Today the Democratic National Convention Committee announced an additional slate of speakers with a focus on women leaders. The committee noted that these speakers will join Michele Obama, Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, and California Attorney General Kamala Harris in taking the stage at the DNC. The newly announced speakers include: – Seven-term Congresswoman and now Senate Candidate Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. – Former Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth, who is also running to represent the 8th Congressional District of Illinois. – Sandra Fluke, Georgetown University Law student who spoke before Congress on health insurance coverage for contraceptives – Denise Juneau, state superintendent of public instruction, Montana – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America – Caroline Kennedy, author, attorney, and daughter of former President John F. Kennedy – Women’s equality advocate Lilly Ledbetter. The Lily Ledbetter Act — the first piece of legislation President Obama signed — ensures that workers discriminated on the basis of gender have a fair chance to sue their employer. – Eva Longoria, Obama Campaign Co-Chair and actress – U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, together with the women of the U.S. Senate – Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund In addition to these women, previously announced DNC speakers include: San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, former President Bill Clinton, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
Author: Feminist Majority Foundation Blog
Rep. Sandy Adams Defeated in Florida Primary
Tea party favorite Rep. Sandy Adams was defeated by 10-term Congressman Jon Mica in yesterday’s Florida primary. A 19-year incumbent and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Mica led freshman Adams 61% to 39% with 96% of precincts reporting. Mica and Adams faced each other in a primary election after a Republican-drafted redistricting plan put the two in the same district. Adams was well-known for authoring the House version of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, labeled by many as the “fake VAWA” due to its elimination of protections for LGBT, Native American, immigrant, and student victims of violence. Adams is the 11th House member to fall in a primary this year. Sarah Palin, who endorsed Adams, was given her second primary pick loss in two weeks.
Obama Issues Executive Order on Global Violence Against Women
President Barack Obama issued an executive order Friday on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls around the world. The order creates an interagency working group that, according to senior advisor to the president Valerie Jarrett, is “designed to leverage our country’s tremendous expertise and capacity to prevent and respond to gender-based violence globally as well as establish a coordinated, government-wide approach to address this terrible reality.” The new working group will be co-chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and include representatives from at least 10 other government departments, agencies, and offices including the Peace Corps and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
A document outlining a new “multi-year strategy for preventing and responding to gender-based violence” developed by the State Department and USAID was also released (see PDF). The executive order requires this strategy document to be revised every three years. Objectives of the current strategy are:
- To Increase Coordination of Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Efforts among United States Government Agencies and with Other Stakeholders
- To Enhance Integration of Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Efforts into Existing United States Government Work
- To Improve Collection, Analysis, and Use of Data and Research to Enhance Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Efforts
- To Enhance or Expand United States Government Programming that Addresses Gender-based Violence
In his executive order, President Obama describes gender-based violence as “significantly hinder[ing] the ability of individuals to fully participate in, and contribute to, their communities — economically, politically, and socially. It is a human rights violation or abuse; a public health challenge; and a barrier to civic, social, political, and economic participation. It is associated with adverse health outcomes, limited access to education, increased costs relating to medical and legal services, lost household productivity, and reduced income, and there is evidence it is exacerbated in times of crisis, such as emergencies, natural disasters, and violent conflicts.”
Here We Go Again: Personhood Returns to Colorado
Update 9/12/2012:Colorado Personhood Will Not Appear on November 2012 Ballot Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced today that the Colorado Personhood Coalition has missed the Monday deadline for ballot certification for the “Personhood” Amendment to appear on the November 2012 ballot. On August 29, Gessler determined that the amendment did not have enough valid signatures to qualify for the November 2012 election. While the proponents of the amendment were allowed 30 days to file an appeal of the signature decision, Gessler said it is now too late to get the measure on the ballot for this election cycle. Should ruling on the signatures be overturned by the courts, the “Personhood” Amendment would have to to wait until the 2014 election.
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We beat the Personhood amendment in Mississipi last fall. Thirty-two states saw grassroots personhood initiatives in 2009, to no avail. It’s not gaining enough steam to get on the ballot in Ohio or Montana. It’s dead in Virginia. We even beat it twice in Colorado, in 2008 and 2010. But here’s the thing: it’s just not going away.
