said the general law recognised that religious organisations "do need some exemptions" and on that basis "might it not be wise to go on enabling them to come their own views on these matters?"

This sentiment – that it was not parliament's business to interfere with the internal matters of religious organisations – was a popular one. But, in the case of legislation on women bishops, there is an established church and both houses will have to vote on the legislation when it arrives. In all likelihood there will still be an established church at that point.

Ann Cryer said the very fact of establishment was a very good reason to set an example especially when, in her constituency, women were not even allowed to go into mosques.

She has a point. Anglican clergy cannot take the moral high ground when they are advocating discrimination.

The debate on this legislation – when it comes to parliament – should not be about disestablishment nor whether parliament should involve itself in religious affairs. It is about, as Key himself said, whether the two houses should endorse something that is illegal. A law is being broken when women bishops will be subject to discrimination because of their gender and it is up to parliament to intervene.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/12/women-bishops-parliament-debate

La trascrizione del dibattito può essere visionata a questo link:

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2009-11-11a.73.0

A specially-designed refuge to protect women at risk of forced marriage and "honour-based violence" has opened in east London.

The Saranaya Refuge is one of only two of its type in the UK.

They are operated by the Ashiana Network, with Waltham Forest Council providing financial support for both.

The Association of Chief Police Officers estimates 17,000 women in the UK are subject to "honour-based violence", including murder, each year.

Ashiana Network director Shaminder Ubhi said: "It is unacceptable that young women should be told who they can and cannot marry in the 21st Century.

"It continues to shock and sadden me that women are still being brutally punished by their own relatives for bringing 'dishonour' on their families.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8351976.stm

Ottima idea.

Members of the public would be told if partners had a history of domestic violence – similar to the pilot, established after campaigning in the wake of the murder of Sarah Payne, where parents could check if someone who has access to their children has a history of child sex or violence offences.

The move would be backed up by a second proposal from The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) to set up a register for up to 25,000 serial wife-beaters where they would have to keep police up to date with their movements and activities.

The proposals come as part of a Home Office review of how to best deal with abuse and violence against women and girls.

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6582192/Police-want-women-to-know-if-their-partner-has-violent-past.html

Dopo la precedente ricerca del 1994 il Jewish Board of Deputies ha voluto fotografare la situazione attuale delle donne ebree nel Regno Unito. Dal lavoro di ricerca è venuta fuori un'analisi attenta e puntuale delle aspirazioni, del vissuto e delle istanze della parte femminile della comunità ebraica britannica.

Potete leggere il documento nella sua interezza nel link che riporto.

Several hundred joined a rally in London’s Hyde Park organised by One Law for All to show their opposition to Sharia and religious-based laws in Britain and elsewhere and to demand universal rights and secularism.

The rally heard from people with direct experiences of Sharia law, including Iranian-born activist Sohaila Sharifi and Somali-born secularist Ismail Einashe. Einashe spoke of his cousin who had been forced to remain in a violent marriage by the sham courts here in Britain.

One Law for All will continue to push for an end to Sharia and religious laws in Britain. In the coming year, the campaign aims to conduct a survey of women who have been to Sharia courts here, will hold a fundraiser dinner on January 28, 2010 to raise money for the campaign; will host a March 8, 2010 seminar with legislators, lawyers and campaigners to recommend the legal and legislative avenues to ban Sharia and religious courts in Britain; will organise a June 20, 2010 rally against Sharia law; and will hold an October 10, 2010 conference on Sharia Law and Apostasy amongst other activities.

http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/successful-rally-against-sharia-law-in-uk-21-nov-2009/

Police have seen 'honour' crime surge by 40 per cent due to rising fundamentalism, new figures show.

Honour-based violence, including crimes like murder, rape and kidnap has rocketed in London during the past year.

Reported instances of intimidation and attempts at forced marriage have also increased by 60 per cent.

A report into the scale of the problem by Scotland Yard found there were 161 honour-based incidents recorded in 2007-8, of which 93 were criminal offences.

But in 2008/9 the number of incidents had risen to 256, with 132 being criminal offences.

Wales could get its first court based on Islamic law under proposals from a Muslim body, BBC Wales has learned.

A Sharia law tribunal in Cardiff will help community relations and give some Muslims services they want, supporters have told the Dragon's Eye programme.

But the Ministry of Justice said that Sharia law "has no jurisdiction in England and Wales".

A spokesperson said: "Regardless of religious belief we are all equal before the law".

A recent report by Civitas was critical of Sharia courts, saying they were not in keeping with UK legal principles.

Denis MacEoin, of Civitas, said: "It is Sharia law that is given the prominent position and this effectively means that British law is shoved to one side.

Considero importante la seguente dichiarazione, centrale per la questione dei diritti delle donne:

Marya Shabir, of the Welsh Women's National Coalition, said: "It's being advertised as this opt-in system when it actually isn't.

"If a Muslim woman is given the option of using a Muslim Arbitration Tribunal over going through the courts system using the law of England and Wales; there's no question as to which system she's going to use.

"If she doesn't go with the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, she is going to face stigmatisation, she will be ostracised by her community, her peers, her family who believe she is turning her back on the community."

Una donna di successo, una giornalista affermata elegante e raffinata, smentisce, grazie al suo coming out tutti i peggiori stereotipi riguardo alle lesbiche.

Tutte brutte, coi capelli a spazzola, trasandate, con lo sguardo truce, etc. Un pò come la Hill vero? Ah, l'ironia quanto mi piace!

BBC newsreader Jane Hill has outed herself as gay in the Corporation's in-house magazine.

The 40-year-old presenter revealed she was living with her partner Sara and their dog Mavis in an interview with Ariel.

The couple have been together for about a year.

'Everyone has known for years that Jane is gay,' a colleague said.

'She hasn't made a secret of it at the BBC and although she has had other girlfriends over the years, this one seems to be the one.'

Non c'è esempio migliore contro l'omofobia di atleti coraggiosi come Thomas che, uscendo allo scoperto, fanno crollare miseramente al suolo i peggiori stereotipi sugli uomini gay. Mi permetto di suggerire a coloro che organizano i seminari sull'omofobia di mostrare questi esempi concreti.

Vorrei inoltre sottolienare quanto il mondo del rubgy, almeno quello britannico, abbia dato prova di rispetto. E questo rende ai rugbisti onore.

He says: 'I was like a ticking bomb. I thought I could suppress it, keep it locked away in some dark corner of myself, but I couldn't.

'It was who I was, and I just couldn't ignore it any more.

'I'd been through every emotion under the sun trying to deal with this. 

'You wake up one morning thinking: "I can handle it. Everything is fine," and the next morning you don't want anyone to see your face, because you think that if people look at you, they will know.'

'He said: "What's up?" 'I said: "Me and Jemma have split," and he said: "Oh no, what's happened?" Then he said: "I know what's happened, I know what it is."'

Somehow, the coach had guessed. 

