tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/international-womens-day-2017-36494/articlesInternational Women's Day 2017 – The Conversation2017-03-08T11:14:35Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/733082017-03-08T11:14:35Z2017-03-08T11:14:35ZThe Love Witch: a film about the perversities of desire that will soon be a cult feminist classic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159939/original/image-20170308-24226-yo1z0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Love Witch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Elaine is a gorgeous witch who has been abandoned by her husband. She tells us that she is looking for new love: she wants a manly man, someone who will be fascinated by her womanly charms (witchy puns intended) but remain the strong, silent type, pay no attention to her needs, and generally treat her as a trophy. A specific and peculiar desire, perhaps, but attainable. This may not sound like the premise for a thought-provoking film about feminism, but Anna Biller’s latest movie, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4DoZlT7KSE">The Love Witch</a>, is just that: and it’s odd, shocking and beautiful to boot.</p>
<p>Elaine (Samantha Robinson) goes out looking for love: seducing a man she meets in the park, ensnaring her neighbour’s husband. But even when she finds what she wants and is appropriately adored, lusted after, and treated as an object, her love affairs tend to end fatally. It quickly becomes clear that “love” is not what she really wants – she seems more interested in power, or exploitation, or revenge. As we follow her on her quest, things get bloody.</p>
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<span class="caption">Out for love … or revenge?</span>
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<p>But of course, Elaine is not a realistic character, and The Love Witch isn’t about real men and women. Instead, it’s about the pursuit of fantasy, especially unreasonable fantasies of the perfect man or woman. And it’s also heavily influenced by its director’s interest in the pleasures afforded by genre films: the <a href="http://www.hammerfilms.com/">Hammer horror</a>, the <a href="http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=romantic+comedy&decade=1950">50s romantic comedy</a>, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSvJgRSiJSM">hey-nonny-nonny musical</a>, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/nov/29/top-10-film-noir">film noir</a>. </p>
<p>By slowing down the action, quoting from lots of classic movies, and making her actors ham up their roles, Biller pushes us beyond the simple story of a lovelorn witch. The audience is encouraged to laugh at the plot and its stereotypes. What we end up with is a sophisticated reflection on the way old films offer us gendered pleasures, especially those involving the square-jawed cop and the soft-focus pussycat.</p>
<p>Even the critical vocabulary The Love Witch conjures up (as you can see) reeks of the mid-20th century, when men were men and women were women, or pretended to be. At times, you expect Cary Grant or Grace Kelly to walk into the frame, smoking without guilt or ash, grimly flirtatious, a walking stereotype of the debonair playboy or the femme fatale. Why, viewers might ask themselves, do we still enjoy these films? What do we get out of looking at these actually quite harmfully unreal heroes and heroines?</p>
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<span class="caption">A dream wedding.</span>
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<p>This makes The Love Witch sound like a joyless argument for censoring cinema. But in fact it’s the reverse. By all means, it suggests, let’s enjoy the ludicrous gender politics of mid-century Hollywood, so long as we know it’s ludicrous. Let’s play at being Doris Day or Victor Mature or Rock Hudson – after all, they were “playing” themselves in every sense of the word. Let’s pretend we’re fairytale princesses, and knights on white chargers. And, of course, witches.</p>
<p>The film goes all out to help us enjoy playing with these ideas. Its colours and textures are delicious, filled with scarlet lipsticks, creamy cakes, pastel veils and blushing roses. Samantha Robinson, as Elaine, goes from one breath-taking outfit to another, moving between 1955 and 1975 with equally gorgeous results. And the sets that surround her are crammed with design classics: cars, lamps, hats, bags, chairs, rugs that you immediately want to buy on eBay.</p>
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<span class="caption">Out for tea.</span>
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<p>But there’s also the odd jam jar of urine, and splash of menstrual blood. Although it is broadly a romp, the film tips delicately from romantic comedy to exploitation horror, quoting every witchcraft film and TV show you could name: The Wicker Man, Charmed, Bewitched, Practical Magic, To the Devil a Daughter, Suspiria, Season of the Witch as well as a host of others.</p>
<p>Interest in witchcraft is at an all-time high in popular culture, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/harry-potter-6472">Harry Potter</a> on the one hand and <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/american_horror_story/s03">American Horror Story: Coven</a> on the other: one a satisfying empowerment fantasy for children and teenagers, the other an adult festival of sex and violence dramatising female power and the strengths and limitations of sisterhood. The Love Witch is closer to the latter. </p>
<p>But because it’s not tied to a week-by-week suspenseful plot or ratings data, The Love Witch can wander off in absurdist or Brechtian directions whenever Biller wants it to. Bertolt Brecht’s drama aimed to show audiences the political facts behind personal stories, drawing attention to capitalist exploitation by breaking down the audience’s ability to invest in the characters he put in front of them. When characters started singing or directly addressing the audience with political statements, viewers couldn’t hide behind enjoyment of the plot or speculation about their fictional motives, but had to confront bigger economic truths.</p>
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<p>The Love Witch works in a similar way at times, although its focus is gender, not economics. The result is that viewers who don’t know what to expect might sometimes be taken aback by sections where the acting is deliberately wooden or the plot is put on hold for a sing-song or a lecture on feminism. But if you know something about mid-20th century theatre, you should be greatly entertained.</p>
<p>There are also reflections on witchcraft as a pagan religion in the film, which will interest <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/24/witch-symbol-feminist-power-azealia-banks">contemporary witches</a>, and perhaps enrage some <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/02/paganism-is-alive-and-well-but-you-wont-find-it-at-a-goddess-temple/">modern pagans</a>. Scenes set in a Wiccan coven suggest that far from liberating women, witchcraft as it was imagined in the 1960s and 1970s simply replicated patriarchal exploitation. Elaine strips and submits to sex with the cult leader in a way that looks more like abuse than empowerment. Her witch friends are creepy pseudo-feminists, and she herself a “bad witch”, trailing madness and death in her wake. This depiction is more about paganism in film than in reality.</p>
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<span class="caption">Modern witchcraft.</span>
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<p>The Love Witch is a sophisticated collage of filmic history and as part of that it plays with stereotypes of the witch in popular culture. It’s funny and sad, but above all it is a visual delight and it makes you think. If that sounds like your chalice of hellbroth, then The Love Witch is for you. I enjoyed it, and I suspect before long I’ll be discussing it in the classroom as a cult classic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marion Gibson has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for her work. </span></em></p>This is a thought-provoking, odd, shocking and beautiful movie about feminism, fantasy and film history.Marion Gibson, Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/712092017-03-08T07:54:47Z2017-03-08T07:54:47ZThere’s no such thing as gender equality if you’re a woman in politics<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/igualdad-de-genero-para-las-mujeres-en-politica-esto-no-existe-97901"><em>Leer en español</em></a>.</p>
<p>In my work as a gender and communications specialist I have met – and in some cases professionally advised – female ministers, legislators, mayors, community leaders and judges across the world, from the Dominican Republic and Honduras to the Netherlands and Sweden. </p>
<p>I’m Argentinean, so the struggles described to me by Latin American female leaders, who confront inter-party resistance and media double standards on a daily basis, are familiar ones. Our region’s <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/latin-america-and-the-caribbean/">gender gap is a disheartening 30%</a>; Guatemala and Paraguay are among the world’s least gender-equal places. </p>
<p>I have been surprised, however, to hear that women in northern Europe – the <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/western-europe/">most gender-equal region in the world</a> – report the same grievances. While researching my <a href="http://editorial.grupo5.net/escaparate-libros/quien-teme-el-poder-de-las-mujeres.html">latest book</a> on women in power, I interviewed 18 female politicians in Sweden and The Netherlands, certain that their experience in public service would starkly contrast that of their Latin American peers. </p>
<p>After all, in those countries, women already occupy 40% of political positions – and they didn’t need <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2013/493011/IPOL-FEMM_NT(2013)493011_EN.pdf">a quota system</a> to do it. Only in a gender-equal paradise could that happen, right?</p>
<p>Sadly not.</p>
<p>The women I interviewed varied in age and ideological background. Some were already retired and others were engaged as EU parliamentarians, congresspeople, government ministers, judges and congressional commission presidents. </p>
<p>It turns out that although women in Sweden and the Netherlands have achieved near parity in national parliaments, they nonetheless share many challenges. Every person interviewed – conservative, progressive, junior or senior – felt that women still had a long way to go to achieve substantive equality. </p>
<p>“When we talk about involvement of women in politics,” one Dutch interviewee said, “it is not just a matter of numbers, but … also of their position to exert influence. How many of them are in ‘hard core’ areas like budget, for example, and really have visibility?”</p>
<p>In other words, equality is not just numeric. </p>
<p>In the Netherlands, since the 1970s “<a href="http://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/countries/netherlands/structures">gender mainstreaming” effort</a>, the idea of gender equality is so firmly instilled that citizens won’t vote for parties whose candidate lists aren’t roughly gender-equal, ensuring women get on the ticket. The EU first began to legislate equal pay and equal rights for women in 1979, pressuring member states to adopt such laws nationally. So a top-down cultural shift has been underway for decades.</p>
<p>All the women I spoke to agreed that this has helped, but only to a degree. Women are still under-represented in ministries and decisive parliamentary commissions: among developed-world nations, only 17% of government ministers <a href="http://www.cepal.org/es/discursos/foro-global-mujeres-parlamentarias-wip">are women</a>. It’s also meaningful that in Spain only 9% of male ministers do not have children, while <a href="http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2016/11/03/actualidad/1478202328_723969.html">45% of female ministers do not</a>. </p>
