Posts Written by Carolina

Zawadi’s story

What I’m going to write about isn’t enjoyable to read. In fact, it’s something really hard to learn and, especially, to forget. You might not want to go on reading this post, as I was shocked myself when I heard this story. But I think it’s worth it.

As I’ve already mentioned, I’m a journalism student at City University, London. In one of my lectures, we had a very special guest: Mike Thomson, BBC Radio 4’s foreign correspondent. He told us about his experience in Congo, torn apart by the civil war. It was in relation to this that we learnt about Zawadi Mogane.

Because of the violence going on in her country, Zawadi said it wasn’t safe to sleep at home: so they slept in the woods. But one night violence and death came to her own village. The Rwandan rebel soldiers known as the Interahamwe, who flew over the Congolese border after the genocide in 1994, changed her life for ever.

They took her, her brother and three of her children, as well as about 50 people from her village, to a rebel camp in the woods. They butchered with knives most of the men. Zawadi and another woman were left alive, but at a terrible price: two of her children were killed in front of her, while her brother was decapitated after having refused to rape her.

Why are women still objects?

I’m sure that everyone here is familiar with the issue of the image of women in advertising. It’s not news: everyone knows it. I’m just really shocked that we still allow it to be like that. This video (some bits are in Italian, but there’s usually a translation) brought the problem back to my mind.

http://youtu.be/wuyf3407-y4

Some bits are really terrible: “Abbiamo le poppe migliori d’Italia” (alluding to breasts, which can be called the same as the back side of a ship); “Montami a costo zero” (“Ride me for free,” an innuendo using the idea of sex, that in Italian can be said as “assembling”); “We’ve chosen the best products for the World Cup,” with half-naked women in the background; and so ...

I’m sure that everyone here is familiar with the issue of the image of women in advertising. It’s not news: everyone knows it. I’m just really shocked that we still allow it to be like that. This 

When sexism comes from a friend

Hello everyone, my name is Carolina and this is my first post here. I’m 19 years old, I’m Italian and I’m currently studying Journalism at City University, London. I came to know about Feministing.com after a competition at my University, where some friends presented Jessica Valenti as their journalist idol. That made me read “He’s a stud, she’s a slut” and check out the website.

I’ve always considered myself a feminist and there are many ideas about women in my country that just drive me crazy. This is why I’ve decided to write this post. Caitlin Moran, British journalist author of “How To Be A Woman” ( read it if you haven’t done that yet, it has become my Bible!) , wrote in ...

Hello everyone, my name is Carolina and this is my first post here. I’m 19 years old, I’m Italian and I’m currently studying Journalism at City University, London. I came to know about Feministing.com after a competition ...