One Law for All Campaign is pleased to announce the winners of 2009’s art competition, Passion for Freedom,
which was organised to promote universal and equal rights and expose the discriminatory nature of religious laws.

For the images of the artworks please visit the link below.I urge you to support these artists.

http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/art-competition-winners/

A committee charged with drafting the relevant law has failed to meet its February deadline after months of U-turns over what provisions, if any, should be made for those opposed to women's ordination.

Christina Rees, from Women and the Church, said she was "deeply disappointed" by the failure to keep to the timetable and warned that an imminent shake-up in General Synod membership could threaten the prospect of having women bishops.

"Why are these committee meetings shrouded in such secrecy? The subject has been debated openly many times but we are not allowed to know what is happening or what is being said."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/18/delay-women-ordination-bishops-legislation

William Fittall, secretary general to the General Synod, said the 19 members of the committee were dealing with "extraordinarily difficult" and complicated issues.

He denied that the 19 committee members were deliberately delaying the process in the face of threats of a walkout by Anglo Catholics to the Roman Catholic Church.

"We have said in the past that the Synod was very unlikely to get to the final approval stage for the legislation before 2012 and that meant it was pretty unlikely that we would have the first women as bishop before 2014," he said.

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/key-debate-on-women-bishops-delayed-1871729.html

More than 924 reports of bigoted violence and abuse were received last year by the Jewish Community Security Trust (CST).

The charity, which monitors anti-Semitism in Britain, said the figures marked the worst year since records began in 1984. They included violent street attacks, arson, egg-throwing, racist graffiti, website hacking and hate mail.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20100205/tuk-gaza-link-to-rise-in-anti-semitism-dba1618.html

Of the 924 incidents, 124 were rated as violent, the highest annual number the CST has recorded. Three of these involved a threat to life or grievous bodily harm, including an attempt to set fire to a rabbi's house.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE61403V20100205

Davvero è deprimente e sconcertante vedere come, persino all'interno di un'organizzazione universalmente riconosciuta per la lotta per i diritti umani come Amnesty International, la corrente del relativismo culturale riesca a prendere il sopravvento e a mettere a tacere le voci di dissenso, come quelle di Gita, una autentica femminista.

Gita Sahgal, head of the gender unit at Amnesty’s international secretariat, believes that collaborating with Moazzam Begg, a former British inmate at Guantanamo Bay, “fundamentally damages” the organisation’s reputation.

In an email sent to Amnesty’s top bosses, she suggests the charity has mistakenly allied itself with Begg and his “jihadi” group, Cageprisoners, out of fear of being branded racist and Islamophobic.

Sahgal, who has researched religious fundamentalism for 20 years, has decided to go public because she feels Amnesty has ignored her warnings for the past two years about the involvement of Begg in the charity’s Counter Terror With Justice campaign.

“I believe the campaign fundamentally damages Amnesty International’s integrity and, more importantly, constitutes a threat to human rights,” Sahgal wrote in an email to the organisation’s leaders on January 30. “To be appearing on platforms with Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment.”

 Sahgal, 53, is not the only critic of Begg at Amnesty. In 2008 a board member of its US arm opposed Begg’s appearance, via videolink, at its AGM, but was overruled.

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7017810.ece

In an email to her colleagues at Amnesty on January 30 she wrote: 
“I believe the campaign fundamentally damages Amnesty International’s integrity and, more importantly, constitutes a threat to human rights. To be appearing on platforms with Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment.”

STOP PRESS: 16.53 Sunday - Gita Sahgal has been suspended

 http://www.spectator.co.uk/martinbright/5757557/amnesty-international-moazzam-begg-and-the-bravery-of-gita-sahgal.thtml

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/david_aaronovitch/article7019817.ece

Within a few hours of the article being published, Amnesty had suspended me from my job.

The tragedy here is that the necessary defence of the torture standard has been inexcusably allied to the political legitimization of individuals and organisations belonging to the Islamic Right.

  I have been a human rights campaigner for over three decades, defending the rights of women and ethnic minorities, defending religious freedom and the rights of victims of torture, and campaigning against illegal detention and state repression. I have raised the issue of the association of Amnesty International with groups such as Begg’s consistently within the organisation. I have now been suspended for trying to do my job and staying faithful to Amnesty’s mission to protect and defend human rights universally and impartially.

 http://www.spectator.co.uk/martinbright/5759197/gita-sahgal-a-statement.thtml

http://fleshisgrass.wordpress.com/2010/02/07/defend-gita-sahgal-from-her-employers-amnesty-international/

Un esempio positivo quello di Emma Watson. Contrariamente ad altre sceme o finte sceme che pensano solo a cambiare vestito ogni giorno e fidanzato ogni settimana ci sono anche giovani attrici che, oltre ad essere carine, sfruttano la fama per delle giuste cause.

Emma has become the first poster girl for eco-chic and has designed a new range for People Tree, the pioneering Fair Trade and sustainable British fashion brand founded by green campaigner, Safia Minney, in 1991.

The collection, for men and women, is youthful and sporty, with organic cotton separates, Breton knits and quirky touches such as a 'School of Fair Trade’ badge on a brushed fleece blazer, a 'daisy-chain necklace’ motif, which Emma painted and then had printed on a T-shirt, and a hand-drawn 'Union Jack’ for tops and bags. Prices range from £12 for a scarf to £115 for a cricket cardigan.

http://www.peopletreefoundation.org/

http://www.peopletree.co.uk/

http://www.peopletree.co.uk/category/emma-watson/

Ricevo da Maryam Namazie e riporto alla vostra attenzione le ultime manifestazioni dei laici, dissidenti politici e femministe iraniane.

The following news is coming from Maryam Namazie:

In a leaflet issued to parishoners, the Rev Angus MacLeay used passages in the Bible to justify women playing a submissive role in local church life. He urged women to “submit to their husbands in everything”.

Mr MacLeay, a member of the General Synod, is opposed to the appointment of women bishops. He has campaigned vociferously for Reform, an Evangelical group that seeks to reform the Church of England “according to the Holy Scriptures”.

The leaflet he issued It says at one point: “Wives are to submit to their husbands in everything in recognition of the fact that husbands are head of the family as Christ is head of the church.

“This is the way God has ordered their relationships with each other and Christian marriage cannot function well without it."

He told his congregation at St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks, Kent, that the behaviour of modern women was to blame for Britain’s high divorce rate. 

One disenchanted female parishioner said she was “disgusted” by the sermon.

“How can they talk that way in the 21st century?” she said. “No wonder the Church is losing touch if this is the kind of gobbledegook they want us to believe it.

"I will not be going back to that church and will have to seriously consider my faith if this is the nonsense they are spouting now."

