Women’s Voices and the Media

 

Speakers at our program “Women’s Voices and the Media,” July 1, 2016:

        

Martha Allen
Director of WIFP
Welcome and Introduction

Natasha Mirza
Understanding Rape Culture

The term “Rape Culture” is a popular buzzword today for political pundits and online commentators alike. Rape Culture affects every facet of the society we live in, from our television and film industry to our legislative and judicial processes. However, it is poorly understood and often misinterpreted as an empty and deliberately provocative phrase. In order to truly combat the toxic effects of a Rape Culture society we must first understa
nd its impact.

Bio: Natasha Mirza is a 21 year old student at the University of Virginia. Born in London, England, she completed her Associates at Northern Virginia Community College with an Honors degree in Liberal Arts. She is a rising fourth year student at UVA where she majors in English and she plans to continue working on behalf of the Minority Rights Coalition as a contributor to the
school newspaper “The Cavalier Daily”. She hopes to pursue a career in women’s rights advocacy and international journalism.

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Majd al Waheidi
Beyond the Struggle

Women in Gaza have never had an easy life but the summer war in 2014 has made the situation even worse. The news usually say most of those who died in wars are women and children, but we do not hear their individual stories. Today Majd al Waheidi will introduce us to the real lives of women in this area.

Bio: Majd al Waheidi is the New York Time’s Gaza based reporter, and regularly breaks important and exclusive stories. She also works as a freelance correspondent for Channel News Asia that broadcasts from Singapore. She works hard to and human interest stories in a place that struggles from siege and constant hardships and opinions that are fed more by propaganda than reliable information. Like most of the people in Gaza, she is the descendant of refugees, but likes to define herself as a global nomad. Majd has lived through three wars in the last 6 years, and covered the last one, known as Operation Protective Edge, in 2014 for several international TV channels.

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Lucy Lu
The Lack of Women’s Representation in Politics and How to Improve It

In 2016 women across most developed and developing countries remain signifi- cantly underrepresented in politics both as voters and as leaders. Women constitute half of the world’s population and therefore it is crucial that they have equal participation and representation in world democracies.

 

Bio: Lucy Lu is a rising junior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Sociology and Studio Art at Marist College. She grew up in Beijing, China then moved to New York for school. She has also studied in Florence, Italy for a year. Lucy is passionate about social issues especially those regarding human rights and social justice. She hopes to pursue a future career in international relations.

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Briawna Gillespie
The Voice Behind the Tag

Fashion is something that we are all consumed by and play a role in. However, when it comes to knowing The Voice Behind the Tag we as consumers are not very aware. Women in the garment industry in Bangladesh are being killed and not being heard. It is time to see how media can bring their stories to light to change the consumer world so that these women’s voices are not devalued.

 

Bio: Briawna is a current graduate student at the University of San Francisco studying International Studies/Relations. Bri has a bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University in International Studies with a minor in Theatre. She has also lived/studied in France and speaks French. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Bri hopes to continue to travel, learn and be inspired by the world and hopes to pursue a career in Human Rights Law.

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Angela Sisson
The Resurgence of Self-Publishing in Print Media

In the past few years the influence of print media has been reemerging in a society that is nearly exclusively digital. Marginilized communities (young women in particular) have been using print media and self-publishing to promote their own voices by employing a sense of gravitas that is often
lacking in online spaces.

 

Bio: Angelica Sisson is a rising senior at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. studying Greek, Latin, and Philosophy. She is the news editor and copy editor for her university’s paper as well as the head copy editor for her school’s undergraduate research journal.

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Anna Gabar
The Effects of a Conflict on the Gender Roles in the Society

Israeli society has been dealing with many issues because of its long term involvement in a violent conflict. This conflict shapes many social norms, one of which is the gender roles in the society. Israeli women serve in the military making them equal to men in many ways, but on the other hand, the dynamic that is created there is still very much gendered. 

Bio: Anna Garbar is a 25-year-old Israeli student in her final year of her B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Haifa. She is passionate about politics, and specically international relations. In her opinion, the field of International Relation is starving for a feminist perspective. It has been a male dominated field for far too long. Her interest in women’s voices in conflicts comes from her connection to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Being an Israeli, it is important to her to stress that a solution can come from raising the voices of women who are affected by it, since a real change has to be done both from bottom to top as well as from top to bottom.