<p>Neither Sweden nor the Netherlands has yet seen a female head of state – something that, for example, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Costa Rica have all achieved. </p>
<h2>We’ve still got a long way to go</h2>
<p>So even in the world’s most egalitarian countries, the debate on women’s rights continues. </p>
<p>“There are still many stereotypes that exert influence, especially on domestic task divisions,” one Dutch parliamentarian said. Yes, even Western European women confront the “can she have it all?” dilemma. </p>
<p>Another woman, an EU parliamentarian, told me: </p>
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<p>When I became Member of Parliament, [the media] asked me how I managed to combine my work as a politician with motherhood or family life. Before we had kids, my husband had two jobs … He gave up one to take care of the household and our children. After eight years, he became Alderman of Amsterdam, … and then everybody turned to me and asked what I would do now. I answered ‘well, I have the same job, he is the one who has a new one, so ask him.’</p>
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<p>Of course, in Northern Europe as in the rest of the world, stereotypes and double-standards still influence <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-the-media-hurts-female-politicians-and-how-journalists-everywhere-can-do-better-70771">media coverage of women</a>. Women said journalists made numerous comments about their hair or clothing, or about looking exhausted after a late-night session (men were celebrated for their stamina).</p>
<p>One woman with experience as both an EU parliamentarian and government minister, recounted this anecdote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A photo journalist came to me and said ‘Madam, you have always the same suit on’. I said ‘Yes, that’s not a problem for me, is it a problem for you?’ And he answered that in fact it was … because it gave the impression that photographs were always the same one. I always wore a brooch, so I told him, ‘Ok, I will give you something new: I will change the brooches.’</p>
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<h2>Women make the road</h2>
<p>The women interviewed shared recommendations for fixing these inequalities – again, political affiliation made no difference in these policy recommendations. </p>
<p>Every woman commented on the need to address gender bias in early childhood education. One congresswoman who suggested working with young boys and girls to raise awareness of gender stereotypes also commented that teachers at preschools and schools must be trained in equality as well. And indeed, some Scandanavian nations are, controversially, already mandating gender-neutral reading (<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-snow-white-and-what-scandinavia-can-teach-us-about-it-70358">goodbye, Snow White)</a>.</p>
<p>Although defying gender roles is <a href="http://defyingenderoles.org/">everyone’s job</a>, women have a decisive part to play. Each and every woman I interviewed, regardless of age or political position, agreed that mentorship was key to her success. Women with more experience offered advice to those with less, and gave them strength to keep fighting. </p>
<p>At a collective level, too, these powerful women agreed that women’s movements and women’s organisations, both within civil society and inside political parties, are fundamental to the continued struggle for political inclusion. Such groups offer women “a place where women meet [and] fight for their causes”, one interview subject said. </p>
<p>When Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau introduced his new cabinet, comprised of 15 men and 15 women, after his 2015 election victory, a reporter asked why it was important for him to have a gender-equal cabinet. </p>
<p><a href="https://news.vice.com/article/because-its-2015-why-justin-trudeau-pushed-for-gender-parity-in-his-cabinet">Trudeau’s answer</a> was, “Because it’s 2015.”</p>
<p>But it’s 2017 now, and I can’t seem to find gender paradise – only more women struggling for it. Maybe in 2018?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71209/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Virginia García Beaudoux consults for The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy and The United Nations Development Programme.</span></em></p>Even in egalitarian Europe, female politicians must battle gender stereotypes, biased media coverage, and entrenched power.Virginia García Beaudoux, Professor of Political Communication and Public Opinion, Universidad de Buenos AiresLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/742212017-03-08T07:54:34Z2017-03-08T07:54:34ZWhat’s holding Arab women back from achieving equality?<p>No country in the world has achieved full gender equality, but the Arab region – a diverse grouping of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa – ranks lowest in the world, according to the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2016">2016 Global Gender Gap Report</a>.</p>
<p>Despite some advances in women’s economic equality in Qatar, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates, at the present rate, the region’s 39% gender gap (compared to 33% in South Asia and 32% in Sub-Saharan Africa) will take another 356 years to close. Worse still, between their patriarchal societies, increased conservative movements and lack of political will to move towards gender equity, the Arab world today is seeing a backlash against women’s rights and freedoms.</p>
<p>As the Executive Secretary for UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Rima Khalaf, <a href="https://www.unescwa.org/news/escwa-marks-international-women%E2%80%99s-day">said to commemorate International Women’s Day in 2016</a>, “We are celebrating the many achievements of Arab women in sciences, literature and arts, but primarily in the art of survival.” </p>
<p>Here are the top five barriers facing women in the Arab world this year, along with some bright spots on the horizon. Women of the region are, of course, not all the same, but many share these profound challenges.</p>
<h2>1. Ongoing conflict</h2>
<p>For many Arab countries, instability is becoming the norm. The region’s multiple protracted humanitarian crises, including those in <a href="https://theconversation.com/syrias-war-of-extermination-signals-the-end-of-the-international-community-66708">Syria</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-offers-confusion-rather-than-clarity-on-israel-palestine-73219">Palestine</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-battle-for-mosul-is-too-little-too-late-in-the-fight-against-the-islamic-state-67262https:/theconversation.com/the-battle-for-mosul-is-too-little-too-late-in-the-fight-against-the-islamic-state-67262">Iraq</a>, have destroyed systems of social protection, reduced access to safe services and support, displaced communities, and increased vulnerabilities.</p>
<p>Emergencies are <a href="https://theconversation.com/conflicts-expose-women-to-violence-but-the-arab-world-is-finding-ways-to-fight-back-65807">more dangerous for women</a>. Not only are women <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/echo/news/international-womens-day-women-emergency-situations_en">deliberately targeted</a>, but conflicts also bring insecurities that compel women to resort to risky sources of income, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/syrias-red-light-traffic-7828">trafficking and sex work</a>, in order to survive. </p>
<p>The threat of violence is particularly high for young women and women of ethnic minorities, according to the <a href="http://www.arab-hdr.org/">2016 Arab Human Development Report</a>. For all women, but these in particular, even escaping conflict does not necessarily bring safety.</p>
<p>Despite research showing that the biggest predictor of peace in a country is not economics or politics, but <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/04/24/what-sex-means-for-world-peace/">how the country treats its women</a>, in times of conflict gender equality goals quickly disappear from the agenda. And, in a situation all too common around the world, Arab women generally do not have a seat at the table or a voice in negotiating their nations’ peace.</p>
<h2>2. Gender-based violence</h2>
<p><a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/85239/1/9789241564625_eng.pdf?ua=1">One in three women</a> worldwide has experienced some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime. In the Arab world, violence against women takes many forms, with <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77432/1/WHO_RHR_12.36_eng.pdf">intimate partner violence</a> being the most common (affecting <a href="http://www.thearabweekly.com/Society/7494/Alarming-rise-of-violence-against-women-in-Arab-region">approximately 30% of women in the region</a>) and the least reported. Here, intimate partner violence is often not labelled as such. When it is, social stigma and family and community pressures keep women from reporting it.</p>
<p>Honour killings are also prevalent in many Arab countries, which have largely failed to amend relevant laws. Jordan has the highest percentage in the region: each year <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/10/27/recorded-honor-killings-rise-jordan">it registers between 15 and 20 reports of such crimes</a>. Finally, in countries that host Syrian refugees, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-global/syrian-girls-are-being-pu_b_12524790.html">child marriage is increasing</a> as a response to the ongoing crisis.</p>
<p>But we are seeing progress. </p>
<p>One way to counter violence against women in the Arab world is increasing its visibility among youth – as this student <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPSRzMH_4lw&feature=youtu.be">video competition</a> for the <a href="http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/take-action/16-days-of-activism">16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence</a> – has done. </p>
<p>Another promising initiative is a robust study led by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to estimate the regional <a href="https://www.unescwa.org/news/costing-violence-against-women">cost of violence against women</a>. The aim is to use economic arguments to raise awareness and influence policy. </p>
<p>Other organisations, such as the regional civil association <a href="http://www.abaadmena.org/">ABAAD’s</a> <a href="http://www.abaadmena.org/direct-services/safe-shelters">Al Dar</a> (emergency shelters), are providing a safe environment for survivors of gender-based violence, and those at risk, to access services and support. These are promising emerging practices, although uncommon in the region.</p>
<h2>3. Economic (dis)empowerment</h2>
<p>Women in Arab countries are an underutilised economic force, with only <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS?locations=ZQ">24% working outside the home</a> – that’s among the <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/arabvoices/despite-high-education-levels-arab-women-still-don-t-have-jobs">lowest female employment rates in the world</a>. </p>
<p>Most women who work outside the home are relegated to traditionally feminised sectors. In cases where women are accessing male-dominated fields, traditional gender dynamics remain firmly entrenched. So women are promoted less and have little access to decision-making positions.</p>
<p>While men’s employment is a prerequisite to marriage, women’s employment often ends with marriage; being married is viewed as a disadvantage in the workplace as well.</p>
<p>There are strong economic incentives to change these practices. Globally, gender equality <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21667949-world-would-be-much-richer-place-if-more-women-had-paying-jobs-power">results in higher GDP</a> – more workers means more productivity. But the strongest argument of all is principle. This is a woman’s right – and it is the right thing to do.</p>
