Women's Institute for
Freedom of the Press
Women's Media
last updated April 2, 2008
Contents:
I. International Directory of Women's Media
II. Highlighted Women's Media on this web page:
III. Women's Media Articles & News
IV. Women's Media History Resources
Women-owned media, by & about women, are at the heart of the women's movement. Women-owned media make it possible for women to speak for themselves.
We, as women, have not been able to rely on the male-owned corporate mass media to be our communications system. The male-owned "women's magazines," newspapers and broadcast media have not been a place for us to share information vital to our survival. When mass media gave coverage to our concerns at all it was because women's media raised our issues so strongly that they could not be ignored. The issue of violence against women is an example. Even we we obtained coverage it was not always accurate or respectful.
The strength of women's media has grown tremendously since the 1960s. The early publications played a key role in sparking and spreading the movement. Now with the internet we are increasingly communicating on a global level, speaking for ourselves and organizing on the issues close to our hearts and vital to our survival. We are able to tackle issues that once may have divided us. We are listening to each other and sharing perspectives and information.
I. Directory of Women's Media
http://www.wifp.org/DWM/DirectoryWomensMedia.html The Directory of Women's Media is located on this website (no cost to access) and is available from WIFP in print form (at cost). If you are connected with a women's media and would like it to be included in the continually updated online version and the periodically published Directory of Women's Media, you will find information about inclusion on this website and at the top of this page. Send us your entry for the Directory of Women's Media Print Edition available details
http://www.wifp.org/DWM/DirectoryWomensMedia.html
The Directory of Women's Media is located on this website (no cost to access) and is available from WIFP in print form (at cost). If you are connected with a women's media and would like it to be included in the continually updated online version and the periodically published Directory of Women's Media, you will find information about inclusion on this website and at the top of this page. Send us your entry for the Directory of Women's Media Print Edition available details
The Directory of Women's Media is located on this website (no cost to access) and is available from WIFP in print form (at cost). If you are connected with a women's media and would like it to be included in the continually updated online version and the periodically published Directory of Women's Media, you will find information about inclusion on this website and at the top of this page.
Send us your entry for the Directory of Women's Media
Print Edition available details
II. Highlighted Women's Media
Rain and Thunder: A Radical Feminist Journal of Discussion and Activism highlight Women's eNews highlight Women Behind the Camera highlight SEN Magazine highlight NEW: Persimmon Tree: An Online Literary Magazine for Older Women highlight New Journal from Agenda Feminist Media in South Africa highlight Canadian Women Studies highlight Les cahiers de la femme Feminist Media Studies highlight End of the Show for Rockrgrl highlight Women and Earth highlight Virtual Reality highlight Woman Vision: Do you see what I see? highlight (W)rightful: Your Right to Write highlight When the RAINBO is enuf highlight Girls, Women + Media Project = An Opportunity for Change highlight A Room of Their Own highlight The Ahfad Journal: Women and Change highlight Abafazi: The Simmons College Journal of Women of African Descent highlight Creative Traces: Life as Art highlight Who Doesn't Want a Hip Mama? highlight Bamboo Girl Zine highlight Not (A)Bridged: Jewish Feminist Women Document Their Experiences highlight It's a (Wo)man's World: Women's Education and Artistic Voice Expression highlight Many More on Page 2
Rain and Thunder: A Radical Feminist Journal of Discussion and Activism highlight
Women's eNews highlight
Women Behind the Camera highlight
SEN Magazine highlight
NEW: Persimmon Tree: An Online Literary Magazine for Older Women highlight
New Journal from Agenda Feminist Media in South Africa highlight
Canadian Women Studies highlight Les cahiers de la femme
Feminist Media Studies highlight
End of the Show for Rockrgrl highlight
Women and Earth highlight
Virtual Reality highlight
Woman Vision: Do you see what I see? highlight
(W)rightful: Your Right to Write highlight
When the RAINBO is enuf highlight
Girls, Women + Media Project = An Opportunity for Change highlight
A Room of Their Own highlight
The Ahfad Journal: Women and Change highlight
Abafazi: The Simmons College Journal of Women of African Descent highlight
Creative Traces: Life as Art highlight
Who Doesn't Want a Hip Mama? highlight
Bamboo Girl Zine highlight
Not (A)Bridged: Jewish Feminist Women Document Their Experiences highlight
It's a (Wo)man's World: Women's Education and Artistic Voice Expression highlight
Many More on Page 2
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Rain and Thunder: A Radical Feminist Journal of Discussion and Activism
SUPPORT RADICAL FEMINIST PUBLISHING!
