29 March 2007

Extract from Benazhir Bhutto's autobiography

Amazing article about the way being a woman and pregnancy in particular affected her political career:

Once the political opposition learned I was pregnant, all hell broke loose. They called on the president and the military to overthrow me. They argued that Pakistan's government rules did not provide for a pregnant prime minister going on maternity leave. They said that during delivery I would be incapacitated and therefore the government machinery would irretrievably break down for that period of time. This, to them, was unconstitutional, necessitating the president, backed by the military, to dismiss the prime minister and install an interim government to hold new elections.

19 March 2007

Dignity, period.

From an email from Mabel (link in title)

The economic crisis in Zimbabwe now means that ordinary women are unable to afford basic sanitary protection. With inflation topping 1200%, just one pack of sanitary pads costs more than 50% of the average monthly wage for women in Zimbabwe. Faced with such economic adversity, manufacturers of sanitary products have fled Zimbabwe, compounding the shortages.

As a consequence, millions of Zimbabwean women are forced to replace tampons with newspapers and dirty rags, a practice which has led to vaginal infections for which there is no available medication.

Moreover, these medical infections are often falsely attributed to sexually transmitted infections leading to social embarrassment and domestic violence.

This lack of sanitary products has far reaching implications. Families suffer from increased poverty as mothers and wives are unable to work when they have their periods. This means that they are unable to buy food and clothes or finance their children’s education. In addition girls are forced to take time off school, further jeopardising their education.

Millions of women and girls across Zimbabwe face unnecessary suffering and hardship, ACTSA campaigns to ensure that these women are afforded their most basic human rights.

How much would you be prepared to pay for basic sanitary protection??

What is your dignity worth??

13 March 2007

We hate Observer woman

Excellent blog about the vacuous waste of paper and space that is Observer Woman magazine. Anyone really wanting to raise their own blood pressure should read this article:

By your mid-twenties, you're on a six-figure salary forging a path in a previously male-dominated world. You own your own flat, a Mulberry handbag and a Marc Jacobs frock.

Yup, that's my life.

02 March 2007

Lynne Segal

Lynne Segal is a feminist who always comes across as being very positive and sensible: Julie Bindel interviews her in today's Guardian as LS publishes her memoirs. Searching for more about her online, I found her response to the Ariel Levy book we discussed a while ago. Her books Why feminism? sounds really interesting.