<p>Vocational training, micro-lending, business planning, access to markets, and other supportive measures would help bring women into the labour market. As would addressing factors, such as lack of access to (safe) transport, safety in public spaces and daycare, all of which place limits on women’s employment prospects.</p>
<h2>4. Lack of political participation</h2>
<p>Arab women still lag significantly behind in terms of women’s participation and representation in politics. <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/middle-east-and-north-africa/">According to the WEF</a>, only 9% of the political gender gap is closed. And four out of the world’s five lowest-ranking countries are in this region, including <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/results-and-analysis/">Oman, Lebanon, Kuwait and Qatar</a>. They have closed less than 3% of their political gender gap. </p>
<p>Only the United Arab Emirates has seen improvement in terms of increased women parliamentarians. Although, again, presence in the political arena does not necessarily entail power.</p>
<p>In Lebanon, women currently occupy just four parliamentary seats, 3% of ministerial positions, and around 5% of seats in municipal councils. But information on women’s political positions is often incomplete, as these statistics are counted manually from municipality to municipality. </p>
<p>This lack of political participation is largely due to cultural barriers, a lack of access to economic and financial resources, and the absence of successful active role models in politics.</p>
<h2>5. Restrictive family laws</h2>
<p>Despite critiques of women’s legal status in the Arab region, changing family patterns, and a booming young female adult population, aspiring to professional lives, family laws in Arab countries still endorse inequality between spouses and discriminate against women in all aspects of their lives.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.arab-hdr.org/">This is a key obstacle</a> to sustainable development, preventing women’s self-determination and contribution to public and productive life and reforms have been slow and uneven across the Arab region.</p>
<p>Since <a href="http://www.brismes.ac.uk/nmes/archives/1409">2000, Egypt has introduced a series of legal changes</a>, but to little effect. This includes no-fault divorce, where women can initiate divorce. However, the consequence is that they lose any right to financial support and must repay the dowry they received upon marriage. Family courts were established in 2004, but a holistic approach to family law reform is still lacking as these courts continue to perpetrate the same archaic and discriminatory laws.</p>
<p>In 2004, a reform of Morocco’s <em>Moudawana</em> (family code) similarly increased women’s right to divorce and child custody and also restricted polygamy. But the Moroccan government remains hesitant to actually implement these reforms.</p>
<p>In Lebanon, reform efforts face unique challenges due to the diversity of its <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/01/19/lebanon-laws-discriminate-against-women">15 separate personal status laws</a> for the country’s various officially recognised religious communities, of which there are 18 in total. But the ongoing refugee crisis, in which at least <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-migrants-scorecard-20150908-story.html">1.4 million Syrian refugees</a> have come to Lebanon, is an urgent reminder that conflict, war, and forced migration continue to reinforce the need for legal protection for women.</p>
<p>Still, there is potential for reform within challenging Arab contexts - whether during conflict, post-conflict, or when stable. Future policies for women must build on Arab activism and academic scholarship to reform family laws using a human rights framework and aligning with global goals (such as the <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/">Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women</a>) to build a foundation for full equality. </p>
<p>These issues are overlapping, meaning progress – or regress – in any of these areas has an impact on many other aspects of women’s lives. The underlying message is this: unless we’re addressing inequalities everywhere, we will achieve equality nowhere.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lina Abirafeh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Unless we’re addressing inequalities everywhere, we will achieve equality nowhere.Lina Abirafeh, Director, Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World, Lebanese American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/741542017-03-08T00:04:43Z2017-03-08T00:04:43ZFactCheck Q&A: are there laws to protect against ‘revenge porn’ in Australia?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159707/original/image-20170307-20739-1888lgf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Actor and presenter Faustina Agolley speaking on Q&A.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABC Q&A</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>The Conversation fact-checks claims made on Q&A, broadcast Mondays on the ABC at 9:35pm. Thank you to everyone who sent us quotes for checking via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/conversationEDU">Twitter</a> using hashtags #FactCheck and #QandA, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/conversationEDU">Facebook</a> or by <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">email</a>.</strong></p>
<hr>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Excerpt from Q&A, March 6, 2017. Quote begins at 3:10.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<blockquote>
<p>I thought there were laws to kind of protect [against] revenge porn? There aren’t? <strong>– Actor and presenter Faustina Agolley, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s4618968.htm">speaking</a> on Q&A on March 6, 2017.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, an all-female panel of guests on ABC TV’s Q&A program discussed issues ranging from sexual assault and domestic violence to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/revenge-porn-10067">revenge porn</a>”, where a nude or explicit image is shared without consent. </p>
<p>Actor and presenter Faustina Agolley questioned what the law says on this issue, asking: “I thought there were laws to kind of protect [against] revenge porn? There aren’t?”</p>
<p>Let’s check the facts. </p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>The Conversation contacted Agolley seeking to clarify what she meant by her comment. She said by email:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My question “I thought there were laws to kind of protect [against] revenge porn?” was to the audience and presenter Tony Jones. They replied “no” or shook their heads. That’s why I said, “There aren’t?” I was surprised as I thought there was. Coming from Victoria, I must have heard or read this somewhere before (perhaps from one of <a href="http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/by/Clementine-Ford">Clementine Ford’s</a> articles). And I didn’t realise this was specific to the state that I lived in. Therefore, when the audience seemed to debunk my hunch, I believed them.</p>
<p>I hope this helps further the discussion on this issue. As may you know, we’re only briefed on what some of the topics may be. Revenge porn was not one of them, so I couldn’t research in advance. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>As it turns out, Agolley was right to be unsure about what the law is on so-called “revenge porn” in Australia – because the answer to her question depends on where you live.</p>
<h2>Patchy state laws, and no specific national laws</h2>
<p>Revenge porn is a media-generated term referring to the distribution of nude, sexual or sexually explicit images without the depicted person’s consent, often via social media or mobile phone. </p>
<p>Yet the term itself is misleading. Not all perpetrators are motivated by “revenge”, and not all images can be described as “pornography”. The term might also be offensive to victims, as it minimises the harms they experience when an intimate image (photo or video) is created or shared without permission.</p>
<p>This is partly why academics and government agencies are increasingly using the term <a href="https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/image-based-abuse">“image-based abuse”</a>.</p>
<p>There are specific laws in <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/soa1966189/s41da.html">Victoria</a> and <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_act/soa1953189/s26c.html">South Australia</a> that criminalise the distribution of an intimate or “invasive” image without consent. In both Victoria and South Australia, it is also a criminal offence to threaten to distribute an intimate or invasive image. </p>
<p>But there are no specific federal laws making the non-consensual creation or distribution of a nude or sexual image a criminal offence. There are also gaps in other Australian state and territory laws where no specific criminal offences exist.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2016.1154964">our research with police and legal services</a>, some suggested that federal telecommunications laws such as “using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence” (<a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_act/claoaoma22004729/sch1.html">Section 474.17 of the Criminal Code</a>) could be used to respond to image-based abuse. But unless it is clear that a perpetrator intended to cause those impacts to a victim by distributing an intimate image, some of our interviewees thought it was a legal grey area and that clearer laws were needed.</p>
<p>There have been <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-03/labor-mps-propose-private-members-bill-banning-revenge-porn/6747764">proposals to introduce new federal laws</a> to tackle image-based abuse. To date, the federal government has committed to introducing a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-23/revenge-porn-civil-penalties-could-serve-quicker-justice/8050054">civil penalties scheme</a>, which would assist victims in reporting image-based abuse and having the images removed. </p>
<p>Other states have also investigated whether new laws are needed. For example, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/11/revenge-porn-to-be-criminalised-in-western-australia-domestic-violence-law">Western Australia has proposed its own legal reform</a> to tackle image-based abuse by a partner or ex-partner in the context of family violence. The proposed law would allow restraining orders (also known as intervention or protection orders in some jurisdictions) to prevent a perpetrator from distributing or publishing intimate images of another person. A breach of the order would be a criminal offence, attracting up to two years in prison.</p>
<p>In short, there is currently a piecemeal approach to legal protections against image-based abuse (or “revenge pornography”) in Australia.</p>
<p>While criminal and civil laws exist in some states and territories that could be (and have been) used to provide victim redress, there is no national consistency.</p>
<p>In states or territories without specific legislation, many victims simply have no recourse to justice if existing laws do not apply and/or if the victim cannot afford to seek remedies through the civil law, which is often costly and out of the reach of ordinary Australians.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>Faustina Agolley was right to be unsure on Q&A about what the law is on revenge porn in Australia – because it all depends on where you live. Specific laws against so-called “revenge porn” do exist in two states, Victoria and South Australia. But there is no specific criminal offence at the federal level or in other states and territories. <strong>– Anastasia Powell, Nicola Henry, Asher Flynn.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>The above analysis is sound. However, I would also add the following points:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The New South Wales attorney-general, Gabrielle Upton, announced in September last year that the state government will soon seek to criminalise “revenge porn” or “the distribution of intimate or sexually explicit images without consent”. They also proposed a new civil offence for serious invasions of privacy.</p></li>
