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.

http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2009/01/losing_my_hijab

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La Leadershio Conference of Women Religious è attualmente oggetto di inestigazione da parte del Vaticano.

Le suore, apparentemente, hanno posizioni dottrinarie in merito al ruolo della donna all'interno della chiesa e nella società e in merito alle persone gay che evidentemente infastidiscono le gerarchie vaticane composte, occorre ricordarlo, solo da uomini.

Riporto gli articoli del Washington Post, del National Catholic Reporter ed il comunicato stampa della Leadershio Conference of Women Religious

 

The Vatican has launched a doctrinal investigation into the leadership of Catholic sisters in the United States, reportedly because they have not sufficiently promoted the Vatican line on homosexuality and other issues.

Calls to the Vatican spokesman were not returned late Wednesday. A spokeswoman of the conference, Sister Annmarie Sanders, declined to comment beyond the statement. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041502829.html

http://ncronline.org/news/women/vatican-investigates-us-women-religious-leadership

http://ncronline.org/news/women/women-religious-meet-vatican-accusers-rome

http://www.lcwr.org/lcwrpressreleases/publicstatements/Statement2-20-09.pdf

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Da notare, in questa triste vicenda, che i talebani non hanno attaccato una scuola maschile ma una femminile.

Of the 90 girls from the Qazaam school admitted to hospital, at least five slipped briefly into comas, officials in Kapisa province, north-east of the capital, said. Six teachers and at least two other staff were also admitted.

It was the third such attack against a girls' school in Afghanistan in as many weeks, raising fears that the Taliban are resorting to increasingly vicious methods to terrorise young women out of education.

But the alleged poisoning comes just days after girls at a school in nearby Charikar, on the road north of Kabul, complained of similar symptoms.

Last November, men on motorbikes used water pistols to squirt acid in girls' faces as they walked to school on the outskirts of Kandahar. More than a dozen girls and several teachers at the Mirwais School for Girls had the acid thrown in their faces and one was so badly disfigured she had to go abroad for treatment. The attacks caused such distress and fear that many parents kept their girls at home for several weeks but most have since returned to school, vowing not to be intimidated.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/girls-targeted-in-taliban-gas-attack-1684028.html

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Ci sono diverse iniziative tese a migliorarre le condizioni di vita delle donne sudanesi, in particolare quelle del Darfour. Tra la guerra civile, la violenza, la povertà e l'estremismo islamico la situazione per queste donne è decisamente drammatica. Eppure c'è speranza per il cambiamento.

Si può sostenere una delle iniziative che segnalo o, per chi lavora nei media, srivere articoli ed editoriali sull'argomento.

An example of how our small-scale projects can translate into large-scale impact is evident through the experience of Rajaa. Rajaa was a determined young woman whose goal was to start a business--an International calling center. When she met Sudan-Reach in 2005 she was given a grant to start taking classes and soon thereafter she started a small business selling cosmetics. By the following year, she had almost saved enough money to start her calling center.  With an additional grant from Sudan-Reach in 2007 she purchased the equipment needed to start her business and today she is the proud owner of Manshia Telephone Communications Center--which enables clients to place long distance and local telephone calls. 

Rajaa's success would not have been possible without the generous support of Sudan-Reach's donors who fund the Empower-a-Woman campaign which makes employment and business opportunities available to women. Donor's to this campaign give $5, $10, or $20 a month to help us continue our work. Rajaa's story is proof that these contributions really do make a difference.

http://www.sudanreach.org/campaign.htm

 By UN statistics, about 1.8 million southerners were forced by the prolonged strife to desert their villages and townships and flock to refuges in the north as displaced citizens. The majority of these are innocent women and children.

 

 

In Sudan, a girl is more likely to die in childbirth than complete primary school. And yet, education in Sudan is desperately needed to break the cycle of poverty.

• 86% have no formal education
• 96.5% cannot read or write than their name
• 99% have no electricity
• 98.5% have no access to running water
• 93% have lost at least one family member
• 68% of married women live in a polygamous marriage

Literacy is the key to their future Once a woman learns to read, write and do simple addition in our program, she can take the next step to run her own business, join a woman’s cooperative and pass her literacy skills on to her children.

A woman's value in Sudan is based on the number of cows paid for her dowry. To divorce, a woman must pay back those cows - a nearly impossible task.

http://www.womenforwomen.org/global-initiatives-helping-women/help-women-sudan.php

Facilitating recreational and social activities in two IDP camps to improve the psychological and social well-being of children, youth and women, and build community leadership.

Decreasing women's dependency on aid through livelihood initiatives directly tied to health programs and ensuring strong collaboration between host community and IDP families.

http://ajws.org/emergencies/darfur/sudan_relief_and_advocacy_fund.html

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Un'interessante intervista relativa alla situazione sociale e politica delle donne in Tunisia.

Advocate Bochra Bel Haj Hmida shares her opinions on what is left to accomplish in the field of women's rights and the threats to existing advancements.

Magharebia: In statements earlier this year, you warned against the risk of a decline in Tunisian women's gains. Do you still maintain those ideas? Can you tell us about the nature and source of that risk?

Hmida: Like many human rights activists, I believe that we managed to secure significant gains, starting with the Personal Status Code issued half a century ago, as well as all the supporting and complementing laws, along with the rise in the number of educated girls and family planning policies, in addition to all other measures aimed at enhancing women's position in society.

Nonetheless, those gains remain retractable for a number of reasons.

Magharebia: Why aren't there more Tunisian women in leadership positions in politics, unions, and NGOs, which support your call for gender equality?

Hmida: Tunisia has not made much progress in this area, despite progress in the law. It can be traced back to mentalities, to what we ask of women, and to rivalry in the field of politics. The feminist movement itself was not settled through a feminist perspective, but rather through a political, state-like vision. In my opinion, that situation requires adopting bold measures, such as the principle of quota. Also, enhancing discussions even within women's organisations and within society is important so that women's candidacy and voting for women would not be different from men's candidacy and voting for men. In other words, women are not required to be perfect.

 http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/04/21/feature-02

 

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You know from the wide coverage of this week's American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., that there were several surprises in the statements delivered from the podium.

We expected some surprises. What I, for one, did not expect -- given how the Jewish community has evolved in the past 30 years -- was the astonishing fact that of the 77 speakers listed for this year's plenaries and on-the-record press schedule, only two were women. Two!! You can see for yourself at aipac.org. And one of these was Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.). 

When I began to observe and report on the American Jewish scene more than 30 years ago, I was alert to how few women were asked to speak at national meetings and to express their opinions in the Jewish press (except on obvious gender-related issues).

I was struck in those days by the absence of women leading major American Jewish organizations -- those big, co-ed "legacy" institutions. But this is 2009, for heaven's sake.

For any conference organizer or program planner to claim that he or she doesn't know of enough qualified speakers or presenters is absurd. Years ago, I would hear, "Just give me a list."

Well, the lists have existed for a while now. The organization Advancing Women Professionals in the Jewish Community, the Talent Bank that Lilith magazine has maintained for many years and the faculty roster of every university are logical places to start. 

http://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=10692&SectionID=31&SubSectionID=&S=1

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President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has unleashed a fusillade of anti-Semitic and anti-Hispanic vitriol among white supremacists and racists angry at the nomination of the first Hispanic to the high court.

White supremacists and anti-Semites have flooded Internet sites with messages charging the Sotomayor nomination is the result of "Jewish power" and conspiracy theories about Jewish control of the government and media.

 

In their online writings, white supremacists argue that "Jewish power" was responsible for Sotomayor's nomination and her previous career success; that Sotomayor is herself Jewish, or, in the words of one racist, a "cryptojew;" and that Sotomayor was handpicked by Jews because of her Latino heritage in an effort to "destroy the white race."

http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/5551_12.htm

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Da dove cominciare? Dal fatto che non ci dovrebbero essere leggi diverse per le singole comunità etniche e religiose? (la legge in questione è diretta alla minoranza sciita). O dal fatto che si tratta di una legge barbara che dovrebbe essere rigettata nella spazzatura della storia?

Afghanistan has quietly passed a law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands' sexual demands, despite international outrage over an earlier version of the legislation which President Hamid Karzai had promised to review.

The new final draft of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers, and requires women to get permission from their husbands to work.

"It also effectively allows a rapist to avoid prosecution by paying 'blood money' to a girl who was injured when he raped her," the US charity Human Rights Watch said.

The law has been backed by the hardline Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohseni, who is thought to have influence over the voting intentions of some of the country's Shias, which make up around 20% of the population.

"These kinds of barbaric laws were supposed to have been relegated to the past with the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, yet Karzai has revived them and given them his official stamp of approval."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/14/afghanistan-womens-rights-rape

Western leaders and Afghan women's groups were united in condemning an apparent reversal of key freedoms won by women after the fall of the Taliban.

Now an amended version of the same bill has passed quietly into law with the apparent approval of President Karzai.

Women's groups say its new wording still violates the principle of equality that is enshrined in their constitution.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8204207.stm

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The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — which enforces theological purity — is investigating the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group that represents about 90 percent of women's orders. In February, the Vatican wrote the leadership conference, asking the group to clarify its stand on three doctrinal issues: that only men can be priests; that homosexual practice should not be sanctioned; and that the Catholic Church provides the way to salvation.

"As women religious, we wouldn't believe that we've done anything to create the need for this," says Nancy Schreck, president of Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque, Iowa. "It feels like an affront to us."

