Irina Bokova will become first woman to lead UNESCO

Just last week, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) voted in Irina Bokova as the new head of the organization, The Guardian reports. Though the organization is 64 years old (according to the UNESCO website), Irina will be both the first woman and first Eastern European to lead the organization,

The opposition candidate, Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny, had been the favorite until critics pointed out Egypt's history of censorship and a comment Hosny had made about burning Israeli books that insulted Islam, the The Huffington Post reported.

Some Egyptians considered the opposition to Hosny as anti-Muslim and anti-Egyptian; others, however, blame Hosny for stifling the Egyptian cultural scene and consider him far too dictatorial (as reported by the Huffington Post)

Bokova is currently the Bulgarian foreign minister to France, and helped Bugaria enter the European Union. (Guardian reports.) Her resume is extremely impressive; she is fluent in four languages (English, Russian, Spanish, and French), and helped draft the Bulgarian constitution, among many other achievements (resume available at her personal website) She intends to get UNESCO more involved in the international talks about "hot topics" such as global warming and solving the international financial crisis (reported the Huffington Post)

photocredit: amirjina on Flickr

Newsday Tuesday: June 30 Edition

This week was definitely a sad week in the world of entertainment. On Tuesday, we lost TV personality and Tonight Show announcer Ed McMahon, 86, to bone cancer and pneumonia.

The following Thursday, both actress Farrah Fawcett, 62, and "King of Pop" Micheal Jackson, 50, passed away. Fawcett was battling anal cancer and known best for her role in the 1970s TV show Charlie's Angels. Jackson, who's death is still under investigation, is the pop phenomenon who has sold more albums than any other artist, including his biggest hit "Thriller," and has had a career that has spanned over 4 decades.

Then last Sunday, Billy Mays, 50, was found dead in his home, apparently due to a heart condition. Mays's claim to fame is as spokesperson for such products as "OxiClean," "Orange-Glo," and other household products. All of these people will be very missed and their impact on the entertainment community will not be forgotten.

Back to the world of feminism, a lot has been going on. So lets get a quick recap of the highlights for the week.

Education
Last Tuesday, on the 37th anniversary of Title IX, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that millions of dollars in grants will be awarded to improve girls' proficiency in math and science.

Neera Desai, PhD, a pioneer of women's studies in India, died of cancer at age 84 this week. Dr. Desai founded India's first women's studies program, the Research Center for Women's Studies at SNDT Women's University in Mumbai.

National
Vice President Joe Biden announced the appointment of Lynn Rosenthal as the first ever White House Advisor on Violence Against Women last Friday (which our president, Ellie Smeal, was in attendance of). Vice President Biden is a strong advocate for fighting domestic violence, as he co-authored the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the strip-search of 13-year old student Savana Redding at her Arizona public school was unconstitutional. Redding was accused of bringing ibuprofen to school, which is banned under the school's drug policy. The school's principal sent her to the nurse's office, where she was stripped down to her bra and underpants. The Court ruled that Redding's Fourth Amendment rights had been violated.

On Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee urging passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The bill, which passed in the House in April, would allow for "federal prosecution of violence undertaken because of the actual or perceived gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity of any person."

States
Virginia - A 2008 court decision which declared unconstitutional a Virginia ban on a specific abortion procedure was overturned Thursday in a split 6 to 5 decision.

Arizona - The Arizona State Senate on Thursday passed a restrictive anti-choice bill that requires minors to receive notarized parental consent prior to an abortion.

Africa
A lawsuit is being filed against the Namibian government as at least fifteen HIV-positive women were forcibly sterilized. The International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS has documented cases that indicate that the women were coerced into signing documents consenting to their sterilization.

Following a failed prison break where 20 women were brutally raped in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) late Sunday, it is apparent that rape is being used as a weapon of war more and more in the Congo. Since the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began in 1998, tens of thousands of women and girls have been raped in sexual violence widely viewed to be a war tactic

Iran
Women are starting to play a major role in the public uprising after the Irani elections several weeks ago. Several U.S. reporters are arguing that women's increased role in politics is making women more of a major factor in the current political arena. This is also causing the needs and interests of women to become more and more important on the political agenda.

