Allow me to introduce myself

10 fun facts about Bie Aweh:

1.) Senior Political Science and Women Studies double major with a minor in Race, Culture, and Power

2.) Born and raised in Boston and I am Haitian and Cameroonian

3.) I have an identical twin


4.) Huge Boston Celtics fan/Ray Allen


5.) First Concert: Prince or the "Artist formally known as Prince"

6.) Favorite movie: Kings of Comedy

7.) Favorite book: Sleep Toward Heaven

8.) My inspiration: God, my parents, Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, Francis E.W Harper, Nikki Giovanni and the list goes on!

9.) Proudest moment :Having dinner with Nikki Giovanni

10.) Sparking moment: I realized I was a feminist first semester of freshmen year.

My feminism:

I am developing my feminism every day and each day I am introduced to something new that give more meaning to being a feminist. In feminism I am interested in the progress of women of color and LGBTQ people, more specifically transgender women. These two groups have played the role of the “outsider within” in feminism, they are marginalized because they are women but further marginalized because of their gender identity and race. I am also interested in prisoner rights for women, including abortion and overall reproductive health. Lastly I have a strong interest in women in developing nations.

Summer goals with the FMF:

My goal this summer is to rally around the FMF's mission to empower women and young girls everywhere. It is important to equip these women with the knowledge and resources they need to combat the oppressive regimes that exists in the world and become agents for change.

AZ Court rules in favor of inmates' abortion rights

An Arizona judge ordered Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio to end a requirement for inmates to prepay transportation and security costs prior to obtaining an abortion. A 2005 lawsuit struck down the Arpaio's policy of prohibiting jail officials from transporting a prisoner for an abortion without a court order. However, Arpaio allegedly began requiring women to pre-pay for security and transportation costs associated with acquiring an abortion.

Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arizona, said in a statement, "The courts have already confirmed that Arizona prison officials cannot put up roadblocks to abortion care simply because they do not agree with the decision to end a pregnancy...It is time for Sheriff Arpaio to stop wasting taxpayer dollars to impose his own morality on women in his jails and to start upholding the law."

The original policy that required a court order to access an abortion was challenged by an inmate in 2004. The ACLU sued and won on behalf of the women, "confirm[ing] [their] position that Arizona prison officials cannot ignore the medical needs of prisoners simply because they do not agree with the decision to end a pregnancy." As part of the settlement, the sheriff agreed to allow female inmates access to have safe, timely, and legal abortions. The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal of the case in 2008.

According to the Washington Independent, it is likely that Sheriff Arpaio will appeal the ruling.

Source: Feminist News

Photo Credit: Tim Pearce, Los Gatos on flickr.com