Issue #37 of Rain and Thunder: A Radical Feminist Journal of Discussion and Activism is now OUT! If you are looking for a grassroots, activist-driven, radical feminist publication look no further! Please help ensure our continued existence by subscribing and contributing to our pages!
Some highlights of Issue #37 include:
* "Heteropatriarchy: Globalisation, the Institution of Heterosexuality and Lesbians" by Susan Hawthorne
* "Memoirs of an Academic Career" by Batya Weinbaum
* "Real Women, Global Vision: An Interview with Max Dashu"
* "The Roots of My Real Name" by Carol Chehade * "Self Defense: One Dyke's Journey to Self-Love" by Kim Rivers * "Women Writing Digitally: Online Activism" compiled by Amy Winter
PLUS more articles, news, activist resources and feminist hotline!
Subscriptions for one year (4 issues) are $1 for every $1000 you have in income a year. More if you can, less if you can't. Institutional rate is $30/year. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Also available for $5 each are sample and back issues of the journal. Subscriptions can be made by check, money order, or through Paypal at our secure website. Outside the USA: subscriptions cost the same as above plus $10. Payment must be by International Money Order.
Rain and Thunder PO BOX 674 Northampton, MA 01061 rainandthunder [at] yahoo.com http:www.rainandthunder.org
To Top
Women's eNews
Rita Henley Jensen, editor in chief of Women's eNews, announced September 11, 2007 that the McCormick Tribune Foundation has awarded Women's eNews a $40,000 grant to support the online media organization's "New Writers Program.”
The program is dedicated to encouraging undergraduate and graduate students in journalism or related fields to report and write for Women's eNews. As the new writers pass through the Women's eNews editorial process from story idea to finished news article, the New Writers will be trained to look beyond the usual perimeters of newsgathering to include women in all aspects of their lives—profession and personal.
"Women have been the majority in undergraduate and graduate journalism programs at least since 1977, when my class at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism was majority female for the first time," Henley Jensen said. "Nevertheless, women's interests remain poorly served by most news media."
"The McCormick Tribune Foundation grant provides Women's eNews the opportunity to reach out to young journalists, through speaking engagements at major journalism schools, and encourage them to write about what they know best—how issues of gender affect the lives of college students today," Henley Jensen said.
"Through our efforts to reach out to journalism students, we intend these young writers to begin to tilt the balance of news coverage to one that is more inclusive of women's views and issues—a core part of the Women's eNews mission," Henley Jensen added. "The New Writers program will also further our goal of providing women, here in the United States as well as around the world, the information they need to fully participate in civil society.”
Henley Jensen cited two examples of studies documenting the absence of women in the news. The Project for Excellence in Journalism found in 2005 that more than three-quarters of all news stories contain male sources, while only a third of stories contain even a single female source. The disparity held true across newspapers, cable, network news and the online world. Also, the Readership Institute reported in 2004 after studying 52 U.S. newspapers that 2.7 percent of the news stories focused on women on weekdays and 3 percent focused on women on Sundays.
The campus lecture series will discuss the history of Women's eNews; present scholarly studies about the presence of women in the news media as managers, sources, experts and story focus; detail how a daily news Web site works; describe the routines of the editing process and provide guidelines for reporters.
Women Behind the Camera
"Women Behind the Camera" is the first documentary to examine the lives, work and challenges of camerawomen around the globe, including camerawomen who survive the odds in Hollywood, Bollywood, Afghanistan, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Senegal, the U.S. and other countries. Thomas McKenny of the International Cinematographers Guild has called it "an important film for everyone who collaborates on motion pictures and all who watch them. The most world-wide film since 'Winged Migration.'"
