No name

You can filter the displayed publications by language
North, Annah, How abortion became a partisan issue in America, , 10/04/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Examines the evolution of the abortion debate since 1970s; the polarization of Republicans and Democrats, and the grassroots movements that have developed through the years.

See also https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/opinion/abortion-roe-science.html

Mesones, Rojo, It’s So Hard to Be a Feminist in Venezuela, , 09/12/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Describes the feminist revolt in Caracas, Venezuela, seeking to bring attention to gender-based violence, and highlight the lack of statistics on femicides (which have not been updated since 2013) and the current obstacles to Venezuelan feminism.

Samanga, Rufaro, Kenyan students launch #CampusMeToo movement on University of Nairobi Campus, , 09/11/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Brief account of the emergence of #CampusMeToo movement in 2019, which aims to tackle the sexual harassment of students on Kenyan university campuses. The movement arose after ActionAid and UN Women teamed up and conducted a survey which reportedly found that 1 in 2 female students and 1 in 4 male students have been sexually harassed to some degree by staff at Kenyan universities. 

See also https://www.nation.co.ke/Students-campaign-to-end-sexual-harassment-in-varsities/1148-5370260-14wikij/index.html

Galindo, Jimena; Gaytan, Victoria, Latin America and the Caribbean’s grievous femicide case, , 09/11/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Highlights the evidence that in 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean at least 3,529 women were victims of femicide in 2018. According to the report by ECLAC, the five countries with the highest rates of femicide in Latin America are: El Salvador (6.8 femicides per 100,000 women), Honduras (5.1), Bolivia (2.3), Guatemala (2.0) and the Dominican Republic (1.9). In the Caribbean, Guyana leads with 8.8 femicides per 100,000 women, followed by Saint Lucia (4.4), Trinidad and Tobago (3.4), Barbados (3.4), and Belize (2.6).

Graham-Harrison, Emma; Garside, Juliette, The China Cables, , 09/11/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Articles based on a major leak of Chinese Communist Party documents from 2017 revealing the all-embracing surveillance system in the Xinjiang region and the mass incarceration of the Uighurs.  Publication in November 2019 was part of an internationally coordinated release of the leaked papers through the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

See also: https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/china-cables-who-are-the-uighurs-and-why-mass-detention/ and  https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/panorama-china-cables, which also reveals how  Australian citizens from Muslim minorities in Xinjiang were targeted for surveillance by the Chinese authorities as part of a policy involving  deportation or detention of foreign passport holders.

See also: Kuo, Lily, 'How Beijing is Quietly Razing the Mosques of Xinjiang', Guardian Weekly, 17 May, 2019, pp.26-27.

Reports on a Guardian and Bellingcat investigation that discovered the systematic destruction of mosques and shrines since 2016.

, Iran: More than 100 protesters Believed to be Killed as Top Officials Give Green Light to Crush Protests, Amnesty International, 2019

Amnesty issued this early condemnation of regime violence against 'verified video footage', eyewitness reports and other information on the 'excessive and often lethal force' used to crush largely peaceful protests in over 100 cities. Amnesty also notes the role of security forces in seizing the bodies of the dead, or compelling relatives to bury protesters without an autopsy, as well as the internet shutdown imposed by the regime.

See also: Human Rights Watch, 'Iran: No Justice for Bloody Clampdown', 25 February, 2020, pp. 18.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/25/iran-no-justice-bloody-crackdown

This lengthy report, written after the mass demonstrations had been crushed, provides information about protests, and the authorities' response, in different provinces. It also indicates the difficulty of getting precise figures for deaths (estimated at a minimum of 304) and imprisonments (about 7,000 according to one member of parliament), given the closing down of the internet and regime threats to families.

Iyorah, Festus, How young Nigerians are challenging sexual assault in the Church, , 09/09/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Report on the origin of the #ChurchToo movement in Nigeria to shed light on and challenge sexual assaults perpetrate by the clergy. 

See also http://africanfeminism.com/churchtoo-confronting-the-last-bastion-of-patriarchy/

Al-Rasheed, Madawi, Finally Saudi women can travel solo – but progress is still fragile, , 09/08/2019 pp. smaller than 0

This article assesses women’s progress in Saudi Arabia since the lifting of the driving ban in 2018, and reports on the official decision to grant women passports to travel abroad without a male guardian’s consent. This is a step towards reversing the deprivation of women’s legal, political and human rights unique to Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi version of Islam as interpreted by conservative clerics.  But women still cannot marry, or leave domestic violence shelters or prison without a male relative’s consent.  Moreover, Al Rasheed notes, prominent feminist activists had been imprisoned.  However, Saudi feminists are still discreetly and effectively engaging within civil society to help women.

