Women's Philanthropy--Women's Issues

Send Me "Back to the Kitchen"?

SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/betty-sutton/send-me-back-to-the-kitch_b_552066.html

 

  Rep. Betty Sutton

Democratic Congresswoman (Ohio's 13th District)

Posted: April 26, 2010 12:50 PM

 Last week a talented, young woman full of promise came to me with a flier her family received in the mail from the Republican Party. As she handed me the mailer, with a sense of disappointment and hurt, she pointed to a line in the flier that read, 'Let's take Betty Sutton out of the House and send her back to the kitchen.'

 

The young woman, her heart heavy, then said, "I can't believe that this is how some people value women. And, even if they do, I can't believe that they would feel comfortable promoting it in a flier like this." And then, this bright, capable woman, who I know to be ready and able to do great things for our community and nation, said this: "I don't know why I even went to college; if this is how people treat you, what's the point?"

The mailer was supported by funds from a Republican multimillionaire challenger by the name of Tom Ganley who has decided he wants to take my place in Congress. Ganley placed a huge advertisement in the flier to build support for the campaign to - how did they put it - oh, yes, to get me "out of the House and back in the kitchen."

We have set a goal to send 15,000 signatures calling on Republican candidate Tom Ganley to unequivocally denounce the comment immediately, and for Medina County Republican Party Chairman Bill Heck, who continues to defend the belittling comment, to step down.

Confronting rape as a weapon of war

http://www.rescue.org/blog/category/women

 

IRC Blog | Voices from the Field

VOICES FROM THE FIELD | THE IRC BLOG

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Confronting rape as a weapon of war

Posted by Elisabeth.Roesch on March 8th, 2011

Margot Wallström (center) meets with aid agency representatives in Washington, DC.

Photo: The IRC

Today, International Women’s Day, Elisabeth Roesch writes about Margot Wallström’s recent meeting with aid agencies including the International Rescue Commiitee.  Wallström is the UN’s first ever Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, tasked with leading the UN’s efforts to mobilize the international community to address sexual violence.

Margot Wallström’s open style, hands-on attitude and good sense of humor are refreshing for one of the most powerful women in the United Nations.  Not to mention, critically important tools for someone whose job is to confront one of the toughest and most important challenges of our time: rape in conflict.

Over the last decade, the world has woken up and been moved to action by the horrific violence that women and girls often face on an almost daily basis in countries torn apart by strife and war.  Wallström, a former Swedish politician, media executive and member of the European Commission, is the leader for this action.  Appointed by the U.N. Secretary General as his Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict a little over a year ago, she is tasked with mobilizing the international community to respond to sexual violence with the same seriousness and commitment used to respond to any other threat to our world’s peace and security.  

Wallström is outspoken about her belief that sexual violence is a criminal act – often a war crime – and that perpetrators should not be allowed to walk free.  Proof of her seriousness has been her relentless advocacy to bring some of the worst offenders to justice.  Callixte Mbarushimana, for example, is a leader of one of the main rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  Accused of raping women and girls, he was recently brought to justice for his crimes. He and other offenders can thank Wallström’s practice of “naming and shaming” for a portion of the international attention they have received.  Yet recently Wallström met with aid agencies including the IRC in Washington, D.C., and she was candid about the challenges she faces in working toward her primary goal of ending impunity.

Wallström’s office, though growing, remains small.  Having recently received generous support from the US government, she now has the ability to expand her team to 9 people.  But her list of priority countries is almost as long as the size of her staff – Colombia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR), Cote d’Ivoire, Sudan and Liberia.  With less than a year left in her term, she will need to engage where she can have the most impact.  While sexual violence in the DRC receives much attention, it will take fierce determination to shine a spotlight on its neighbor, CAR.   The situation in CAR has long suffered from neglect even though the violence committed against women and girls there is equally grave.  And in Ivory Coast, where a disputed election endangers a fragile peace, Wallström is one of the few voices speaking out to condemn the attacks on women and girls that have been reported in recent months.  There, a critical opportunity to prevent violence is being missed.  Can one person reverse the tide?

