Lowest Common Denominator

"Nothing pains some people more than having to think."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Last week, a Youtube video has been making noise in feminist and reproductive health activism circles featuring a husband confronting anti-choice protesters at the abortion clinic where he is taking his wife for a procedure.

As the father, Aaron Gouveia, mentions in the clip, he was taking his wife in for an abortion because their unborn baby already had severe health problems (in this case sirenomelia in which the bottom extremities are fused together and numerous organs do not form). When the anti-choice protesters were yelling at him and his wife about how they are baby killers who need Jesus (paraphrase), he confronted them about their hypocrisy and ignorance.

I think one of the reasons this clip spread so quickly because it is not often that we see men openly defending pro-choice issues. Usually the men who are vocal about abortion are anti-choice evangelicals and politicians who seem to have an underlying agenda of control. But besides the novelty of having a male advocate, he calmly faces the condescending protesters but forcefully calls them out. One of the ladies protesting almost seems genuinely apologetic. Does she stop protesting? No but you can see the wheels turning in her head as she questions her "activism."

What's curious is that this video brought up the topic to a wider audience outside of women's health and right activists and even touched those who don't consider themselves to be close to the issue or advocates in any way. Take this audio clip from Kansas City's the Buzz where the local deejays who interviewed Mr. Gouveia get emotional. The male host specifically says that he doesn't believe in abortion but supports a woman's right to choose, and the hostess is clearly choked up. He easily finds common ground between his personal beliefs and what is right for women. Doesn't that seem so simple?

I think this video touched a nerve last week particularly after the airing of "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller,"a chilling documentary narrated by Rachel Maddow about the murder of the abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller, a fierce advocate of reproductive rights. From his clinic in Wichita, Kansas, he was one of three "late-term" abortion providers in the country and most often provided procedures for women or couples who had fetal anomalies or other medical problems. Dr. Tiller was assassinated in his church by a rabid anti-choice crusader who had been stalking him for years. Before he was murdered, his clinic had been bombed, he had been shot 5 times by another anti-choice maniac, and his staff faced constant harassment.

What these protesters and many in the anti-choice community don't seem to understand (or care about) is that women have abortions because they value life. The Guttmacher Institute, a leading thinktank on sexual and reproductive health, reports:

Three-fourths of women cite concern for or responsibility to other individuals; three-fourths say they cannot afford a child; three-fourths say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents; and half say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.

But the vocal anti-choice community would rather paint women having abortions as killers while they support the murder of doctors who have saved lives. They would have to question their motives and separate their dogma from others' spiritual beliefs and human rights. They would have to analyze their own sanctimony. But these people vehemently refuse to do that. Why bother when you can use fear tactics, gruesome imagery and violence to appeal to the lowest common denominator?

Stoned To Death in 2010

In Iran, a woman convicted of adultery can be buried up to her chest and stoned to death by her village... in 2010. We're not talking about being plummeted by a rock that would cause death instantaneously. We're talking about being pelleted by rocks that can inflict pain and physical damage, but nevertheless a slow, painful death. Since 1986, Iran has reported 26 cases of women being stoned to death- this does not included undocumented cases.

Such is the case for 42 year old mother of 2, Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani (pictured). Ashtiani, who does not speak Farsi but Turkish, was convicted of adultery in 2006 and received 99 lashes (after which a forced confession was taken). Recently acquitted of murdering her husband, she now faces the punishment of stoning.

Only international pressure can help Sakinah Ashtiani. Mina Ahadi, who heads the International Committee Against Stoning and the Death Penalty told CNN: "Legally it's all over. It's a done deal. Sakineh can be stoned at any minute." U.S. Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley said Thursday. "For a modern society such as Iran, we think this raises significant human rights concerns."

In 2008, the film "The Stoning of Soraya M." was released, gaining laurels from Toronto and Los Angeles film festivals. The movie was based on the true life events told to French-Iranian journalist, Freidoune Sahebjam, that surrounded Soraya Manutchehri, who was falsely accused by her husband and stoned to death by her village.