See also ‘Women in Saudi Arabia: Changing the Guard’, Economist, 20 July 2019, p.42.

Reports official plans to lift some restrictions on women, but also notes fears that a right to travel would increase the number of women fleeing abroad and seeking asylum.  The article contextualises possible reforms to free women in the conflicting politics of liberalisation and repression being practised by the Crown Prince.

Woldermariam, Michael; Young, Alden, What Happens in Sudan Doesn’t Stay in Sudan, , 09/07/2019 pp. smaller than 0

This is a political analysis of the possible ramifications of the Sudanese revolution across the Horn of Africa.

Barkham, Patrick, Can planting billions of trees save the planet?, , 09/06/2019 , pp. 10-11

Barkham notes the major potential value of reforestation to limit global warming and preserve biodiversity as well as local economic benefits. But he also stresses the dangers of ignoring the importance of planting local species or relying on technologies that may require minerals under old forests. His article focuses on the role of the 'TreeSisters' charity founded in 2014, which funds tree planting in India, Nepal, Brazil, Kenya, Cameroon and Madagascar. In Madagascar the focus is partly on replanting lost mangroves (providing multiple environmental benefits).

Wasser, Miriam, Timeline: The 52-year history of the Pilgrim nuclear plant, , 09/05/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Article and audio defining important moments of the history of the Pilgrim nuclear energy plant, located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, from 1967, when it was built by the Boston Edison Company, up to 2019, when it shut down thanks to year of anti-nuclear activism and legal fighting against re-licensing the plant.

See also https://medium.com/binj-reports/pilgrims-50-years-of-anti-nuclear-mass-an-oral-history-8ea2a4624610

Howard, Emma, The Rise and Rise of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement, , 09/05/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Reports that since US climate activist Bill McKibben and 350.org launched the divestment in fossil fuels campaign in 2012, over 220 institutions such as universities, local authorities and pension funds, have divested from some fossil fuels. So have foundations, notably the Rockefeller Brothers' Fund in 2014. The 'Fossil Free' campaign was launched in the UK in 2013, and grew more rapidly than earlier divestment campaigns against the tobacco industry and apartheid in South Africa. Howard also hails divestment by the World Council of Churches in 2014 and reports that the UN body coordinating agreement on climate change backed divestment in March 2015.

See also: Carlyle, Gabriel, 'Ducks, Direct Action and Investment', Peace News, June-July 2018, p.17.

Account of second Fossil Free UK national gathering, including examples of some campaigning and organizing experiences revealed there. The article also provides background on the rapidly growing global movement and the 880 institutions that had by then committed to some divestment from fossil fuels.

, Uber Drivers of the World, Unite, , 09/04/2019 pp. smaller than 0

This article, drawing on material from the online socialist publication Notes from Below, focuses on the increasing reliance of capitalism today, with the growth of internet retail and the 'gig' economy, on transnational supply chains, and migrant workers. It starts by noting the disruptive effects of the French 'Yellow Vests' demonstrations blocking roundabouts on such chains. It also comments on how Italian grass roots unions Si Cobas and ADL have since 2008 used strikes and blockades to target the chain of distribution centres., leading  to the arrest of the national coordinator of Si Cobas in 2017, and how workers in Amazon distribution centres in Italy, Spain and Germany have coordinated strike action. Concludes by noting how Uber drivers, mostly migrants, communicating via mobile phones have coordinated resistance. (See 'The wave of worker resistance in European food platforms 2016-7', Notes from Below, Jan 2018, nin.tl/FoodPlatforms) 

Quiroz, Nelson, A most feminist year: how female voices were heard in Chile, , 09/03/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Highlights the rapid rise of a new wave of feminism in Chile thanks to students’ demonstrations across the country aiming at tackling femicide and impunity.

, Blessed are the Peacemakers: Military service in South Korea, , 09/02/2019 , pp. 48-48

This article was prompted by the Supreme Court's ruling in November 2018 that refusing to accept 21-14 months of military service for religious or conscientious reasons would no longer be a crime (overturning its own earlier 2003 ruling). The author notes that the small number of past objectors have usually been Jehovah's Witnesses, and that courts would in future judge the sincerity of pacifist convictions which they might reject, and that, if CO status were accepted, three years alternative service as a prison guard was required.  But recognition of the right to be a CO makes it a more socially acceptable position, and might also help to mitigate the harsh conditions of military service.

