Bird’s Eye: Change comes slowly, but change does come. We offer a series of articles shows how women’s roles are changing world wide, from the ivy-covered equation-covered walls of MIT, to the streets of the middle-east, to the marriage altar. But sometimes change needs a push, so take a few seconds to sign the Avaaz petition. (Thanks to Peter Gabriel for the title: you can see a live performance of Shaking the Tree, produced by Robert Lepage, here. Arguably the best feminist song ever, by a male.)
* Gains, and Drawbacks, for Female Professors New York Times
When the Massachusetts Institute of Technology acknowledged 12 years ago that it had discriminated against female professors in “subtle but pervasive” ways, it became a national model for addressing gender inequity. Now, an evaluation of those efforts shows substantial progress — and unintended consequences. …Much as a report accompanying M.I.T.’s acknowledgment more than a decade ago offered a rare window on an institution tackling gender discrimination, the new study, being released Monday, shows how thorny the problem is — and not just at M.I.T.
“It’s almost as though the baseline has changed, because things are so much better now,” said Hazel L. Sive, associate dean of the School of Science, who led one of the committees writing the report. “Because things are so much better now, we can see an entirely new set of issues.” An array of prizes and professional accolades among female professors has provided a powerful rebuttal to critics who suggested after the earlier report that women simply lacked the aptitude for science — most infamously, Lawrence H. Summers, whose remarks set off his downfall as the president of Harvard.
* Perceptions Of Arab Women Have Been Revolutionised Soumaya Ghannoushi The Guardian
This new model of homegrown women leaders represents a challenge to two narratives. The first of these, which is dominant in conservative Muslim circles, sentences women to a life of childbearing and rearing, lived out in the narrow confines of their homes at the mercy of fathers, brothers and husbands. It revolves around notions of sexual purity and family honour, and appeals to tradition and reductionist interpretations of religion for justification.
The other is espoused by Euro-American neo-liberals, who view Arab and Muslim women through the narrow prism of the Taliban model: miserable objects of pity in need of their benevolent intervention – intellectual, political, even military – for deliverance from the dark cage of veiling to a promised garden of enlightenment and progress.
Arab women are rebelling against both narratives. They refuse to be treated with contempt, kept in isolation, or be taken by the hand, like a child, and led on the road to emancipation. They are taking charge of their own destinies, determined to liberate themselves as they liberate their societies from dictatorship. The emancipation they are shaping with their own hands is an authentic one defined by their own needs, choices and priorities.
* Traditional Marriage Is Dead. Let’s Celebrate Jill Filipovic The Guardian
Those numbers are no indication that marriage and child-rearing are passé or under-valued – quite the opposite. Marriage, more than ever, is something that more people feel the right to opt out of, which means that those of us who do marry (except those who are shamefully barred from marriage because of their sexual orientation) are opting in, and doing so increasingly because we want to, not because of social obligations. If you believe that marriage can be a good thing for people who choose it, this should be welcome news. Children, too, should be welcome additions and not obligations. The fact that more women and families are delaying childbirth indicates that there’s more planning involved, and that women and men are making commitments to familial stability and personal ability before deciding to have kids.
We’re still a long way from a gender-egalitarian marital utopia, but traditional marriage is blessedly deceased. With its demise has come a new marriage model that is by nearly every measure better for men, women and children, and is hopefully continuing to improve.
Marriage itself is far from dead. But the traditional conservative vision of it is, and thank goodness for that – it’s about time the old thing croaked.
* Stop ‘Corrective Rape’ — Let’s Reach 1 Million Avaaz
Thembi (name changed) was pulled from a taxi near her home, beaten and raped by a man who crowed that he was ‘curing’ her of her lesbianism. Thembi is not alone — this vicious crime is recurrent in South Africa, where lesbians live in terror of attack. But no one has ever been convicted of ‘corrective rape’. Amazingly, from a tiny Cape Town safe-house a few brave activists are risking their lives to ensure that this heinous practice is stopped and their massive campaign has forced the government into talks.
If we shine a light on this horror from all corners of the world — and enough of us join in we can escalate the pressure, and help make sure these talks lead to concrete and urgent action. Let’s call on President Zuma and the Minister of Justice to publicly condemn ‘corrective rape’, criminalise hate crimes, and ensure immediate enforcement, public education and protection for survivors. Sign the petition now and share it with everyone — when we reach one million signers we’ll deliver it to the South African government with unmissable and hard hitting actions.