"I don't know what they're afraid of," she says. "What I would guess is some of the more conservative bishops in the U.S. might see the sisters moving with spirit of Vatican II in a way they're not comfortable with. So it may be some effort to kind of rein us in."

That's fine by Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan. After all, she says, the Roman Catholic Church is not a democracy.

"We knew what we were getting into when we came to the altar and said, 'I promise, I do vow indeed poverty, chastity and obedience,' " she says. "I was old enough to know what I was talking about. For those of us who live it and love it, we can say, yes, sometimes it grinds us, but we're better for it."

But Sister Nancy Schreck says as followers of Jesus, the sisters must voice their views when they feel the Vatican is wrong — on things like caring for gay men and lesbians, and the equality of women. Such discussion is the American way, she says, adding that these disagreements reflect the larger tension between Rome and the U.S. church.

 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112080711

 http://www.examiner.com/x-7785-Miami-Alternative-Religions-Examiner~y2009m8d19-American-nuns-to-the-Vatican--I-aint-afraid-of-no-Pope

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000622.shtml

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Wajeha Al-Huwaider è una femminista saudita che ricorda che, nel regno dei peroldollari, le donne non possono guidare. Nè essere elette. Nè votare, Nè uscire di casa da sole.l Nè fare sport. Nè parlare con un uomo che non sia un parente stretto. E la lista continua. Sotto il video la mostra mentre guida una macchina incitando altre donne a farlo.

 

 In truth, we endure a status that most Americans can scarcely imagine.

 Women are not allowed to participate in sports. How could you in an abaya? When I was very young, I was a tomboy. I loved to ride a bike, which my mother allowed, although most girls are forbidden because this activity might cost them their "virginity" by rupturing the hymen. When I was 7, my teacher tied my legs and beat me with a stick when she learned that I had been playing soccer with boys. Then she made me sit at my desk all day, without going to the bathroom or getting a drink of water.

 The guardianship rules are only part of a bigger system of subjugating women. Even with the permission of a guardian, a woman may not drive a car (except in some isolated rural areas and within the compounds that are home to many workers from Western countries). Obviously, there is nothing in the Koran that forbids driving. No, the reason we are not allowed to drive is that the power to transport ourselves would give men much less control over us.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081401598.html

 

 

 

 

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The shadowy threat circulated in city streets and village bazaars in the days before Afghanistan's historic presidential vote: The Taliban would cut off the ink-stained fingers of those who had dared to cast a ballot.

On Saturday, election observers disclosed that they had confirmed two such cases in southern Afghanistan and were investigating a third report in an eastern province.

The fingers of two female voters in Kandahar province, a stronghold of the Taliban, were cut off because the women voted, Nader Naderi, director of the Free and Fair Elections Foundation, told CNN.

At least 650 women's polling centers that were planned didn't open on election day, according to Free and Fair Elections, the largest Afghan observer organization. In the southern province of Oruzgan, of 36 centers for women planned, only six opened, Naderi said. In certain polling centers in the south and southeast of the country almost no women voted, according to the National Democratic Institute, an American-financed group that promotes democracy abroad.

Officials asked that the district where the two women had their fingers severed not be disclosed because it could endanger the observer who reported the grisly act. The other reported amputation case under investigation was in an Afghan province bordering Pakistan's volatile tribal areas.

The two female voters in question, whose fingers were stained with telltale purple ink, were attacked by insurgents soon after voting Thursday, Naderi said. No further details about the attack were disclosed.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/world/2009/08/23/0823afghanwomen.html

Come se questo non bastasse l'ultima tornata elettorale afghana è stata quanto meno problematica per le donne.

The insecurity also led to greater proxy voting, in which male family members vote for the women, further robbing women of their rights, observers said.

Women received almost no coverage in news reporting, and topics concerning women’s rights were virtually never featured in news coverage of the electoral campaign, the European Union mission said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/world/asia/23afghan.html?_r=1&em

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The practice of bride gifts has been relabelled "bride price", demanded by families and fiercely negotiated. It has reduced young women to commodities and has made families see their daughters as a source of income. Today bride price isn't a bag of potatoes, it's a list of demands for money, animals or clothing made by fathers and older brothers, who might want to throw in requests for new shoes or school fees. The mother gets nothing because she was more or less purchased herself, and the sisters are ignored too as they are all set to be exchanged for commodities when they reach 12 or 13.

The impact of this commodification on young women is catastrophic. It breeds misery and reduces them to chattels.

Despite the Ugandan constitution according equal rights to women, the law is not protecting young girls from being used as economic commodities

Mifumi is attempting to go through the courts to try to get women's constitutional rights upheld and to get bride price banned or regulated, but it is an uphill struggle. Women's economic disempowerment is upheld and entrenched by this tradition. And it has to be stopped.

http://www.mifumi.org/index.php

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/katineblog/2009/aug/18/money-women

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Hamas has instructed schoolgirls in the Gaza Strip to wear the jilbab (Islamic long-sleeved dress) and head scarves or face being expelled from school.

The movement has also banned girls from wearing jeans at school.

A veteran journalist in the Gaza Strip said that most girls who returned to
schools that reopened on Sunday were seen dressed in traditional Islamic clothes.

He noted, for instance, that at the Maghazi Girls Secondary School in the center of the Gaza Strip, "about 95 percent" of the girls showed up wearing jilbabs.

"The few who came to school wearing jeans were warned that they would be expelled if they did not wear jilbabs," the journalist told The Jerusalem Post.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418679723&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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Vi consiglio di leggere i commenti all'articolo. Lasciano senza parole.

Dubai: All female staff at Dubai Bank, Muslim and non-Muslim, must wear a shailah (head scarf) and abaya (black cloak covering the whole body) starting this Ramadan, Gulf News has learnt.

A memo sent to staff on Thursday says the bank has decided that all Muslim and non-Muslim female staff must wear a shailah and abaya.

The Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board's proposal, a copy of which has been obtained by Gulf News, says the abaya should not have any embroidery or decoration on it and must not be coloured.

It says any female staff who does not adhere to this dress code should be advised by the human resources department at the bank to follow it.

If the staff member insists on not abiding by the law then the matter should be brought to the notice of the executive member of the Sharia supervisory board who can decide upon action to be taken against that staff.

The bank will encourage employees to wear a shailah and abaya by providing staff with them. The head of the human resources department has been instructed to ensure that employees adhere to the dress code.

http://archive.gulfnews.com/nation/General/10342385.html

 

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Three women who serve as presidents of the World Council of Churches have expressed "considerable concern and great disappointment" about the lack of women in senior staff leadership positions in the world's biggest church grouping.

The WCC's six programme directors are all men. So are the organization's six "key management personnel" from the general secretary down, with the exception of the executive director for planning and integration, who is retiring at the end of September. 

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=3341

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After serving as a voice for justice for 40 years in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and beyond, Sister of Charity Louise Akers has been told by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk to publicly disassociate herself from the issue of women’s ordination if she wishes to continue making any presentations or teaching for credit in any archdiocesan-related institutions.

Akers and Pilarczyk met for 30 minutes Aug. 10 in his archdiocesan office in Cincinnati. She had requested the meeting after being informed that persons upset with her teaching had registered official complaints with church officials. Central to those complaints were both the presence of her name and photo on the Women’s Ordination Conference web site and her membership on its advisory board.

“Women’s ordination is a justice issue. Its basis is the value, dignity and equality of women. I believe this to my very core. To publicly state otherwise would be a lie and a violation of my conscience. I love, support and cherish the part of Church that upholds the gospel mission and vision of Jesus.”

She quoted the words of Martin Luther, uttered centuries ago: “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.”

http://ncronline.org/news/cincinnati-nun-given-ultimatum-over-ordination-views

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“We have seen time and time again that sex segregated programs are inherently unequal for both girls and boys and in some instances, can shut students out of the best classes in the school simply because of their sex," said Emily Martin, Deputy Director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project. “One of the strengths of public schools is the opportunity they provide for students to learn from those different from themselves. Sex segregation leaves students less prepared for success in a coeducational world. In fact, there is no consistent evidence that segregating students by sex improves learning for either boys or girls.”

The ACLU charges that mandatory sex segregation in public schools violates Title IX of the Education Amendments, the Equal Education Opportunities Act and the U.S. Constitution.

"Mandatory sex segregation in public schools is not only clearly against the law, it's also an empty promise for failing schools," said Katie Schwartzmann, Legal Director of the ACLU of Louisiana. "Inevitably, these experimental programs deny equal opportunity to girls and boys and distract much needed time and money from efforts that we know work like smaller classes, highly trained teachers, sufficient funding and involved parents."

http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/edu/40956prs20090908.htm

l http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/womensrights/janedoevvermilionparish_complaint.pdf

 

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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/

 

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Over the past year women human rights activists have faced repeated attacks in the Serbian media including being threatened with lynching.

Such attacks are made by parliamentarians, members of ultra-right organizations and members of the security services indicted for war crimes. Other defenders have had their property destroyed, their offices attacked or been beaten by members of neo-Nazi groups.

The briefing also focuses on those who defend the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT). Since 2001 the LGBT community in Serbia has been unable to hold a Pride Day parade due to serious threats by right-wing and religious organizations. Such organizations have already made unveiled threats against the organizers of this year’s parade, scheduled for 20 September.

"The LGBT community is marginalized even within civil society and criminal investigations into assaults on LGBT people, even where the perpetrators have been identified, are rarely resolved," Sian Jones said. 