The camerawomen in the film range from top pioneers, like African-American camerawoman Jessie Maple Patton, who had to sue the union and television networks to get jobs...to Shu Shi Jun, who traveled throughout the New China as Mao Ze Dong's cinematographer...to Ellen Kuras, ASC ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind")...to Rozette Ghadery, one of the first camerawomen in Iran, who shot a film about chemical warfare in Kurdistani Iraq.
Kathleen McHugh, Professor and Director, UCLA Center for the Study of Women, says, "This documentary brings women cinematographers around the world clearly into view; its scope is breathtaking and the women's voices riveting." We are hopeful that the film will enable grassroots connections to grow from country to country and woman to woman on a cross-cultural basis.
After six years of production around the world, the new feature will hold its World Premiere at the Globians World & Culture Festival in Potsdam, Germany on August 15, with a U.S. Premiere at the Moondance International Film Festival, Universal Studios CityWalk Theater, Hollywood, California, September 7-9. The film has won the Insight Award for Excellence in Documentary-Editing and the Accolade Competition Award for Excellence in Contemporary Issues/Awareness-raising. "Women Behind the Camera" is based on Alexis Krasilovsky's book of the same name (Praeger 1997).
For more information about the film, please visit our new website at www.womenbehindthecamera.com.
SEN Magazine
By Chelsea Cundiff, WIFP April 18, 2007
In the Muslim world, where men have ruled for centuries, Muslim women in Europe are beginning to find ways to take a stand against forced marriages and other forms of oppression. Not surprisingly, the Internet has become a mode of free expression for Muslim women in Europe, and because it is so open and widely used as a means of exchanging information all over the world, their voices are really being heard.
Senay Ozdemir, Editor in Chief and founder of SEN Magazine, advocates for young women of Islamic background living in the Netherlands. An article in the December 1, 2005 International Herald Tribune says SEN Magazine: "addresses topics ranging from mixed marriages to ideas for Ramadan, Islamic banking, domestic violence, and how to address virginity, abortion or birth control while respecting the Koran. Arts reviews alternate with fashion, from the demure to the daring."
SEN Magazine, which Ozdemir founded in March 2004, features successful Mediterranean women such as lawyers, artists, engineers, and businesswomen as well an advice column, which contains very serious and modern concerns of Mediterranean Islamic women. The magazine made the switch from print to an entirely online publication in January 2007 and can be accessed at www.senmagazine.com. The content of the website is primarily in Dutch.
NEW: Persimmon Tree: An Online Literary Magazine for Older Women
Persimmon Tree: An Online Literary Magazine for Older Women is now out and available. Published in association with Mills College, the first issue offers fiction by E.M. Broner, Marilyn French, and Jane Lazarre; nonfiction by Sandy Boucher and Daphne Muse; poetry by Ruth Stone; and photography by Melanie Manchot.
Persimmon Tree, an independent online magazine associated with Mills College, seeks submissions from women over sixty. Each issue of the magazine will include several fiction and nonfiction pieces. The work of one poet will be included, as will that of one visual artist.
The magazine comes out quarterly—March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15.
You can subscribe free and read the magazine online at http://www.persimmontree.org/.
New Journal from Agenda Feminist Media in South Africa
19 March 2007 Agenda is busy preparing to launch its subscription service for the year with its first journal, issue 71. Agenda will publish a journal focussing on the topic of Engendering ICTs in May 2007. This journal will explore how women can take advantage of the ICT revolution and what women’s obstacles are to using ICTs and tackle the following questions:
What opportunities will ICTs offer women in achieving the Millennium Development Goals? What are the obstacles to using ICTs to economically empower women? How can ICTs empower women in the informal economy? How can ICT policies be engendered? What are the dangers of creating a digital divide, a disparity between those who make use of ICTs efficiently and effectively, and those who do not? Do women in Africa have the capacity and skills to make effective use of ICTs? The ICT revolution has only really impacted the major cities so far - how can we deploy a sustainable ICT infrastructure that empowers marginalised people living in rural areas, particularly women?