On Monday the Colorado Personhood Coalition announced that they submitted 112,121 signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State — surpassing the 86,105 signatures required to get its anti-abortion initiative on the ballot in November for the third consecutive general election.
Personhood amendments are extreme anti-abortion amendments with far-reaching consequences. Led mostly by the national organization Personhood USA, those organizing for an amendment seek to grant through law full “personhood” rights to human embryos–fertilized eggs. Personhood amendments define life as beginning at the moment of conception, and their effects are so severe that they could outlaw all abortions, including in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the woman is at stake. Personhood amendments may also outlaw forms of birth control (including IUDs), in vitro fertilization, and treatment for women with cancer and other serious illnesses. It could even lead to the investigation and criminalization of miscarriages.
The amendment language submitted by the Colorado Personhood Coalition reads
(1) Purpose. In order to affirm basic human dignity, be it resolved that the right to life in this constitution applies equally to all innocent persons.
(2) Effect. The intentional killing of any innocent person is prohibited
Read the full text of the amendment on the coalition’s website. Clearly, it is already against the law in the state of Colorado to kill “innocent persons.” The amendment would add to the “innocent persons” section “a member of the species homo sapiens at any stage of development” and “a human being prior to and during birth” part later on.
Listen, there’s a huge part of me that would love to believe that this is a lunatic fringe division of the American public. I would love to take comfort in the absurdity of these claims and rest on my faith in humanity a little here.
We can’t get that comfortable. We’re living in a political climate where every single Republican presidential candidate came out in support of Personhood amendments during the primary race. Every. Single. One. Three of them even participated in a Personhood USA cadidates forum. Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican candidate for president of this country, said that he “absolutely” supports Personhood amendments. Absolutely.
We’re living in a version of the United States of America where politicians stall flood insurance bills (during flood season!) by attaching Personhood amendments to them. And the scariest part of all this, for me, is that I often speak to people I know and love, people who are well-informed, politically conscious, and care about women’s rights and women’s lives, but who happen to live outside the hyper-aware political bubble of the DC beltway. They have no idea that this is happening. They don’t know what Personhood amendments are. They don’t know that actual elected officials in this country are writing, supporting, and promoting this kind of legislation.
CNN recently covered a story about a 16-year-old girl dying from leukemia in the Dominican Republic without any effort being made to treat her, because her doctors were afraid. Why were they afraid? Because she was pregnant. The Dominican Republic passed Article 37 in 2009, which reads:
“the right to the life is inviolable from conception until death.”
Sound familiar? These are the real life consequences of these wild political antics. Real live women, teens, and girls have to live in a world where their own lives are at risk because they had the unfortunate luck of being born with uteri, and the even more unfortunate luck of getting pregnant. These laws blatantly disregard the value of women’s lives, and the personhood of women in their zealous advocacy for the ‘life’ of the embryo. CNN reports that this teen in the Dominican Republic is now, finally, being treated for her cancer. She might have a chance to survive.
Here’s a bit of herstory you might not know: Colorado became the first state to legalize abortion in 1967. The Colorado Personhood Coalition is determined to make Colorado the first state to ban abortion in 2012. We cannot let that happen. And we cannot sit by idly and assume that it won’t. If it does, similar amendments will gain steam in other states. Too much is at stake.
Top photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Bottom photo via the Feminist Majority Foundation.
Anti-Abortion Activist to Face Jury Trial in Harassment of Doctor
US District Judge J. Thomas Marten ruled yesterday that Angel Dillard will face a jury trial in the case against her that alleges Dillard violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), a law protecting abortion clinics. The Justice Department filed a civil complaint in 2011 against Dillard for sending a threatening letter to Dr. Mila Means, the Kansas doctor who was planning to offer abortion services at her Wichita practice. The complaint ask that Dillard be prohibited from contacting Means or coming within 250 feet of her home and her office.
On Tuesday, Judge Marten also dismissed a request by Dillard to drop the case because Means is not currently an abortion provider, according to the Associated Press. Additionally, he rejected Dillard’s attempt to countersue on the basis that the government allegedly violated her First Amendment rights. Dillard claimed that the Justice Department’s proposed restrictions that would prevent her from coming within 250 feet of Means’ clinic could prevent Dillard from attending a nearby church.