<li><p>Other criminal laws such as “publishing an indecent article” have also been <a href="https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/54a636e73004de94513d973b">used to successfully prosecute</a> cases of “revenge porn”.</p></li>
<li><p>Civil doctrines such as breach of confidence and copyright can sometimes provide effective <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/wa/WASC/2015/15.html">outcomes</a>, such as injunctions prohibiting defendants from further publication and compensation.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I would agree that state laws provide patchy coverage for instances of
“revenge pornography”. There are no <em>specific</em> national laws but other laws have been used to successfully prosecute cases. I think national laws – such as Section 474.17 of the Criminal Code (using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence) that have been used to successfully prosecute <a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/guilty-verdict-in-adfa-skype-sex-case-20130828-2sq7v.html">some</a> <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/act/ACTSC/2013/122.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=deblaquiere">instances</a> of “revenge porn” are inadequate and in need of reform. <strong>– Jessica Lake.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p><div class="callout"> Have you ever seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at checkit@theconversation.edu.au. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anastasia Powell receives funding from the ARC and the Criminology Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Asher Flynn receives funding from the ARC and the Criminology Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Henry receives funding from the ARC and the Criminology Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Lake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>On Q&A, panellist Faustina Agolley questioned whether there were laws protecting against revenge porn in Australia. As it turns out, it all depends on where you live.Anastasia Powell, Senior Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, Justice and Legal Studies, RMIT UniversityAsher Flynn, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityNicola Henry, Senior Lecturer in Legal Studies, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/732652017-03-07T19:24:51Z2017-03-07T19:24:51ZThe fragility of women’s rights: how female guilds wielded power long ago<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157816/original/image-20170222-20326-1wn7jai.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Spinning, Warping and Weaving the Wool (1594-1596) by Isaac Claesz. van Swanenburg.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> By permission of the Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today is International Women’s Day. The first was held in 1911, after activists Clara Zetkin and Luise Zietz pushed for a day that would bring attention to women’s rights — especially the vote and women’s working conditions. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159084/original/image-20170302-14724-16295hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159084/original/image-20170302-14724-16295hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159084/original/image-20170302-14724-16295hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159084/original/image-20170302-14724-16295hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159084/original/image-20170302-14724-16295hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159084/original/image-20170302-14724-16295hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159084/original/image-20170302-14724-16295hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159084/original/image-20170302-14724-16295hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25 1911.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The pair was inspired in part by a 1910 “Woman’s Day” in New York and a strike by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union that lasted 14 weeks. The strike placed widespread attention on poorly paid and protected female textile workers whose working environment posed a serious fire risk. And tragically, in March 1911, 146 employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Manhattan (123 of them women) were killed in a blaze. Many had been locked into the premises to prevent them either stealing or taking more breaks than they were permitted. </p>
<p>The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union was one of the largest unions of its time whose membership was primarily female. But nearly 500 years earlier, before 20th-century women took up the fight, <a href="http://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/women-work-and-power-in-the-female-guilds-of-rouen(124b136d-3ed2-496d-ba17-f9c752c1e129).html">my research has uncovered</a> a series of exclusively female and very powerful textile guilds in France that lasted until the 18th century.</p>
<p>The presence of these guilds reminds us that gaining rights, in this case for working women, is no simple story of linear progress.</p>
<h2>A tale of two city female linen guilds</h2>
<p>Remarkably, records remain from the 15th and 16th centuries of two female textile guilds in the French city of Rouen. The new garment drapers’ guild incorporated women who made and sold garments manufactured from brand new cloth, while the guild of the old clothes drapers worked and sold garments made of recycled cloth.</p>
<p>Guilds were similar to modern-day trade unions. Members of a trade or professional group controlled the operation of that industry in a town, and limited practice only to people licensed or trained by the corporate body. Most guilds were operated by and for male workers. Some allowed rights to female workers or allowed widows to continue a male guild member’s business. Far more rare were guilds, such as these in Rouen, which were wholly controlled by and for female workers.</p>
<p>Both men and women worked as cloth manufacturers and merchants in Rouen where the textile industries were a significant part of the urban economy. Some were poor and worked piecemeal. Those merchants who traded high-quality linen were among the wealthiest of Rouen’s specialised cloth merchants. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159085/original/image-20170302-14714-au0re8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159085/original/image-20170302-14714-au0re8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159085/original/image-20170302-14714-au0re8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159085/original/image-20170302-14714-au0re8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159085/original/image-20170302-14714-au0re8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159085/original/image-20170302-14714-au0re8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159085/original/image-20170302-14714-au0re8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159085/original/image-20170302-14714-au0re8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg’s depiction of Rouen, c. 1572.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The women in the guilds I studied were not widows of textile guildsmen, but single women and wives working independently of their husbands. Just as male guilds of their era did, these women organised apprenticeships, renewed their statutes, and went to court a number of times to insist upon their hard-won trading entitlements.</p>
<p>Both guilds remained powerful corporate bodies until the end of the 18th century, in an urban economy driven by textiles.</p>
<h2>Power and privileges</h2>
<p>The archival records that survive for these guilds mainly relate to their protection of trading and manufacturing rights. They prosecuted anyone whose work interfered with their privileges. </p>
<p>Some of those prosecuted by the guild were clearly very poor. In 1553, an unlicensed rogue trader Jehan Delymet was expressly forbidden by the new garment drapers from selling his products again in the street. But the record notes that Katherine Le Lieu, the guild’s elected officer, returned the cloth that the guild had confiscated from him “because of his poverty”.</p>
<p>Others targeted for prosecution were female collectives of some standing. In 1540, seven “re-sellers” (those who bought cloth or clothes and then sold it on) were prosecuted by the new garment drapers, and fined for selling cloth in the market hall. However, not everyone accepted the guild’s claims to exclusive selling rights. Some protested. Other re-offended. In 1541, two re-sellers, Philippine Goude and Robine Prebyon, even hired a lawyer to argue the case for their trading rights.</p>
<h2>Women under watch</h2>
<p>The two guilds were just as carefully observing each other. The new garment drapers debated under what circumstances the old clothes drapers could buy new cloth at all. In 1439, seven dresses seized by the new garment drapers had to be returned when the old clothes draper in question argued they were “for her own usage and that of her household”.</p>
<p>And each guild was also responsible for monitoring the work of its own members. In August 1586, an old clothes draper, Marguerite Baston, was caught attempting to sell some of her merchandise out of hours. </p>
<p>Of course, the quality of the mistresses’ work was further subject to official inspection. In October 1520, Perette, the wife of Roger Goulle, was investigated after six of the ten shirts she had prepared were deemed too poorly made for public sale. </p>
<h2>Scandal in the marketplace</h2>
<p>Both guilds were also responsible for controlling members’ behaviour in the highly visible market space. In May 1572, 19 mistresses came into conflict with the elected officer of new garment drapers. </p>
<p>Led by Lucette Le Bras de Fer, the mistresses argued that the rules required a fortnightly lottery for the placement of the guildswomen’s stalls at the marketplace. And yet, Le Bras de Fer argued, friends of the elected officials always gained the most advantageous and profitable locations. </p>
<p>The elected officers complained that they had been surprised by a number of mistresses who confronted them at the lottery and threw the lots to the ground. This led to a “great tumult in the hall”. They were forced to retire from the market because of the mockery, derision and disobedience they had been subjected to. </p>
<p>Le Bras de Fer and others were fined, but by July they were back in court challenging this.</p>
<h2>Women united</h2>
<p>The evidence of the female drapers’ guilds in Rouen does not suggest there was a golden age for women’s working conditions or for egalitarian female collectives. </p>
<p>Rather these documents show cohorts of powerful women who acted just like the male guilds of their era, riven at times by internal divisions and subtle hierarchies, and prosecuting men and women, both in and outside of guild frameworks, who interfered with their trade. </p>