"Amnesty International has done its reputation incalculable damage by allying itself with Moazzam Begg and his group Cageprisoners, and holding them up as human rights advocates. It looks very much as if Amnesty's leadership is suffering from a kind of moral bankruptcy, and has lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong. It has greatly compounded its error by suspending the redoubtable Gita Sahgal for the crime of going public with her concerns. Gita Sahgal is a woman of immense integrity and distinction and I am personally grateful to her for the courageous stands she made at the time of the Khomeini fatwa against The Satanic Verses, as a leading member of the groups Southall Black Sisters and Women Against Fundamentalism. It is people like Gita Sahgal who are the true voices of the human rights movement; Amnesty and Begg have revealed, by their statements and actions, that they deserve our contempt."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7034773.ece

Bravo Sam!

A senior executive at Amnesty International has urged the charity to admit it made a “mistake” by failing publicly to oppose the views of a former terror suspect.

Sam Zarifi, Amnesty’s Asia Pacific director, backed Gita Sahgal, an official who was suspended after revealing her concerns about Amnesty’s links to the former Guantanamo detainee, Moazzam Begg, a British citizen.

“We should be clear that some of Amnesty’s campaigning ... did not always sufficiently distinguish between the rights of detainees to be free from torture and arbitrary detention, and the validity of their views,” says Zarifi in the email, sent to his staff and dated February 10. Zarifi advised Amnesty to consider its working relationships with activists more carefully.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article7026277.ece

NO COMMENT!

A London university has been condemned for inviting an Islamic preacher with anti-Semitic and homophobic views to give a lecture to students.

Sheikh Quick has denounced the �filth� of Jews and once gave a televised lecture in which he said the Islamic position on homosexuality is �death�.

He added: �Muslims are going to have to take a stand [against homosexuals] and it's not enough to call names.�

 http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23809775-islamic-preacher-who-called-jews-filth-to-speak-at-kings-colleges.do

Usamah has been filmed advocating the killing of gays and Muslims who leave their faith and has described women as “deficient” and “incomplete”.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/02/25/homophobic-and-anti-semitic-preacher-invited-to-london-university/

NO COMMENT!

Shiria Khatun, 38, told the police that callers threatened to kill her and her four young children.

"As a councillor I'm meant to be a strong woman and I didn't want to show that I was bothered, but it's gone too far," the Daily Express quoted her, as saying.

"They're really disgusting. They would talk about my Western clothes, my tight jeans and my body parts," she added.

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/03/07/britmuslim-leader-forced-to-dress-conservativelya.html

Continuo a stupirmi di quanto scarso peso i miei colleghi stiano dando alla questione. Non mi sono chiari i criteri in vase ai quali una notizia è degna di pubblicazione e un'altra no specie laddove l'argomento è la trasparenza, l'universalità e la coerenza in tema di diritti umani e di diritti delle donne. Nel mio piccolo intendo dare visibilità alla questione.

the Secretary General of Amnesty International makes a shocking and incredible claim that "Defensive Jihad not antithetical to Human Rights". If this is the official position of the world’s leading human rights organisation, this would gravely undermine the future of the human rights movment. The rationale and call for ‘defensive jihad’ runs through many muslim fundamentalist texts. It is precisely ‘defensive jihad’ that the Taleban use to legitimise its anti human rights actions such as the beheading of dissidents, attacks on minorities, attacks on schools and religious shrines and the public lashing of women.

We are revealing and making public (see attached documents) the full text of the letter received from secretary General of Amnesty international in response to the ’Global Petition to Amnesty International: Restoring the Integrity of Human Rights’ and also the Response sent by Initiators of Global Petition

The highlights of the response sent to Amnesty International by Initiators of Global Petition are:

• Endorsement of the concept of ‘defensive jihad’ by an organization such as Amnesty International calls into question its commitment to research the ideological underpinnings of acts of terrorism and its commitment to the eradication of discrimination on the basis of sex/gender and religion.

• In the present climate, within the mainstream human rights world, a serious challenge is being posed to the principles of universality and equality by a host of concessions to ‘traditional values’ and ‘cultural rights’.

• Amnesty International should make public the following information - Investigative research which informs decisions on partnerships and alliances:
  • What process of investigation was carried out to determine whether Moazzam Begg was a suitable partner for Amnesty International?

 http://www.human-rights-for-all.org/spip.php?article53

The next Archdeacon of Wrexham will be the Revd Shirley Griffiths, Vicar of Abergele and St George, the Bishop of St Asaph has announced

Making this announcement on Palm Sunday, 28 March, Bishop Gregory said, “Shirley is an experienced and wise parish priest, who has all the skills for which I look in an Archdeacon, and I am in no doubt whatsoever that she will be an excellent successor to the eminent ministry that Malcolm Squires has exercised as Archdeacon of Wrexham over the last nine years.”

Mrs Griffiths (62) said, “I was quite amazed when Bishop Gregory asked me; it was last thing I was expecting when he invited me to see him.  I’m looking forward to the new challenge – but will be very sad to leave Abergele and St George, where my husband and I have developed many friendships and have felt ourselves to be very much part of the community.”

The Church in Wales has one other female Archdeacon, the Ven Peggy Jackson, Archdeacon of Llandaff, but Mrs Griffiths is the first Welsh woman to be made Archdeacon.  

http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/asaph/press/display_press_release.php?prid=4924

A senior official at Amnesty International who was suspended after she complained that the human rights organisation was too closely linked to a “pro-jihadi group” has left her job.

Gita Sahgal claimed that the charity’s links with Moazzam Begg, the former inmate at Guantánamo Bay, and his organisation Cageprisoners were undermining its campaigns.

She was suspended as interim head of Amnesty’s gender unit in February after an e-mail that she sent to her bosses criticising the links with Mr Begg was made public.

Ms Sahgal, 53, said yesterday that she felt that her seven years’ campaigning for women’s rights had been a waste of time because of the charity’s continuing work with the former prison-camp detainee and his group. “Their continued link to Moazzam Begg and Cageprisoners undermines Amnesty’s claims to stand against gender-based violence and religious discrimination,” she said. “He supports Islamic states where women are second- class citizens.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7095732.ece

The senior leadership of Amnesty International chose to answer the questions I posed about Amnesty International’s relationship with Moazzam Begg by affirming their links with him. Now they have also confirmed that the views of Begg, his associates and his organisation Cageprisoners, do not trouble them. They have stated that the idea of jihad in self defence is not antithetical to human rights; and have explained that they meant only the specific form of violent jihad that Moazzam Begg and others in Cageprisoners assert is the individual obligation of every Muslim.

So I invite you to join me as I continue to campaign for public accountability at this moment, which comes but rarely in history, when a great organisation must ask: if it lies to itself, can it demand the truth of others?

Gita Sahgal

For centuries, only males could be awarded the title.

Ten women will become hereditary Freemen of the City at a ceremony at the Freemen of Newcastle's Easter Guild at the Guildhall on Monday.

During the ceremony, each new Freeman will hold a musket and bible as their name is called and they will be asked to sign an oath which will also be signed by the Lord Mayor.