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/human-rights-activists-under-threat-serbia-20090914

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR70/014/2009/en/62eed1a1-0150-4999-aca5-6909720e053b/eur700142009en.pdf

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No comment!

Male rioters in a suburb here on September 11 attacked about 20 women wearing trousers.

The men, in Rubaga, a Kampala suburb, began detaining women during their protests, police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba said at a press conference that took place that same day.

Women wearing skirts were allowed to pass, Nabakooba said, but those wearing trousers were forcibly undressed and left to walk home in their underwear.

The abuse occurred amid violence in the Ugandan capital, which officials say has claimed 14 lives and injured about 70.

Women's rights advocate Jackie Asiimwe denounced the rioters for using the clash to abuse women and commit criminal acts in New Vision, a Kampala-based newspaper. "It is an invasion of women's privacy," the newspaper quoted Asiimwe as saying.

"Traditionally, trousers are not acceptable and are a Western thing," Rizzan Nassuna, a writer and human rights advocate in Kampala told Women's eNews. "In (the kingdom of) Buganda, you are supposed to wear long skirts. This is coming out of a local belief that women are not supposed to wear trousers, but this has never been formalized or really come out in the open. They violated their dignity as women, making them walk naked, because they are wearing trousers."

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/4140/context/archive

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Research conducted by the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) has found that women are still struggling to reach the top positions in Germany’s leading companies.

According to the study, only 42 of the 1,721 executive committee members at Germany’s top 600 listed companies are women. This corresponds to just 2.4 percent. The study also found that just 8.2 percent of those sitting on Boards of Directors were female.

“Even more shocking than the low proportion was the fact that, over the last ten years, significant change has not been made,” Professor Lindstädt added.

“Many more businesses should be forced to publicise the proportion of women in their top three positions as part of their Corporate Governance Reports. That way we can gain more transparency on this important point,” he said.

Perhaps one reason for this might be the fact that women who are successful in these economies face less social criticism than German women, who confront, for example, accusations that they are abandoning their maternal duty,

http://www.thelocal.de/money/20090916-21975.html

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Jerzy Sojka, spokesperson for the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, which has 80 000 members, told Ecumenical News International that the matter of women clergy was not excluded from discussion but added, "Our situation is not conditioned by theological considerations alone but also by economic, social and cultural questions, as well as by ecumenical relations. Although a debate on this issue is taking place, it also needs quiet reflection."

The lay Lutheran was responding to a conference declaration by 30 women theologians from Poland, Germany, Russia, Latvia and Brazil that Lutheran churches in Poland and Latvia were being unjust in excluding women from their ordained ministry. Most member churches of the Lutheran World Federation, which represents 68.5 million Lutherans worldwide, do ordain women.

In their declaration at the end of the 9 to 13 September conference at Mikolajki, a town in north-eastern Poland, the female theologians said that qualified Lutheran women in Poland were still waiting to "live their vocation to the full," while colleagues in Latvia had been admitted to the ordained ministry in 1975 but were debarred again in 1992.

The statement added that Lutheran women in Poland and Latvia were victims of the "structural violence experienced for centuries by women in the church," which was "often invisible, silent and systemic," and "exercised through unjust social and ecclesiastical structures."

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=3376

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The decision to ban women from riding motorcycles was published by the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the movement's security forces in the Gaza Strip.

The decision is seen in the context of Hamas's efforts to enforce strict Islamic teachings in the area.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254861889804&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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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

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Uccidere una persona a causa dell'odio motivato dalla disabilità, dal genere, dall'orientamento sessuale e dall'identità di genere della vittima sarà un'aggravante.

Questi crimini non solo solo attacchi personali ma mandano un messaggio ad un determinato gruppo sociale, ad esempio le donne, con il quale si intende trasmettere la paura ad entrare negli spazi pubblici.

US President Barack Obama Wednesday condemned crimes meant not to break only bones "but to break spirits" as he celebrated a landmark hate crimes law as a new step forward for US civil rights.

Obama signed an act outlawing offenses motivated by a person's race, gender, identity, color, sexual orientation, or mental of physical disability, ending a years-long crusade by crime victims and relatives.

"Today, we have taken another step forward," Obama said. "This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade."

  http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091028/ts_alt_afp/uspoliticssocialrightsobama

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/index.html

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Despite notable gains for women in the past year, a Forward survey of 75 major American Jewish communal organizations found that fewer than one in six are run by women, and those women are paid 61 cents to every dollar earned by male leaders.

The numbers are especially striking when compared with the overall composition of the Jewish communal work force. Women comprise about 75% of those employed by federations, advocacy and social service organizations, and religious and educational institutions, but occupy only 14.3% of the top positions. Of the 11 female leaders identified in this survey, three are in interim roles.

When asked to put these numbers into historical context, Shulamit Bahat, who for decades was in the executive leadership of the American Jewish Committee, said she was “rather stunned” by the statistics. “I thought greater gains had been made,” said Bahat, currently CEO of Beit Hatfutsot of America.

Gorovitz, the first woman to break the glass ceiling in the federation system, concurred, crediting the women who mentored her during her own career. “It is incumbent on us to ensure that we have diversity in our professional ranks, that we are mentoring all our staff equally, so that we have positive role models,” she said in an interview just a few weeks into her new job. “Unfortunately, sometimes the Jewish community is not great at doing this.”

http://forward.com/articles/118323/

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Après avoir imposé le port du foulard dans l'administration et interdit la consommation d'alcool à certaines périodes de l'année, le président tchétchène donne un nouveau gage aux islamistes en se disant favorable à la polygamie.

Le président tchétchène Ramzan Kadirov, un allié du Kremlin, demande à ses concitoyens d'ignorer la loi russe et de prendre une seconde femme afin de respecter la tradition de l'islam.

http://www.france24.com/fr/20090407-kadirov-ramzan-president-tchetchene-prone-polygamie-islam-loi-russe

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A group of 14 female ski jumpers appear before the B.C. Court of Appeal on Thursday in their final bid for inclusion in the 2010 Winter Games.

The women claim Vancouver's Olympic organizing committee, known as VANOC, is discriminating against them by not staging their event.

B.C. Supreme Court Judge Lauri Ann Fenlon ruled while it was discriminatory to exclude the female ski jumpers from the 2010 Games, it was not VANOC's decision but that of the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC, Fenlon said, is not subject to Canadian human rights law.

But the lawyer for the ski jumpers told CBC News that he would argue that the pivotal fact is that Canadian human rights law does apply to VANOC.

"What we're asking for and have always asked for — and I think the judge confused this in her reasons — is a declaration that VANOC cannot proceed under the Charter [of Rights and Freedoms] hosting a men's event without hosting a women's event," Ross Clark said.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/11/bc-women-ski-jumpers-appeal.html

 

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 Women account for just 18 percent of top leadership roles in 10 sectors, including business, nonprofit groups, law and religion, according to the new report, "Benchmarking Women's Leadership."

"Women's leadership is stuck in every sector of American society at a time when we need their innovation ... when we need their talent, and the research tells us [to] bring in the women if you want to change things," said Marie Wilson, president of The White House Project, the nonprofit organization in New York that produced the report.

In pockets of corporate America, it's far below that number. Among the Fortune 500 companies, only 66 have females on their boards, according to the report. In the corporate ranks, women are known for promoting greater transparency and for being more averse to risk. The bottom line, too, gets a boost when women are at the top. For instance, there's a 34 percent greater return on equity and shareholders' investment, according to the report.

This has prompted some firms to consider putting more money in the hands of women.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/YourMoney/white-house-project-reports-womens-leadership-hurdles/story?id=9068095

 

 

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Dialogue between the churches, which has been strong and steady for the past 50 years, was no longer possible because of Käßmann’s election, said Rev. Georgy Zavershinsky, spokesman for the Russian church’s office of external relations in Moscow.

The church permitted no ordination nor even leadership roles for women, he said.

it appears to be the fact of her being a woman, rather than a divorcee, that the Russians object to.

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20091113-23249.html

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Vancouver Olympic organizers didn't violate women ski jumpers' rights because they had no power to include their event in the 2010 Winters Games.

The British Columbia Appeal Court provided written reasons on Friday for its decision last week to dismiss an appeal filed by female jumpers seeking to overturn a lower court ruling that allowed organizers to hold a men's ski jumping competition but not a women's event. The women argued that violates Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The women had asked the courts to rule that the organizing committee, known as VANOC, must either include a women's ski jumping event in February's games or cancel the men's event.

The three-member appeals panel unanimously rejected their appeal last week, but only provided their reasons for doing so on Friday.

Ski jumping is the only Olympic sport without events for both men and women since the IOC voted earlier this year to include women's boxing in the Summer Olympics.

The IOC voted in 2006 to not include women's ski jumping at the games, saying the sport had not met the required technical criteria.

It will be on the program for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, and the international body that governs ski jumping has said it will press for its inclusion for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i4DOHLP3M7Ta51OWsbSG16x5KgwAD9C3HUO00

 

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Per fortuna, grazie all'indignazione popolare, questa brutta vicenda ha avuto un esito positivo.

Par ordre du directeur, tout le personnel féminin de l'établissement devra se soumettre à cette mesure, rapporte La Prensa de La Paz. Cette nouvelle a fait grand bruit dans le pays. L'opposition à Evo Morales a traité le chef de l'Etat de "vendu" et le courrier des lecteurs du quotidien déborde de lettres indignées.