<p>A key purpose of guilds was, after all, to protect the interests of their members against rogue traders. These guilds respected other women as serious competitors to their trade and prosecuted them accordingly. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159086/original/image-20170302-14706-1a5b5w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159086/original/image-20170302-14706-1a5b5w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159086/original/image-20170302-14706-1a5b5w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159086/original/image-20170302-14706-1a5b5w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159086/original/image-20170302-14706-1a5b5w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159086/original/image-20170302-14706-1a5b5w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159086/original/image-20170302-14706-1a5b5w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159086/original/image-20170302-14706-1a5b5w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">International Women’s Day March, Sydney 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephanridgway/5518440701/sizes/l/">sridgway/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We know that by the end of the 18th century these guilds had been dismantled, overtaken by new economic and political processes in France. The evidence of the once-powerful women workers of Rouen reminds us how hard-won rights can be eroded over time. It shows how expectations of a legal voice, recognition and protection have to be insisted upon time and again in many forums and ways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Broomhall receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>In 15th and 16th century France, two female textile guilds - comprised of single women and wives working independently of their husbands - wielded great power. By the end of the 18th century, they had been dismantled.Susan Broomhall, Director, Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/739132017-03-07T19:24:30Z2017-03-07T19:24:30ZGirls with early first periods become women with greater risk of gestational diabetes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159701/original/image-20170307-20756-1i9knd9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Western societies, average age of first period has dropped from 17 to 13 years over the past century. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/justanotherhuman/27448588632/in/photolist-HPxc79-4pN4PD-foCbk5-55ucKn-qVJgbB-4Kyj2S-fnXLsA-4kq3Lh-55yGqb-p177e3-4CnSjg-nwez1e-foBtCh-avGoyL-9qk8P4-foAzxb-fnJtpB-fondQ8-fo5oXG-nPmnCe-r1iASv-dxTNMh-foBnxC-4kq345-4Uufqh-a3b1gZ-pJfqWe-9F4dKY-foAzL7-ddVKBU-fnXTvw-nyYn36-gP7CjH-d4sSE5-foCaMj-4kq3Ys-bpFkbt-4UpZxP-gN7gLp-cdKSvN-biHqSa-fo4LA5-55uuUH-fomgWa-7ANPHM-5u3bw8-4km1ep-vsKHF-foBrp7-Qh156i">justanotherhuman/flickr </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a young girl, getting your period for the first time is a big deal. It comes with mental and social expectations around “becoming a woman” and a host of cultural practices that act to celebrate or stigmatise menstruation. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/aje/kww201">evidence</a> now suggests the timing of this event could also have health implications for girls who get their first period earlier than their peers. </p>
<p>During puberty our bodies change and sexually mature, and a girl’s first period is an important point in this process. The age when girls get their first period varies, however younger than 12 years is generally considered to be “early”. The possibility that a first period before the age of 12 is linked with pregnancy health was explored in our <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/aje/kww201">recent study</a>. We found that girls who had early first periods were more likely to develop diabetes when they later became pregnant as an adult. </p>
<p>Gestational diabetes is a <a href="https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/gestational-diabetes">serious pregnancy complication</a>, as it increases the risk of pre-term labour and giving birth to a large baby. It is also considered a “stress test” for the later development of type 2 diabetes; both the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2990903/">mother</a> and <a href="http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/60/7/1849">child</a> in affected pregnancies face a six to seven fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. </p>
<h2>Age of first period and diabetes during pregnancy</h2>
<p>We studied a group of more than 4,700 women from the <a href="http://www.alswh.org.au">Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health</a> (also known as Women’s Health Australia). This longitudinal study has collected detailed health and well-being information from the same women at multiple points in time over the past 20 years. The women were 18-23 years old in 1996 when the study started. The women reported on the age of their first period and were followed throughout their pregnancies. </p>
<p>Most women experienced their first period between age 12 and 13, but 12% had early first periods. We found girls who had their first periods before age 12 were more likely to be from a disadvantaged background in childhood. They were also more likely to report being overweight in childhood and in adult life, compared with women who had their first period at a later age. While taking these early life and adulthood characteristics into account, women with earlier first periods were still <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/aje/kww201">50% more likely to develop diabetes during pregnancy</a>. </p>
<h2>Is the age at first period changing?</h2>
<p>The age of first menstruation has decreased in most Western countries, from an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16757103">average of 17 more than a century ago, to around 13 today</a>. This decline seems to have <a href="http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-10-175">stabilised</a>, however discussion persists about whether the trend is continuing at a slower rate. The initial decline is likely explained by improved health and nutrition. The more recent declines may also be largely attributable to environmental and lifestyle factors. </p>
<p>We know circumstances in early life – including <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3287288/">psychosocial stressors</a>, such as parental divorce and abuse, as well as <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043276009000587">childhood obesity</a> – can trigger early reproductive development. Other <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3065309/">recent environmental changes</a> – such as the use of hair products, plastic water bottles, and food packaging – have also been examined as a possible cause of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2958977/">early age at first period</a>.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for women’s health?</h2>
<p>An early transition to adulthood can be characterised by increased stresses and challenges as girls have to adapt to their new social roles. Girls with an early first period are at greater risk of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2927128/">depression and anxiety</a>, and display higher rates of risky-behaviours such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1892192/">smoking, drinking, illicit drug use</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19958543">unprotected sex</a>. </p>
<p>The falling age of first menstruation is concerning as it also increases the risk of health conditions. In addition to the higher risk of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/aje/kww201">diabetes during pregnancy</a> found in our study, early menstruation has also been shown to increase the risk of developing chronic conditions in later life, such as <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00592-014-0579-x">type 2 diabetes</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3488186/">breast cancer</a>. </p>
<h2>What can we do?</h2>
<p>Ideally we would one day be able to prevent girls from having their first period too early, but there is no one single cause that determines when this happens. However, supporting healthy environments and behaviours from early in life are important strategies. Childhood obesity is a well-known factor increasing the likelihood of early age at first period. Given that <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/overweight-and-obesity/">one in four children in Australia are overweight or obese</a>, promoting healthy eating and physical activity should be a priority for young mothers, schools, and health policy. </p>
<p>Clinicians including GPs and specialists, who provide advice and treatment for women, should be aware of the importance of early age at first menstruation as a potential marker of future health issues. Early monitoring and advice on a healthy diet and weight and physical activity may help women to lower these risks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73913/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Girls who have their first period at a young age are more likely to experience poorer health as a adult, including an elevated risk of diabetes during pregnancy.Danielle Schoenaker, PhD Candidate and Research Officer, The University of QueenslandGita Mishra, Professor of Life Course Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/737942017-03-07T16:38:03Z2017-03-07T16:38:03ZInternational Women’s Day: yes, we still need to protest this shit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159305/original/image-20170303-29002-12u2svh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/r4vi/32419440551/in/photolist-RoN7cz-DMegA2-sR6j4i-RpuLsC-9K2FR4-oTkX7s-RnrkpK-Qdaxbr-Rdwcw5-ReC15u/">Ravi</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“I can’t believe we still have to protest this shit,” proclaimed a multitude of signs at a protest in London on January 21 2017. These signs, and others, were photographed, filtered, edited and uploaded to social media, linking protesters around the globe.</p>
<p>The protests, which spread from the initial <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2169332969958991/">Women’s March on Washington</a>, spurred by the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, resulted in what was allegedly <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/womens-march-anti-donald-trump-womens-rights-largest-protest-demonstration-us-history-political-a7541081.html">the largest day of protests in US history</a>. </p>
<p>That it was a triumph of activism for and by women is beyond doubt. But the fact that we do still have to protest this shit speaks to the incredulity at what is happening. This is not “normal”. The persistence of misogyny and sexism, the need to march, to come together, to rally, to campaign yet again.</p>
<p>This apparently Sisyphean task brings us to March 8 2017, when in honour of International Women’s Day, protests have, once again, been organised in more than 30 countries. The <a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/">day is</a> “a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women”. With roots that reach back over a century, its focus is firmly on the future. This year, however, there is a palpable concern that the direction of travel may be reversing. </p>
<h2>Does this have to be the new normal?</h2>
<p>One of the sparks for the recent rise in mass protest was powerfully brought to life before the 2016 US election by Michelle Obama. The then first lady declared that she had been “shaken to her core” by Trump’s lewd description of his treatment of women. When she asked us what lessons our children would learn from the behaviour of this influential man she made explicit, as feminists have long done, the link between the personal and the political.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"786658289555832834"}"></div></p>
<p>Political discourse is rarely casual. Political speeches are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/casp.904/abstract">carefully crafted pieces of rhetoric</a>. And so, without ever naming him, Obama told us that if Trump won the election we would be “telling our sons that it’s okay to humiliate women” and “telling our daughters that this is how they deserve to be treated.” </p>
<p>He then, of course, went on to win that election. So what now? How do we explain these events to our children – both boys and girls? How do we deal with the disappointment of the next generation when their expectations of gender equity are not met?</p>
<p>What we have seen in recent times is a generation of women who have grown to expect equality – to be allowed to succeed academically, to progress professionally, to nurture families and to live public lives unimpeded by discrimination. </p>