Michelle Odayan, Director Agenda Feminist Media Room E302, Diakonia Centre, Diakonia Avenue Durban - 4001 P.O. Box 61163 Bishopsgate - 4008 Tel: 031 304 7001 Fax: 031 304 7018 Website www.agenda.org.za
Canadian Women Studies Les cahiers de la femme
by Amanda Glensky, WIFP November, 2006
The Canadian Woman Studies editorial board said that in the past 28 years it attempted to create a forum for all women by providing a variety of women with current writing and research about feminist subjects.
The publication says: "By demystifying our communications with one another we are actively working towards serving as a middle ground between the scholarly and the popular, between theory and activism." Canadian Women Studies is a bilingual quarterly, written in both English and French. Luciana Ricciutelli is currently the editor-in-chief.
The articles in the Winter/Spring 2006 issue of Canadian Women Studies center on the theme "Ending Woman Abuse." The articles are classified under six headings including: standing against abuse, experiences of victims, resistance in ending woman abuse, questioning the effectiveness of institutions against abuse, poetry and book reviews.
The editorial board writes that submissions published in the Winter/Spring 2006 edition are from women that are anti-violence activists, frontline shelter workers, women who have experienced male violence, researchers and academics. The board adds that articles feature voices of Aboriginal women, women of color, lesbians, young women and girls, women in prostitution, trans-identified persons, poor and homeless women and psychiatrized women.
Past themes of the journal include: Rural Women in Canada (Summer/Fall 2005), Women and the Black Diaspora (Winter 2004), Women's Health and Well-Being (Fall 2004) and Benefiting Women? Women's Labor Rights (Spring/Summer 2004).
To purchase a subscription of Canadian Woman Studies enclose check or money order payable to: Canadian Woman Studies, 212 Founders College, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada. Telephone: (416) 736-5356. E-mail: cwscf@yorku.ca. Web site: http://www.yorku.ca/cwsc
Feminist Media Studies
Feminist Media Studies is a peer-reviewed journal of researchers applying feminist perspective to communications and media studies. It features work by scholars, professionals and activists around the world that discuss and analyze the historical, philosophical, cultural, social and political ways a variety of international media portray women.
Feminist Media Studies is published quarterly, in March, June, September and December. Each issue features research articles and either book reviews or commentary and criticisms. Every piece in the journal relates to a central theme established for each issue. September 2006 focuses on "Feminism, Media and the Politics of Identity." Its articles discuss gender and sexuality in U.S. media after Sept. 11, gender and class issues in the program "Joe Millionaire" and an investigation of how Turkish media portrays female victims of sexual violence.
The issue also features reviews of books like "Feminism in Popular Culture," edited by Joanne Hollows and Rachel Moseley and "The Musical: Race, Gender and Performance," by Susan Smith. Themes of past issues include "Tessa Perkins--In Memoriam," "The Media Gendering of War and Conflict" and "A Fat Issue." Editors Lisa McLaughlin and Cynthia Carter write an editor's introduction in each publication explaining the theme and a preview of the articles. Feminist Media Studies also has a large and diverse editorial board representing countries such as Jordan, Mexico, the U.S., Canada, South Africa, the UK, Israel, Australia and the Netherlands.
Feminist Media Studies is published both in print and online. To subscribe, residents of the U.S. and Canada should contact Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis, Inc., 325 Chestnut Street, 8th floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19106, USA. Telephone: 1-800-354-1420. Residents in the UK, Europe and the rest of world should contact Taylor & Francis Customer Services, Taylor & Francis Informa UK Ltd, Sheepen Place, Colchester, Essex, CO3, 3LP, UK. Telephone: 44 (0)20 7017 5544. Inquirers can also e-mail tf.enquiries@tfinforma.com
End of the Show for Rockrgrl
By Sara Burnes, WIFP
"I can't take any more of the cool kids," explained ROCKRGRL founder and editor-in-chief Carla deSantis to Neva Chonin of the San Francisco Chronicle (29 January 2006)"I need a hipsterectomy." Indeed, she will be removing herself from the forefront of the hip music culture. After eleven years of publishing a rock magazine with the tagline, “Supporting a woman’s right to rock,” deSantis has decided that ROCKRGRL’s days have come to an end.