On my most optimistic days, I see Wallström as one leader in a growing movement of people that realize women’s security is important for international security or, to quote the famous words of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, recognize that “women’s rights are human rights”.  When a more cynical mood overtakes me, I wonder if world leaders have opened their eyes to the atrocities being committed against women in places like Sudan or Congo only to close them again as the same scenario plays out in other countries.  It is easier to recognize a problem when it is bounded by the borders of a far-off war-torn nation.  Far more difficult is waking up to the fact that violence against women and girls is global in scope, vast in scale and requires not a discrete intervention but a wholesale change in the way we respond to the needs of women and girls affected by conflict.  My hope is that Wallström can leverage her time with the UN to catapult the international community to the next stage in confronting this violence. This would mean not only bringing perpetrators to justice but also changing the widespread practice of allowing the basic human rights of women and girls to be violated in silence. 

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about three goals that I think are critical to this fight.

Confronting rape as a weapon of war (Part 2)

Posted by Elisabeth.Roesch on March 9th, 2011

Over the last decade, the world has woken up and been moved to action by the horrific violence that women and girls often face on an almost daily basis in countries torn apart by strife and war

Photo courtesy Kevin Sites

Yesterday I wrote about Margot Wallström’s recent meeting with aid agencies including the International Rescue Committee. Wallström is the UN’s first ever Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, tasked with leading the UN’s efforts to mobilize the international community to address sexual violence.

Today I’d like to share the three goals that I think are critical to the fight not only to end sexual violence but also to extend basic human rights to women and girls all over the world:  

• Ensure that no survivor of sexual violence goes without lifesaving care and assistance.  Standards for the prevention of and response to gender-based violence in humanitarian settings exist but are ignored.  Wallström could change this by working with UN agencies to strengthen their ability to assist women and girls in conflict zones.
• Give rise to women’s voices.  Women need to have a say in the way that wars are resolved and peace is built.   Women’s conception of justice for crimes of sexual violence often goes beyond the prosecution of individual cases.  Many women want to live without fearing for their safety and have their power and abilities recognized.  Meaningful justice requires embracing a larger vision and supporting women’s leadership across social, economic and political spheres.
• Stop the denial.    Believe it or not, not everyone is convinced that the UN, UN peacekeepers, other international organizations and government ministries have a role in addressing sexual violence.  UN member states routinely ask for “proof” that violence is occurring and drag their feet in responding.  The IRC has supported tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence over the past decade (40,000 in the DRC alone).  In almost every conflict in which we intervene, women and girls are at risk. And yet the question arises again and again – is this violence really happening? Wallström must call out such comments for what they are: simple denial.  This must be a fundamental part of her campaign to end impunity.  Impunity is more than a perpetrator going free, it is also the inaction of leaders who have the capacity to respond but refuse to believe there is a problem.

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International Women’s Day: Miles to Walk, in the US and Across the Seas « SpeakEasy

International Women’s Day: Miles to Walk, in the US and Across the Seas « SpeakEasy.

Posted by Ms. Foundation for Women at 11:15 am
March 8, 2011

International Women’s Day: Miles to Walk, in the US and Across the Seas

 

This post originally appeared on the Ms. Foundation for Women’s Igniting Change blog.

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day – a day for the celebration of women worldwide. In 25 nations (including China, Afghanistan, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam and Zambia), the day has become a national holiday, a time not only to cheer for women’s advances, but also to reflect upon the many global inequalities women still face.

We honor this day in the United States, too, and stand in solidarity with our sisters who are struggling to surmount injustice around the globe. But here at the Ms. Foundation, we know we must do more than look outward at the failures and fault-lines of equality beyond our borders. Today, this entire Women’s History Month, and throughout the year, we must take a hard look at our own country’s shortcomings. While we pride ourselves on our global leadership and our national ideals, there is no doubt that the US falls hideously short.