<p>Frequently, however, <a href="http://shop.bps.org.uk/publications/publication-by-series/psychology-of-women-section-review/psychology-of-women-section-review-vol-18-1-spring-2016.html">they fail to experience it as a uniform reality</a>. With his vulgarities, President Trump endorses positions of <a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/45713/">feminine passivity and masculine power that underpin sexual harassment</a>. He reminds us that men grab and women are grabbed.</p>
<h2>Everyone’s problem</h2>
<p>Trump’s presentation of femininity doesn’t only affect women. Every time men are assumed to be natural sexual predators, the complexities of gender are ignored – those aspects of identity that are feminine and masculine for everyone, those times when sex wasn’t wanted, those times when speaking about an unwanted experience was curtailed by the idea that men are predators, women are victims.</p>
<p>We know that the circulation of misogynist and anti-feminist sentiment is not uncommon – indeed <a href="http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/01/trolling-translation/">online trolling is rife</a>. For years now, feminists have been abused, belittled and physically threatened across social media platforms. Some are <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09589236.2016.1211511?src=recsys&journalCode=cjgs20">speaking back</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time feminist ideas are becoming increasingly mainstream. Sites such as <a href="http://everydayfeminism.com/">Everyday Feminism</a> and <a href="http://feministing.com/">Feministing</a> have certainly captured the public interest and, particularly, that of young women. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392397.2015.1005382?journalCode=rcel20">Celebrities support it</a>) and magazines we once associated with traditional femininities now tell us that <a href="http://www.marieclaire.com.au/article/news/the-f-word">feminism is cool</a>. To this we can add the complex political events of the last 12 months, which appear to have had a “radicalising” effect on activists.</p>
<p>Invariably, around International Women’s Day, people ask whether feminism is redundant. Don’t the women of the Western world already have equal rights? Do we still have to protest this shit? When the most powerful man in the world <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/07/donald-trump-leaked-recording-women">thinks</a> “you can do anything” to women, the answer can only be yes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73794/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nothing to disclose.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Lazard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It has been a rough year for the women of this world, which makes a day of recognition even more important.Rose Capdevila, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The Open UniversityLisa Lazard, Lecturer in Psychology, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/737042017-03-07T14:55:22Z2017-03-07T14:55:22ZSouth Africa needs to do more to promote women in sports<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159563/original/image-20170306-20772-1vcg0ns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Arnd WiegmannH</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa fancies itself to be passionate about sports and over the past two decades has launched a series of initiatives to promote women’s participation. But it doesn’t have a great deal to show for it.</p>
<p>Women still remain underrepresented in all sports in the country. The best example is at professional levels where the nation’s main sports, cricket, rugby and football, have yet to consider establishing domestic leagues for women.</p>
<p>This is in marked contrast to England and Australia, for example. In England where <a href="https://www.ecb.co.uk/super-league">cricket</a>, <a href="http://www.enca.com/sport/rugby/new-league-to-bolster-womens-rugby-in-england">rugby</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/womens-super-league/table">football</a> also hold sway administrators have set up professional leagues for women. Australia also has professional leagues for women in <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-02-01-how-the-australian-big-bash-is-changing-the-field-for-womens-cricket/">cricket</a>, <a href="http://www.nrl.com/News/tabid/11678/contentid/54/Default.aspx">rugby</a> and <a href="http://www.w-league.com.au/">football</a>. India, too, is set to launch a <a href="https://yourstory.com/2017/03/indian-women-cricket-league/">women’s cricket league</a>. </p>
<p>Although numbers are hard to come by, the above comparison shows how far women lag behind in South Africa. This is despite the fact that it has adopted a number of declarations and passed laws to remedy the situation. For example, South Africa was one of the first countries to adopt the <a href="http://www.sportsbiz.bz/womensportinternational/conferences/brighton_declaration.htm">Brighton Declaration</a> on Women and Sport passed nearly 23 years ago to increase women’s participation in sport. </p>
<p>In addition, a number of initiatives have been launched to foster a sporting culture more conducive to the involvement of women. These included a <a href="http://www.srsa.gov.za/MediaLib/Home/DocumentLibrary/National%20Charter%20for%20Women%20and%20Sport%20in%20SA.pdf">National Strategy for Women and Sport</a> which focused on both the grassroots level, helping more women to take part in sport, and the elite level, supporting those with potential to reach the highest levels – the Olympics.</p>
<p>Policy statements from the department of <a href="http://www.srsa.gov.za/">Sport and Recreation South Africa</a> also articulate the importance of providing equal opportunities for women in sport.</p>
<p>Fast forward to 2017 and there’s little to show for all this activity. Our attempts to garner more information about women and sport in South Africa and the country’s national strategy have yielded few results. Data on the number of women and girls participating in sport are not readily available, despite the requirement that all sport bodies submit membership statistics to the department of sport. Nor has the department set out detailed plans on how it intends to ensure equal opportunity in sport for women. </p>
<h2>Letter of the Law</h2>
<p>The South African government has introduced laws to promote equality, representation and redress in sport. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/legis/num_act/nsaraa2007376.pdf">National Sport and Recreation Amendment Act</a>, which was passed 10 years ago to “redress the inequalities” in sport and recreation in South Africa. The act requires federations to make provision for women and disabled people to participate at the top level of sport.</p></li>
<li><p>The <a href="http://www.srsa.gov.za/MediaLib/Home/DocumentLibrary/23%20WHITE%20PAPER%20FINAL%20August%202012.pdf">South African White Paper on Sport and Recreation</a> was released in 2012. Here, the department committed to putting “special emphasis” on the inclusion and promotion of priority groups, of which women are one.</p></li>
<li><p>The 2012 <a href="http://www.srsa.gov.za/MediaLib/Home/DocumentLibrary/Transformation%20Charter%20-%20FINAL%20Aug%202012.pdf">Transformation Charter for South African Sport</a> identified women as a marginalised group, calling broadly for their increased access, representation and opportunities in sport. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee <a href="http://www.sascoc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140628133844815.pdf">(SASCOC)</a>, which oversees high performance sport in this country, developed an Operation Excellence programme to provide financial support to individuals identified as potential future medal winners at international competitions.</p>
<p>Olympic medallists, including canoeist <a href="https://www.olympic.org/bridgitte-hartley">Bridgitte Hartley</a>, runner <a href="https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/south-africa/caster-semenya-242560">Caster Semenya</a> and javelin thrower <a href="https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/south-africa/sunette-viljoen-187418">Sunette Viljoen</a>, have all been <a href="http://www.sascoc.co.za/2012/10/30/sascoc-name-opex-squad-looking-ahead-to-2016/">beneficiaries of the programme</a>. </p>
<p>So where is the country now?</p>
<h2>Parity remains elusive</h2>
<p>Parity between men and women has not been achieved. According to the most recent <a href="http://www.sascoc.co.za/operation-excellence/">document</a> available on the SASCOC website (updated October 2015), of the Olympic athletes receiving support, nine out of the 30 athletes (30%) are women. Of the 20 coaches who work with these athletes, three (15%) are women.</p>
<p>According to the department’s latest <a href="http://www.srsa.gov.za/MediaLib/Home/DocumentLibrary/STRAT%20PLAN.pdf">strategic plan (2015 – 2020)</a>, current participation levels of women and girls at grassroots level is “particularly poor, with few opportunities for females to participate in sport at schools and clubs. </p>
<p>At the elite level, the situation appears marginally better. The table below gives a summary of South African women’s participation at the Olympics since the country’s reinstatement into the Olympic movement in 1991.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158517/original/image-20170227-26326-wtx1j6.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158517/original/image-20170227-26326-wtx1j6.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158517/original/image-20170227-26326-wtx1j6.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158517/original/image-20170227-26326-wtx1j6.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158517/original/image-20170227-26326-wtx1j6.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158517/original/image-20170227-26326-wtx1j6.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158517/original/image-20170227-26326-wtx1j6.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158517/original/image-20170227-26326-wtx1j6.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sports-Reference/Olympic Sports</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Despite the fact that the size of the country’s women’s teams attending the Olympics have been about half the size of the men’s teams, South African female athletes have left a mark on the global stage. </p>
<h2>Working for excellence</h2>
<p>South Africa can do better. Female athletes need more funding, media coverage and opportunities in order to be on an equal footing with their male counterparts.</p>
<p>Funding and opportunities are the biggest hurdles that sportswomen face, as one of the authors recounts in an analysis of <a href="http://cathsseta.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/N-Adom-Aboagye-dissertation.pdf">experiences of receiving funding support for elite sport in South Africa</a>. </p>
<p>Supporting women in sport is not only about Olympic glory or success, but also the lessons that can be learnt through participation in sport - discipline, dedication, determination, and team work – lessons that the women can translate into other areas of their lives. These skills can be applied as female athletes seek success beyond the sports field. And more women are needed to be role models in sport for the next generation of sports leaders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nana Adom - Aboagye received funding from CATHSSETA for her Master's thesis. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Sikes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Several initiatives have been launched to foster a sporting culture more conducive to the involvement of women in South Africa, including new laws. But evidence shows much still needs to be done.Michelle Sikes, Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Stellenbosch UniversityNana Adom - Aboagye, Doctoral Student, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/739202017-03-07T14:23:25Z2017-03-07T14:23:25ZAfrica needs more women computer scientists. How to make it happen<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159773/original/image-20170307-14966-4wvdvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Computer scientists can make important contributions to fixing societal ills.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNAMID/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Africa, a continent grappling with many social ills, it’s critical that universities produce more Computer Science graduates. It’s also one that equips students with crucial skills. </p>
