For Beauprez, abortion is a “black and white” issue

Colorado Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez is getting in trouble for spouting off about black women and abortion without actually researching the issue.
On Colorado Public Radio on Monday morning (audio here), he said, “in some of our ethnic communities we’re seeing very, very high percentages of babies, children, pregnancies end in abortion… I’ve seen numbers as high as 70 percent, maybe even more, in the African-American community that I think is just appalling.”
Beauprez obviously hadn’t “seen numbers.” According to the CDC, the abortion ratio for black women is 495 per 1,000 live births, or 33%. The Guttmacher Institute elaborates:

Black women are more than twice as likely as women overall to have an ...

Colorado Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez is getting in trouble for spouting off about black women and abortion without actually researching the issue.
On Colorado Public Radio on Monday morning (audio here), ...

Illegal abortions kill Kenyan girls.

Yes that’s right. Abortion is illegal in Kenya and as a result thousands of girls and women die every year from back alley abortions. Now I don’t know much about the government of Kenya, but I do know that part of Bush’s foreign policy in Africa (in general, recognizing the Western bullshit of discussing Africa as though it is one whole country itself) is one that supports abstinence instead of actual reproductive rights, but anyways. . .

One organization – Family Health Options Kenya – says it’s time to “break the silence� about illegal abortions. Dr. Joachim Osur is assistant programs director. From Nairobi, he spoke to VOA English to Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua about illegal abortions.
“The maternal ...

Yes that’s right. Abortion is illegal in Kenya and as a result thousands of girls and women die every year from back alley abortions. Now I don’t know much about the government of Kenya, but I do ...

Women, Islam and Syria.

I had wanted to write about this, but Jill at Feministe beat me to it. The New York Times discusses the revival of Islamic teachings in the secular state of Syria predominantly led by women. Naturally, this is a complicated issue between the growth of religious conservatism and clear empowerment of women through learning, reading and spreading the teachings. Do we have a handful of empowered young women or a serious *threat* to secularism?
Jill says,

Emracing religion is one thing; the regressive religious politics that we’ve seen sprouting up from Idaho to Istanbul are troubling, whether their Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, or whatever else. Religious conservatism is certainly nothing new, but it does seem to be taking hold in ...

I had wanted to write about this, but Jill at Feministe beat me to it. The New York Times discusses the revival of Islamic teachings in the secular state of Syria predominantly led by women. Naturally, ...

Somaliland women challenge Muslim roles.

Women in the de facto soveriegn republic of Somaliland are challenging their expected role as subservient.

Hargeisa’s marketplace is teeming with female workers, challenging assumptions about the subservient place of women in Islam.
“Of course women are working, they are strong, they do not have the luxury of being anything but strong,” said Edna Adan Ismail, Somaliland’s former foreign minister and founder of a women’s hospital in this overwhelmingly Muslim region of the Horn of Africa.
The role of women in Somalia changed dramatically after the country’s longtime dictator was overthrown in 1991, prompting the collapse of the economy and leaving scores of men unemployed. Women began earning money in large part by doing small tasks that men are too proud ...

Women in the de facto soveriegn republic of Somaliland are challenging their expected role as subservient.

Hargeisa’s marketplace is teeming with female workers, challenging assumptions about the subservient place of women in Islam.
“Of course women are working, ...

I heart feminist graffiti


So I’ve recently become obsessed with finding feminist-related graffiti on Flickr. I love it. It makes me happy. So if anyone has anything they want to share (pics, sites, whatever), pretty please send it my way.
H/t to dpwolf for the above pic.


So I’ve recently become obsessed with finding feminist-related graffiti on Flickr. I love it. It makes me happy. So if anyone has anything they want to share (pics, sites, whatever), pretty ...

Rhode Island women disengaged with political process.

Now, why would ANYONE be disengaged with the political process these days? (laughs with anger and tears)

Rhode Island women tend to be disengaged from politics and many don’t regard political activity as an effective way to influence their world, according to interpretations of a poll released yesterday by the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island.
The telephone survey of 507 women, ages 18 to 75, conducted last week, found that Rhode Island women are focused on their local communities, willing to volunteer, committed to voting — but “cynical” about the political process, pollster Anna Greenberg said in presenting the results yesterday.

Quite frankly, you should be cynical of the political process (non-process) as it is right now. But being cynical and doing ...

Now, why would ANYONE be disengaged with the political process these days? (laughs with anger and tears)

Rhode Island women tend to be disengaged from politics and many don’t regard political activity as an effective way to influence ...

Women face restrictions on praying in Makka.

Religious leader is Saudi Arabia want to restrict how much women can pray at the Grand Mosque in Makka. Women activist have vowed to fight any such attempts.

At present, women can pray in the immediate vicinity of the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure inside the mosque, believed to have been built by Ibrahim (Abraham) – seen by Muslims as a prophet – and his son.
Osama al-Bar, head of the Institute for Haj Research, said: “The area is very small and so crowded. So we decided to get women out of the sahn [Kaaba area] to a better place where they can see the Kaaba and have more space.
“Some women thought it wasn’t good, but from our point of view ...

Religious leader is Saudi Arabia want to restrict how much women can pray at the Grand Mosque in Makka. Women activist have vowed to fight any such attempts.

At present, women can pray in the immediate vicinity of ...

Britain bans violent porn.

In response to the violent murder of a woman by a man that was obsessed with violent internet porn, the British government ruled that violent internet porn is now illegal. Now, I am glad that the government took a stance on the issue and responded to the outcry, but I don’t know how much the banning of internet porn is going to actually stop violent behavior. Violent imagery may incite violence, but is far from the cause of it. What about a culture that normalizes violence for men? What are they going to do to stop that?

It is already a crime to make or publish such images but proposed legislation will outlaw possession of images such as “material featuring violence ...

In response to the violent murder of a woman by a man that was obsessed with violent internet porn, the British government ruled that violent internet porn is now illegal. Now, I am glad that the government ...

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