Hey everybody, I'm conducting a survey on name changing and marriage to use for a paper for my Gender Communications class. I'm hoping to get an idea of people's views on name changing and whether this is still a societal norm.
Click here to take survey!
I would really appreciate everyone's responses (and maybe I'll blog about my findings)! Thanks!
4.24.2009
4.22.2009
Things A Savvy Woman Can Do For Her Mother (Earth, That Is.)
So there's just a few minutes left until Earth Day 2009 is officially over. What's a gal to do? Luckily, your enthusiasm for our planet's well-being doesn't have to be limited to just one day! I've come up with a few things that are (more or less) unique to women that we can change in our everyday lives to make a difference. Feel free to suggest your own ideas in the comments!
1. Use alternative menstrual products. This one's a biggie, as they say. We have a ton of links on our sidebar, but just in case, here's the lowdown: commercial tampons and pads take up landfill space and have harmful chemicals like dioxin that you shouldn't want anywhere near your garden in the first place, know what I'm sayin'? Besides, why buy a box of tampons every month when you could use a menstrual cup (which fit inside a shotglass, folks, just to give you a size comparison) made of silicone or latex that will last you a year or longer? The most popular options for menstrual cups are the Diva, MoonCup, and disposable Insteads. Other alternative menstrual options include the ever-friendly (although not vegan) sea sponge, and cloth pads. Lunapads offers some great ones, or you can DIY!
2. Not all women wear makeup, but if you do, try re-usable makeup containers. Aveda makes some very pretty ones.
3. There's other things within the realm of beauty you can change while you're at it, by ditching such items such as but not limited to: disposable razors, razors in general (if you're so inclined, I happen to be biased), items with excessive packaging and beauty products containing petrochemicals and carcinogens. And lay off the hairspray.
4. Recycle! In 2009 Origins became the first company to offer recycling for some of their products' containers. Hopefully others will follow suit in time. In the meantime, look to buy products that use recycled materials for their packaging. I know I get a little smile every time I look down at the tube of my trusty Burt's Bees chapstick (that virtually everyone owns, don't even try to pretend like you don't have a tube of this miraculous stuff) which is made from 50% post-industrial recycled plastic.
5. This goes for the dudes too: thrift! Next time you decide to go shopping, whether it's for new clothes or a new couch, check out a secondhand store. There's no good reason to not thift, especially in Austin, where we have a plethora of stores containing perfectly usable items that would otherwise be in a landfill to choose from.
1. Use alternative menstrual products. This one's a biggie, as they say. We have a ton of links on our sidebar, but just in case, here's the lowdown: commercial tampons and pads take up landfill space and have harmful chemicals like dioxin that you shouldn't want anywhere near your garden in the first place, know what I'm sayin'? Besides, why buy a box of tampons every month when you could use a menstrual cup (which fit inside a shotglass, folks, just to give you a size comparison) made of silicone or latex that will last you a year or longer? The most popular options for menstrual cups are the Diva, MoonCup, and disposable Insteads. Other alternative menstrual options include the ever-friendly (although not vegan) sea sponge, and cloth pads. Lunapads offers some great ones, or you can DIY!
2. Not all women wear makeup, but if you do, try re-usable makeup containers. Aveda makes some very pretty ones.
3. There's other things within the realm of beauty you can change while you're at it, by ditching such items such as but not limited to: disposable razors, razors in general (if you're so inclined, I happen to be biased), items with excessive packaging and beauty products containing petrochemicals and carcinogens. And lay off the hairspray.
4. Recycle! In 2009 Origins became the first company to offer recycling for some of their products' containers. Hopefully others will follow suit in time. In the meantime, look to buy products that use recycled materials for their packaging. I know I get a little smile every time I look down at the tube of my trusty Burt's Bees chapstick (that virtually everyone owns, don't even try to pretend like you don't have a tube of this miraculous stuff) which is made from 50% post-industrial recycled plastic.
5. This goes for the dudes too: thrift! Next time you decide to go shopping, whether it's for new clothes or a new couch, check out a secondhand store. There's no good reason to not thift, especially in Austin, where we have a plethora of stores containing perfectly usable items that would otherwise be in a landfill to choose from.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, first female president in Africa
Here's The Daily Show's recent interview with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia and first female president of ANY African nation.
Sorry we haven't been posting much lately. I'm hoping it will increase once we're all done with finals!
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
Sorry we haven't been posting much lately. I'm hoping it will increase once we're all done with finals!