<p>Computer Science graduates are problem solvers and logical thinkers who can apply their technical expertise in a range of ways – including to socioeconomic problems. For example, Dr <a href="http://pubs.cs.uct.ac.za/archive/00000868/01/Final_Thesis_Chepken_CHPCHR004.pdf">Christopher Chepken</a> used ICT tools to provide interventions for day labourers in a developing country’s context. <a href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2516632">Maletsabisa Molapo</a> worked on a project that designed a tool to help rural health trainers to create digital training content for low-literate community health workers (CHWs) in Lesotho. </p>
<p>But there’s a problem: Computer Science is an especially male-dominated university course <a href="http://europe.newsweek.com/how-can-we-encourage-more-women-study-computer-science-328538?rm=eu">all over the world</a>. </p>
<p>For instance, I was the only girl in an undergraduate class of ten students. That’s not unusual in Kenyan universities, even today. I teach 108 undergraduate computer programming students; just 19% of them are women. The same is true around the country. A 2015 <a href="http://akirachix.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Women-Who-Tech_2015.pdf">report</a> found that although 41% of students at a sample of Kenyan universities were women, just 17% of them were pursuing degrees in science and technology subjects.</p>
<p>Drawing from my own experiences, I have some ideas about how to throw open more doors for women computer scientists. Collaboration, inspiration and mentorship are key. And, in keeping with the tag line for <a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/">International Women’s Day 2017</a> – “Be bold for change” – it will require bold, committed action.</p>
<h2>My journey</h2>
<p>I’ve always been fascinated by mathematics and other sciences. At school in Kenya I found there was something about maths in particular that tapped into my innate ability to think logically. </p>
<p>Once I’d finished high school I registered for a degree with majors in Mathematics and Computer Science at <a href="http://www.kemu.ac.ke/">Kenya Methodist University</a>. The catch? I had never consistently used a computer before – my family, like <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/03/19/internet-seen-as-positive-influence-on-education-but-negative-influence-on-morality-in-emerging-and-developing-nations/technology-report-15/">most in East Africa</a>, didn’t have one at home. I had visited cyber cafes to send emails or browse the internet, but that was all.</p>
<p>I excelled as an undergraduate and an Honours student, but craved a new challenge that would push my limits. So I applied to Oxford University in the UK. One lost application form, a new form and a gruelling scholarship interview later, I was admitted for an MS.c in Computer Science at Oxford’s St Catherine’s College. </p>
<p>I was on cloud nine for several months, but then reality hit: during orientation and the first weeks of class, I had to learn UNIX – a multiuser computer operating system – from scratch, complete practical lab assignments within short periods, and adapt to a faster and more dynamic learning process than I was accustomed to. </p>
<p>My interactions with other friends attending Oxford and similar institutions, who had completed undergraduate degrees in Kenya, revealed that most of us had to work twice as hard to bring ourselves on par with our classmates. </p>
<p>It was a big lesson. Many of Kenya’s universities simply aren’t preparing their Computer Science students for the wider world. To many people in Kenya, a computer scientist is someone who knows all the ins and outs of a computer and can fix their friends’ mobile phones and laptops. To others, computer scientists are the people who build apps. This thinking suggests that computer science involves providing a technical solution to a technical problem.</p>
<p>Sadly, this means universities mainly produce technicians – not computer scientists who can solve real, complex socioeconomic problems.</p>
<p>This knowledge stayed with me while I pursued and completed a Ph.D in Computer Science at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. I was able to do this because of great mentorship and support, and came to realise how vital those elements will be to keep developing and producing computer scientists in Africa, particularly women.</p>
<h2>Inspirational women</h2>
<p>The good news is that there are many inspiring female computer scientists in and from Africa. As their public profiles grow, hopefully they’ll be able to inspire young women who might otherwise avoid computer science courses or think the field is only suitable for men. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159753/original/image-20170307-14966-1xa22hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159753/original/image-20170307-14966-1xa22hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159753/original/image-20170307-14966-1xa22hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159753/original/image-20170307-14966-1xa22hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159753/original/image-20170307-14966-1xa22hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159753/original/image-20170307-14966-1xa22hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159753/original/image-20170307-14966-1xa22hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159753/original/image-20170307-14966-1xa22hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author at an international convention for women in computing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of the women who inspire me include <a href="https://ke.linkedin.com/in/mercyorangi">Mercy Orangi</a> of Google Kenya. She’s got a stellar track record in mobile development and actively participates in initiatives that empower female computer science students. An amazing quartet of women established the <a href="http://wcs.cs.uct.ac.za/">Women in Computer Science Society</a> at the University of Cape Town: <a href="https://za.linkedin.com/in/imaculatemosha">Imaculate Mosha</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorgina-paihama-447a3979">Jorgina Paihama</a>, <a href="https://za.linkedin.com/in/maletsabisam">Maletsabisa Molapo</a> and <a href="https://za.linkedin.com/in/omowunmiisafiade">Omowumni Isafiade</a> are all inspirational. </p>
<p>Further afield, I’ve had the enviable chance to meet and listen to women at international platforms like the 2014 <a href="http://www2.ea.com/news/relive-the-2014-grace-hopper-celebration">Grace Hopper Convention</a>. I was among 8000 women in technology who attended. Professor <a href="http://people.csail.mit.edu/shafi/">Shafi Goldwasser</a>, who delivered the keynote address, is one of the few women who has received the <a href="http://amturing.acm.org/">ACM Turing Award</a>. This is one of the highest honours in Computer Science and technology.</p>
<p>All of these women – and many others – do remarkable work to drive conversation, offer support and <a href="https://theconversation.com/good-mentorship-has-the-power-to-unlock-university-students-potential-73280">mentorship</a> and get more women involved in computing. Their example should be followed by every woman who’s travelled the often rocky path to a computer science degree. Now, more than ever, we must be bold and we must become the doorways for young women to pursue their passion and interest in science, technology, engineering and maths.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73920/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Chao Mbogho does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are many inspiring female computer scientists in and from Africa. They have the power to inspire young women who might think that computer science is ‘only for men’.Dr. Chao Mbogho, Researcher and Lecturer of Computer Science, Mentor, Kenya Methodist UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/741152017-03-07T13:23:19Z2017-03-07T13:23:19ZAusterity isn’t working for everyone – especially women<p>Women have borne the brunt of government austerity policies since 2010. Cuts to spending on services and social security have a disproportionate gender impact because women rely more on these services, benefits and tax credits than men do. It is therefore ironic that the UK is set to announce another budget that will do little to redress the imbalance on International Women’s Day, a day when people across the world push for gender equality.</p>
<p>Cuts hit women harder because women are more likely to use public services, and more likely <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork">to work in the public sector</a>. They are more likely to do the unpaid work to compensate for cuts in services – such as caring for children or older family members – with consequences for their own employment and earnings. Benefits and tax credits constitute a larger share of women’s incomes due to their care-giving roles. Plus, it is indirectly detrimental for women, as caring causes greater risk of poverty <a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/4674/">over the course of someone’s life</a>. Therefore, rolling back the welfare state will reduce efforts to achieve gender equality. </p>
<p>At the same time the government has cut taxes in a way that <a href="http://wbg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/AFS2016_WBGreport_13Dec_final2.pdf">disproportionately benefits men</a>. For example, successive increases in income tax thresholds means that most of the £20 billion of annual tax revenue that will have been lost to the Treasury by 2020-21 will go to men, as they earn more than women. The other two big tax cuts have been the £13 billion of corporation tax rates cuts (the majority of shareholders and company directors are men) and the £9 billion freeze to fuel duties also benefit men as they drive longer distances than women.</p>
<h2>Impact assessment</h2>
<p>Under the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/review-of-public-sector-equality-duty-steering-group">Equality Act of 2010</a>, the Treasury is obliged to have “due regard” to the impact of its policies on equality. Yet it has repeatedly failed to publish meaningful analysis of tax and spending policies. It has been left to organisations like the Women’s Budget Group to carry out the sort of impact assessment that should be the responsibility of government. </p>
<p>Analysis by this group and Landman Economics <a href="http://wbg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/AFS2016_WBGreport_13Dec_final2.pdf">has shown</a> that women will be hit twice as hard as men by changes to fiscal policy since the then newly-elected Coalition budget of June 2010. Their analysis projects the impact of policies announced since 2010 to 2020, comparing net individual incomes by 2020 under these policies, against what these incomes would have been if the policies in place in March 2010 had continued. </p>
<p>It found that women would lose more income than men across the ten deciles of income distribution (as the chart below shows). Women in the second poorest group would, on average, lose up to £1,800 a year by 2020-21 from tax-benefit changes, equivalent to about 10% of their net income (in real terms, that is adjusted for inflation). And the poorest black and Asian women lose the most because they tend to have lower incomes and larger families – and so are more sensitive to cuts.</p>