Of course, we need not look far. Whether it’s Representative Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) attempt to redefine rape and set the women’s movement – and our entire country – back decades, or Congressional attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and other Title X providers, it is clear that women’s reproductive rights and health are under blatant attack. But even before the Right’s most recent assault on women’s lives, the status of women’s health in the US has lagged far behind. Did you know, for example, that over the last 20 years, deaths from pregnancy and childbirth in the United States have doubled? And need we remind you that this is taking place in a nation that spends more than any other country in the world on health care?

And then there’s Wisconsin. While the battle over collective bargaining rights and unions is not being framed by mainstream media as a “woman’s issue,” it more than surely [E1] is. Women make up a majority of public sector workers at the state and local level – they also make up 56 per cent of the “working poor” and are most likely, alongside people of color, to benefit from union membership. As such, our friends at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research point out, women and their families stand to lose the most if workers’ rights in Wisconsin and elsewhere are dismantled. In a time of ongoing economic crisis in which women continue to lose jobs, this is an especially frightening prospect.

The current US political and economic climate alone makes women’s fate seem especially grim. But this should not obscure the fact that women have long experienced the disproportionate impact of harmful policies and gender discrimination. No matter the decade, if you’re a woman here in the US you’re more likely than a man to be poor, to earn minimum or below minimum wage, to pay more for health insurance…and the list goes on. This while only a small percentage of us are at policymaking tables where decisions are made that directly impact our lives.

And how do we compare to the rest of the world? Global statistics tell a striking story of just how poorly the US performs when it comes to promoting women’s well-being. Among 42 countries with “high human development” levels, the US currently ranks 37th — in the bottom five of such countries — in terms of gender equality according to the United Nations’ 2010 Human Development Report [pdf]. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index [pdf], which analyzes rates of economic opportunity and participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment to compile its ratings, puts the US in 19th place globally. That means women in America fare worse, by some measures, than our sisters in nations like Sri Lanka, South Africa and the Philippines, not to mention much of Western Europe and all of Scandinavia.

The bad news continues. The US currently ranks last among the 11 industrialized nations who are members of the Group of 10 in terms of both infant and maternal mortality rates. Our current gender wage gap of 19 cents places the US 64th [pdf] in the world. And we rank 73rd in terms of women’s political leadership, falling behind nations like Rwanda, Uganda and Pakistan, and tying with Bosnia.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter what list you turn to, or how you spin the data: check any of the published rankings of global inequality from a gendered perspective and nowhere will you see the US ranked in the top ten of nations closing the gender gap. Nowhere.

Shocking? Disappointing? Certainly — yet if you understand the realities of daily life for most women in this country, the reason we maintain our embarrassingly low rankings, year after year, is disturbingly self-evident. Just ask the nearly 150 social justice organizations we support – groups led by and for women who, either through personal experience or through the lives of their members, come face to face with this unjust reality every day. They, better than anyone else, understand how urgent the need for change is.

Across the country, our grantees are fighting to win progressive changes that women in every corner of the world should be able to call their own. In Colorado, West Virginia, and other statehouses nationwide, they are fighting for reproductive justice, and against regressive measures that devalue women’s lives. In Wisconsin, Indiana and elsewhere, they are standing on the front lines to defend the right to collective bargaining now under attack. In Arizona, in Kentucky, and in Washington, DC, they’re taking on unjust immigration policies that disproportionately impact women and families. And at every level, whether city, state or federal, they’re fighting to ensure that women’s perspectives, and women leaders, are included at policymaking tables where key decision about our nation’s future are being made.

So, today, as the world pauses to celebrate the achievements of women worldwide, we honor our remarkable grantees. They, some of our country’s most treasured social justice trailblazers, are exemplary models of the kind of change-makers we should all aspire to be. We believe in their voices. We believe in their vision. We believe in their power to promote women’s well-being and create the just and inclusive democracy our nation was meant to be.

On this 100th International Women’s Day, we stand with all women and girls — down the street and around the world — to cheer our wins and inspire us all to further action. We have come a long way… but we’ve got miles to walk, here in America and across the seas.