The letter, written by Dillard, claimed that thousands of people were looking into Dr. Means’ background. “They will know your habits and routines. They know where you shop, who your friends are, what you drive, where you live.” The letter continues, “You will be checking under your car everyday – because maybe today is the day someone places an explosive under it.”
Dillard has been associated with anti-abortion groups in Kansas. In an interview with the Associated Press in July 2009, Dillard revealed she had corresponded with Scott Roeder, then in a Wichita jail awaiting trial for the murder of Dr. Tiller. Dillard told AP “With one move, (Roeder) was able…to accomplish what we had not been able to do…So he followed his convictions and I admire that.”
Abortion services have not been available to women in Wichita since Dr. George Tiller’s murder in May 2009. The Feminist Majority Foundation, which conducts the oldest and largest national clinic defense project in the nation, had worked with Dr. Tiller and is helping besieged clinics in some 14 states. Harassment of abortion providers has increased since the election of pro-choice President Obama and Dr. Tiller’s assassination.
Media Resources: Associated Press 8/7/2012; Feminist Daily Newswire 4/19/2011, 4/21/2011
Colorado Personhood Signatures Submitted
On Monday the Colorado Personhood Coalition submitted 112,121 signatures to the secretary of state, surpassing the 86,105 signatures required to get its anti-abortion initiative on the ballot in November. The signatures must be verified by state officials by September 5th. This will be the third consecutive time Colorado will have a personhood initiative on the ballot in the general election. In 2008, it got 27 percent of the vote, and in 2010 it got 30 percent of the vote. According to the Daily Beast, Planned Parenthood said on Monday on the local Colorado news: “For the third time in the past consecutive general elections, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains today vowed to defeat the so-called personhood initiative. ‘Personhood’ amendments ban all abortion, specifically for victims of rape and incest. Personal, private medical decisions would be taken out of a woman’s hands, and controlled by politicians and the government — These decisions are best left to a woman, her family, and her faith.” Abortion-rights supporters argue that personhood amendments would not only strip women of their constitutional right to safe and legal abortion, but would also outlaw forms of birth control and threaten in-vitro fertilization. No state has passed a personhood measure thus far. According to NARAL Pro-Choice America (PDF), 14 state legislatures introduced 26 personhood measures in 2011. Last week Personhood USA, a national personhood organization, filed a petition with the US Supreme Court to appeal the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to block a personhood ballot initiative in April. The Oklahoma court said the amendment is “clearly unconstitutional.”
Olympics 2012: Female Boxers Fighting for Gold Medals and Mainstream Acceptance
On Sunday, women competed in an Olympic boxing match for the first time in history. Russian boxer Elena Savelyeva and her North Korean opponent Hye Song Kim battled for the honor of the first Olympic victory in women’s boxing. Savelyeva won the bout 12-9.
A total of 36 athletes in three weight classes will compete for a gold medal in the last Olympic sport to include women. Although most of these boxers are content to simply compete in the Olympics, feminist critics are speaking out about the remaining inequalities between men’s and women’s boxing.
In Britain, women’s boxing was banned until 1996. Although the film “Million Dollar Baby” won the Best Picture Oscar in 2004, Women’s boxing was rejected from the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to doubts about its international competitiveness. However, after the sport received permission to join the Olympics in 2009, 10 countries started training female boxers for the first time. Some athletes, including Indian boxer Mery Kom Hmangte, came out of retirement and changed weight classes just to attend the Olympics.
While women’s boxing has come a long way, bias is still clearly evident in the Olympics’ handling of the sport. First, men’s boxing has 10 different weight classes and a total of 250 athletes. The men’s bouts are all given prime time slots in the evening, compared to the afternoon matches for women. The men also benefit from a few days rest between matches, while women must fight back-to-back.
Second, there was some controversy over what female boxers should wear. The International Boxing Association (AIBA) suggested that women boxers wear skirts rather than the long shorts that men wear. AIBA reasoned that, since all the athletes wear protective head gear, the audience could better distinguish the men from the women if the women wore “elegant” uniforms. The skirt is currently optional and most of the boxers wear a uniform similar to that of their male counterparts. However, the Washington Post called out Australian Naomi-Lee Fischer-Rasmussen for her “particularly short” skirt. The Post neglected to mention how Fischer-Rasmussen performed in her bout.