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<p>If <a href="http://wbg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/AFS2016_WBGreport_13Dec_final2.pdf">cuts to public services</a> are added, lone mothers (who constitute 92% of lone parents) would lose almost £9,000 a year (in real terms), 18% of their standard of living, largely due to cuts to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/universal-credit-from-benefits-panacea-to-government-blunder-73008">Universal Credit</a> benefit payment, spending on schools and on childcare services. Single female pensioners are set to lose 10% of their standard of living – despite increases in their state pension – mainly due to cuts to social care funding.</p>
<p>So the Treasury is neither doing a great job at redressing gender inequalities in its control of the country’s finances, nor at redressing the finances altogether, since public debt is still forecast by the <a href="http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/data/">Office for Budget Responsibility</a> to keep rising as a proportion of GDP for several more years.</p>
<h2>A country that works for everyone?</h2>
<p>If the objective is really to build “a country that works for everyone”, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-true-size-of-theresa-mays-social-justice-challenge-66577">as Theresa May proposed</a> in her first speech as prime minister, then austerity policies need to be replaced by an expansionary plan. The government should invest public money in both physical and social infrastructure projects, including high-quality healthcare, child care, social care and education services. </p>
<p>This is not only necessary to sustain an economy (as the population relies on these services to reproduce itself and maintain or improve its quality of life), there is also <a href="http://www.levyinstitute.org/publications/investing-in-care">ample</a> <a href="http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/rpr_8_15.pdf">evidence</a> that it is economically efficient. It creates more jobs than equivalent investment in physical infrastructure, and more jobs for women. Unlike physical infrastructure projects, it also reduces women’s caring constraints to participate more in the labour market. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/investing-in-the-care-economy">recent study</a> for the International Trade Union Confederation showed that investing 2% of GDP in the care industry would create twice as many jobs compared to equivalent investment in construction. Moreover, in the mid-term (15 years down the line) public debt and deficits would be reduced more effectively through these kinds of expansionary policies than through austerity.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/main/__assets/working-paper-79.pdf">Research</a> also shows that if governments invested in high quality, free universal childcare, this would result in better childcare provision, higher tax revenue and a shift from spending on benefits to spending on public services. It would thereby achieve a triple objective of better paid and more secure jobs, reduced gender inequalities, and sufficient tax revenue.</p>
<p>Investing in public services and in a decent social protection system is the way to achieve a country that works for everyone. Equal opportunities, especially for women and disadvantaged groups, require a level playing field that the market and families cannot provide for themselves. A sustainable economy demands no less.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74115/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jerome De Henau is a full-time Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Open university. He is also affiliated with the Women's Budget Group (of which he is one of the co-chairs, in charge of policy analysis, a non-remunerated mandate). WBG is a not-for-profit organisation whose membership includes academics and campaigners, that aims at analysing the impact of government economic and fiscal policies on gender inequalities and make recommendations for redressing such inequalities.</span></em></p>Women have borne the brunt of government austerity policies since 2010.Jerome De Henau, Senior Lecturer in Economics, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/741882017-03-07T12:52:57Z2017-03-07T12:52:57ZI’m an ‘Essex girl’ – and here’s why such terms need to be dropped<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159755/original/image-20170307-14973-kwta8v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thanks for nothing OED.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy of ITV</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tasmania. It’s not at the ends of the Earth, but it was the last place I thought the pejorative term “<a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/essex-girl">Essex girl</a>” would find me. When my working-class Colchester childhood came up in conversation with an elderly male university lecturer, his sideways wink and lecherous grimace suggested that even at the southernmost tip of Australia one couldn’t escape the misogynistic connotation associated with the moniker.</p>
<p>With that one gesture I believed all the professional and academic credibility I’d established as a mature university student was peeled away. What was left was the imposter of a woman defined by the hostile double whammy of class and gender stereotypes.</p>
<p>Variously defined as an unintelligent, sexually promiscuous woman with garish fashion sense, lacking in social graces and standing, the term “Essex girl” prominently entered the lexicon in the late 20th century with the popularity of television shows such as Birds of a Feather and, later, The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159754/original/image-20170307-14976-11rdixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159754/original/image-20170307-14976-11rdixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159754/original/image-20170307-14976-11rdixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159754/original/image-20170307-14976-11rdixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159754/original/image-20170307-14976-11rdixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159754/original/image-20170307-14976-11rdixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159754/original/image-20170307-14976-11rdixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">TOWIE: how stereotypes become fixed in people’s minds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mr Pics/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While it could be said that the use of the term is “jovial”, the associated jokes and jibes underpin a misogynistic rhetoric descriptive of women who have social aspiration and mobility coupled with a command of their own sexuality. In isolation, these behaviours are often met with snobbery and derision but together they are perceived to deliver a dangerous cocktail of self mastery, rejection of social convention, independence and increasing consumer power.</p>
<p>Historically, women who stepped outside gender and (heaven forbid!) social convention were seen to be in need of discipline to reel in their behaviour. In a piece on the “Essex girl” phenomenon from 2001 – which just goes to show how long we’ve been putting up with this – Germaine Greer points out that forthright women are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/mar/05/gender">embedded in the fabric of Essex history</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Essex was always noted for its ducking stools and scolds’ bridles, and for “witches”, which is just another name for uncontrollable women.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One might suggest that the recent attempt to have the <a href="http://www.motherhub.co.uk/campaign/2016/10/6/i-am-an-essex-girl">term removed from the dictionary</a> is an overreaction to a “jovial” term that means little in reality. It isn’t.</p>
<h2>Words matter</h2>
<p>There is a body of research that identifies that discriminatory practices, particularly in the labour market, can be <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214435/rrep664.pdf">linked to residence and background</a>. The origin of an applicant can trigger bias, regardless of the stated skills and capacities outlined in written applications. It follows, then, that similar overt discriminatory practices may be applied to women who carry with them a negative “Essex girl” stereotype simply by virtue of their background or residence. While overt discrimination of this nature may, on occasion and with evidence, be challenged, it is the implicit bias (unconscious, first thoughts and actions) that terms such as “Essex girl” perpetuate. This is far more insidious.</p>
<p>Language is a magical and powerful thing. It gives us the capacity to manifest thoughts and ideas, and to develop a shared meaning. Words are <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19487021">invested with value and intent</a>. If one is aware of the disparaging definition of a term such as “Essex girl” then the characteristics will be applied to the individual to whom it is directed. The stereotype allows us to quickly, and often erroneously, apply understanding about an individual based on a few selected characteristics. That understanding then informs thinking and behaviour.</p>
<p>Work undertaken by <a href="http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2164/3526/Martin_PS_inpress.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">Dr Doug Martin and colleagues</a> suggests that as stereotypes become used more frequently, attributes become more polarised. They deliver meaning that is far more binary – good/bad, positive/negative. The highly simplified bits of information invested in terms such as “Essex girl” become more readily identifiable and entrenched.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"816994683117273089"}"></div></p>
<p>In the instant that lecturer leered and winked, the unstated meaning of the term was shared. By virtue of my social and geographical background I was no longer an educated professional woman undertaking a university education, I was a promiscuous bimbo reaching above my station and disparaged for seeking social mobility. I felt belittled and aggrieved. The words had allowed him to put me “back in my place” and, while it may be said that it was not his intent, that was the result. If I had come from Oxford, say, I doubt his behaviour would have been the same.</p>
<p>As International Women’s Day rolls around again, we are offered an opportunity to reflect on how women fit into the world, our achievements, contributions and our future.</p>
<p>Invariably we will see reports about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/datablog/2016/nov/10/equal-pay-day-how-the-uks-gender-gap-in-earnings-has-shifted-over-the-years">the gender gap</a>, and the continued lack of female representation in certain areas of society (in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/mar/25/all-time-high-uk-women-boardroom-members">boardroom</a>, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/women-underrepresented-at-all-levels-in-british-politics-9695320.html">in politics</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/women-leadership-blog/2014/oct/20/women-science-engineering-under-representation">in the sciences</a>, for example), and we will make a case as to why, as a community, we need to keep discussing and questioning the status quo. </p>
<p>If we are to make more rapid advances towards equality in pay and status, we need to retire the idea that terms such as “Essex girl” are only meant in jest. Continuing to entertain the use of erroneous and disparaging terms such as this only perpetuates the bias and hostility.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74188/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Theresa Simpkin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time we retired this misogynistic stereotype.Theresa Simpkin, Senior Lecturer, Leadership and Corporate Education, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.