TAG: sexual politics

UN: Victory for LGBT Rights

A close vote on November 21, 2016, by a United Nations General Assembly committee affirming that the newly appointed UN expert to address violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity should continue his work is a victory for human rights, Human Rights Watch said today.

Ethiopian feminist movements and the role of Setaweet

Does Ethiopia have an organized feminist movement? Yes. But its performance has been mixed. Unless deliberate, consciously sustained and strategic steps are taken at the level of institution building, resource allocation and leadership, gender equality may take another 100 years to be achieved. A strong women’s movement is indispensable to catalyze change.

Making transgender murder victims visible

In the three months following the divisive UK referendum that resulted in a decision to withdraw from the European Union, many more incidences of attacks upon ethnic and religious minorities were reported than during the months before. However, many claim that the reporting by anti-violence charity GALOP of a 147 per cent spike in hate […]

Trump’s victory: a preliminary cartography

From the SPW perspective, Trump arrival to power is just another chapter in a chain of conservative restorations sweeping world politics in recent years of which the demise of the Arab spring in vortex of wars and dictatorship followed by the 2014 election of the BJP in India can be eventually considered the starting points.

Nigeria: Harsh Law’s Severe Impact on LGBT Community

(Banjul) – Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013 (SSMPA) has made a bad situation much worse for Nigeria’s beleaguered lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The law has led to an increase in extortion and violence against LGBT people and imposed restrictions on nongovernmental […]

Understanding and resisting Trump: a wide range of views

Donald Trump, after defeating Hillary Clinton in an extremely polarized election, will be the 45th President of the United States. This result prompted visceral and resounding reactions from news media, scholars, social movements, and numerous other voices across the world. Much of this reaction has been driven by surprise, despair and horror. Even so, the […]

UN and wonder woman: an ambassador?

The United Nations has chosen Wonder Woman as its honorary ambassador for “the empowerment of women and girls” on the 75th anniversary of her first appearance. The decision was received with critics and prompted disgust among feminist movements. SPW has collected some of the analysis on the event. Wonder Woman announced as UN ambassador amid […]

New Orleans prostitutes: 1912

Portrait photography is a work of collaboration. These women are posing as they want to be seen—wearing furs or prized clothes, smiling with a pet dog, lying like one of Henri Matisse’s odalisques, or playing cards. The images are considered and composed. Other than that, we know very little about E. J. Bellocq and the women he photographed.

Sex, gender and far right’s global attack

In fact, “gender ideology” is an invention of the right. It’s a hodgepodge of disparate ideas developed by a diverse group of thinkers over the past 50 years, linked mainly in the minds of its opponents. It doesn’t really exist beyond its creators’ manifestos and protest banners, but it’s already helped them score some very real victories.

What Led To The Decline Of The Matrilineal Society In Kerala?

Kerala is an enigma. With its high social indices of literacy, sex ratio and low female infanticides, it projects the image of a progressive state, one way ahead of the others. But ask the women who actually live there and they will have a different story to tell.

Laos: unsafe abortion practical guideline

The following statement was made by Prof Dr Bounkong Sihavong, the Minister of Health of Lao PDR, at a presentation of this guideline in Vientiane Maternal mortality in Lao PDR is high in comparison with neighbouring countries in South East Asia such as Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Deaths mostly occur in rural and remote areas […]

Armenia: Changes in the law on abortion

A number of changes were made in the Law (Article 10) covering abortion. The amended version of the law has been signed by the President and came into force from 6 August 2016. The objectives of the amendments were as follows: – Sex-selective abortions are prohibited by law (such a provision was not included in […]