Third, and perhaps most disturbing of all, the first match between female boxers was prefaced by a performance by women dressed in “form-fitting lycra outfits” dancing to “Lady Marmalade.” What was the International Olympics Committee thinking? Were they so worried about the acceptance of women’s boxing that they were trying to ‘feminize’ it? This spectacle was a transparent attempt to make women’s boxing appealing to heterosexual male gaze.
“People think if a woman tries boxing, she’ll turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger and lose her femininity and never have kids. It’s just a way to keep girls out. The fact is a woman’s inner strength makes this sport perfect for them. Women don’t crumble easy. They come back again and again,” said US coach Gloria Peek.
Olympic spectator John Riordan insisted he was against women’s boxing because, “it’s just that it’s new.” This line of thinking implies that women boxers just have to bide their time and be patient while they wait for international acceptance. Clearly women’s boxing has a long road ahead in the fight for equality.
Accepting women as boxers means accepting women as fighters. These women can in no way be perceived as passive or complacent. While many are celebrating the inclusion of women’s boxing as an important step forward in representing the full range of human athleticism, others fear what this year’s display may mean for future female boxers. For women’s boxing to become a popular Olympic sport, society must come to terms with women coming back and fighting again and again. Until that time, female boxers will just have to keep doing what they’re doing: winning Olympic medals.
Photo via family mwr
Tea Party Candidate Ted Cruz Wins Texas Runoff Election
On Tuesday, first-time political candidate Ted Cruz defeated Lt. Governor David Dewhurst in the Senate Republican runoff by more than 150,000 votes. Although he started his campaign relatively unknown nationally, his campaign eventually received endorsements from Tea Party favorites like Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, and Rand Paul. Cruz is expected to win in November. This is the third Tea Party Republican to defeat an endorsed Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in a primary this year. Ted Cruz’s victory has since received a great deal of media attention due to his extreme views on the death penalty, gay marriage, immigration, and Islam. Achy Obejas of WBEZ 91.1 called Cruz, who is Cuban-American, “the new conservative Latino cowboy in town,” saying that “he’s so extreme, he makes [Marco] Rubio look downright bipartisan.” After hearing about Cruz’s victory, Democratic Senator Patty Murray explained, “I think the bigger issue there is that Mitch McConnell is now going to have a potentially much more Tea Party-oriented caucus and we have all seen the damage that has done to our ability to govern, to find compromise, to move this country forward in a positive direction.” Cruz received a significantly large amount of money, about $7.7 million, from outside groups. This Texas Senate race received more outside funding than any other Senate race so far this year. The Club for Growth Political Action Committee alone supported Cruz to the tune of $5.5 million. Some 17 outside organizations were involved in the campaign. The candidates also spent about $32 million of their own money; Dewhurst alone spent over $24 million.
Chick-Fil-A: Would You Like a Side of Homophobia and Misogyny with that Chicken Sandwich?
This week, you may have heard that Chick-Fil-A doesn’t like gay people. In fact, you may have heard that Chick-Fil-A dislikes gay people so much that they donate millions of dollars to anti-gay rights organizations. When COO Dan Cathy was asked about these anti-gay feelings and these large sums of money in a recent interview, he said they were “guilty as charged!”
In a follow up interview Cathy went on to say:
“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.
We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that … We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that.
We need to be more faithful to depend on a God who does love us and wants to have a relationship with us, and wants to give us the desires of our hearts … We intend to stay the course. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
LGBTQ folks and their allies have been extremely active and vocal in the wake of Cathy’s comments, primarily because this isn’t just the case of a homophobic man spewing hate speech to anyone who will listen. This is a case of a homophobic corporation feeding millions of dollars into organizations that actively participate in fighting gay-rights efforts. According to Equality Matters, Chick-Fil-A has donated to:
- Family Research Council: an anti-gay hate group that promotes the myths that LGBTQ people are unhealthy, likely to engage in pedophilia, and capable to being cured of their homosexuality
- Exodus International: an umbrella ministry that has repeatedly promoted the myth that same-sex attractions can be cured or reduced through “ex-gay” therapy
- Alliance Defense Fund: a legal organization that fights against protections for LGBT people, calling it the “principal threat to your religious freedom”
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes: an organization that has allegedly “freed” people from homosexuality and requires ministry leaders to pledge not to participate in the “impure lifestyle” of homosexuality
In response to the backlash against Chick-Fil-A, the National Organization for Marriage and Governor Mike Huckabee have declared today, August 1st, National Eat Chick-Fil-A Day. Their hope is that legions of people will flock to these stores to eat chicken and stand in solidarity against all the scary angry homos and their homo-loving friends.