Sir Leonard Fenwick, Chairman of the Freemen of the City, said: "This is an occasion to celebrate for Newcastle upon Tyne which has led the way for more than a decade in campaigning nationally to bring about gender equality and ensure the absolute rights of women to receive the Freelage and of course the civic responsibilities such a distinction does also bring." 

E poi continuano a dire che tutte le religioni sono discrimatorie nei confronti delle donne alla stessa maniera. A fronte di esempi come questo bisogna essere davvero in malafede per fare un'affermazione di tale natura.

The Rt Revd David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham, has announced that the new Dean of Birmingham will be the Revd Canon Catherine Ogle, who is currently Vicar of Huddersfield.
As Dean of Birmingham, Catherine will lead the team of clergy and lay staff at Birmingham Cathedral as well as playing a leading role in the life of the  city.

She is expected to move from Huddersfield to Birmingham in the summer with her husband Robin Goater and their son, Thomas.  A fashion and design graduate, Catherine (48) retains a strong interest in the arts and has a background in broadcasting and journalism.

‘It’s a great honour to be invited to take up this role,’ said Catherine Ogle. ‘I’m excited by the prospect of living and working in such a vibrant and diverse city and looking forward to building on the excellent work that is taking place in and around the Cathedral.’ 
 
The Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart said: “It is a pleasure to be welcoming Catherine to the Diocese. She is a talented priest with a strong track record of Christian leadership and mission. I look forward to working closely with her for the good of the city and the surrounding region.”

Canon Catherine Ogle will be the most senior female clergyperson in the Diocese and as Dean will be part of the Bishops core leadership team.

Sources told The Times that the legislation for women bishops would include no statutory provision for opponents. Instead, arrangements to allow traditionalist parishes to opt out of the oversight of a woman bishop are expected to be included in a voluntary code of practice. This will not be enough to placate a small number of leading Anglo-Catholics who fear that female bishops will “taint” the historic catholicity of the Church of England.The proposed legislation is to be sent to members of the synod on Friday.

A source told The Times that, even though the code of practice would not come under statutory provision, the top 10 or 12 women being spoken of as future bishops in church circles had already resolved privately to do their utmost to keep traditionalists happy by facilitating the woman-free oversight.

Christina Rees, an adviser to the lobby group Women and the Church, said: “I really hope this is draft legislation we can go ahead with. If they have got the shape of it right, I hope we will avoid a lot of amendments that would force us to start the whole process over again.”

To succeed at the synod in July, the legislation to consecrate women bishops must be passed by a simple majority by bishops, clergy and laity.

Un aumento davvero esiguo. Di questo passo quanto tempo ci vorrà per arrivare ad una rappresentanza politica davvero paritaria?

No party will be able to govern with authority or democratically without women or without immediately addressing the shocking state of women's representation in politics that this election campaign has exposed.
 
"Women's voices have been notable by their absence - pushed to the margins in the rush for power - but this has caused a broad based groundswell of anger and concern from women which won't go away after polling day.  Fawcett and many others will be looking to see how the parties respond to this over the next days, weeks and months.

 Figures produced by the Centre for Women & Democracy show that, the percentage of women MPs has risen by just 2% from 19.5% to 21.5% - this represents an increase of about a dozen women in the House of Commons.

http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1142

Ancora una volta un positivo e solare coming out. Lady Sovereign ha deciso di non nascondersi più perchè non c'è nulla di male ad essere lesbiche. Con la visibilità ed il successo sicuramente potrà essere modello e punto di riferimento per tutte quelle lesbiche costrette a vivere nell'ombra. Inoltre, ancora una volta, viene msentito lo stereotipo della lesbica brutta.  

“Magazines would always ask about it but [their questions] would get stopped by my publicists. It was my choice, too, because I was a bit worried about it but now I don’t really give a [expletive]. You can’t hide away forever. It’s just stupid and now I’ve come out I feel a lot more comfortable with myself. But it was a bit scary back then because some people do have horrible opinions,” Sovereign says for Diva, out at newsstands today.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Lady-Sovereign-Comes-Out-of-the-Closet-141956.shtml

http://www.divamag.co.uk/diva/

The Revd Canon Dr Frances Ward, currently Residential Canon at Bradford Cathedral and Canon Theologian of Bradford Diocese, has been named as the new Dean of St Edmundsbury in Suffolk.

She has been at Bradford since 2006: previously she was a vicar at Bury in the Manchester Diocese, and has done various jobs in parishes and as an educator since she was ordained in 1989. This includes teaching for the United Reformed Church at the Northern College in Manchester.

Canon Frances said: "Suffolk holds real attractions for me. As a child I sailed the estuaries of Suffolk and North Essex, and will relish rediscovering this beautiful part of Britain, and serving the town of Bury St Edmunds and the Diocese as Dean. The Diocese and Cathedral will celebrate their centenary in 2014, and already all sorts of ideas are shaping to make that a year to remember."

http://www.bradford.anglican.org/news/story.php?PageID=10053138d08

Ed Miliband has strengthened his pledge to promote women to senior political jobs by supporting a plan to ensure half of the party’s new shadow Cabinet team is female.

Labour’s acting leader, Harriet Harman, announced she would be campaigning for a change to the party’s rules that would see 11 out of the 22 shadow posts given to women. Current rules dictate that just four posts have to be filled by a female MP. The move would guarantee jobs for the likes of Yvette Cooper, Tessa Jowell and Caroline Flint.

Mr Miliband, who had already suggested a third of the shadow Cabinet would be women if he won the leadership, used Twitter to confirm his support for Ms Harman’s proposal. “Very sympathetic to what Harriet has said today on 50 per cent women in Shadow Cabinet,” he said yesterday. “[It] will ultimately be a PLP decision but I will be supporting it.”

He is enthusiastic about the idea as he is already working with some of the party’s rising female stars. It is understood he has been impressed by the likes of Rachel Reeves, the MP for Leeds West and Lisa Nandy, the MP for Wigan. Labour MPs have already agreed that the shadow Cabinet, which is selected by a vote, will not be decided until the next leader has been chosen in September.

Speaking at a conference of the Unite union today, Ms Harman said it was time for her female Labour colleagues “to step out of the shadows” and take top jobs, as Labour had 81 women MPs to choose from. “Labour is the only party in parliament which speaks up for women in this country. We have some excellent experienced women and some brilliant new women MPs,” she said. “We still do have twice as many men MPs as women. The Labour men are great - but they are not twice as good as the women.”

The Welsh Women's National Coalition's (WWNC) holds a closing ceremony at the Senedd later after it was refused assembly government money.

Ministers have accepted mistakes were made in handling funding bids.

The equivalent groups in England and Scotland are 100% government funded.

The WWNC said the "mistake" would have "long-standing repercussions".

The group speaks on behalf of more than 50 organisations, representing the views of women in Wales with the assembly government, particularly in regard to policy making.

