Gender and Sexuality
Iraqi Women Quietly Endure Horrors of War
Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 03/08/2008 - 17:57.By Cyril Mychalejko
March 8 marks the 99th celebration of International Women's Day, a day to commemorate the political, social, and economic struggles and achievements of women globally.
This year we should use the holiday to observe and reflect on the suffering of Iraqi women, who have become invisible "collateral damage" in our country's war in this now defenseless Middle Eastern nation. A good place to start would be by picking up and reading Haifa Zangana's book, "City of Windows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance." Zangana is an Iraqi woman, journalist and activist, who was also a former prisoner of Saddam Hussein's regime. She dedicated her book to A'beer Quassim Hamza al-Janaby. read more »
Protecting Darfur's women from rape
Submitted by pirate on Mon, 02/18/2008 - 20:18.By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Feb 18, 2008
KALMA, Sudan - U.N. peacekeepers in armored vehicles and pickup trucks whizzed into this refugee camp. A dozen women came to meet them, bringing their donkeys, water rations and homemade axes.
It was time for one of the refugees' most perilous tasks: collecting firewood. read more »
Italy: Women protest in major cities to defend abortion rights
Submitted by pirate on Thu, 02/14/2008 - 22:23.
Rome, 14 Feb.(AKI) - Thousands of women were expected to protest to defend abortion rights in nationwide rallies being held in major Italian cities late on Thursday.
The protests followed a raid by police on a hospital in the southern city of Naples earlier this week, on what was thought to be an illegal abortion.
Rallies were being held in Rome, Milan, Bologna and Naples and Italian Health Minister Livia Turco was expected to attend one of them. read more »
Transvestites protest fatal raid
Submitted by pirate on Sat, 12/08/2007 - 08:35.The Jakarta Post, Jakarta December 08, 2007
Dozens of transvestites and activists staged a peaceful protest at City Hall on Wednesday, demanding the city administration investigate the death of a transvestite following a raid by public order officers. read more »
Dublin: Anarcha-Feminist Magazine RAG #1 - Rape Culture
Submitted by pirate on Sun, 11/11/2007 - 09:13.Saturday, November 10 2007 Infoshop News
Sexual violence is a huge problem in our society. Sexual assault is not something that happens to other people elsewhere but is something that has happened to a significant number of people in any community, group or setting. Yet sexual violence is rarely talked about, the extent of it is not widely known and outside the feminist movement it is seldom taken up as a political issue. ---- This article sprang from a case of rape in a community of activists which, in the various meetings, workshops and discussions that followed, forced people to try to deal with a problem which is usually hidden. read more »
Talking Dirty About Revolution: Sexual Health and Gender Inequality in Venezuela
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/14/2007 - 23:16.By Rebecca Trotzky Sirr
Originally published at www.UpsideDownWorld.org
Though new laws guarantee all Venezuelans the right to healthcare, birth control and sexual education, poorer women disproportionately face health problems including higher rates of disease, STDs, unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
Sara walks into the neighborhood clinic where I am volunteering in rural Venezuela, in a municipality of less than 15,000 people situated in the Andes mountains. Besides tourism, agriculture fuels the local economy, which is dependent on small farms. Sara visited today for her checkup. She’s 35 and has lived here all her life. "Before this clinic was here, I never went to the doctor," she explains. read more »
Italian gays plan "kiss-in" protest in Rome
Submitted by pirate on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 18:35.Gay.com Monday, July 30, 2007
Italian gays will hold public "kiss-ins" near the Colosseum this week to protest the detention of two men by police for kissing in front of the famous Rome monument, gay rights groups said.
Some lawmakers said they would discuss the incident in parliament, while gay rights groups accused the police of discrimination Saturday.
There were contradictory versions of the events that led to the detention. read more »
UN expert: Rape rampant in Congo
Submitted by pirate on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 18:22.By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press July 30, 2007
GENEVA - Sexual atrocities in Congo's volatile province of South Kivu extend "far beyond rape" and include sexual slavery, forced incest and cannibalism, a U.N. human rights expert said Monday. read more »
Afghan girls traded, sold to settle debt
Submitted by pirate on Mon, 07/09/2007 - 19:18.By ALISA TANG, Associated Press July 9, 2007
JALALABAD, Afghanistan - Unable to scrounge together the $165 he needed to repay a loan to buy sheep, Nazir Ahmad made good on his debt by selling his 16-year-old daughter to marry the lender's son.
"He gave me nine sheep," Ahmad said, describing his family's woes since taking the loan. "Because of nine sheep, I gave away my daughter."
Seated beside him in the cramped compound, his daughter Malia's eyes filled with tears. She used a black scarf to wipe them away. read more »
Arrests, protests overshadow Jerusalem Gay Pride
Submitted by pirate on Mon, 06/25/2007 - 04:45.
by Delphine Matthieussent Jun 21, 2007
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Police arrests and angry protests cast a shadow over a deeply controversial Gay Pride event in Jerusalem on Thursday, prompting a poor turnout and forcing organisers to scrap a rally in a park. read more »