Sounds like Iran needs a Feminist movement to shake things up a bit. For now, reach out to organizations like Mina Ahadi's International Committee Against Stoning and the Death Penalty (http://stopstonningnow.com/) and Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/campaigning-end-stoning-iran-20080115).

Widows Seek Repeal of High Seas Death Law

Animals are not the only beings feeling the burn of the BP oil spill. Widows of the men killed from the blast are fighting back by asking the US Congress to repeal a 90 year-old law that limits the amount of money victims' families may receive from accidents more than 3 miles from the shore.

Widows Courtney Kemp (26) of Jonesville, La. and Natalie Roshto, 21, of Liberty, Miss. are being vocal.

"This tragedy will not be in vain if it serves to make the lives of every man and woman working in the oilfield the top priority and cause the powerful oil companies to know that they will be held accountable for their actions," Roshto said.

Asked by Stupak what they would ask BP executives, if they could, both women answered, "Why?"

"What went wrong?" Roshto asked. "Why weren't you out there trying to do something in the weeks before when they were having problems?"

Kemp agreed, but added: "Why is it that money is more important than someone's life?"

- excerpt from Huffington Post

Read the full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/07/gulf-oil-rig-widows-repeal_n_603889.html

HerStory: Alice Paul

It seems as if America has an obsession with "bad girls". There are entire shows dedicated to women who spend the better half of their days fighting each other, getting wasted before noon and having sex with so-called celebrities to get media attention and material goods. However, what does a real bad girl look like? A real bad girl looks a lot like suffragist, Alice Paul.

Paul was born in 1885, a time when children were not allowed to speak unless they were spoken to and to a certain degree "proper" women followed that same rule. However, Alice was raised by Hicksite Quaker parents who believed in equality of the sexes. As a child she was taken to National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) meetings by her mother, Tacie Parry. Tacie was born into a wealthy family and her father, Judge William Parry was one of the founders of Swarthmore, a co-ed college. In later years Alice attended Swarthmore and graduated with a bachelors in Biology.

It was during Paul's time in Birmingham, England that she became steeped in the suffragist movement. While in Birmingham Alice met the English suffragist Christabel Pankhurst, the daughter of the radical Emmeline Pankhurst. The Pankhurst women were not known to back down. Their group of suffragists engaged in violent acts of disobedience including window smashing and rock throwing to bring attention to the suffragist movement in England. They were often carted away in cuffs. Paul was jailed on several occasions for smashing windows, thus giving new meaning to the saying a smashing good time.

Deeds not words.
Pankhurst faction suffragist motto

When Paul returned to the U.S. in 1910, she was determined to employ some of the tactics used by the English suffragists. Three years later she had the opportunity to draw major attention to the movement. Paul organized a women's march down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., which coincided with Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. What was supposed to be a peaceful event turned brutal quickly; male onlookers attacked the women while the police watched. Fortunately, the actions of the abusers had a positive impact on the movement -- the suffragists made headlines across the nation.



In 1916; after separating from NAWSA, Paul created the National Women's Party (NWP) where politicians regardless of party affiliation were held accountable for the disenfranchisement of women. The NWP staged demonstrations, picketed and participated in hunger strikes. These real bad girls found themselves in prison on several occasions. Paul and key members were arrested and thrown in jail after refusing to pay petty fines. Alice Paul served time in the Occuquan Workhouse in Virginia. During this time Paul and other women staged a hunger strike to protest the conditions of the prison. The hunger strike was met with such opposition that the suffragists were beaten and in Paul's case; forced into the sanitarium in an attempt to declare her insane. Well, there is a very thin line between insanity and genius -- with Paul bordering on the latter.

After much public outcry, the women found a supporter in Wilson, who called the suffragist amendment a "war time" act. In 1920, Paul picked up where Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cody left off as the 19th Amendment was passed. Interestingly enough, the last vote came down to the 24 year-old Harry Burn, who was asked to support the act by his very own mother.

The next time a young lady (or young man for that matter) asks you who or what a bad girl is, feel confident in referring them to Paul's story or any woman in the Ladies Lotto HerStory series. Then again, you can always point to yourself.

