Category Archives: Feminism

Video: Irate Idiot Yells At Woman For Breastfeeding Baby In Target: Gothamist

 

In New York, mothers have the right to breastfeed in public and private places; the NYCLU says, “This includes stores, day care centers, doctors’ offices, restaurants, parks, movie theaters and many other places. No one can tell you to leave any of these places because you are breastfeeding, and no one can tell you to breastfeed in a bathroom, a basement or a private room.”

Source: Video: Irate Idiot Yells At Woman For Breastfeeding Baby In Target: Gothamist

Thinking About Hillary — A Plea for Reason — Medium

My current conviction is that the main fuel that powers the anti-Hillary crowd is sexism. And yes I’m serious. So go ahead and roll your eyes. Get it over with. But I think the evidence supports my view, and I’ve seen no other plausible explanation. And just to be clear, I don’t think it’s ONLY sexism. But I do think that this is the primary force that has generated and maintained most of the negative narratives about Hillary.

Source: Thinking About Hillary — A Plea for Reason — Medium

“Prison is easier than exile for me,” Zainab Al-Khawaja on being forced to flee Bahrain – IFEX

Al-Khawaja expressed on her twitter account @angryarabiya her feelings about being forced to leave Bahrain, saying “I cannot begin to express the pain I feel [about] having to leave my beloved country. Infact I almost didn’t. Prison is easier than exile for me.” She added, “It pains me to leave, but I leave carrying our cause on my back, and my love for my country in my chest.” Her sister Maryam Al-Khawaja, GCHR Co-Director, said it was “the most difficult decision she’s ever made, and I agree. I wouldn’t wish exile on anyone.” Zainab Al-Khawaja also confirmed that she will continue her peaceful human rights work to support freedom in her country, saying, “We Bahrainis will do all that is in our power for our great grandchildren & their children to live free on this land long after they’re gone.”

Source: “Prison is easier than exile for me,” Zainab Al-Khawaja on being forced to flee Bahrain – IFEX

My Father is an Indian, My Mother a Nepali, and I’m a ‘Stateless’ Child: Apsana – The Ladies Finger – “Racism, sexism, religious bias have no boundaries!”

I am twenty-six now, which is a common age for a girl to get married in my community. I might marry soon. And once I get married to a Nepali guy, I know I will be qualified enough to apply for the citizenship of this country. This constitution gives more credentials to a Nepali man than a Nepali woman despite holding the same citizenship certificates. My husband, a Nepali man, will be the person who will liberate me from this crisis.Though this might be a way out for me, I wonder how my brothers are going to fight for it. Also Read:  How We Make Our Way in Dilli Sheher I have fought lots of battles which I have lost. But I still feel independent and am able to face numerous upcoming fights for my rights. If I ever get a citizenship through my to-be-husband, I am sure I would consider myself a humiliated Nepali throughout my life.

Source: My Father is an Indian, My Mother a Nepali, and I’m a ‘Stateless’ Child: Apsana – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

I Moved Into a House With Lots of Windows. Here’s Why I Had to Cover Them Up – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

There are these tics I’ve developed—a reflexive check out of the windows at that streetlight; my heartbeat speeding up a little when I hear a scooter pass by. I’ve made myself sit in that room, read in it, and write in it. I haven’t yet managed to fall asleep in it. I tell myself that this too, shall pass. And if it doesn’t—well, nobody needs to know. The streetlight stands, grey and ordinary, amidst the green that has sprung up after the rains. The curtains flutter blue and white under the creaking ceiling fan, thin enough to let the light in, opaque enough to keep the world out.

Source: I Moved Into a House With Lots of Windows. Here’s Why I Had to Cover Them Up – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

To the man who asked me if I swallow. | Rebelle Society

If we can’t recognize the links between any kind of sexual harassment and more grave sexual assault, then there is a disconnect. If you think Brock Turner’s behavior is despicable, but see no issue with harmless catcalls, then there is a disconnect. Is every man who catcalls a woman in the street a potential rapist? No. But, every man who catcalls a woman is demonstrating a belief that women exist for men’s viewing pleasure, that they are fair game for foul comments. And that line of thinking is dangerous. When we shrug off street harassment and sexual innuendo, when we minimize indecent behavior and sexist jibes, we are advocating for a world where women are oppressed and objectified. As Ann Voskamp said, “When the prevailing thinking is that boys will be boys, girls will be garbage.” We owe it to ourselves, as women, to stand up and speak out. Remember, silence is often misconstrued as acquiescence.

Source: To the man who asked me if I swallow. | Rebelle Society

Dutch woman held in Qatar after making rape complaint – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) “Steer clear of Gulf – they look like 21st century but treat women like 17th!”