"Nous respectons les lois iraniennes en Iran,  les Boliviens appliquent d'autres lois que nous ferons respecter", a finalement déclaré Ramiro Tapia, le ministre de la Santé.

http://www.courrierinternational.com/breve/2009/11/27/des-infirmieres-obligees-de-porter-le-voile

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Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, who commands US forces in the northern sector of Iraq, issued a general order last month in which he stated that getting someone pregnant or becoming pregnant as a way to get out of a deployment could be punishable under the military court system, the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, to include court-martial.

But after an angry response from women’s rights groups and others, Cucolo on Tuesday appeared to retreat from that stance. While he retains the authority to court-martial a soldier under those circumstances, he said, the punishment would be unlikely to go that far.

"I do not ever see myself putting a soldier in jail for this," Cucolo said in a conference call with reporters. He noted that he'd had four cases of pregnancy in a war zone so far, and in each case the soldier received a letter of reprimand and nothing more.

Four Democratic senators wrote the Army Tuesday to demand that the "deeply misguided" order be rescinded immediately.

"Although Major General Cucolo stated today that a pregnant soldier would not necessarily be punished by court-martial under this policy, we believe the threat of criminal sanctions in the case of pregnancy goes far beyond what is needed to maintain good order and discipline," the letter stated in part. "This policy could encourage female soldiers to delay seeking critical medical care with potentially serious consequences for mother and child." The letter was signed by Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2009/1222/Court-martial-for-pregnant-soldiers-General-backs-off-under-fire

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Bene. Ben gli sta. Speriamo che maturi e cambi atteggiamento nei confronti delle donne.

A Berlin rapper who goes by the stage name of Frauenarzt – or "gynaecologist" – was fined €8,400 by a court on Monday for distributing violent pornographic writings and depictions of violence.

The Tiergarten district court found the 31-year-old guilty of producing two CDs in 2006 containing songs that describe the torture, mutilation and murder of women in excessive detail.

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20091221-24095.html

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Considerare la propria moglie come un essere inferiore non è altro che misoginia allo stato puro. Vive la France!

France’s immigration minister said he is refusing citizenship to a Muslim man who called his wife “an inferior being,” and forced her to wear a full veil in public, an announcement that plays well with French public support for a burqa ban.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0203/French-citizenship-denied-to-man-with-veiled-wife

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Hassen Chalghoumi è un bravo ragazzo. Ce ne vorrebbero tanti come lui.

The Tunisian-born Chalghoumi, who is a naturalised French citizen and proud of it, told the paper: "Having French nationality means wanting to take part in society, at school, at work. But with a bit of cloth over their faces, what can these women share with us? If they want to wear the veil, they can go to a country where it's the tradition, like Saudi Arabia." 

He was chairing a meeting of the Conference of Imams, a body established in 2009 to promote better relations between France’s faiths, particularly Jews and Muslims, when a mob of 80 men forced their way into the building. There was a brief scuffle between the two groups, ending in a handful of invaders grabbing the microphone. "They started to cry Allah Akbar and God is great," recounted Chalghoumi. "Then they insulted me, my mosque, the Jewish community and the [French] Republic. They left after an hour and a half."

According to a member of the Conference of Imams, the mob condemned Chalghoumi as an apostate and threatened him with "liquidation, this imam of the Jews".

 As for Chalghoumi, he is now under police protection, as is his mosque, and he is promising to press charges against his aggressors. While he has received support from the Christian and Jewish communities throughout France, the reaction from many of his fellow Muslims has been luke-warm.

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/58915,news-comment,news-politics,mob-of-80-muslims-attack-hassen-chalghoumis-mosque-in-paris-suburb-burka

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Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) has urged government to facilitate progress in giving effect to the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

BOCONGO noted that CEDAW has not been fully integrated into domestic law in Botswana. Even where attempts have been made to incorporate some aspects of the convention, this has been done in a piecemeal fashion, which limits the effectiveness of such reviews. Chigedzi Chinyepi, the BOCONGO Gender and Development Sector coordinator said government has in response to a list of issues and questions raised by the CEDAW committee, indicated that following the review in 1997 of all laws affecting the status of women in Botswana, some laws were not amended in line with the convention. The laws, which were not amended are Deserted Wives and Children Protection Act, Penal Code Amendment on Abortion, Law of Delicts and Customary Law.

BOCONGO stated that government has failed to ensure both de jure and de facto compliance with the provisions of CEDAW and that the inadequate dissemination of CEDAW and all laws that affect the status of women has denied them the benefits of the convention. Chinyepi said rural women, ethnic women, sexual minorities and women with disabilities are especially disadvantaged as there are no targeted interventions for their needs.

Chinyepi said because abortion is illegal in Botswana except in very limited cases, many women resort to unhygienic termination of pregnancies, which are unsafe and can result in long-term complications or fatalities. BOCONGO contends that failure to provide adequate, safe and affordable sexual and reproductive health services for all women amounts to a violation of their right to health

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=69&dir=2010/February/Thursday4

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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."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7221802/Vicar-tells-women-to-submit-to-husbands.html

 

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Judges voted on Monday to bar women from ruling in an influential court which advises Egypt's government, official media reported, in a move slammed by human rights activists.

The Council of State's association voted by an overwhelming majority against appointing women as judges in the council, Egypt's MENA news agency said.

Hossam Bahgat, an expert on human rights law and director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, criticised the judges' decision on Monday.

"I'm disappointed to see that there is a deep-seated bias prevalent among judges against women," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100215/wl_mideast_afp/egyptwomenrightsjustice_20100215191045

 

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In one sign of this development, 12 women from outside the political system have formed their own party, with a platform built on women’s rights and a jobs program for Iraq’s more than 700,000 widows.

Iraqi women have higher rates of poverty and unemployment than men, and lower levels of education.

Ms. Mubark manages a construction company and runs the Iraqi Center for Women’s Rehabilitation and Employment, a nongovernmental organization that she said gave her a base of support, both male and female. In her walkup office in central Baghdad, she described her agenda in language that has become familiar to political campaigns around the world. “This,” she said, “is the first step for change in our country.”

 “I have literally been told, ‘Why don’t you stay at home and learn how to cook and find yourself a husband,’ ” said Ms. Gilly, who is married. “These are colleagues who are members of the same party, who supposedly embody the same values that the party values.”

“In comparison with other regional countries, Iraq is formally advanced, with many female M.P.’s and ministers,” he said. “But this is only a false bright image. In reality, Iraq is left behind other countries.”

She pointed to stirrings of change among Iraqi women. “Many women who wore the hijab for security reasons are now able to take it off, and many who were not able to drive cars are now starting to drive,” she said. “There is a change in the tone of our society.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/world/middleeast/17iraqwomen.html?scp=1&sq=iraqi%20women&st=cse

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Thompson, 44, is planning for about 30 like-minded Muslims to help her stage a "stand-in" at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., in a bid to persuade mosque leaders to remove a seven-foot partition behind which women pray -- or at least allow women the option of praying in front of it.

"Every woman should be able to stand with the congregation. That's the correct way," said Thompson, who converted to Islam 18 years ago.

Muslim prayers are typically led by male imams. Behind them are rows of men, and behind them rows of women and children. But according to a 2001 report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in nearly two-thirds of American mosques, female worshippers pray behind a partition, or in balconies or rooms that are separate from the main congregation hall.

Some women say the separate spaces -- sometimes filthy, often crowded with children -- make it impossible to see and hard to hear the imam. The whole experience has led many women to stay home altogether, activists say.

Despite calls by CAIR and other major Muslim-American organizations to allow women access to the main prayer halls, or at least decent prayer spaces for women, few mosques seem to have reformed.

It's been a contentious issue within American Islam for several years, as disputes erupted inside -- and sometimes outside -- mosques in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Charlotte, N.C., and Morgantown, W.V.

Some women say their second-class status isn't confined to the mosque. The same mindset also allows or overlooks domestic violence and limits women's access to education and jobs.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2010/02/women-protest-for-right-to-mix.php

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A prominent Saudi cleric has issued an edict calling for opponents of the kingdom's strict segregation of men and women to be put to death if they refuse to abandon their ideas.

"Anyone who accepts that his daughter, sister or wife works with men or attend mixed-gender schooling cares little about his honour and this is a type of pimping," Barrak said.

Barrak, believed to be 77, does not hold a government position but he is viewed by Islamists as the leading independent authority of Saudi Arabia's hardline version of Sunni Islam, often termed Wahhabism.

Western diplomats believe that King Abdullah's push for reforms is resisted by a mainly older generation of clerics who still control the religious establishment.

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-46408620100223

 

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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/

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La chiesa luterana tedesca ha perso la sua prima donna leader. Brutta storia. La Kassman era stata sorpresa al volante in stato di ebrezza e multata. In seguito a ciò ha immediatamente rassegnato le sue dimissioni. Quanti leader maschi cattolici ed islamici implicati in situazioni ben più gravi come pedofilia o terrorismo hanno avuto la dignità di dimettersi?

We deeply regret Margot Käßmann's decision to resign her functions. The integrity and clarity of her theological, sociopolitical and societal positions will be missed within the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). Her departure is a great loss for German Protestantism and a cause of great personal sadness. This departure, however, is consistent precisely with the integrity that we deeply appreciate in Margot Käßmann.

http://www.ekd.de/english/4250-4517.html

« Il me semble que Margot Kässmann a tiré très vite – peut-être trop – les conséquences de son erreur », a expliqué Denis Müller à ProtestInfo. « La question est rendue plus difficile quand la personne est très médiatisée ». M. Dubied abonde dans son sens: « Sans la médiatisation préalable de la cheffe de l'Eglise protestante allemande, elle n'aurait peut-être pas été sanctionnée de cette façon. Et sans la médiatisation de l'incident de l'ivresse au volant, elle n'aurait certainement pas dû quitter son poste ».