WWNC director Naomi Brightmore said the the organisation had achieved "so much with so little" in its history and hit out at the assembly government.

"It is a very sad state of affairs that government priorities, in this very difficult economic climate, make it impossible for WWNC to formally continue," she said.

"It is still my firm believe that the Welsh Assembly Government have made a huge mistake which will have long-standing repercussions for the equality of women in Wales."

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/wales/10267366.stm

Compiled by Faith Matters, an independent multi-cultural organization, the directory gives 50 mosques a five-star rating while another 50 get four stars.

"This project is the first of its kind to focus on the needs of women and their access to, and participation in the governance and day to day functioning of the Mosque," said the founder and director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal.

The 486 mosques surveyed were judged by criteria deemed important by over 100 Muslim women surveyed nationally.

The most frequent were: a separate prayer space for women; services and activities designed for women; an Imam or female scholar accessible to women; women to have a say in decision-making about the institution and women to hold office on mosque committees.

Ce ne fossero di più di simili notizie!

A Canadian author will become the first Muslim-born woman to lead a mixed-gender British congregation through Friday prayers tomorrow in a highly controversial move that will attempt to spark a debate about the role of female leadership within Islam.

Raheel Raza, a rights activist and Toronto-based author, has been asked to lead prayers and deliver the khutbah at a small prayer session in Oxford.

She has been invited by Dr Taj Hargey, a self-described imam who preaches an ultra-liberal interpretation of Islam which includes, among other things, that men and women should be allowed to pray together and that female imams should lead mixed congregations in prayer.

Raza, 60, is part of a small but growing group of Muslim feminists who have tried to challenge the mindset that has traditionally excluded women from leadership roles within the mosque. They argue that nowhere in the Koran are female imams expressly forbidden. Instead scholars rely on the hadiths (the words and sayings of the Prophet Mohamed) to exclude women – although Muslim feminists and some progressive scholars argue that even these are not clear enough to say with confidence that women are altogether banned.

Ms Raza's appearance in Oxford is a repeat of a similar prayer session in 2008 which was led by Amina Wadud, an American-born convert and Muslim feminist. But this is the first time a Muslim-born woman will lead a mixed prayer service in Britain. 

Ms Raza, who is due to fly into Britain this morning, said she was aware that she would be preaching to the converted tomorrow. "But it's about opening one heart, one mind at a time," she added.

The Gender Audit Report was presented to General Synod 2010 by Mrs Elaine Cameron.

http://www.scotland.anglican.org/index.php/news/entry/gender_audit_report_presented_to_general_synod_20104/

Based on an 8 March 2010 Seminar on Sharia Law, research, interviews, and One Law for All case files, the report has identified a number of problem areas:

- Sharia law’s civil code is arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular. With the rise in the acceptance of Sharia courts, discrimination is being further institutionalised with some UK law firms additionally offering clients advice on Sharia law and the use of collaborative law.

-Sharia law is practiced in Britain primarily by Sharia Councils and Muslims Arbitration Tribunals. Both operate on religious principles and are harmful to women although Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are wrongly regarded as being of more concern because they operate as tribunals under the Arbitration Act 1996, making their rulings binding in law.

- Sharia Councils, on the other hand, claim to mediate on family issues but in practice often this differs little from arbitration: they frequently ask those appearing before them to sign an agreement to abide by their decisions; they call themselves courts, and the presiding imams, judges. Their decisions are then imposed and regarded as having the weight of legal judgements.

- There is neither control over the appointment of “judges” in Sharia Councils or Tribunals nor an independent mechanism for monitoring them. Clients often do not have access to legal advice and representation. The proceedings are not recorded, nor are there any searchable legal judgements, nor any real right of appeal.

- Sharia law cannot be compared to secular legal systems because it is considered sacred law that cannot be challenged. There is no scope to look at the interests of the individuals involved, as required by UK family law.

- These legal processes ignore both common law and due process, far less Human Rights, and provide little protection and safety for women in violent situations.

http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/new-report-sharia-law-in-britain-a-threat-to-one-law-for-all-and-equal-rights/

Sinceramente starei ancora aspettando di vedere una presa di posizione dei leader della Chiesa d'Inghilterra contro la violenza alle donne. Evidentemente al momento non giudicano importante condannarla.

Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu will propose a new concession to opponents of women bishops.

It involves "co-ordinate jurisdiction" between a woman bishop and another bishop caring for traditionalist parishes in her diocese.

The proposal by the two most senior figures in the Church of England is aimed at catering for objectors in dioceses where a woman is consecrated a bishop.

The question of the powers of a bishop appointed to look after parishes which do not accept women bishops have been the clearest obstacle to a compromise on the issue.

Opponents do not want bishops appointed to look after them to obtain their powers by delegation from a woman diocesan bishop.

On the other hand, supporters of women bishops say that if the bishop caring for traditionalist parishes holds his powers independently, it will impair the woman bishop's authority in her own diocese and make women "second-class" bishops.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/10368700.stm

http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2909

Several hundred people joined One Law for All on 20 June at Downing Street to show their opposition to Sharia and religious-based laws in Britain and elsewhere and to demand universal rights and secularism.

MC Fariborz Pooya of the Iranian Secular Society said: “The One Law for All Campaign has brought to centre stage an important debate about the kind of society we want to live in whilst defending the rights of everyone irrespective of religion, race, nationality…; this Campaign is truly the voice of the voiceless.”

Women’s rights campaigner Yasmin Rehman said: “We Muslims have been a part of the UK for many, many years but the generations before me did not feel the need for or call for segregation in the way that is being demanded now. At the beginning of my career as a women’s rights advocate there was no need to apply for a certificate of Khula in divorce cases. Muslim women are now being told that divorces under the English legal system are not valued or recognised without a certificate of Khula – and should they remarry without this they will be committing Zina – a ‘crime’ punishable by death in many Muslim countries. This is not a view shared by all Islamic scholars but a view that is being pushed through the Islamic councils and tribunals across the UK.”

Sue Robson of the Gay And Lesbian Humanist Association said: “This is a human rights issue. Here in the UK, it’s an egalitarian issue; it’s a feminist issue. Elsewhere in our world, the issue is life – and death.”

Gerard Phillips of the National Secular Society said that Sharia Law was “nothing less than an attack on human rights and on equality.” He went on to say: “It undermines our democracy. It must be opposed.”

Rev Hudson-Wilkin is currently Vicar of the United Benefice of Holy Trinity with St Philip, Dalston, and All Saints, Haggerston, in the London diocese.

She will combine this role with the position of Speaker’s Chaplain and as a Priest Vicar at Westminster Abbey. Her appointment will begin in September following the retirement of the Rev Robert Wright after 12 years in the role.

She was ordained Deacon in 1991, and Priest in 1994. In 2007 she was appointed a chaplain to the Queen, making her one of only 36 religious leaders who are invited to officiate and preach, on occasions, at the 400-year-old Queen's Chapel beside St. James' Palace.