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
4.05.2009
Women's Rights Take a Hit in Afghanistan
April 5, 2009
Karzai Vows to Review Family Law
By CARLOTTA GALL and SANGAR RAHIMI
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai ordered a review on Saturday of a new law that has been criticized internationally for introducing Taliban-era restrictions on women and sanctioning marital rape.
The president defended the law, which concerns family law for the Shiite minority, and said Western news media reports were misinformed. Nevertheless, he said his justice minister would review it and make amendments if the law was found to contravene the Constitution and the freedoms that it guarantees.
“The Western media have either mistranslated or taken incorrect information and then published it,” Mr. Karzai said at a news briefing in the presidential palace on Saturday. “If there is anything in contradiction with our Constitution or Shariah, or freedoms granted by the Constitution, we will take action in close consultation with the clerics of the country.”
If changes are needed, he said, the bill would be sent back to Parliament.
Human rights officials have criticized the law, in particular for the restrictions it places on when a woman can leave her house, and for stating the circumstances in which she has to have sex with her husband.
A Shiite woman would be allowed to leave home only “for a legitimate purpose,” which the law does not define. The law also says, “Unless the wife is ill, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.” Critics have said that provision legalizes marital rape.
The law also outlines rules on divorce, child custody and marriage, all in ways that discriminate against women, said Soraya Sobhrang, commissioner for women’s rights at the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.
While the law applies only to Shiites, who represent approximately 10 percent of the population, its passage could influence a proposed family law for the Sunni majority and a draft law on violence against women, Ms. Sobhrang said. “This opens the way for more discrimination,” she said.
Mr. Karzai signed the law last week after a vote in Parliament last month, Ms. Sobhrang said, adding that she had seen a copy of the law with his signature.
However, the presidential spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada, would not confirm that the president had signed the law and said only that the he was still reviewing it.
Mr. Karzai’s decision to review the law came after a storm of criticism in recent days. Canada called in the Afghan ambassador for an explanation, and NATO’s secretary general questioned why the alliance was sending men and women to fight in Afghanistan when discrimination against women was condoned by law.
Asked about the law at a news conference in Strasbourg, France, on Saturday, President Obama called it “abhorrent.”
“We think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture,” he said, “but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle.”
Also on Saturday, Italy’s defense minister said Italy was considering a temporary withdrawal of the women serving in its force in Afghanistan to protest the law, Reuters reported.
The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said the law represented a “huge step in the wrong direction.”
“For a new law in 2009 to target women in this way is extraordinary, reprehensible and reminiscent of the decrees made by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in the 1990s,” Ms. Pillay said in a statement posted on her agency’s Web site. “This is another clear indication that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is getting worse, not better.”
In addition to the clauses on when women may leave the home and must submit to their husbands, Ms. Pillay said she was concerned about a section that forbids women from working or receiving education without their husband‘s permission.
Ms. Sobhrang, who has been working on the issue for the last two years, said women’s groups and the human rights commissions had worked with Parliament to introduce amendments but then the law was suddenly pushed through with only three amendments. The bill as originally drawn up by Shiite clerics barred a woman from leaving the house without her husband’s permission, she said. The parliamentary judicial commission amended that provision to say that a woman could leave the house “for a legitimate purpose.”
Mr. Karzai cited that provision in a news conference on Saturday, pointing out that the final version of the law did not ban a woman from leaving her house. But Ms. Sobhrang said even as amended the law contravened the Constitution, which recognizes equal rights for men and women. The term “for a legitimate purpose” was open to interpretation, she added.
She said Mr. Karzai had supported women’s rights in the past but seemed to have given that up in recent months. Some Western officials have speculated that he signed the law to win the support of conservative Shiite clerics in coming presidential elections.
Yet the leading cleric behind the Family Law, Sheik Muhammad Asif Mohseni, complained last week that he was dissatisfied with the amendments that Parliament had made to his original draft. Speaking on his own television channel, Tamadun Television, he objected to the introduction of a legal age for marriage, “16 for women and 18 for men,” saying that people should be able to decide for themselves.
Human rights officials consider raising the marriage age a critical step toward ending the common practice of forced marriages and the marriage of young girls.
Another amendment gave women longer custody of young children in the case of divorce. In the original draft, women could have custody of a son until he was 2 years old, and a daughter until she was 7. The amended version raises the ages to 7 for boys and 9 for girls.
Ms. Sobhrang criticized both versions for not taking into account the interests and desires of the children.