But it doesn’t stop there! It should surprise absolutely no one that the Colorado Personhood Coalition is also jumping on the Chick-Fil-A band wagon on this fine day, in a last ditch effort to gather the signatures they need to get “personhood” on the ballot before August 6th. Personhood amendments are extreme anti-abortion amendments that seek to grant full “personhood” rights to human embryos–fertilized eggs. These amendments are so severe that they would outlaw all abortions even in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the women. They may also outlaw certain forms of birth control, IUDs, in vitro fertilization, and treatment for some women with cancer or other serious illness. It could even lead to the criminalization of miscarriages. 
I’m sure the Colorado Personhood Coalition sees “Chick-Fil-A Day” as the perfect opportunity to capitalize on all this controversy and further their own cause. The reality is that Colorado has already rejected personhood twice. In fact, no state has passed a personhood measure. They just keep trying though! This means we must remain vigilant about educating people on what personhood amendments are and mobilizing against them whenever and wherever they pop up across the country.
Of course, homophobes aren’t the only ones organizing these days. If you support and advocate for the full equality of all humans, there are plenty of things you can do this week too! For example, you might want to take your favorite same-sex partner down to the nearest Chick-Fil-A this Friday for National Same Sex Kiss Day! You could also donate or encourage your formerly Chick-Fil-A sandwich loving friends to donate the average cost of a Chick-Fil-A meal ($6.50) to Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
The Human Rights Campaign is organizing a Twitter campaign to raise awareness about Chick-Fil-A’s discriminatory policies. Make use of this handy hashtag if you’re a tweeter: #ChickfilHATE.
At a time when gay rights are gaining more and more public support, it is clear that Chick-Fil- A is on the wrong side of history. As consumers and activists we should remember to use our buying-power as a resource. By boycotting Chick-Fil-A and speaking out against them, we are making it clear to them and other businesses that their hateful actions will not be tolerated.
Women Testifying on Pennsylvania Voter ID Law
The court case against a new Pennsylvania voter ID law began last week. Elderly women, members of minority populations, college students, Pennsylvanians with disabilities, and transgender individuals have testified in the case against the new law, claiming it would disenfranchise them. This law would require anyone voting in Pennsylvania to show specific government issued photo IDs. Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State estimates that 758,000 registered voters lack the proper ID. Bea Bookler, a 94 year-old Pennsylvanian who has voted in every election since the 1940s, testified in court that she, and many women like her, will be disenfranchised by this law. Over time, she has lost her social security card, birth certificate, and marriage license, and is also unable to make the long trip to her nearest PennDOT office. When asked why she bothers to go to the polls to vote if her mobility is so limited, she insisted, “I would never not vote. How proud I am to live in a country is a real democracy. And anything that prevents people from voting is taking away our democracy. Democracy is only real if we all participate.” Earlier this year, Republican Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turazi claimed that the new law would “allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania” in the November election. Opponents of the law have cried foul. The state does not have any evidence to suggest that voter fraud has occurred or will occur in Pennsylvania elections. The US Department of Justice is looking into the law due to evidence suggesting the law discriminates against minority groups. Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson will issue a ruling in August. His ruling will most likely be appealed to the state’s Supreme Court.