She is presently a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and has served as one of the Panel of chairs for the Synod. During her time on the synod she was one of the C of E delegate at the World Council of Churches meeting in Zimbabwe & Porto Allegre.

“In Rose Hudson-Wilkin we have found a superb successor. She is one of the most prominent younger black women priests in the Church of England. She is already a Chaplain to the Queen and I hope her new association with the House means we can build strong links with her parish in Hackney.”

http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2010/06/new-speakers-chaplain-appointed/

Philip Hollobone will today attempt to steer legislation through the Commons to regulate the wearing of 'certain facial coverings'.

The Kettering MP said his Bill would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public 'which would obviously have a big impact for those who wear full-face Islamic veils'.

'We are never going to get along with having a fully integrated society if a substantial minority insist on concealing their identity from everyone else.'

Mr Hollobone has previously described the burkha as 'offensive' and 'against the British way of life'.

His comments have attracted criticism but also a 'great deal of support', he said.

The MP said the British public like to smile and greet one another in the street but 'you simply can't have that degree of interaction with people if you can't see their face'.

His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill had its first reading in the Commons today, a formality which allows the legislation to be printed.

Ripeto il concetto per chi non lo avesse ben compreso. L'attrice ha subito le violenze solo ed esclusivamente perchè ha una relazione con un uomo non musulmano. Non dovrebbe essere aberrante?

A Harry Potter actress whose father and brother are accused of threatening to kill her has pleaded with the courts to drop the charges.

Afshan Azad, 22, who has appeared in four of the blockbuster movies as Padma Patil, doesn't want to see her family members locked up as a result of an incident at her home in Manchester.

Her father Abdul Azad, 54, and brother Ashraf Azad, 28, both of Longsight in Manchester, allegedly made a threat against Afshan's life during a bust-up about her boyfriend.

Ashraf Azad is also accused of assaulting his sister causing her actual bodily harm.

 Speaking at the family’s semi-detached home at the time, her brother Ashraf, a customer services adviser, said: ‘We are going to get trouble from the community now. It is bad news for our safety, her safety.

‘My younger brother is going to get harassed at college. All our family is going to be harassed by the community because of this.

‘Her career could be ruined. When she goes to a premiere or something, they are going to ask her about this not about the film.’

During the week of 5-11 July, take stones to your city centres, universities, workplaces, and put them in a public place, with a message in support of Sakine and against stoning and executions. Ask people to send letters of protest and sign the petition opposing it. Send in any photos to be included on the Iran Solidarity blog.

Let's end this once and for all.

http://iransolidarity.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-11-july-place-stones-in-public.html

But sharia councils, which are charities, are equally harmful since their mediation differs little from arbitration. Sharia councils will frequently ask people to sign an agreement to abide by their decisions. Councils call themselves courts and the presiding imams are judges. There is neither control over the appointment of these judges nor an independent monitoring mechanism. People often do not have access to legal advice and representation. Proceedings are not recorded, nor are there any searchable legal judgements. Nor is there any real right to appeal.

There is also danger to those at risk of domestic violence. In one study, four out of 10 women attending sharia courts were party to civil injunctions against their husbands.

Rights, justice, inclusion, equality and respect are for people, not for beliefs and parallel legal systems. To safeguard the rights and freedoms of all those living in Britain, there must be one secular law for all and no religious courts.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/jul/05/sharia-law-religious-courts

Follia pura!

A council has sparked anger after officials blacked out windows on a glass-panelled swimming pool to protect the modesty of Muslim women.

Darlaston Leisure Centre in the West Midlands' town of Walsall, was hailed for its 'ultra-modern' design when it opened ten years ago.

But now council staff have covered 250 windows with dark-tinted film following complaints from Muslim swimmers.

Pauline Poole, 65, a retired legal secretary from Walsall, said: 'I returned to swimming after having a cataracts operation some months ago and was looking forward to looking out on some lovely trees while swimming.

'What I found was a situation that reminded me of how it felt like before my operation, like looking at a horrible cloudy view.

'If it was done for a minority of people, then why was there no vote on it?'

Retired building surveyor John Ewart, 63, from Walsall, added: 'I cannot believe this council has agreed to something so loony.

'The whole thing smacks of political correctness gone stark raving mad.

'A lot of the people who swim are elderly or retired and they now have to swim in the gloom.'

A worker at the pool, who did not want to be named, said: 'The windows were covered up and it's probably cost a few hundred pounds.

'Several customers complained it made the pool dark and dingy but we didn't have a choice.'

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1292128/Swimmers-forced-exercise-darkness-protect-dignity-Muslims-council-blacked-windows.html#ixzz0sqsFvzcP

The Synod yesterday rejected Rowan Williams' ingenious attempt to square the circle about women bishops; and the essential fact about this vote is that it was the clergy who rejected the scheme. One third of the Church of England's clergy are now women, though most of those are unpaid. It was they who were being told that God had put a glass ceiling on them, and they who replied that He hadn't.

But the real losers are Reform, and the other evangelical opponents of women priests. This is a much less popular cause than opposing gay people, and the evangelical reasons are much less defensible than the Catholic ones. "The Bible says women should shut up and do what they're told" is not a line that many people would seriously defend as a vital part of the Christian message. But that is the position to which Reform is committed. It won't have done either Archbishop much good that they attempted to cloak it in obscurity and respectability.

Anyway. I have been watching this story, more or less, for nearly 25 years now, and in all that endless wrangling this is only the second time I can remember the synod making an unequivocal choice. From now on, things really will be different.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2010/jul/11/religion-anglicanism

Most of Britain has accepted that women can assume positions of authority and that homosexuality is a quite ordinary part of human experience. The explicit discrimination practised by the church is unacceptable in most non-religious settings and would be illegal if expressed by any other employer. There are, meanwhile, ample theological grounds for accepting that women are not created subordinate to men and that homosexuality is not hateful in the eyes of God. Dr Williams was determined not to go down in history as the Archbishop who split the church. He could have been remembered by future generations as a religious leader who stood unequivocally on the right side of a moral argument about sexual equality. Regrettably, that opportunity seems now to have passed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/11/rowan-williams-homosexuality-anglicanism

The Church of England's ruling synod has decided that women bishops should be created.

The synod has given minimal concessions to traditionalist Anglicans who opposed the move.

They had sought exemptions from serving under women bishops and guaranteed access to a male alternative.

But the synod decided that it would be up to the women bishops to decide the identity of any bishop coming into their dioceses.

They would also have the ability to dictate the functions these bishops could carry out.

The BBC's religious correspondent Robert Pigott said women bishops would have only to consult a code of practice guiding them in their dealings with traditionalists.

Proposals to create a class of male-only bishops to oversee traditionalist parishes were rejected on Saturday.

Vergogna!