A Dutch Foreign Ministry spokeswoman confirmed the arrest but said the young woman, whom she named as Laura, has not been charged. Daphne Kerremans added that “the enquiry is ongoing” and that Dutch authorities were in regular contact with Laura. The woman’s lawyer said the case concerned a trip his client made in March to a Qatar hotel where the consumption of alcohol is allowed. “She went dancing but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink, she realised that [she had been drugged],” Mr Lokollo said. “She felt very unwell.” The young woman remembered nothing more until the following morning when she woke up in a totally unfamiliar apartment “and realised to her great horror, that she had been raped”, Mr Lokollo said. The suspected rapist was also arrested but insisted that their night together had been consensual and the woman had even asked for money. “She completely denies these accusations,” Mr Lokollo said. A court hearing is set to take place on Monday and the Foreign Ministry hopes a decision on whether to charge the Dutch woman will be made. A 24-year-old Norwegian woman who brought a rape complaint against her boss was jailed for 16 months in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates in 2013 for so-called indecent behaviour, perjury and alcohol consumption. She was later pardoned by the authorities.

Source: Dutch woman held in Qatar after making rape complaint – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Boys will be boys, and other uttered nonsense. | Rebelle Society

Suggesting that the Stanford rapist’s actions were a mistake caused by alcohol is to suggest that every man has an inner rapist, and that there is a line — perhaps 5 drinks, or perhaps 10 — that, when crossed, turns men into animals incapable of self-control. This is the gravest insult to female and male victims everywhere; it is an insult to me, to Brock’s victim, and to all the wonderful men in the world who would never dream of violating someone’s basic human rights in such an abominable way.

Source: Boys will be boys, and other uttered nonsense. | Rebelle Society

Elizabeth Warren Endorses Clinton and Goes Taunt-for-Taunt With Trump – The New York Times

“What she is doing right now, focusing on the outrageousness of Donald Trump is really important,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin. “In the universal sense I am always saying, ‘Go, Elizabeth, go!’” Ms. Warren officially endorsed Hillary Clinton on Thursday. “I’m ready to jump in this fight and make sure that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States and be sure that Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House,” Ms. Warren told The Boston Globe. Never short on confidence, when asked on Thursday by Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC television host, if she believes that she herself could be commander in chief, Ms. Warren said, “Yes, I do.” Mrs. Clinton’s aides had been pressuring Ms. Warren for an endorsement, and the senator decided to do so after talking with Mr. Sanders over the weekend, aides close to her said. Ms. Warren shares Mr. Sanders’s dislike of superdelegates, who are typically longtime Democratic officials and activists. She waited until Democratic primary voters across the country had their say, but before the superdelegates formally cast their votes, to weigh in. Continue reading the main story Presidential Election 2016 Here’s the latest news and analysis of the candidates and issues shaping the presidential race. O.K. I’m With Trump. I Mean, He’s Almost the Nominee. JUN 10 Hillary Clinton Denounces Donald Trump as Untrustworthy on Women’s Issues JUN 10 Mitch McConnell Won’t Rule Out Rescinding His Endorsement of Donald Trump JUN 10 Obama’s Endorsement Leaves Hillary Clinton With a Balance to Strike JUN 10 Bill Clinton and Orrin Hatch Among Speakers at Muhammad Ali’s Memorial JUN 10 See More » Mrs. Clinton’s decisive victory in California’s primary on Tuesday and President Obama’s endorsement on Thursday provided additional impetus for her endorsement, people close to Ms. Warren said. Photo Senator Elizabeth Warren in Washington last month. Ms. Warren has called Donald J. Trump’s candidacy a “serious threat.” Credit Zach Gibson/The New York Times “She maintained her neutrality in the primary and that gave her a special space,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois. But her attacks on Mr. Trump were hatched in her own brain, and carried out with a combination of vehemence and apparent pleasure. Through speeches, carefully chosen television appearances and tweet storms designed to skewer the businessman’s remarks, policies and dynamism, Ms. Warren has gone taunt-for-taunt with Mr. Trump, calling him a “loser,” a “small, insecure money grubber” and “weak.” And she is only warming up.

Source: Elizabeth Warren Endorses Clinton and Goes Taunt-for-Taunt With Trump – The New York Times

Spanish sports: Charting new waters for long-distance swimmers | In English | EL PAÍS

Soon Tresserras was unstoppable, going on to follow in the footsteps of her heroine, the British athlete Mercedes Gleitze, who was the first woman to swim the Strait of Gibraltar in 1928. Building up to this feat, she began with the Escala-Roses swim in the north of the Costa Brava, which she swam with the Straits of Gibraltar in mind. She then swam the Straits of Gibraltar with the English Channel in mind. In 1958, she plowed her way across the Channel and successfully made it to the other side, ahead of fellow Spaniard José Vitos from Asturias. During an era which offered women little in the way of independence, long-distance swimming was Tresserras’ ticket to freedom. She simply couldn’t have a boyfriend, for example, because it would have meant giving up the sport. “The two were incompatible,” she explains. “And I wanted to live for the moment.” Tresserras in Dover, after swimming across the English Channel. But while she didn’t have a beau cheering her on from the sidelines, she did have the support of her family, her team and her great friend Mary Casacuberta, who came to her aid economically, socially and even in a managerial capacity throughout her aquatic career.

Source: Spanish sports: Charting new waters for long-distance swimmers | In English | EL PAÍS