MI Judiciary Committee Approved Controversial Abortion Restrictions Bill
Yesterday, the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-1 to pass a bill onto the Republican-dominated state Senate that would put unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers. The bill would require abortion facilities to be licensed as freestanding outpatient surgical facilities and force doctors to screen for women who may have been coerced into having the procedure. In addition, the legislation dictates how women must handle fetal remains that result from any terminated pregnancy, even miscarriages. This TRAP law, or Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers, is one of many that have passed through state legislatures since 2011. Supporters of the bill claim to have the safety of Michigan women at heart, while opponents insist that the bill is poorly written and an obvious attack on women’s reproductive rights. “Until we completely eliminate abortions in Michigan and completely defund Planned Parenthood, we have work to do,” said Michigan representative Mike Shirkey, according to the Huffington Post. Over the past few months, Michigan lawmakers have attempted to put this bill and similar laws on the books that would restrict a woman’s right to choose. Activists, including Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, have been vocally protesting these laws. The Michigan Senate will reconvene on August 15 to discuss this bill.
Planned Parenthood Sues AZ over New Law
Planned Parenthood sued the state of Arizona on Monday in an effort to overturn a new law that blocks it from receiving government funds. The law was signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in May, and is designed to prevent the allocation of public funds to clinics that also provide abortion in the state. The law will effectively cut funding for all health services provided by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, impacting the nearly 4,000 women receiving Medicaid-funded health care in the state. Arizona does not currently provide tax dollars for abortion and these funds were all allocated for other health services. Planned Parenthood is saying the law will put thousands of women’s lives at risk. In addition to providing abortion services to women, Planned Parenthood provides a range of health services, such as STI testing, cancer screenings, vaccinations, birth control, and sexual health education often at a reduced cost for low-income women. In a statement released in May, President of Planned Parenthood Arizona Bryan Howard said, “It is unfortunate that lawmakers continue to put ideology and politics before the welfare of Arizonans. Women and men who come to Planned Parenthood aren’t making a political statement, they are coming to get the health care they need.” In the past two years, 13 states have attempted to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood. The organization has filed lawsuits in six of them, and won injunctions in five, including Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, on the basis that it is being punished for providing constitutionally protected services and that these laws are blocking women’s access to preventive healthcare. Last week the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union also filed a lawsuit against Arizona in an attempt to block a restrictive new anti-abortion law signed by Brewer that bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Saudi Women to Participate in Olympics
Today, the IOC announced that two Saudi Arabian female athletes, Sarah Attar and Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhan, qualified to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. This comes one month after Saudi Arabia announced that it would reverse its ban on women competing in the Olympic Games.
The country was under international pressure to reverse the ban earlier this year, after Qatar and Brunei made the decision to allow women to compete for the first time. However, earlier this week, it did not look like Saudi Arabia would be sending any women to the games, regardless of the lift of the ban.
Attar will compete in the 800m race and Shahrkhani will enter the Judo competition. Attar stated, “A big inspiration for participating in the Olympic Games is being one of the first women for Saudi Arabia to be going. It’s such a huge honor and I hope that it can really make some big strides for women over there to get more involved in sport.”
This will be the first year that every participating country will send female athletes to compete in the games. According to the New York Times, 26 countries failed to send any women to the Olympics in 1996. This year the United States will also be making feminist history by sending more women than men to the games for the first time.
Women of Color, the Wage Gap and the Paycheck Fairness Act
The average American woman earns only $0.77 to every full dollar that the average American man earns. What do statistics fail to capture about the lives of women of color? A Black woman in the US earns only $0.62 to every full dollar that a white man in the U.S earns. A Hispanic woman earns only $0.52 to that dollar. When you compare earnings by gender within race, the pay gap closes; Black women earn 95.5% of what Black men earn. Although that statistic is lauded as hopeful, in reality, it demonstrates that the wage gap is just as affected by race as it is gender. The Paycheck Fairness Act is not only a white woman’s issue – pay discrimination extends across boundaries of race and gender, and feeds off of existing and historic systems of racism and sexism.
Critics of the Paycheck Fairness Act, who say the bill is unnecessary, cite women’s “life choices” as a reason why the pay gap exists. These life choices include leaving work to have children or working in the female dominated education or health care fields, which have lower salaries than many male dominated professional fields. Simply labeling these moves as “life choices”
erases the histories of tracking and discrimination that encourage women to choose fields lower in salary and farther from the sciences, business, technology, etc. Women are three times more likely to occupy office and administrative support positions than men.