Le fait qu'elle soit une femme a certainement joué un rôle. « Il est clair que les femmes sont plus exposées à ce niveau de responsabilité. On attend d'elles plus de perfection et de professionnalisme », a évalué M. Müller.

http://www.protestinfo.ch/201003115270/ivresse-au-volant-la-cheffe-de-leglise-allemande-devait-elle-demissionner

http://www.thelocal.de/opinion/20100225-25503.html

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Anche se sicuramente il razzismo ed il sessismo giocano un ruolo nella questione, la tematica è decisamente ben più complessa ed un'analisi attenta potrebbe richiedere di tenere in considerazione anche altre tematiche.

The report shows one in three South Asian, West Asian and Arab women - who together comprise one of the fastest-growing segments of Canada's population - have trouble finding a doctor, getting an appointment or getting referred to specialists. 

The report, released Tuesday, is part of the larger POWER (Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-Based Report) study. The researchers say it is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of women's health in relation to gender, income, education, ethnicity and geography. 

Women, in particular, may have fallen through the health-care cracks because many seek care for their children or adult relatives, said McIntosh. "They are typically placing themselves last."

Among the reports other findings:

-Almost one-third of immigrant women in Canada for less than 10 years report having difficulties getting an appointment with a family doctor for a serious but non-emergency health problem, compared to 18 per cent of those born in Canada.

-Nearly 40 per cent of East and Southeast Asian and 34 per cent of Aboriginal adults reported difficulties in getting specialist care, compared to 22 per cent of Caucasian Canadians.

-More than half of South Asian and West Asian or Arab women reported not seeing a dentist in the previous 12 months compared to one-quarter of Caucasian women.

 http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100330/health/health_minorities_health_care

 

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Lama al-Sulaiman, a 43-year-old Saudi Arabian businesswoman, was elected deputy chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry in December.

That might not be news in most places. It was in her country, where al-Sulaiman is the first female to hold such a post in Saudi history.

“With King Abdullah, we are changing so that women can have far more opportunities,” said al-Sulaiman, wearing a black abaya long-sleeved robe and a headscarf, in a 10th-floor conference room overlooking the Red Sea.

“By including more women in the labor force, you increase productivity” and thus add jobs to the economy, said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Riyadh-based Banque Saudi Fransi. “By employing them, the government will get a return on its investment in education.” 

“Saudi women are participating positively in all programs of development by standing alongside their male brothers as students, employees, teachers, and businesswomen,” Abdullah said in a March 7 speech in Riyadh. 

A women’s university in Riyadh that can house 26,000 students is under construction. And law and engineering degrees are now available for women, who previously were mostly restricted to studying medicine or education, al- Aiban said. 

“What we’re doing today is creating opportunities for women within the limitations that exist in Saudi Arabia,” she said. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aRiu1lPRlt2Y

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Dozens of women are suing Bloomberg LP, charging their careers were sidetracked after they went on maternity leave - and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found a pattern of discrimination.

"My belief is that the judge will want a jury to hear that issue," countered lawyer Richard Roth, who represents several of the 79 women in the class-action suit.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news//2010/03/25/2010-03-25_bloomberg_suit.html

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Three female Financial Advisors filed a national class action lawsuit today in federal court in New York, charging sex discrimination at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. Since its merger with Merrill Lynch, Bank of America is the nation's largest bank company, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and the largest brokerage firm in the world.

The lawsuit, Calibuso, et al. v. Bank of America Corp., et al., charges that Bank of America and Merrill Lynch have engaged in a pattern and practice of gender discrimination against their female Financial Advisors with respect to business opportunities, compensation, professional support, and other terms and conditions of employment.

"Bank of America and Merrill Lynch both have a long history of failing to provide equal employment opportunities to their female Financial Advisors, and since the merger of the two firms, the problems have only continued," said plaintiffs' attorney Adam T. Klein of Outten & Golden LLP of New York, New York.
The complaint charges that, among other things, Merrill Lynch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America, discriminates against female Financial Advisors in account distributions; partnership opportunities; upfront money, pay-out rate, and other benefits in its compensation plan; as well as in other opportunities for brokers to increase their income.

http://www.bofagenderlawsuit.com/press-20100330.htm

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Women's civil society groups were noticeable by their absence from the landmark Haiti donor conference on 31 March, which secured pledges of US$5.3 billion over the next two years to support the country’s post-quake recovery.

Their lack of a presence at the meeting was indicative of a broader missing voice in Haiti’s long-term reconstruction prospects, gender activists argued.

“Why are we not there right now, where are the women at this conference?” questioned Marie St. Cyr, a Haitian human rights advocate. “We still don’t have full participation and we certainly don’t have full inclusion. Haitian women are still being raped…they are supporting more than half of the households, and yet they are not being heard.”

Women in Haiti, however, do not have the luxury of waiting for action, St. Cyr noted. Before the earthquake, they were running half the households – and those numbers have now risen, with women taking in children from other families.

The issue of sexual violence also remains an enormously grave, though largely undocumented one.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88662

Violence against women is not surprising in Haiti's male dominated society rife with gender stereotypes. Sadly, efforts have not been made to secure equal participation and development of women at any level. For example, of the 18 ministries governing Haiti, only two were headed by women pre-earthquake, and the level of professional women working in Haiti's public administration positions barely reached a dismal 7.2%.

All this must change in the rebuilding process of Haiti to ensure sustainable development and prosperity. A change of culture must also happen within the highest levels of decision makers focused on Haiti's recovery plans in and outside of the country to recognize the urgent need to ensure gender equality in the establishment of Haitian institutions, norms and policies

A group of individuals in the Haitian Diaspora and international women's rights advocates recently formed Poto Mitan: Rebuilding Haiti, an initiative to promote the rights of women and girls. Working with women's groups in Haiti, they also joined forces with Rele Fanm Ak Fi (A Call to Women and Girls): Haiti Gender Equality Collaborative to draft a preliminary "shadow report" that maps out a blueprint for putting women at the center of Haiti's recovery.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taina-bienaime/haitian-women-enter-at-ce_b_519103.html

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Semplicemente dei bravi ragazzi, di cui si dovrebbe parlare di più.

When Mbuyiselo Botha decided to take the African National Congress League President, Julius Malema, to court for hate speech against women, he was confident from the start that the case had merit. But he also knew that this would be the most challenging test of his 15 years of gender activism.

"My colleagues from back during the anti-apartheid activism days warned that I had taken a career damaging move; I was seen as challenging the black leadership," said Botha.

"After the end of apartheid in 1994, I thought we cannot claim to have total freedom when women are still subjected to suffering through unnecessary cultural practices and perceptions." 

When Sonke Gender Justice Network (Sonke) was formed in 2006, the organisation found that a majority of men they surveyed in Johannesburg believed they were not doing enough to end domestic violence. Since then the organisation has been educating and training boys and men to "realign their thinking".

"We have been working in six of the country’s 10 provinces and we are looking forward to expand our foothold," said Regis Mtutu, the organisation's National Programmes Coordinator.

Sonke means "Together" in Nguni languages. And this is the strategy of the organisation in its bid to realise gender equality. "We simply believe that working in the context of men, talking to them together with organisations that push for women's rights, we can attain our goal," added Mtutu.

Elsewhere in Africa, Sonke is working in collaboration with like-minded organisations such as Padare/Enkundleni in Zimbabwe, the Kenya-based Men Can and the Rwanda Men's Resource Centre. Together, the organisations resolved at a 2009 symposium to assist African governments through capacity building and implementation of policy.  

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50853

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THERE is a significant sense of change among women’s lives in Kisarawe following public education on their land rights, saving them from cultures and traditions which had confined them to the fence of family property.

Findings from this oldest district of 100 years with 76 villages and 15 wards revealed an unfolding impact of public education on the lives of mothers who had suffered for years under disguises of culture and traditions whose character of succession were discriminatory against women.

The ‘Daily News’ pitched camp for two days in this district of 100,000 people to find out if local authorities are conforming to the principle equality between women and men under the watch of different village councils.

Women in the age group of 40 to 60 , who had suffered discrimination in inheritance of family property for decades, are now able to use the information empowerment about their rights to save their colleagues who face the ruthlessness of their in-laws over land when their husbands dies
 

The Community Development Officer at ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children, Ms Grace Mbwilo said the radical move, which was initially facing resistance by forces supportive of cultures and traditions had confined women to the fence of family property, had gradually received acceptance as more women armed themselves with information on what their land rights are and where they can report in case of difficulties.

“We have to right the cultural and social economic wrongs that hinder the economic progress of women and other traditional disadvantaged groups, in all rural Tanzania”,she said

Land rights issues which were initially seen to be putting tradition and modernity in a confrontation is currently gaining approval on either side as girls are viewed as stakeholders of their family land. 

http://dailynews.co.tz/feature/?n=8693

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When women tried to join the bench on Egypt's top administrative court, the uproar from its judges was fierce. Women are too emotional, they insisted

Egypt has a century-old women's movement, and women have long served as government ministers and business executives, doctors and other professionals — not to mention the large numbers working in factories, small businesses and household industries.

