Category Archives: Feminism

Gang-raped to avenge poll defeat, girl ends life – Times of India

Panchayat poll rivalry took a hideous turn in a village in Mirzapur district when the minor daughter of a winning woman block development council (BDC) candidate was allegedly gang-raped by her mother’s rivals. She later killed herself following police inaction.

Source: Gang-raped to avenge poll defeat, girl ends life – Times of India

Kat Von D Donates $50,000 To Animal Charity – Look to the Stars

“In celebration of a groundbreaking year for @katvondbeauty Kendo gave me this amazing gift! I am thrilled to donate all of it to @mercyforanimals – an organization dedicating its efforts to ending animal abuse,” Von D wroteA social media storm ignited in July when Von D first posted to her millions of Instagram followers about her vegan lifestyle. The story gained even more attention when she responded to comments with a 30-minute YouTube video in which she further explained her strong stance against animal cruelty and her decision not to consume animal products. The video instantly exploded, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.Von D has received many accolades from animal lovers the world over for the fact that her makeup line, Kat Von D Beauty, does not test on animals. She is also famous for labeling cosmetics in her line that contain no animal products with the hashtag “#VeganAlert.”

Source: Kat Von D Donates $50,000 To Animal Charity – Look to the Stars

Malala Meets up Again with Syrian Schoolgirl Campaigner in Britain | Jakarta Globe

Newcastle upon Tyne. Nearly two years after they met in a dust-blown refugee camp in Jordan, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai welcomed Syrian fellow schoolgirl activist Muzoon Almellehan to her friend’s new home in rainy northern England on Tuesday.Malala, who moved to Britain in 2012 after being shot in the head in Pakistan by the Taliban for refusing to quit school, won acclaim for her advocacy of women’s right to education and becoming the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.Reuniting at a gleaming public library in the northeast English city of Newcastle, 18-year-old Malala and Muzoon, 17, pledged to campaign together for access to education for Syrian refugee children.The setting was a far cry from the sprawling lines of tents comprising the Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in the Jordanian desert, where the pair first met in early 2014.Malala now lives in England’s second city, Birmingham, where she was treated after being shot, and Muzoon is among the first Syrians from refugee camps in the Middle East to have come to Britain.

Source: Malala Meets up Again with Syrian Schoolgirl Campaigner in Britain | Jakarta Globe

Muslim Teacher Fired for Mentioning Islam in Class

In case anyone was still wondering whether American Islamophobia is an emergency: Recently, a Muslim-American high school history teacher of Palestinian descent, Sireen Hashem, was fired from her job at Hunterdon Central High School in New Jersey after being banned from mentioning Islam in class.As if that wasn’t enough, Hashem and her attorney report that soon after she was dismissed, she received a knock on the door from… Jesus Christ, the FBI.Hashem’s apparent offense? Using the same teaching materials as everyone else.Hashem had shown a video about Malala Yousafzai in class — a pedagogical move apparently unoffensive in the classrooms of other, non-Muslim teachers. Hashem also used a writing prompt touching on Osama bin Ladin. Both pedagogical moves, reads the suit contesting the dismissal, were considered acceptable from other (non-Muslim) teachers. According to the suit, Hashem was told that “she could not teach current events in the same manner as her non-Arab, non-Palesinian, and non-Muslim colleagues.”Racism in the age of Trump is not the territory of ignorant people totally unlike “us,” but fundamental to everywhere from our most prestigious universities to the places we grew up.This incident — Hashem’s firing — literally happened in the place I grew up. Hunterdon County, New Jersey is the sixth richest county in the United States. According to the 2010 census, It is 91 percent percent white. It is not the abstract working class white Trump middle America of wealthy liberal fantasies. It is a place full of nice, white college graduates who smile at each other in the grocery store. I am ashamed, but not surprised, that this has happened at home.

Source: Muslim Teacher Fired for Mentioning Islam in Class

Humans of New York

“This would happen to me today. xxxxxxxxx I broke up with my boyfriend on Friday. I filed my Obamacare last night at midnight. I got four hours of sleep. I left this morning without taking a shower. I didn’t put on a dress. I just put this pink thing on my head so I wouldn’t look so tired. And now I’ve just finished working and I’m heading home to eat Chinese food. And you want to take my picture. Can I at least put on some lipstick?”

Source: Humans of New York

The Black Mambas: Fearless all-female South African anti-poaching unit protecting rhinos | 3CHICSPOLITICO – Kill Bill would be a walk in the park to this crew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3j5ord-c98

“Since we’ve started the Black Mambas anti-poaching project, there are no poachers in our reserve because we’re doing our job so well,” notes Mogakane.

Source: The Black Mambas: Fearless all-female South African anti-poaching unit protecting rhinos | 3CHICSPOLITICO

Afghan Women’s Writing Project | I Am Tired

Because I am a girl

They look at me like a slave

But what is the problem?

Why do they think that I am not capable

I do my job as well as them

I am a talented girl like others

Why do they compare me to others

Why do they want to kill my talent

Why do they want to make me upset

I am disappointed

Because they try to kill my passions

I should die before they kill me

Before they stone me with their words

I am tired of this world, this life

Is it my sin that I am a girl?

Please let me live in peace

Let me discover my true self

Let me help to build up the country

Let me to be free

I am the one of the children who grew up

Wanting to change the world

Why do they ignore me

Why don’t they want me here

I should die before they kill me

Before they throw stones at me

Or I should run away from here

I am tired

Tired of everything

Tired of all that they do

Against me… just because I am a girl

By Zahra H.

Source: Afghan Women’s Writing Project | I Am Tired

‘Nothing changed’: Martu elders fight against removal of Aboriginal children – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

There are now about 15,000 Aboriginal children in care, compared to about 2,400 in 1997.In WA, the number increased by 9 per cent in the last year, making Aboriginal children 15 times more likely to be in care than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.Heather Samson alluded to the film Rabbit-Proof Fence when trying to illustrate her despair.The movie told the true story of three girls taken from the Jigalong area to the Moore River Native settlement, north of Perth, in the 1930s.”Nothing changed,” Ms Samson said.”This Stolen Generation never ended.”They think it is changed, but nothing. I don’t believe it.”

Source: ‘Nothing changed’: Martu elders fight against removal of Aboriginal children – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The Rise and Rise of Misty Copeland – The New York Times

Cherry Peace stood, feet firmly planted, at the stage door of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in October. She was waiting for Misty Copeland, who had just wrapped up a matinee performance of Paul Taylor’s “Company B” at the American Ballet Theater, to kick off her toe shoes and exit.

There was no sign of Ms. Copeland, but Ms. Peace, 52, a writer who had traveled from Reno, Nev., expressly to see her, stayed rooted to the spot, hoping, if not for an autograph, at least for a glimpse of her idol.“When you get older,” she said, “there are certain things you want to do. Seeing Misty Copeland was on my bucket list.”

Source: The Rise and Rise of Misty Copeland – The New York Times