Please sign to support Sakineh! Vi invito a firmare l'appello per la salvezza di Sakineh!

 http://stopstonningnow.com/sakine/sakin284.php?nr=50326944〈=en

I who write this letter, Sajjad Ghader-zade, 22 years old, want to first of all tell you about my mother and the way she was convicted.

My mother, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, was arrested in the city of Oskoo on charges of adultery. She was prosecuted in the Oskoo criminal court. My mother and Mr. Naser and Mr. Ali Nojumiha were each sentenced to 99 lashes there, and the sentences were fully served at the executive office on everyone convicted in this case. Then as to why the case was sent to Branch VI of Eastern Azerbaijan retribution court in Tabriz for review, I have no idea. Here my mother’s case was reviewed by five judges, after which Mr. Imani, the head of Branch VI, and two of his colleagues, based on their own wisdom sentenced my mother to death by stoning, while two others found my mother innocent of the charges and stated this verdict clearly. Mr. Mostafayi (Sakineh’s lawyer) says there are a lot of uncertainties and doubts in this case. Mr. Mostafayi refers to two judges in the panel who clearly stated that there was neither evidence nor legal grounds whatsoever in the file to sentence Mrs. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, and the existing indications and evidence could not provide basis for any assumptions by the panel, and one accused should not stand trial twice on the same charge. The case was then sent to the Supreme Court, which unfortunately upheld the sentence. This was a summary of the case but I want to point out other uncertainties regarding the case. We have traveled more than 6 times to Tehran to visit Mr. Larijani, or Khamenei, or Ahmadi-Nezhad, and written more than a hundred times to them but have not received any response, so I have no option but reaching out to them this way. I want to ask the country’s authorities a few questions and hope they hear me.

 http://iransolidarity.blogspot.com/2010/07/letter-to-mina-ahadi-and-all-those.html

http://iransolidarity.org.uk/Sangsarha%20lst-farshad-july2010.pdf

 http://notonemoreexecution.org/

Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani is a forty-three year old mother ofhhttp://stopstonningnow.com/sakine/sakin284.php?nr=50326944〈=enttp://stopstonningnow.com/sakine/sakin284.php?nr=50326944〈=en two children, 16 & 20 year old respectively. Both Sakine's children and her lawyer tried everything they could to stop the stoning sentence, as a result of committing adultery. However, her stoning is finalized by the Iran's court. Sakine is in Tabriz prison awaiting her imminent stoning sentence.

The barbaric act of stoning must stop now!
Do not allow our nightmare become a reality,
Protest against our mother’s stoning!

Un grande applauso a queste ragazze e alla loro determinazione. Contrariamente a quelle che passano il tempo solo ed esclusivamente tra vestiti, rossetto, make-up ed a corrrere dietro ai maschi dal mattino alla sera. 

Four women have set a new record by becoming the first women to row non-stop around Britain, organisers say.

The Seagals, who have spent over seven weeks in their 24ft (7.3m) boat, Go Commando, completed their 2,010-mile (3,234km) journey at Tower Bridge, London.

Ms Madsen said it had been a "huge test of physical and mental endurance", while Ms Thomasson said she would spend the two-hour rowing shifts "dreaming of a long hot shower, crispy clean cotton sheets on a soft bed and a feast of fresh food".

The women have spent more than 51 days at sea, living in a boat that is so small only two people at a time can sleep in the cabins. The other two have to sit outside in all weathers.

The race is sponsored by Virgin, and the daughter of company boss Sir Richard Branson, Holly, set off the race at Tower Bridge on 1 June.

Sir Richard said he was "over the moon" such "brave women" had won.

In the top 100 public companies, women made up 12.6% of executive directors, little changed from last year's 12.2%.

Taking into account all 600 companies quoted on the London stock exchange, the figure falls to just 5%.

The findings, from headhunters Egon Zehnder, come as the US prepares to introduce boardroom quotas for women and ethnic minorities.

A UK Treasury Committee report earlier this year highlighted the lack of women in senior positions in the financial services sector.

Women make up 44% of employees in the banking, finance and insurance sector, but are significantly under-represented at senior levels throughout the financial services.

It stopped short of saying more women on boards would have lessened the impact of the finance crisis, as some of its witnesses had maintained.

But it concluded that "not wasting a large proportion of talent seems more than sufficient to conclude that increased gender diversity is desirable".

The government this week responded to the Committee's findings, pledging to ensure that talented women were not being denied the opportunity to contribute to business and commercial decision-making

 The UK has so far not proposed quotas to ensure better female representation at boardroom level.

But Egon Zehnder's managing partner in London, Andrew Roscoe, said other countries' insistence on affirmative action could have an impact in the UK.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10648355

Plans to give defendants in rape cases anonymity appear to have been dropped by the coalition Government.

Instead, according to a report in The Guardian, ministers will negotiate with the Press Complaints Commission to persuade newspapers and websites to allow suspected rapists to remain anonymous.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman yesterday denied that the move was a step back from the coalition's initial stance, saying: "The Government never said it would bring in legislation. It said it would consider the options."

Plans to give anonymity to rape suspects and defendants were strongly criticised by MPs from all sides.

Shadow minister Maria Eagle had warned that by singling out one offence for anonymity, ministers were in "danger of sending a clear signal to victims: you will not be believed".

Corby Tory MP Louise Bagshawe had also said there were concerns on all sides of the Commons that by "singling out rape in this way ministers are sending a negative signal about women and those who accuse men of rape".

The Guardian reported that Blunt told MPs last week that while the current PCC guidance on reporting rape cases was not strong enough, the answer was not to introduce fresh legislation.

PCC guidance on reporting on people accused of crime says that Clause 7, covering children in sex cases, and Clause 11, covering the victims of sexual assault, are relevant when publishing articles about people accused of sexual offences.

In addition, the Editors' Codebook, a guide to the Code of Practice, warns of the dangers of publishing details which might lead readers to be able to identify victims of sex attacks.

But it does not suggest giving anonymity to defendants.

Defendants in rape cases were given anonymity by the Sexual Offences

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=45759&c=1

Allora, facciamo un pò di ripasso. Le persone gay sono sempre e comunque strane nel fisico e nel volto. Se uomini hanno lineamenti feminei e se donne sembrano maschi. Se uomini non sono in grado di avere un minimo di forza e prestanza fisica e sono tutti flaccidi e panzuti. Se donne sono brutte e non hanno un minimo di buon gusto nell'abbigliamento. Certo, esattamente come Gareth Thomas e Mary Portas! Ah l'ironia!

Pink List judges – including former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw, broadcaster Clare Balding, Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill, and John Amaechi, the psychologist and author – fought long and hard to decide on the 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain today. 