According to the ‘zine’s web site (which continues to offer back issues, merchandise, and helpful links), deSantis was dissatisfied after reading an article in Rolling Stone’s “Women Who Rock” issue which asked them about their favorite perfume, but not about the music they produce. ROCKRGRL magazine, therefore, was designed to meet the needs of aspiring women musicians and fans, by focusing on the music. The magazine also sponsored conferences for 2005 and 2006, and a camp for young girls who aspire to rock ‘n’ roll glory.
ROCKRGRL Issue #57, which was released in the fall of 2005, featured the typical array of instrument tips, articles about up-and-coming artists, and, of course, many stories about women who rock. It is available for purchase at www.rockrgrl.com.
WIFP is saddened to learn about the end of the publication of this valuable periodical, and wishes deSantis and aspiring young women rockers everywhere the best of luck in a post-ROCKRGRL world.
Women and Earth Update
by Sara Burnes, WIFP November 2006
Women and Earth is a bilingual (Russian and English), multidisciplinary almanac based in New York. Within this publication nestles a smaller almanac, Women and Russia, the original brainchild of editor-in-chief Tatyana Mamonova. Mamonova’s experiences as a Russian feminist are in themselves quite a story, as she was exiled to Vienna and given political asylum in France under the Breznev regime. Her most recent issue, Volume 15 of Women and Earth/Volume 27 of Women and Russia, celebrates “25 Years Since the First Tour,” which began with Tatyana’s exile at the end of 1980. Despite all of her contributions, however, Mamonova is still a stateless person, without citizenship or a passport.
"Women and Earth Almanac"
by Eleanor Biddle, WIFP February, 2006
Many non-profit organizations operate on a level that some may refer to as "small." (Why, just because they're not owned by Rupert Murdoch?) No matter the level, many organizations produce publications and other materials that reach their audience on levels beyond mindless entertainment. As is the case with Women and Earth (WE), that takes a widely diverse approach to reaching audiences through magazine publications, conferences, forums and educational panels.
WE was founded in 1979 by Tatynana Mamonova, who was exiled from the former Soviet Union for her work in this organization and in other pro-feminist activities. The group started as the "Women and Russia Almanac" but as the organization progressed, the name changed to the all-encompassing "Women and Earth Almanac" in 1991. WE was founded with the goal to unite women by providing a space for women to share their experiences, their accounts of "herstory," and to encompass the experience of all women. WE practices these ideals to provide a forum of feminism for all women, not just Western women, as many institutions practice (with good intentions). Women and Earth make it part of their mission to raise money to give free out copies of their Almanac and free conventions in various locations around the world. WE seeks to provide more and more women a space to partake in feminist activities and goals that may not be currently available to them.
WE makes their publication available free to underprivileged women of Russia, and other areas such Europe, Africa and North and South America. The Almanac is published in both Russian and English and some articles have been translated into French. WE is constantly looking for new areas of the world to involve in their multi-cultural exploration of feminism, by holding chapters in New York (their main office), Russia, Turkey, West Africa, France and the Dominican Republic. Women and Earth strive to share the stories of women by women, about women, and for women, to explore and further everyone's knowledge of women's experiences all over the globe.
Women and Earth's all-encompassing morals are articulated in their yearly Almanac publication. The Almanac includes stories of past experiences, dialogues of feminist perspectives, poetry, reviews on places of tourism and more. WE opens their publication to anyone interested in submitting work. They do not limit their contributors because of one's gender, sexual orientation, cultural or religious background, etc. WE looks to continue their goal of a safe space for the expression of ideas and experiences, by reserving the right to not print any material that is "sexist, racist anti-Semitic or anti-lesbian."
To contribute content or donate to this organization please visit their website: www.dorsai.org/~womearth/ (temporarily down for maintenance, and we hope will be back up soon).