13-Year Old Girl Gets 90 Lashes For A Concealed Cell Phone At School

image courtesy of daily mail uk

Here's the deal. Saudi Arabia is deplorable. Forget the term 2nd class citizen, the country treats women like 7th class citizens.

There is an extreme policy of "sex segregation" - often times women in their own homes have separate entrances, cannot be seen in public without a family member have an literacy rate of 70% and less than 5% make up the workforce. With a 2008 Royal Decree, the only requirement needed to allow women to enter hotels are their national ID cards, and the hotel must inform the nearest police station of their room reservation and length of stay, however this happens with everybody staying in the hotel not just women. Before that they were not allowed to enter a hotel or furnished apartment without a chaperone.

According to Daily Mail "a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to 90 lashes and two months' prison in Saudi Arabia after she took a mobile phone to school.

The punishment is harsher than dished out to some robbers and looters!

Saudi Arabia, a leading US ally in the Middle East, is an absolute monarchy controlled by the Al-Saud ruling tribe, and lacks any legal code."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1244689/Saudi-girl-13--sentenced-90-lashes-took-mobile-phone-school.html#ixzz0dBWgSAVP

Why is the US allying itself with a nation that has little regard for the rights of women? We stood up to nations like South Africa with its apartheid policy, shouldn't we do the same for sex segregation? Double standard much?

Women For Women International

We highly recommend you check out this organization:

Women for Women International mobilizes women to change their lives through a holistic approach that addresses the unique needs of women in conflict and post-conflict environments.

We begin by working with women who may have lost everything in conflict and often have nowhere else to turn. Participation in our one-year program launches women on a journey from victim to survivor to active citizen. We identify services to support graduates of the program as they continue to strive for greater social, economic and political participation in their communities.

40 Lashes for Trousers

Photo Courtesy of AP/GETTY

The trial of journalist Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein began today in Sudan. She's been charged with, get this, wearing trousers that were too tight and a blouse that was too sheer. She faces up to 40 lashes if convicted. Here's the deal - she WANTED to go to court in an effort to clear her name as well as have the law deemed unconstitutional and protesting the "moral police" who stormed the private restaurant she and 18 other women were arrested at. Al-Hussein resigned from her media post at the United Nations (as the UN grants immunity to international workers) so that she could take the case as a public protest to the treatment of women in the Sudan. She has even gone as far as to send out 500 invitations to witness her flogging if she is convicted.

The case is getting a lot of attention, Amnesty International is involved and UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon has been quoted as being "concerned" about the case.

In an effort to support Ms. Al-Hussein, wear your pants with pride, take a moment to think about the ladies in the Sudan and let your people know what's going on.

For more information about this case visit: CNN and Amnesty International

Unity As One Stand Together

Flash back...

Unity - Operation Ivy



Ain't Nothing Wrong With Another Unity Song

Via The Consummate

Daily Commute: Keep New York Moving

Morning commuters! Keep New York Moving is a joint effort by the Campaign for New York's Future and the Empire State Transportation Alliance to ensure safe, affordable, reliable transportation for New York now and in the future.

The NY transportation system is facing a serious crisis, and unless the leaders in Albany take action to provide new, stable funding for public transit, the MTA will move forward with their "doomsday plan." Their plan includes severe service cuts across all five boroughs and fare hikes – as much as $3.00 per ride (that isn't an April Fool's joke)!

That's a hefty fare hike, tell Albany what you think!

Via Keep New York Moving

Trouble in Mind - DRC

Think you've got a lot to worry about? Try living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where there's an all out war raging against women & children.

"The disturbing stories that have come out of the Congo defy imagination: women and young girls being raped by militia men in front of their families; rape victims ranging from as young as six months to as old as 83 years; women and girls faced with unwanted pregnancies and raped intentionally by men known to have AIDS. There is also a devastating epidemic of women and girls whose vaginas and reproductive organs have been completely destroyed from being violated with guns, bottles and sticks, often resulting in a condition called fistula, a rupture that results in the uncontrollable leakage of urine and feces. The traumatized rape victims are then further stigmatized and ostracized by their families and communities."

Via: Alternet

How can you help this dire situation? Here are some resources that can make a difference:

• V-Day
• Heal Africa
• Healing Arts Africa