patriarchy

My friend Liz sent me a link to an article in The Globe and Mail, she was pretty appalled by what she had read and wanted me to help spread the word. So here I am spreading the word that in Canada medical students routinely perform pelvic exams on unconscious women who are about to undergo gynecological surgery and as the title of the post clearly states the pelvic exam is done without the patients consent.

I too was pretty appalled when I read this, that is until I realized that the exams were only performed in the context of a gynecological surgery. The idea that you could go in to have your tonsils removed and unknowingly have a med student riffle around inside your vagina while you lay there unconscious was a horrible thought. Obviously, there is still the issue of consent, but at least the exams were done in context. For some reason, that makes me feel better about it. Sorry, Liz.

No matter how warranted these exams are in the context of a teaching hospital, the patients consent should be at the forefront of the issue. No consent, no pelvic exam. Seems like a rather simple conclusion, no? Well, apparently in Canada the patients consent is implied rather than explicit (they perform the same exams in the U.S. and the U.K. but require the patients outright consent). Canada what happened to your usually well earned good manners?

By The Independent

When Nathan Awoloi bought his wife for two cows, he believed it gave him the right to treat her like an animal. Claire Soares reports from Pallisa, Uganda, on the charity that saved her

Hunched over a sewing machine, Jennipher Alupot is an unlikely poster girl for the women's rights movement.  In fact, the young Ugandan mother is totally unaware of how her story – almost too horrific to be believed – has caused waves across the country and down the corridors of power, ultimately giving thousands of abused women the chance of justice.

For seven years, Jennipher was forced to breastfeed the puppies of her husband's hunting dogs. After drinking and smoking heavily, Nathan Alowoi would appear at the marital bed, bind his young wife's legs and hands together and force the mewling animals to her nipple.

He had handed over two cows to his father-in-law as part of the "bride price" for his new wife.  So, he reasoned, if the cows were no longer around to provide milk then his new purchase would have to provide for the pups.  "I had to feed them all through the night; then in the morning he would untie me," his wife, now 26, explains matter-of-factly.

By Gloria Feldt

“If we’re going to be thrown under the bus, let’s not be ladylike about it. Kick and scream and make your voice heard.”
—Linda Lowen, About.com/womensissues

I couldn’t agree more with Linda.  That’s why I’ve dropped everything else and am working with the Women’s Media Center to raise awareness about what is at stake with the current health care bill over at NotUnderTheBus.com.

We just released a new video to increase the sense of urgency about women’s rights in the health care bill.  The fight isn’t over yet, and the next week of conference committee deliberations between the House and Senate will be crucial.  We need to be calling Congress and making sure that our rights are not thrown under the bus in the debate on health care, and we need our blogosphere to be heard loud and clear by the media and Congress.  One thing for sure, anti-choice forces won’t stop just because it’s Christmas, and neither can we.

View the video here:

By Christi van der Westhuizen

CAPE TOWN, Nov 11 (IPS) - The Anti-Homosexuality Bill under consideration in Uganda was sparked by a conference in Kampala earlier this year at which fundamentalist Christians from the U.S. identified homosexuality as a threat to "family values".

The draconian law will institute the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" and criminalise human rights work.

Christopher Senyonjo, a retired Anglican bishop from Uganda, and Reverend Jide Macauley, from Nigeria's House of Rainbow church, told IPS that a conference took place on March 5-7 this year, arranged by Stephen Langa, the director of a Ugandan fundamentalist Christian grouping called Family Life Network (FLN).

The FLN invited speakers attached to U.S.-based religious and "educational" organisations that propagate the idea that homosexuality is an "illness" that can be "cured".

My heart hurts. Never before have I felt so betrayed. I have been deeply involved with getting health reform passed. As a volunteer, donor and blogger, I feel I have invested a substantial amount of time and energy on this very important issue. I believe all humans have equal rights and deserve fair and equal healthcare at an affordable cost. I believe the rising costs of healthcare are damaging our economy so quickly that if something isn't done immediately the repercussions could be far reaching. When the United States House of Representatives passed the landmark legislation, I rejoiced, and then I read this:

Pro-choice lawmakers and organization leaders are firing back after the House passed its landmark health care reform legislation late Saturday night. The bill included what's known as the Stupak-Pitts amendment, language offered by Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) that prohibits federal funds from being used for abortion services in any health exchange be it public or private

British Council Armenia presents Wo/Men in Politics' Black & White
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Radio Hay: www.radiohay.am (104.1 in Yerevan, 106.6 - Gyumri, 106.3 – Vanadzor)

As part of the British Council's committment to Equal Opportunities and Diversity our next programme on Wednesday, 4 November will be addressing the issue of sexual orientation, discrimination and stereotypes against sexual minorities in Armenia.

CBS News with the disturbing report: 15 year old girl gang raped by up to 20 people after homecoming dance.

Let that sink in for a moment. Gang Raped by 20 People.

Earlier this year, Senator Al Franken from Minnesota introduced an amendment, that prohibits companies to contract with the US government if they barr their employees from obtaining legal justice in the event they are raped.   The amendment passed, however  30 Republican men decided this wasn't a government issues, and voted no.  From this bitter sweet development, came a deluge of commentary from inside the beltway that used some of the most explicit and hurtful rhetoric, often times blaming the victim of rape and attempting to remove blame from the Senators who voted no by rationalizing some sort of corporate structure which allows rape, because the government should stay out of the personal lives of said corporation's employees.

Bruce Byfield writes about the reactions to his post about the prevalence of sexism in the FOSS world. 

Similarly, I assumed that, in the FOSS community, if you were a free software supporter, you were concerned about social justice and would therefore be against sexism as well.

In a country where in a poll taken earlier this year, 1 in 4 men admitted to raping a woman, an international study showing that women are becoming "increasingly violent" is somehow cause for concern? Excuse me? So it is perfectly fine for men to be violent - especially towards women - but just let women exhibit the same behavior as men - and even towards men - and it is suddenly "cause for concern".

I would say the typical patriarchal mindset is cause for concern. It should have been for centuries, but this simple point shows me the hypocritical, selfish and self-centered nature of the beast itself. Do you see it?

In a country where there is a phenomenon which is not so rare that there is actually a term to describe it - and an outcry that it is under reported, so-called "corrective" rapes and murders of Black lesbians, and the assaults and murders of gay men in the townships provokes images evoking the depths of the hatred of the patriarchal mindset towards gay people and those who by their very existence challenge it.

In a country where the government fails the community, conservative elements in society, politics and religion conspire together to pass laws which restrict the civil rights, freedoms and liberties of the victims of crime and prejudice, instead of taking action to curb criminal activities and uphold human rights.

What can you do? Well, you could apply your outrage to activism. Get involved. Do something.