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
For more information on the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, visit their site.
Karzai Vows to Review Family Law
By CARLOTTA GALL and SANGAR RAHIMI
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai ordered a review on Saturday of a new law that has been criticized internationally for introducing Taliban-era restrictions on women and sanctioning marital rape.
The president defended the law, which concerns family law for the Shiite minority, and said Western news media reports were misinformed. Nevertheless, he said his justice minister would review it and make amendments if the law was found to contravene the Constitution and the freedoms that it guarantees.
“The Western media have either mistranslated or taken incorrect information and then published it,” Mr. Karzai said at a news briefing in the presidential palace on Saturday. “If there is anything in contradiction with our Constitution or Shariah, or freedoms granted by the Constitution, we will take action in close consultation with the clerics of the country.”
If changes are needed, he said, the bill would be sent back to Parliament.
Human rights officials have criticized the law, in particular for the restrictions it places on when a woman can leave her house, and for stating the circumstances in which she has to have sex with her husband.
A Shiite woman would be allowed to leave home only “for a legitimate purpose,” which the law does not define. The law also says, “Unless the wife is ill, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.” Critics have said that provision legalizes marital rape.
The law also outlines rules on divorce, child custody and marriage, all in ways that discriminate against women, said Soraya Sobhrang, commissioner for women’s rights at the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.
While the law applies only to Shiites, who represent approximately 10 percent of the population, its passage could influence a proposed family law for the Sunni majority and a draft law on violence against women, Ms. Sobhrang said. “This opens the way for more discrimination,” she said.
Mr. Karzai signed the law last week after a vote in Parliament last month, Ms. Sobhrang said, adding that she had seen a copy of the law with his signature.
However, the presidential spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada, would not confirm that the president had signed the law and said only that the he was still reviewing it.
Mr. Karzai’s decision to review the law came after a storm of criticism in recent days. Canada called in the Afghan ambassador for an explanation, and NATO’s secretary general questioned why the alliance was sending men and women to fight in Afghanistan when discrimination against women was condoned by law.
Asked about the law at a news conference in Strasbourg, France, on Saturday, President Obama called it “abhorrent.”
“We think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture,” he said, “but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle.”
Also on Saturday, Italy’s defense minister said Italy was considering a temporary withdrawal of the women serving in its force in Afghanistan to protest the law, Reuters reported.
The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said the law represented a “huge step in the wrong direction.”
“For a new law in 2009 to target women in this way is extraordinary, reprehensible and reminiscent of the decrees made by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in the 1990s,” Ms. Pillay said in a statement posted on her agency’s Web site. “This is another clear indication that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is getting worse, not better.”
In addition to the clauses on when women may leave the home and must submit to their husbands, Ms. Pillay said she was concerned about a section that forbids women from working or receiving education without their husband‘s permission.
Ms. Sobhrang, who has been working on the issue for the last two years, said women’s groups and the human rights commissions had worked with Parliament to introduce amendments but then the law was suddenly pushed through with only three amendments. The bill as originally drawn up by Shiite clerics barred a woman from leaving the house without her husband’s permission, she said. The parliamentary judicial commission amended that provision to say that a woman could leave the house “for a legitimate purpose.”
Mr. Karzai cited that provision in a news conference on Saturday, pointing out that the final version of the law did not ban a woman from leaving her house. But Ms. Sobhrang said even as amended the law contravened the Constitution, which recognizes equal rights for men and women. The term “for a legitimate purpose” was open to interpretation, she added.
She said Mr. Karzai had supported women’s rights in the past but seemed to have given that up in recent months. Some Western officials have speculated that he signed the law to win the support of conservative Shiite clerics in coming presidential elections.
Yet the leading cleric behind the Family Law, Sheik Muhammad Asif Mohseni, complained last week that he was dissatisfied with the amendments that Parliament had made to his original draft. Speaking on his own television channel, Tamadun Television, he objected to the introduction of a legal age for marriage, “16 for women and 18 for men,” saying that people should be able to decide for themselves.
Human rights officials consider raising the marriage age a critical step toward ending the common practice of forced marriages and the marriage of young girls.
Another amendment gave women longer custody of young children in the case of divorce. In the original draft, women could have custody of a son until he was 2 years old, and a daughter until she was 7. The amended version raises the ages to 7 for boys and 9 for girls.
Ms. Sobhrang criticized both versions for not taking into account the interests and desires of the children.
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
For more information on the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, visit their site.
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