Anika Rahman
President & CEO
Ms. Foundation for Women

The Ms. Foundation for Women builds women's collective power to ignite change across the United States. Visit us at: ms.foundation.org

Home | AlterNet News, Thursday, March 10, 2011

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France Recognizes Libyan Rebels as Legitimate Government, "Breaking Ice"

By Sarah Seltzer | AlterNet

 

 

Maddow, Schultz and Michael Moore React to Union-Busting in Wisconsin

By Sarah Seltzer | AlterNet

 

 

Watch Footage of Last Night's Shocking Wisconsin Senate End-Run

By Sarah Seltzer | AlterNet

 

 

Omega-3s in Infant Formula? Time for a Close Look

By Marion Nestle | Food Politics

 

 

Why Conservatives Are Trying to Destroy NPR

By Eric Boehlert | Media Matters

 

 

Outrage: People in the US Still Lack Access to Clean Water

By Wenonah Hauter | Food and Water Watch

 

 

Women Speak Out: Why I Had an Abortion

By TheFatLadySings | Daily Kos

 

 

Lady Gaga Dumps Target Over Anti-Gay Policies

By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | AlterNet

 

 

Vision: Craigslist Creator Starts New Site for Progressive Non-Profits and Other Good Organizations

By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | AlterNet

 

 

The GOP's Wildly Unpopular Spending Cuts

By Steve Benen | Political Animal

 

 

Keep the Heat on the Nefarious Koch Brothers

Last week, I received an inspirational letter from a donor in Miami Beach. She sent AlterNet a check and wrote to cheer us on: "Keep up the good work... the Kochs are such a pain in our body politics." Help us keep the heat on the Koch brothers!  I had to laugh. Our donor has the fiesty spirit that keeps us cooking. To be sure, in America "things don't go better with Koch" (pronounced Coke). I hope you will join her in our fight against two of the richest and most destructive men in America. As we launch our spring fundraising campaign, AlterNet's eyes are trained on all things Koch. Can you support us in exposing and keeping the heat on the Koch brothers? Every little bit helps. Who They Are Charles and David Koch own the 2nd largest private corporation in the U.S., with revenues of more than $100 billion. They operate in 60 countries. Koch Industries is a well-documented and infamous polluter of air and water -- and the public discourse. For too long, the Koch brothers' aggressive funding of the Tea Party movement and a vast right-wing network -- built to destroy unions, deny climate change, and protect their polluting industries -- flew below the radar. But no longer. The Kochtopus has been exposed, and their billionaire lives will never be the same. There is a very good chance you first heard about the Koch brothers on AlterNet, where we have published dozens of articles about their nefarious activities and political manipulations. The Wisconsin Uprising Reporting on the Kochs' vast influence in Wisconsin's battle for workers' rights, AlterNet burst out of the gate early. We were the first to report the connections between Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting power-grab and Koch-supported institutions and politicians, beating the New York Times on the story by three days. AlterNet was also the first to report on the partnership between Koch and Murdoch, showing how Fox News and the Wall Street Journal -- both owned by Murdoch's News Corporation -- collude with the Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity to spread and amplify disinformation about labor unions, health-care reform and climate change. But we know you want more than that: you want to know what you can do to reduce the Koch influence on your daily lives. That's why we put together our boycott guide to Koch Industries products -- ranging from Brawny paper towels and Dixie cups, to Stainmaster carpet and Georgia Pacific lumber -- the guide registers as one of our most-read articles in recent weeks. As Jim Hightower Says As our friend and long-time Koch watcher Jim Hightower says of Charles and David Koch: "It's all about them, you see -- they want to be free of anti-pollution regulations, labor laws, corporate taxes, and other policies that serve the common good. The public be damned. Keep your eyes on these two. After all, the higher the monkey climbs, the more you see of its ugly side." Since early in 2009, AlterNet has kept close tabs on the brothers Koch. But to keep our journalists combing public records, reporting from the field, and coaxing reluctant sources into spilling the beans on these would-be oligarchs, we need your help. We need to raise $50,000 in this Spring campaign to keep our budget whole. The first portion of that will be invested in more investigations into the long tentacles of the Koch Brothers. Please help us with as much as you can. Thank you,

Don Hazen Executive Editor

P.S. AlterNet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. 100% of your contribution to this effort is tax-deductible.