But the dispute illustrated how so far, progress for women in the workplace has not soaked down in the public consciousness to create a widespread change in attitudes — particularly at a time when many popular Islamic clerics on television and other media promote a message that women's roles are inherently different from men's, and more centered around family and the home.

Women's groups picketed the State Council, defending their right for the position. They argued that the women had passed all the necessary standardized tests to become council judges.

"They say their decision to ban women from the bench is out of compassion for us, they want to spare women the tiring, difficult work," columnist Amal Abdel-Hadi wrote in the independent daily, al-Masry al-Youm. "These judges have obviously not worked as a public school teacher, a nurse or a midwife."

"Thirty percent of homes in Egypt have women as heads of households," she wrote, "and the reality is that Egyptian women will even travel abroad, leaving their families behind, to find a way to feed them."

The council's supervisory body overruled the assembly on Feb. 22, and council chief Mohamed al-Husseini called the ban unconstitutional. That sparked legal action by the judges in the assembly to oust him.

Finally, the prime minister referred the question to the Constitutional Court. On March 14, it ruled that all citizens are equal before the law, and backed the State Council's supervisory body's jurisdiction over the issue.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_women_judges

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The L.A.-based Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media is set to release this summer the findings of a lengthy study on gender roles in movies and TV shows aimed at viewers 11 and under. The org is also planning a daylong conference in L.A. this fall. The institute has a programming unit dubbed See Jane that aims to work with execs, creatives and other industry orgs to encourage the inclusion of a wider range of femme characters in kid-oriented programming.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017212.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

http://www.thegeenadavisinstitute.org/about_us.php

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E Tiger Woods dovrebbe vergognarsi di far parte di un club di tale natura.

Tiger Woods has chosen the Masters as a "safe haven" to return to golf because the Augusta National is full of "chauvinists".

That is the claim of women's rights protester Martha Burk, who tried to organise a boycott of the 2003 event against the club's all-male membership.

"I think this is a safe haven for him," she said. "They're all chauvinists themselves. It's a perfect fit. He'll be welcomed.

"These people have a fundamental disregard for women. This kind of behaviour is part of a fundamental misogyny displayed by many people in power. What produced Tiger Woods as we now know him goes back a long way.

"He played a lot of golf at a Houston club, Lochinvar, that didn't let women in.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/04/02/tiger-he-s-a-sexist-pig-115875-22156439/

 

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The plaintiffs allege that Novartis routinely discriminated against its female sales agents, paying and promoting them less. David Sanford, the lead plaintiffs' attorney, told The New York Times that Novartis particularly targeted pregnant women. "We will have overwhelming evidence to show how pregnant women are treated by Novartis once they declare they are pregnant and take maternity leave," said Sanford.

A few of plaintiffs' stories have been reported already, including that of the mother of twins who was repeatedly passed over for promotions given instead to men with worse sales numbers, and who heard a manager asking a recruiter if prospective sales reps were married or had children; the woman who said her manager explained he didn't like to hire young women, because "first comes love, then comes marriage then comes flex time and a baby carriage"; and the woman who claims she was encouraged to have an abortion

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The Reformed Political Party, known by its Dutch initials SGP, is an orthodox Protestant party that did not admit female members until 2006 and still does not allow women to stand for office under the party's banner.

The court said that policy was at odds with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which the Dutch are a party.

"That treaty obliges the state to respond effectively to ensure that women can fully participate in political parties," the court said in its ruling.

The SGP added that the ruling had not affected its activities, and Friday it presented an all-male candidate list for the June 9 national elections.

The court said the government was "obliged to take effective measures" to ensure the SGP allowed women to run for office, though it would not prescribe those measures nor block state subsidies for the party.

The party's statement of principles argue that according to God's word, everyone has a specific place in the world:

"In this order the husband is the head of the wife. Every emancipation effort that ignores the God-given place and vocation of men and women is revolutionary and should be vigorously combated."

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040901835.html

 

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A woman born in the former East Germany is claiming discrimination after discovering the word "Ossi" preceded by a minus sign had been written on a job application rejected by a firm in western Germany. She's going to court.

Born in the former East Germany, Gabriela S. applied unsuccessfully for a job with a window manufacturer in the southwestern city of Stuttgart. When her application materials were returned to her, she found someone from the company had written the word "Ossi" preceded by a minus sign on her resumé.

"Ossi" is an term for eastern Germans that is often derogatory.

She is suing the company for discrimination based on ethnic origin. If she wins, the firm could be forced to pay her €4,800, or the equivalent of three months' salary. 

http://www.thelocal.de/national/20100411-26469.html

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"Many women who dress inappropriately ... cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes," Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi told worshippers at overnight prayers in Tehran.

"Calamities are the result of people's deeds," he was quoted as saying by reformist Aftab-e Yazd newspaper.

"We have no way but conform to Islam to ward off dangers."

The Islamic dress code is mandatory in Iran, which has been under clerical rule for more than three decades.

Every post-pubescent woman regardless of her religion or nationality must cover her hair and bodily contours in public. Offenders face punishment and fine.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/extramarital-sex-fuels-earthquakes-warns-iran-cleric/story-fn3dxity-1225854907773

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Tzvia Greenfield. Israel's first Haredi female to be elected to the Knesset, she is a fierce critic of her own community's attitudes to the peace process and modernity; describing the Haredi community as being "incapable of compromise." Yet she still lives in it, a resident of the Jerusalem suburb of Har Nof.

The irony is she believes Haredi women - who she says are so "subjugated' but do get at least some educational opportunities- can help bring about change. "The education at my strictly Orthodox Beit Yaakov school in Jerusalem was infinitely better than what my brother received," she says.

"I hope ultra-Orthodox women, who often work to support their husbands in their (Torah) learning will seize their greater opportunities," and presumably carry out a feminist revolution that will help to push the whole Haredi community into modernity.

Not that she can see that just yet: "They still have to take enough courage to make their input into society significant because they are still hushed down and still internalize that as a legitimate position. They are gathering power but they won't put it in front of society what they offer," she says.

"The big issue here is a very delicate one. That is children. Large families thirty years ago was six children; now there's 13 or 14 - from one wife. I believes the glorification of bringing as many children as possible is a definite way of ensuring women can?t bring their advantages into effect - subjugation.

It's inconceivable for a woman to say to her husband, 'I won't have more than three children'- a cause for divorce. Inconceivable and non-existent.'"

Do you think there should be Orthodox female rabbis?

I'm all for it. I think if women want to serve as rabbis in religious function they should be given the right to do so. The issue of depriving women a religious position is part of deprivation of women from positions of power. Women don?t have equal rights in Judaism because they never had them in any field of life- a general result of subjugation. 

What do you think about the issue of segregated buses.

Firstly, I personally participated in an initiative in Jerusalem in which women, and some men - about 100 of us - went up onto buses which separate women and men and the women in our group insisted on sitting at the back of the bus. We did it for the whole morning, getting much press. Of course that doesn't lead to the real results but something was done to turn the attention of the public to that.


Second, and it was part of my doctorate published several years ago. The last chapter was an philosophical analysis of the separation of women and men in response to an article written by an expert on jurisprudence in South Africa saying there was no problem in the separation of men and women in buses and it can be totally accepted if the community wants it.

I thought it was a shameful position- typical to a post-modern position which doesn't take into account women in these communities. It?s a reckless position and a big chapter in my doctorate was dedicated to a philosophical analysis of that rationale. We have to fight against segregated buses but we'll lose ground because instead of protesting people cooperate.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1163329.html

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The leading Modern Orthodox rabbinic association has adopted an official position against the ordination of women while also encouraging the creation of “halakhically and communally appropriate professional opportunities” for female scholars.

The resolution cites “commitment to sacred continuity” in stating that the organization “cannot accept either the ordination of women or the recognition of women as members of the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title.” But it stops short of sanctioning or expelling members who violate the policy – a move being urged by some rabbis who were upset over the recent actions of RCA member Rabbi Avi Weiss.

The RCA resolution notes that “young Orthodox women are now being reared, educated, and inspired by mothers, teachers and mentors who are themselves beneficiaries of advanced women’s Torah education,” and it embraces the idea of such scholars assuming communal roles.

“As members of the new generation rise to positions of influence and stature,” the resolution states, “we pray that they will contribute to an ever-broadening and ever-deepening wellspring” of Torah study, religious commitment and observance of mitzvot.

http://www.forward.com/articles/127573/

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A federal appeals court ruled Monday that thousands of female Wal-Mart employees can sue the world's largest retailer as a single class over allegations that it paid them less than men and gave them fewer promotions.

The 6 to 5 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco is the latest step in a nearly decade-long battle to bring the case to trial. Wal-Mart said that it now plans to request that the Supreme Court review the ruling. But attorneys for the women said they hope the case will go to trial by the end of the year.

The original case named six plaintiffs led by Betty Dukes, a Wal-Mart greeter in California, who accused the company of paying them less than their male counterparts, despite having higher performance ratings and more seniority. They also claimed that they received fewer promotions and had to wait longer for them. The women are represented by the nonprofit Impact Fund and several other groups. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/26/AR2010042602515.html?hpid=sec-business

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Darul Uloom Deoband, the self-appointed guardian for Indian Muslims, in a Talibanesque fatwa that reeked of tribal patriarchy, has decreed that it is "haram" and illegal according to the Sharia for a family to accept a woman's earnings. Clerics at the largest Sunni Muslim seminary after Cairo's Al-Azhar said the decree flowed from the fact that the Sharia prohibited proximity of men and women in the workplace.

