Feminist swear words, political gender battles, sex for favours, men that rape, ANC Women’s League, global development, the internet and sex rights, women in leadership, and catcalling – All you need to read this morning in ten easy posts. Continue reading
Tagged with politics …
Say Yes to the Dress?
Kameel Premhid considers the arguments for judging Thandile Sunduza’s fashion sense at the State of the Nation Address last week. Some of the more amusing arguments have included: (a) that she was being criticised for her choice of fashion against an objective standard – not that she was female; and (b) that being an MP means she is expected to set an example and her choice, which was an allegedly poor one, made criticising her fair game. Kameel finds these both wanting. Continue reading
Elections Analysis: The Freedom Front Plus
Claire Martens takes a look at the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) in the seventh installation in our election analysis series Continue reading
Rape as a mere political smear campaign
In a matter of days Zwelinzima Vavi was accused of rape and had the charges against him dropped. Athambile Masola is not surprised by this spectacle. What makes her concerned is the question of a rape accusation being simply attributed as a ploy in politics. How can we take rape seriously in this country if women’s bodies are constantly being used as bait in a political game? Continue reading
CGE to take action on gender in the judiciary
A Commission of Inquiry will be held in Pretoria on 24th and 25th July in order to address the paucity of women in the judiciary. The Inquiry comes as the result of a complaint lodged by the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit (DGRU) of UCT and Sonke Gender Justice in October 2012 to the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE). The two organisations cited the President, the Office of the Chief Justice the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), and the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development as respondents. One of their primary requests was that the CGE investigate what appears to be gender discrimination in the appointment of judicial officers. After an eight-month wait, an inquiry has finally been called.
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We should all care about sexism
Kameel Premhid argues that the denigration of Lindiwe Mazibuko is a sick illustration of how those at the very top are chauvinistic, misogynists. The women too! Continue reading
Dear John
An anonymous letter was sent to FeministsSA criticising John Jeffery for the offensive comments he made in the Parliamentary Budget vote on 11 June. Continue reading
What the Iron Lady taught us
Tammy Sutherns weighs in on the debate about whether Margaret Thatcher was a good role model for women. Continue reading
Becoming a feminist
Sona Mahendra discusses some of the things that made her begin to self-identify as a feminist, and some of the challenges the movement still faces. Continue reading
The Great Wall of Vagina
The last fortnight has seen a new wave of interest and debate around genitals. Mostly about the genitals of men. Mostly about the role of genitals in African culture. It seemed fitting then, that this was the weekend I had set aside to make my pilgrimage from South London up to Mayfair to see the Great Wall of Vagina. Continue reading