DAILY BEAST | The Morning Scoop - How Today's Muslim Hearings Help the Terrorists

MARCH 10, 2011

How Today's Muslim Hearings Help the Terrorists Rep. Peter King's hearings today on homegrown Muslim terrorists may not make him a McCarthy or a bigot, but the anxiety he's creating within the Muslim-American community will reduce future cooperation with law enforcement�and could help al Qaeda's recruitment, argues Jonathan Alter. Will King be able to guilt-trip, shame, or otherwise compel American Muslims to communicate more with authorities? It's hard to see how. Read it at The Daily Beast Wisc. Senate Passes Union-Busting Bill Turns out the Democrats were never needed there in the first place: Wisconsin Senate Republicans voted to strip state workers of their collective bargaining rights on Wednesday. The Democratic senators' presence was not required after the GOP separated the measure from a spending package so that it no longer required a quorum. The final vote was 18-1, with Republican Dale Schultz casting the only vote against the bill. The move could come back to bite Republicans: Polling showed citizens of Wisconsin, by a two-to-one majority, were expecting a compromise. Read it at NPR Dalai Lama Retires from Politics The Dalai Lama announced Thursday his retirement from public life. He asked the Tibetan parliament in exile to relieve him of his "formal authority" as head of the Tibetan government. "As early as the 1960s, I have repeatedly stressed that Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power," he said in a speech. "Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect." The Dalai Lama may also take what the Guardian calls "the unprecedented step of seeking his own reincarnation" to avoid a succession crisis when he dies. In 1995, the Dalai Lama named a young Tibetan boy as the next incarnation, but the Chinese government rejected him and he has not been seen since. Read it at The Guardian BBC Journalists Tortured in Libya Three BBC journalists reported Wednesday they were captured and beaten for 21 hours by Col. Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Libya, and they said they saw evidence of worse torture from other victims. The journalists said they were beaten with fists and rifles, hooded and subjected to mock executions as they were trying to reach the rebel stronghold of Zawiyah. Their account gives credence to the rebels and the refugees attempting to flee who claim that Gaddafi's security forces have routinely tortured those captured, which the United Nations is investigating. All three journalists were among the ranks that Gaddafi had invited to Tripoli, though many have been unable to reach Zawiyah. Meanwhile, intense fighting continued in Ras Lanuf, a strategic oil refinery town occupied by the rebels, and Zawiyah, with missiles and grenades pummeling the area. Read it at The New York Times Carlos Slim Is World's Richest Man For the second year in a row, Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim tops Forbes Magazine's billionaires list. In just the past year, Slim has added $20.5 billion to his fortune, bringing his net worth to $74 billion. That's $18 billion more than the number-two person on the list, Bill Gates, who is worth $56 billion. Warren Buffett is third on the list, while the Koch Brothers, famous for their support of the Tea Party, are ranked eighteen. Read it at Forbes ElBaradai to Run for President in Egypt Will nominate self when door opens. Should NPR Give Up Public Funding? Only receives 2 percent of cash from gov't. iPad 2 Reviews: Still the Best New gadget is thinner, cheaper than the rest.

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NPQ's Nonprofit Newswire: Stories, Trends, Insights, 01.31.11

NPQ's Nonprofit Newswire: Stories, Trends, Insights.

Brave Palestinian-American Woman v.s. Coward Israeli Soldiers

Changes

by William Herbert on Monday, January 31, 2011 at 10:44am

The troubles that result from change can never touch the true self at all. All the changes around you in your life are for that illusionary world of body and mind.

As changes and flaws in earth and water, fire and air, do not affect the element ether which pervades and transcends them all.

Similarly all the worldly affairs will have no bearing on you, when you divert your mind and place that in that power of true self.

– Sri Ramana Maharshi.

 

William Herbert The boat moves in the river, but water should never enter it.

Though one lives in the world, the world should not occupy one’s mind. ----Sri Ramana Maharshi.

 

Rather profound thoughts that sometimes seem all but impossible to embrace in the midst of storms raging around us . . but, nonetheless, bear serious consideration./sd