"It is unlawful (under the Sharia law) for Muslim women to work in the government or private sector where men and women work together and women have to talk with men frankly and without a veil," said the fatwa issued by a bench of three clerics. The decree was issued over the weekend, but became public late on Monday, seminary sources said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Deoband-fatwa-Its-illegal-for-women-to-work-support-family/articleshow/5919153.cms

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http://atheists-in-action.com/

 http://www.le-monde-pluriel.eu/

http://livre-athee.com/

Nous allons sensibiliser l'opinion sur l'aspect homophobe des textes religieux contenus dans la Bible et le Coran. Nous serons présents dans les rues de Rennes ce week-end,

Une nouvelle plainte vient d’être déposée, le 15 février dernier. Cette fois-ci, j’attaque un éditeur de la bible, un éditeur du coran et une librairie pour complicité de menaces de mort et d’insultes. Mais je suis régulièrement victime de menaces et d’insultes (dans la rue, sur internet…), de la part d’individus qui utilisent souvent la bible et le coran pour justifier leurs actes à mon égard. Mon but n’est pas d’interdire ces ouvrages (la liberté d’expression est «sacrée»!). Ce que je souhaite, c’est qu’un avertissement soit mis sur la couverture de ces livres, qui pourrait être: «Attention, ces ouvrages contiennent des propos à caractère sexiste, homophobe, criminogène et il convient de les remettre dans leur contexte historique.»

http://www.tetu.com/actualites/france/salvatore-pertutti-il-faut-denoncer-lhomophobie-des-grands-textes-religieux-17111

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While a nationwide study has yet to be undertaken, regional data from Cologne and Frankfurt shows that young women of Turkish background try to kill themselves twice as often as their German counterparts, daily Die Welt reported on Friday.

But a cooperation between Berlin’s Charité hospital and the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf that began in early 2009 aims to find out the reasons behind the disturbing numbers.

Both facilities are now monitoring the statistics for suicide attempts by young women from Germany's largest immigrant population that are treated in their emergency rooms – in particular the reason the patients say they wanted to die, the paper said.

Papatya, an help centre for young female immigrants in Berlin, told the paper that it frequently helps women who already have already attempted suicide in the past.

“Often it’s a desperate attempt to give the family a sign that something must change that isn’t being heard, or that the family doesn’t want to believe,” a spokeswoman said. “Sometimes the girls have told us, ‘I’d rather kill myself than let my brother do it’.”

Charité’s Schouler-Ocak said that many of the women who try to kill themselves are completely dependent on their family or husband – particularly those young those who have come directly from Turkey as “import brides.” 

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100521-27341.html

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The United States has outlawed female genital cutting, but cultural and religious pressures to circumcise girls linger among some African and Muslim immigrant families. Mohamed says the decision was an easy one for her to make after going through the painful experience herself in Africa as a child. She strongly opposes the idea of cutting her 11-year-old daughter, an American-born Somali with long curly hair, who plays soccer and likes watching "American Idol."

In the U.S., an estimated 228,000 women have been cut -- or are at risk of being cut -- because they come from an ethnic community that practices female genital cutting, according an analysis of 2000 Census data conducted by the African Women's Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Census reports there are roughly 150 million women living in the United States.

This spring, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a contentious policy statement suggesting that some physicians who work with immigrant communities that want the procedure should have the ability to prick or nick a girl's clitoral skin in order to "satisfy cultural requirements." The academy says the pricking procedure is harmless, like an ear piercing.

The pricking method is illegal in United States, but it could be effective in certain African communities in reducing harm, said Douglas S. Diekema, a Washington physician and former chair of the bioethics committee at the academy.

"We are very disappointed," said Asmaa Donahue, senior program officer at the Sauti Yetu Center for African Women in New York. "By offering to a person to do it, it undermines the education and advocacy work being done to stop it."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/21/america.female.genital.cutting/index.html?hpt=Sbin

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A New York jury on Monday found the US subsidiary of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis guilty of discriminating against its female employees, lawyers said.

Novartis was found to have practiced gender discrimination in pay, promotional opportunities and pregnancy-related matters, the lawyers said following a six-year class-action suit.

The jury in the US District Court in Manhattan awarded compensatory damages of 3.3 million dollars in total to 12 women who worked as Novartis sales representatives and named as plaintiffs in the case.

The case was brought on behalf of about 5,600 current and former female Novartis employees in the United States.

"Today's verdict sends a clear and powerful message to Novartis and every corporation in the United States: women are equal partners in our workforce," said David Sanford, a lawyer for the women.

"The days of second-class citizenship are over. Play by the rules or be subject to great exposure -- financially and reputationally," he said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iBLquLzdIsV9OxauX0cc7EGJUZyQ

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Five female news presenters at the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite television channel have resigned over conflicts with management over dress code and other issues, a journalist there said on Sunday.

The news presenters who have reportedly quit are Jumana Namur, Lina Zahreddin, Lona al-Shibel, Julnar Mussa and Nofar Afli.

The Al-Hayat daily reported on Sunday that they had resigned in the past few days after petitioning management in January over repeated criticism from a top company official for allegedly not being conservative enough in their dress.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100530/lf_afp/qatarmediajazeerawomen

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A Nigerian federal court will hear a case over whether the West African nation's religious freedom and privacy laws allow a Muslim senator to marry a 13-year-old girl

The lawsuit filed by the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria on behalf of Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima challenges the country's child protection laws that ban women from marrying before age 18. The suit, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, claims that Yerima's constitutional rights are being trampled over the controversy surrounding his alleged marriage to a 13-year-old Egyptian girl.

The suit names the government's National Human Rights Commission, the Senate president and the speaker of the house as defendants. The Human Rights Commission has urged the police to investigate Yerima, while both chambers of the National Assembly have called for their own investigations.

Human rights groups say the 49-year-old lawmaker married the girl at the National Mosque in Abuja after paying her family a $100,000 dowry. Under child protection laws enforceable in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, a woman must be 18 before being able to consent to marriage. However, those laws aren't enacted in all of Nigeria's 36 states and activists say child brides have been married off in Muslim communities after their first period.

 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLblNs3s4jk_xGFP5ut23lEMLphQD9G4H3L01

 

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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

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There is a growing backlash against women being treated as equals in churches around Australia, with some women being pressured not to become priests.

For decades Melbourne had been the diocese most supportive of women priests, and the issue seemed long resolved.

But now, in the Anglican Church and in others, it seems to be a divisive issue once again, with a backlash unleashed and gaining ground.

The question is broader than whether women can be priests and exercise leadership over men, though that is usually how it is framed inside the church.

It concerns all the roles women play in the church and in the

home, where the once-traditional idea that they should submit to their husbands is gaining fresh traction.

This is being re-examined in churches around Australia: Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal and others.

Modern technology is also playing a significant role in emboldening conservatives to stand against women joining the threefold ministry of deacon, priest and bishop.

Important American evangelical leaders such as Mark Driscoll and John Piper are instantly accessible through their podcasts and blogs, which thousands of people around the world download every day.

She says many young women are not even attempting to get into Christian ministry.

"If they can get in they can't express their gifts in the fullest extreme, and sometimes run up against neo-Calvinism. So a lot of younger women are going off and doing their own things."

Among Anglicans, the young women bearing the brunt of opposition are reluctant to say much because they are told that to highlight disagreement within the church would hinder spreading the gospel.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/men-lead-women-obey-20100610-xz97.html

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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

http://www.archbishopofyork.org/2908

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A gathering of women theologians in India has expressed concern over discrimination against women pastors and those with theological training.

"Ordination is often denied [to us] on flimsy grounds. Even if we succeed in getting ordained, we are not assigned duties as pastor but are posted as Bible [studies] women and hostel wardens," decried the women in a statement issued following their June 22 to 26 seminar.

"Theologically trained women, especially those who are qualified in women's studies, find few takers for their qualifications. We work as teachers in schools or, if in a theological institution, we are asked to teach subjects like English or ethics," the statement noted.

Several women delegates at the conference commented about the "disappointment and neglect" they face in their churches after undertaking theological education with much enthusiasm.

"We're really disappointed by the response of the churches to ordination and empowerment of women in the churches. Some churches ordain women with much fanfare. But, the marginalization they face after ordination is shocking. It's really frustrating for us to hear that many of them are virtually unemployed."

 http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/news-items/article/indian-women-theologians-lament-unemployed-female-pastors-9264.html

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Dovrebbe essere oltremodo ovvio che sia assolutamente inaccettabile il rifiuto di stringere la mano ad una donna. Ancora una volta Vive la France!

A Moroccan man who refused to shake hands with a French female official and whose wife wears the full Islamic veil has been denied French citizenship, the immigration ministry said Friday.

The man, who has been living in France since 1999 and married a French woman in 2004, failed to "assimilate into French society" and displayed a "discriminatory attitude toward women," said the ministry.

He "refused to shake the hand of a female official whom he met at the state prefecture because it was 'against his religion'", said a statement.

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/07/09/113422.html

 

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Da che parte starà Isreale? Si pronuncerà a favore del concetto basilare di parità tra uomini e donne o invece favorirà i cosidetti diritti religiosi che considerano le donne come cittadini di serie b? Staremo a vedere.

Eleven women’s groups got together last week to challenge gender discrimination that is written into Israeli law. As it stands, the Law for Appointing Judges bans women from applying for the position of Executive Director of the Rabbinical Court. Although such a law would have no doubt have been thrown out long ago from the American legal system, in Israel Version 2010, getting this law revoked is harder, it seems, than bringing the mountain to Moses, so to speak.