Once again, these statistics fail to demonstrate the wide racial gaps within women’s wages. Black and Latina women are twice as likely as white women to work in the service industry. As pointed out by the Women of Color Policy Network (WOCPN), these jobs come with few to no benefits, a low wage, and very few opportunities for advancement. Women of color are underrepresented in management level positions, and face barriers in transitioning from low wage to professional positions. These low wages contribute to women of color’s lower lifetime earnings, and lack of wealth. The WOCPN also cites that women of color face unequal access to assets and wealth builders that accompany higher salaries. For each dollar of net wealth of white Americans, Latinos have $0.09, and Black Americans have $0.07. Single mothers of color have the highest rates of poverty and the lowest median income levels by household status/race.
These statistics can be explained by historic and continuing systems of discrimination that track women of color into these positions. The Paycheck Fairness Act, an update to the Equal Pay Act, requires employers to prove that discrepancies in pay are grounded in requirements of the business or job position – not gender. The Paycheck Fairness act may not radically erase the products of historic and prevailing forms of racism, sexism, and discrimination, but it is an important step in the fight for economic justice, which is inevitably intertwined with our own feminist goals.
Photo by flickr user photobunny under license from Creative Commons 2.0
Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.
Open Letter to Obama, Karzai Urges Women’s Inclusion in Afghanistan Talks
Amnesty International issued an open letter to President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai at their “Shadow Summit” Saturday urging both leaders to safeguard women’s rights.
Forty-six people signed the open letter, including Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal and Ms. magazine founder Gloria Steinem. Other signatories include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; Sima Samar, head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams and Shiriin Ebadi; former Defense Secretary William Cohen; former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad; “The Kite Runner” author Khaled Hosseini; and actress Meryl Streep.
In part, the open letter (see PDF) states, “As champions of women’s rights who are dedicated to protecting women’s human rights, we are deeply concerned that the significant gains made by women and girls in Afghanistan may be threatened as U.S. and allied troops leave the country. We urge you to adopt a comprehensive action plan to guarantee that the clock is not turned back on a decade of strides in education, health, security and employment for women and girls. At stake is the future of Afghanistan, after billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives have been sacrificed. We believe if women’s progress cannot be sustained, then Afghan society will fail.”
The “Shadow Summit” in Chicago aimed to emphasize to NATO Summit leaders that Afghan women’s and girls’ needs must be front and center in all planning. “Adequate funding from NATO countries is essential for security and Afghan women’s and girls’ educational, health care, and economic programs. Afghan women’s leaders must be represented in all the planning and decision-making,” commented Eleanor Smeal, president of the FMF, which has led a US Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls for the past 15 years.
UN Report Shows Decline in Maternal Deaths
A UN report (PDF) released last week shows that worldwide maternal deaths declined by 47 percent from 1990 to 2010. In 1990, there were 543,000 maternal deaths and that number dropped to 287,000 in 2010. The report found that 99 percent of maternal deaths occurred in developing countries and one-third of all maternal deaths occurred in India and Nigeria. It also states that most of the maternal deaths were preventable.
Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UN Population Fund said “I am very pleased to see that the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth continues to decline. This shows that the enhanced effort of countries, supported by UNFPA and other development partners, is paying off. But we can’t stop there. Our work must continue to make every pregnancy wanted and every childbirth safe.”
The report defines maternal death as death “occurring during pregnancy or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes.” The study was conducted by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Population Fund, and the World Bank.
Shadow Afghan Summit Focuses on Women’s Voices
The Shadow Summit hosted by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) brought women’s voices to the NATO Summit. Featured speakers, Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ambassador at Large for Women’s Global Melanne Verveer, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-D), and Afghan Women’s Leaders, Afifa Azim, director and co-founder of the Afghan Women’s Network, and Manizha Naderi, executive director, Women for Afghan Women, and Mahbouba Seraj, also of the AWN, all said women’s participation and concerns must be included to ensure an enduring peace, women’s rights and advancement, and progress for all Afghans.
“We have to ensure that our commitment to Afghan women does not end as our troops come home,” said Congresswoman Schakowsky, reported the Christian Science Monitor. The open letter (see PDF) released by AIUSA and signed by 48 Afghan, US, and British women leaders urged Afghan women’s leadership and participation be front and center in all the transition planning and execution and urged the adoption of a plan for protecting and advancing Afghan Women’s Rights.