1= (new entry) Gareth Thomas; Rugby player

The revelation of Thomas's homosexuality in an interview with the Daily Mail last December confirmed what had been an open secret in rugby union for years after his separation from his wife, but it highlighted the taboo over gay people in professional sport. Thomas, the 35-year-old former Wales and British & Irish Lions captain, won 103 international caps and played club rugby for Cardiff Blues and Toulouse. He said in his interview that he was unaware of any other gay player "still in the game". From living a lie, he has taken on the role of campaigner, working with Childline to reach out to young people facing the dilemma with which he struggled from the age of 17. The reaction in the macho world of rugby has been universally sympathetic although, earlier this summer, as Thomas was playing his second game of rugby league for south Wales side Crusaders, he was subjected to homophobic abuse from Castleford fans, for which the Yorkshire club was fined £40,000. Thomas says he has had no problems in his other Super League games. Both Thomas and Nigel Owens, the Welsh referee who was previously rugby union's only high-profile gay figure, contemplated suicide before coming out.

1= (new entry) Mary Portas; Broadcaster, PR and Queen of Shops

For such a candid personality, it's a surprise that Portas has kept her private life just that for so long. Within the magazine and public relations worlds, her relationship with the fashion journalist Melanie Rickey was common knowledge, although she never discussed it in the media. This year it all changed. The couple's civil partnership in June – and discussion of it on Jonathan Ross's chat show and in Grazia magazine – meant the many fans of her Mary Queen of Shops TV show learnt about what Portas, 48, described as a day of "lots of tight dresses and high heels". Sexual preference is no barrier to success in the fashion industry where Portas made her name in the early Nineties by turning Harvey Nichols into a must-shop destination before setting up her consultancy, Yellow Door, and then becoming a retail guru in print and on TV. But for the wider public Portas has, in coming out, enlightened many about how lesbians look and behave (just like anyone else, that is). Like any good PR, she would rather create publicity for clients than for herself, but her inclusive nature and stratospheric success make her a fantastic role model.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/the-iiosi-pink-list-2010-2040472.html

Below Mary Portas, right and girlfriend and Grazia journalist Melanie Rickie, Left. The couple had a civil partnership in june. Thomas at the moment has no boyfriend.

http://www.queeried.co.uk/mary-portas-melanie-rickey-wedding/

Mary and Melanie the day of their civil partnership ceremony.

The research by the Chartered Management Institute is the latest to highlight the continuing gender gap, despite 40-year-old legislation making it illegal to pay men and women differently for the same work.

The gap is partly attributable to men having seniority or getting bigger bonuses. But even at junior management level, the study found women earn at least 1,000 pounds a year less than men.

The institute surveyed more than 43,000 managers in 200 organizations. It found that women's salaries are growing faster — up 2.8 percent last year, compared to 2.3 percent for men. At current rates, women's salaries will equal men's in 2067.

Ancora una storia di coraggio e integrità ed un positivo modello per chi è gay. 

The 19-year-old X Factor winner made the brave decision to come out in an emotional ­interview with the Mirror, just a week after telling his mum.

Joe has always denied rumours he was gay, but insisted the reason was he didn’t know himself until recently.

He's been the subject of intense scrutiny over his sexuality ever since his sensational X Factor win.

And Joe McElderry has always insisted he was straight.

But the 19-year-old has now bravely decided to tell the world he is gay – and the denials were down to the fact he never knew himself, until three weeks ago.

And he said he is comfortable with his decision to come out publicly, declaring: “I’m happy. I now know who I am.”

 Relaxing in the garden of his Central London flat, Joe said: “I’m so happy. It’s all been so recent to be honest. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had time to think and come to realise who I am. I have grown up a lot.

“I’m not worried about how fans will react. They have always said they’ll back me no matter what. Everyone’s been really kind so I would like to thank them and your readers for all the support."

If Joe has any misconceptions being gay could affect his career, he only needs to look at Will Young. He came out in 2002 after winning Pop Idol and has gone from strength to strength.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/07/31/joe-mcelderry-i-m-gay-x-factor-winner-comes-out-in-daily-mirror-interview-115875-22452854/

http://www.joe-music.com/

Come da copine. Brutto, flaccido e panzuto. Ah, l'ironia!

The actor, who was recently in BBC1's Casualty, speaks to the magazine about his career and personal life.

On the speculation surrounding his sexuality: “If someone had said ’are you gay?’ I would have said yes, but no-one ever did. I’ve never felt the need to leap out of the closet singing and dancing about it. I’ve always known I was gay, from a very young age. I came out to my friends and my family at a very young age, so for me it’s always been my life and it’s never needed to be a huge change that I’ve had to tell everyone about.”
 
On coming out, he added: “If you are in the public eye I think people feel like they have a right to know, feel like they have a right to ask and that you should be completely open and honest about all these things. And I think it depends.”

http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=3633

http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/Magazine/InThisIssue-articleid-7179-sectionid-736.html

http://jonleeofficial.com/

Please do your best to organise an event in your area. Per favore fate del vostro meglio per organizzare un evento nella vostra città. Je vous prie de bien vouloir organiser une manif dans votre ville.

The International campaign to save Sakineh Ashtiaani from stoning has brought this savage, criminal punishment to the attention of the world. Today Sakineh’s name is familiar to millions of people. Hundreds of thousands have expressed their abhorrence of stoning through, among other things, signing petitions and taking part in protest actions worldwide. This millions strong movement must be organized. It must take its protest to the streets!

To that end we call on citizens of the world to mark August 28, 2010 the day of protest action by 100 CITIES OF THE WORLD AGAINST STONING. We call on you, civilized people of the world, to actively show your vehement opposition to stoning as a pre-medieval form of savagery. Organize, or participate in, protest rallies everywhere. Condemn the Islamist regime in Iran as the cruelest regime of its kind that stones people to death. It has, during the 31 years of its existence, stoned at least 109 people, predominantly women, and currently has 25 more people sit on stoning death row. These barbaric, serial killings must be stopped!

We call especially on all anti-stoning campaigners, as well as all groups and organizations particularly involved in the on-going international campaign to save Sakineh, to actively mobilize, with everything in their power, for a strong 100 CITIES OF THE WORLD AGAINST STONING action. We request you all to contact us through our website addresses below in order to coordinate your efforts and organize more effectively. We shall soon announce the list of names of the cities willing and prepared to organize an action.

Further, we request all trade unions and other workers’ organization, women’s organizations, Amnesty International and all progressive organizations to join us in this campaign aimed at forcing back the Islamist regime. Please forward this callout to your membership and mobilize them for a forceful, global 100 CITIES OF THE WORLD AGAINST STONING.

We call on all local councils, city governments and MPs around the world to actively join this global, citizens’ campaign, issue statements and pass resolutions condemning the barbaric regime of stoning in Iran.

We request the world media to help us in disseminating the news of the advance of 100 CITIES OF THE WORLD AGAINST STONING campaign.

We also call on all Iranian individulas living abroad, all Iranian opposition organizations, and all the Farsi language media to consider 100 CITIES OF THE WORLD AGAINST STONING their own protest action against the regime of stoning in Iran. We request them to add to its force as well as expanse through contributing their creative ideas.