Last Wednesday, a group of women’s organizations, including the Israel Women’s Network, the Center for Women’s Justice, Naamat, WIZO, Kolech, ICAR, and several others, appealed to the Supreme Court in a suit against Justice Minister Ya’akov Ne’eman, to repeal the law on the grounds that it violates the basic human rights of women and women’s freedom of employment.

The appeal followed the Rabbinical Court’s job announcement published few days earlier seeking a replacement for the current executive director of the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court, Rabbi Eli Ben Dehan, who has been in the position for some 20 years.

Two women have already expressed interest in applying for the position: attorney Atara Kingsburg, current director of the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women, and attorney and religious pleader Lily Horowitz.

 http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/129827/

 

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No comment! In un mondo migliore qualunque rapporto commerciale e diplomatico con una nazione che tratta cosi' le donne dovrebbe cessare immediatamente!

“The court at Al-Jumoum outside Makkah city set five hearings in my case, but each time I went the judge refused to see me or listen to my case because I had no male guardian with me,” said the woman, Um Hasan.

She and her estranged husband have been married for 17 years during which time they have had six children.

“My married life changed from a loving one to one in which physical and verbal abuse became the norm. I was left with no option but to leave my husband and run away with my six children,” she said.

She added that all her attempts to obtain a divorce have failed because of the judge’s refusal to listen to her. “I have medical certificates from Makkah’s King Abdulaziz Hospital proving I have been physically abused but the judge has refused to even look at them because I had no male guardian with me,” she said.

Muhammad Al-Suhali, a professor of Shariah at the Um Al-Qura University in Makkah, said if the woman is saying truth the judge is doing something wrong. “Judges are there to see justice being done. They should help victims and not the assailants,” he added.

He advised the woman to take her case to the highest authorities and to human rights organizations. “Human rights organizations will first verify the woman’s claim and, if it turns out to be true, they will try to reconcile her with her husband and try to get them to end their problems peacefully. If these efforts fail they will take the matter to the governorate, which will not allow any type of injustice,” he said.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article83130.ece

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Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has issued an edict saying that Muslim women should not become judges as it is forbidden in the religion.

The seminary posted the fatwa on its website after a question was posed to it on the issue. The edict which said that women should not become judges has drawn sharp reaction from various quarters. "Somebody's qualification should be judged by education and upbringing and not by gender. This is bias," said advocate and women activist Mumtaaz Akhtar. According to Supreme Court advocate Kamlesh Jain, such fatwas affect the mindset of people and pose hurdles for Muslim women who want to opt for this profession. "There are only 10-15 per cent women who are working in different departments of judiciary and they are performing extremely well. A woman advocate or judge is preferred in cases related to women issues but there are not enough women in the field," Jain said. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/86630/now-darul-uloom-fatwa-against.html

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Health experts say illicit use of the drug underscores the barriers that many women face when trying to access reproductive care, particularly immigrants and women of color.

They worry that the amendment in the passage of the new health care law to ban the use of federal funds in Medicaid and insurance exchanges for abortion could further marginalize women's access to reproductive care.

"What the amendment does is if you are poor, you cannot get an abortion," said Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas , deputy director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH). "Wealthy women can pay out of pocket and have access to clinics and services."

Under current law, abortion funding is prohibited through a patchwork of policies, most of which must be annually reapproved in appropriations bills. Now, Congress will consider the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," which proponents say will provide a consistent government-wide prohibition on abortion funding.

The bill would also codify the so-called conscience clause known as Hyde-Weldon, offering protections for medical workers who refuse to participate in abortions. Only an act of Congress could reverse the law if it passes.

Kelly understands the prohibitive cost of abortion, but supports restrictions on federal funding.

As a group, women aged 24 to 34 are more likely to be uninsured and to have an abortion. Their out-of-pocket medical expenses can be as much as 10 percent of their annual income. Women pay more out of pocket than men and the gender disparity will worsen as health care reform further restricts access, according to researchers.

"We just want a fairer playing field," said Gonzalez-Roja. "We want women to [seek an abortion] in a clinic that is safe, accessible, affordable and culturally competent."

The use of misoprostol is often seen in the Hispanic community, where a self-induced abortion is known as, "bringing your period down."

"The important issue here is to look at why women do this," said Grossman. "It really comes down to barriers women face accessing abortion care. Restrictions we put on abortion access, like parental consent and denying public funding, end up forcing some women to kind of take matters into their own hands."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/immigrants-lured-abortion-drug-cost-barriers-health-care/story?id=11396957&page=2

 

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A record number of women are running in Afghanistan's critical parliamentary elections next month despite many being inundated with threatening phone calls, including death threats from insurgents.

Amid ever-rising violence, which some people fear could foster a repeat of last year's catastrophic presidential election, women are struggling to campaign at all outside a few areas, poll monitors say.

Even in Kabul, the capital, where the Guardian has interviewed a number of female candidates, women say they are facing daily obstruction from conservative hardliners.

With voting billed for 18 September, Kabul's streets have been plastered in posters and billboards, many of which show the faces of would-be female MPs in the capital, the number of whom has more than doubled since 2005. However, many of the posters do not stay up long, or get defaced with slashes of bright red ink.

Despite the dangers the number of women seeking representation in parliament has risen sharply, from 328 in 2005 to 406 across Afghanistan, according to an international election monitor in Kabul. They are running for at least 64 of the 249 seats reserved for women.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/24/record-women-candidates-afghan-election?CMP=twt_gu

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In Gaza, an unspoken rule bans women from riding bicycles after they have hit puberty. But last Saturday, one young Palestinian woman decided to defy the taboo, sparking smiles - and a few threats - from fellow Gaza residents.

In a spur of the moment decision, 28-year-old Palestinian journalist Asmaa Alghoul decided to join three of her friends, two Italian human rights workers and an American, on a tour of Gaza by bicycle. On a warm summer's day, the two men and two women set off from the Egyptian border town of Rafah and headed north to Gaza city, along 30km of coastal road. But to Asmaa, the ride was more than a sunny day trip: women on bicycles are frowned upon in the Palestinian territories, and the young woman had not ridden a bike since she was 14 years old.

For my international friends, riding a bike is just a pleasant means of transportation, not a political statement. But as soon as I, a Palestinian woman, decided to join their group, the trip took on another dimension.

You just don't see women riding bikes in Muslim countries. It's not forbidden per say, but it's socially unacceptable. In addition, the Hamas government in Gaza has begun enforcing very strict, sexist rules restricting women's freedom - we can no longer smoke water pipes in cafés, for example. I find all of these rules unfair - stupid, really - so I decided to go on the bike ride as a test, to see what would happen.

We had two unpleasant incidents, though. First, a group of young men on motorcycles began following us - me and my friend Chantal especially. They were tailing us closer and closer. They claimed to be Hamas police, but I didn't believe them because they looked much too young and didn't show me ID when I asked for it. So I shouted at them to leave us alone. Then I saw a real police car and pulled it over. I told the officers the men were bothering us, and the police actually helped us! They told the motorcyclists to go away and were very polite to us. Surprisingly, they didn't say anything about us being women on bikes. I think it may be because I was with international people, so the rules are a little more flexible.

The second incident was more unpleasant. Again it involved men on motorcycles. They went past us once, then came back and crossed us again. We stopped on the side of the road because they were passing by us very close and very fast. The second time they passed us, one of the men punched my friend Chantal in the back, hard, and spit in my face. I was expecting that, so I spit back. As a secular woman who doesn't wear a veil, I get a lot of that kind of attitude from younger men.

http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20100831-gaza-woman-rides-bicycle-despite-ban-asmaa-alghoul

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Roba da matti!

Chargé de choisir entre différents projets d'amendements, Nicolas Sarkozy a décidé d'étendre la déchéance de nationalité aux seuls meurtriers des membres des forces de l'ordre et dépositaires de l'autorité publique. La proposition de Brice Hortefeux n'a pas été retenue.

Le discours de Grenoble, et rien de plus. Chargé d'arbitrer entre plusieurs projets d'amendements encadrant le projet d'élargissement des cas de déchéance de nationalité, Nicolas Sarkozy a décidé lundi matin de s'en tenir à la mesure annoncée fin juillet en Isère. La déchéance de la nationalité ne sera ainsi étendue qu'aux seuls meurtriers des membres des forces de l'ordre et dépositaires de l'autorité publique.

La pilule risque d'être lourde à avaler en revanche pour Brice Hortefeux. La proposition du ministre de l'Intérieur de faire de lapolygamie de fait un motif de déchéance a été rejetée par l'Elysée. Brice Hortefeux, qui s'est beaucoup investi dans l'offensive sécuritaire de la majorité cet été, prévoyait de punir «le fait pour une personne engagée dans les liens du mariage, de tirer profit ou de partager le produit, de manière habituelle, de prestations sociales indûment perçues». Un amendement très instable juridiquement selon les autres ministères, et qui risquait d'être retoqué par le conseil constitutionnel. Si la déchéance de nationalité est désormais exclue pour un tel délit, Nicolas Sarkozy a toutefois souhaité un renforcement des «sanctions pour fraude aux prestations sociales» dans le cadre de la polygamie, sans donner plus de détails.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/2010/09/06/01002-20100906ARTFIG00556-la-polygamie-n-entrainera-pas-la-decheance-de-nationalite.php

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