Media
L'Oreal was found guilty this week of racial discrimination in hiring by France's highest court. The suit claimed that L'Oreal employees were told to look for "BBR" women – a common euphemism used to describe white French people of white French descent. The company has been fined €30,000 and is required to pay an additional €30,000 to SOS Racisme, an anti-racism group who helped to bring the suit. Read more about this in a past blog post.

Rumblings in the Palmetto State

It looks like things are shaking up in South Carolina!

It appears the bill requiring a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion may not make it through the Senate before the session comes to a close this week! Could this finally be a win for women in South Carolina?

And do I dare to hope that Carolina's failing schools may finally get some much needed funding? With threats to veto the $350 million in stimulus funds intended to help address SC's failing schools and sky-rocketing unemployment (second highest in the nation), Governor Mark Sanford just may find himself in the court room with an unlikely foe. Chapin High School senior, Casey Edwards, who previously filed suit against Sanford in April, is ready to take Governor Sanford back to the state Supreme Court if he decides to veto the stimulus money. Way to take it to the man, Casey!



Update: Gov. Sanford used his veto pen yesterday on the budget and it looks like things may be heading to the state Supreme Court. Get ready for the fireworks!

The cost of an education in Afghanistan

Since 1996 the Feminist Majority Foundation has worked to create awareness and action in response to the conditions of women and girls in Afghanistan. As we have known for many years, the conditions for all in Afghanistan, especially women and girls, have greatly deteriorated and demand a return to outrage and calls for action.

I am particularly disgusted by the attacks on young Afghan girls who seek an education. In addition to endless intimidation and threats, extremists have resorted to acid attacks and, most recently poisoning of 61 girls yesterday and an additional 84 young Afghan school girls today.

During the rule of the Taliban regime, Afghan girls were not allowed to attend school to receive an education, resulting in generations of illiteracy and lost promise. A recent Newsweek article tells of the great danger that has come with this new found opportunity.

The Afghanistan Ministry of Education says that 458 government schools (mostly in the south) are closed due to threats of violence, leaving 400,000 boys and girls at home. In the 2008 school year alone—from March 2008 to March 2009—22 students and teachers were injured (including a November acid attack that left 15 girls and teachers scarred in Kandahar province). Another 33 were killed, a ministry spokesperson reports.

In Home-Schooling, Sadiqa Basiri Saleem, a young Afghan woman, tells of her seven-year struggle to create schools for young girls in rural Afghanistan. Despite the dangers for all, students and teachers continue to come to the make-shift schools in the homes of private citizens with hopes of a brighter future for all of Afghanistan. I can only hope that it is a future that values the contributions and worth of women and girls.

Photo credit: Newsweek, Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Women in Science - NASA's Jill McGuire

Every morning, the DC metro area National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate, WAMU, is what wakes me up when my alarm clock radio goes off. As a result, the other organizers have grown accustomed to me relating the little tidbits I learn every morning. "This morning on NPR there was this really interesting story on (insert factoid, current event, local politics, etc. here)..."

Well. My feminist self got a thrill yesterday morning, as I stumbled around my apartment getting ready. I was listening to a story about preparations being made for a repair mission to the Hubble Telescope, and how they need all these various special tools to repair the aging telescope in zero g's, extreme temps, etc. Come to find out, the manager of the team that creates all these clever gizmos and gadgets is a woman named Jill McGuire!

So I started thinking about something we don't talk about enough - Women (and Girls!) in STEM fields - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Though these fields have been non-traditionally 'female' sectors, there's been some promising growth in recent years. Thanks to some friends at AAUW, I drummed up some research and information I'd like to share!

Some stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show differences in participation between women and men among some related categories: in computer and mathematical occupations, women make up only 24.8% of jobs in that field. Architecture and engineering is even lower, with women holding only 13.5% of jobs. In life, physical, and social science occupations, women seem to be doing better at 46.1%, although there are considerable differences within that category.

Fortunately, some progress has been made. From 1985-2005, the percentage of women earning degrees in STEM fields increased in nearly every category, with the exception of computer science.

It's really great to see women breaking into new fields and taking leadership there - whether it's at NASA or in your high school physics lab! If you're a woman in a STEM field, please comment below about your experience.

If you're interested in learning more about Women in STEM, AAUW and their partners are collaborating on the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) to bring together organizations that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Definitely check it out and forward the information on to any people or programs you know that might be interested!

Thanks so much to Nicole Callahan and the other folks at AAUW for all their help with collecting some information for this post.