The eight step plan includes not only women’s participation but also that all negotiation teams include at least 30% women in the “peace” talks; that any agreements with the Taliban include guarantees of women’s rights, a creation of a trust fund set aside for women and administered by women to protect women’s rights and support civil society, and the enforcement of anti-violence against women’s and women’s rights laws. The US/Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement (see PDF) signed by Presidents Obama and Karzai on May 1 includes a guarantee of women’s rights and advancement of women.
Manizha Naderi, who did not sign the open letter, issued a statement on behalf of Women for Afghan Women and the Feminist Majority Foundation. The two organizations warned that negotiating with the Taliban will not work and will produce disastrous results. Eleanor Smeal, president of the FMF, signed the joint statement and also signed the AIUSA open letter. “We do not believe the negotiations will work but if they take place (all talks have been suspended now) they must include women and the guarantee listed in the AIUSA statement,” said Eleanor Smeal.
Women’s Leaders to Speak at Shadow Summit
Amnesty International is staging a “Shadow Summit” this Sunday, May 20, in Chicago to emphasize to NATO Summit leaders that Afghan women’s and girls’ needs must be front and center in all planning. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky together with Afghan Women’s Leaders will speak at the Shadow Summit to bring women’s issues to the forefront of the NATO Summit. Speaking at the “Shadow Summit” will also be Afifa Azim, director and co-founder of the Afghan Women’s Network, Mahbouba Seraj, Executive Board Member of the Afghan Women’s Network; Manizha Naderi, Executive Director, Women for Afghan Women; and Gayle Lemmon of the Council on Foreign Relations and author, Dressmaker of Khair Khana. Amnesty International will release an open letter to Presidents Obama and Karzai signed by U.S., Afghan, and British women leaders concerned that women’s rights, freedoms, and advancement during and after the transition process. According to Amnesty International “the letter calls for an eight-point plan to ensure that the progress Afghan women have made over the last decade to secure basic rights will not end with the troops’ departure in 2014.” Suzanne Nossel, executive director, Amnesty International USA, said “After the billions of dollars and thousands of lives given to the cause of a secure and peaceful Afghanistan, turning back the clock on women’s rights would be tragic.” Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, which has led a U.S. Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls for the past 15 years, commented, “Adequate funding from NATO countries is essential for security and Afghan women’s and girls’ educational, health care, and economic programs. Afghan women’s leaders must be represented in all the planning and decision-making.”
US Conference of Catholic Bishops Launch Inquiry Into Girl Scouts
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has launched an official inquiry into Girls Scouts USA. At the end of March, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne wrote a letter expressing his concerns about the Girl Scouts relationship to groups that promote birth control and contraceptives, such as Sierra Club and Doctors Without Borders, and whether they are promoting birth control and contraceptives in their programming. Although the Girl Scouts have confirmed that they have never taken a stance on birth control, contraceptives or abortion, if the Catholic Bishops believe that their programing shows otherwise, Girl Scout chapters may no longer be allowed to hold their meetings in Catholic churches. According to the Washington Post, St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Chantilly, Virginia, banned 12 troops of 115 Girl Scouts from holding their meetings at the church. Some Girl Scouts have also reportedly had doors slammed in their faces over speculation that they endorse contraceptives and abortion. Robert McCarty, the Executive Director of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, published a website to help debunk the rumors about Girls Scouts. He says that the Girl Scouts have reviewed and changed some of their materials hoping to quiet the rumors and tensions with the Catholic Church. The review of the Girl Scouts programs will be held by the Bishops’ committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
US and Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement Reached
The United States and Afghanistan announced last week that the two countries have agreed on a draft of a strategic partnership which establishes US support in Afghanistan for a decade after the removal of combat troops. Combat troops are due to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014. Under the agreement, which must still be approved by Congress and the White House, the US will continue to provide social and economic assistance as the country builds up its infrastructure and security.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “NATO and its partners cannot and will not abandon Afghanistan after 2014. Our ongoing support will be essential to preserving and building on the gains we’ve made thus far.”
The announcement comes shortly after acts of violence against schools in Afghanistan. Last week, the Taliban closed or partially closed approximately 50 schools in southeast Afghanistan, many of which were girls’ schools. On April 17th, 150 Afghan girls were poisoned in an attack on their school’s water supply.