Iricibar, Valentina, Campaigners demand action after January surge in femicide, , 09/02/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Report on the initiative of the Argentinian feminist organisation ‘Mujeres de la Matria Latinoamericana’ (MuMaLá) to call on the government to declare a national emergency after 27 confirmed femicides occurred between January and February 2019. The organisation has also submitted a petition highlighting the educational and legislative steps to take in order to reduce this form of violence. 

Wadhwa, tanya, Massive mobilizations against femicides across Latina America and Caribbean, , 09/02/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Reports on three major Latin American countries, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico that witnessed mobilizations against femicide and gender-based crimes in February 2019 comments also on the social and human rights organisations that are demonstrating against gender-based violence.

Hoellerbauer, Simon, Armenia and the Velvet Revolution: The Merits and Flaws of a Protest-based Civil Society, Foreign Policy Research institute , 09/02/2019 pp. smaller than 0

The author argues that comparison with the 'Colour Revolutions' are misleading since these were promoted by civil society organizations and opposition parties and focused on regime distortion of elections. Success in Armenia did demonstrate the power of civil society, but relied on 'grassroots organizing via social media' rather than on official NGOs, which are widely distrusted. The 2018 revolution drew on experience of earlier protests focused on limited issues. Hoellerbauer also speculates about future prospects for democracy under Pashinyan without a strong civil society to hold him accountable, and in the light of Armenia's dependence on Russia and the problem of the 'frozen conflict' over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Tsihsekedi, A., Stop the DSEI Arms Fair Report, rs21, 2019

A member of Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants gives an account of the varied protests, including  nonviolent direct action, and cultural events, that challenged the Arms Fair which exhibits the most recent range of weapons to thousands of potential buyers every two years in east London. A wide range of groups took part in the week-long resistance to the arms fair - Day 7 focused on borders and migration, noting how the weapons on display helped to displace many people.

McCurry, Justin, Shiori Ito, symbol’s of Japan’s MeToo movement, wins rape lawsuit damages, , 08/12/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Japanese journalist Shiori Ito was awarded damages after publicly accusing Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a famous TV presenter, of rape in 2017. Her case became a symbol of Japan’s MeToo movement and of the country’s failure to investigate allegations of rape and sexual assaults. After Shiori Ito went public, the documentary ‘Japan’s Secret Shame’ was released by the BBC, covering violence towards women, and structural inequality and discrimination against women in Japan, as well as on her individual case.

Wu, Jin; Lai, Rebecca; Yuhas, Alan, Six Months of Hong Kong Protests: How Did We Get Here?, , 08/11/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Examines how nonviolent marches and rallies against the Extradition Bill developed into more militant protest and violent clashes after repressive use of police tactics, and how the protesters extended their political agenda to demand wider political reforms and police accountability.

Eltantawy, Nahed, In Egypt, the Me Too Movement Is Falling Short, , 08/11/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Nahed Eltantawy discusses the influence ‘MeToo’ had on the anti-sexual harassment movement in Egypt and the women-led initiatives that occurred consequently.

Watts, Jonathan; Taylor, Matthew, Special Issue, , 08/10/2019 , pp. 11-16

A Special Investigation by Matthew Taylor and Jonathan Watts on the role of fossil fuel companies in promoting the climate crisis. Includes list of the 'top five global polluters': Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia; Chevron, US; Gazprom, Russia; ExxonMobil, US; National Iranian Oil Co.

Svetlova, Ksenia, Rising from ashes of Arab Spring, women lead a first Muslim feminist revolution, , 08/07/2019 pp. smaller than 0

Highlights important challenges that women face in the Kurdish part of Syria; Tunisia; Morocco; Egypt; and the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

Hawari, Yara, The political marginalization of Palestinian women in the West Bank, , 08/07/2019 pp. smaller than 0

While Palestinian women have always faced political marginalization, developments since the Oslo Accords have caused them to endure perhaps even more formidable challenges when it comes to political participation. Al-Shabaka Palestine Policy Fellow, Yara Hawari outlines these challenges and recommends ways for Palestinian women and society to disrupt this process and revitalize the Palestinian liberation struggle through feminism. 

See also: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/israel-absolved-palestinian-women-rights-abuse-190308090710113.html

Pages