Or e-mail WE at: womearth@dorsai.org or womearth@yahoo.com
Or send letters and donations to: Women and Earth Global Eco-Network World Headquarters 467 Central Park West, Suite 7F New York, NY 10025 USA
Virtual Reality
By Sarah Misailidis, WIFP December, 2005
In the past, men and science careers have been synonymous, however, today more girls are bravely venturing forth into the technology world that was previously "not for them." These girls are the few who do not heed the messages that they are continually bombarded with in order to prove societal standards wrong. When ethnicity and socioeconomic background are factored into the equation, it is not hard to see why there is a gender gap in technology.
Digital Sisters (DS), Inc. was founded on the premise that technology education and enrichment for women and children who are traditionally under-served should be at the forefront of their agenda as an organization. DS is a 501(C) 3 non-profit organization that works with community based organizations, schools, and technology centers to assist women in enhancing their technology skills. By promoting such programs, Digital Sisters is equipping these women with life skills that will be of much use to them in their prospective futures. Digital Sisters' services will help participants to gain knowledge that can help to fight the discrimination and non-participation in technology related environments for those who are disadvantaged.
DS utilizes a method of education, which allows participation on the parts of the women involved, as well as interactive learning through in and out of school activities, outreach, and workshops. The programs assist with familiarity of equipment in computer labs, but also they develop self-confidence in their ability to enhance their learning through different methods and venues. The programs build self-esteem through encouraging gender equity and personal growth. With the empowerment they have gained through these programs, these women and girls can in turn further strengthen their families.
Do you see what I see?
By Sarah Misailidis, WIFP November, 2005
Many have heard the saying, "Don't just talk about it, BE ABOUT IT." Woman Vision stands in accordance with this mantra. Since 1993, Woman Vision has helped to promote tolerance and equal treatment of all people through the production and use of educational media. In order to best understand diversity as a core value, the organization has set up numerous diversity trainings, lectures, and other means of implementing educational outreach opportunities. As a result, the world, and specifically women, are presented with positive role models and supportive images of societally marginalized people.
The accounts of the 1992 Republican National Convention were very disturbing to Dr. Dee Mosbacher. She noticed the gay bashing and anti-woman tendencies that were displayed and she was deeply bothered so much so that she was motivated to do something about it. Dr. Mosbacher founded Woman Vision to counteract the right's extremely well funded and misleading anti-gay media campaigns. As a practicing psychiatrist in San Francisco, she understood the kind of suffering caused by homophobia from a psychological and psychosocial point of view. She is also a film-maker, and she uses her insight from psychiatry to help her form her vision. Her goal is to provide people with the means to transform and with that tool people will be able to tackle taboo issues.
Films that Woman Vision have produced have not only touched the individual but have also had national acclaim as well. Woman Vision has produced three award-winning educational films (including the Academy Award Nominated Straight from the Heart and All God's Children, selected Best Documentary at the 1996 National Black Arts Festival. The most important purpose of these films is to act as conversational starters and blueprints for outreach programs that facilitate meaningful dialogues about prejudice and social justice. Women Vision challenges people too appreciate everyone and question their ability to see what others see.
Your Right to Write
Amongst the rich culture of mythology, classic literature, and towering architecture, Greece exists as a model for other civilizations to admire. Greeks themselves strive to uphold the greatness embodied by their past.
In that same mold, the group (W)rightful formed in an effort to once again abolish voicelessness through setting up a framework where writing could be used as a form of dialogue to resolve social, ethnic, and religious conflict as well as illiteracy problems in the country. (W)rightful communicates that writing is by no means a privilege but rather a right that everyone should utilize for the betterment for the country.
The organization had its beginnings in June 2000 with only fifteen members. (W)rightful sponsors workshops and they also put together publications. The activities range from creative writing, playwriting, and translation workshops, conflict resolution theater, illiteracy projects, women's literature seminars and symposia, and documentation center.
The organization is comprised by a plethora of folk ranging from the women in the Turkish minority in Greece to other immigrants, illiterate women, and ex-prisoners from the civil war.
Their programs also span throughout the world and not just in Greece. They include interfaith programs, projects with immigrants and refugees from Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, in their own languages; summer writing workshops for women in the Greek islands; a violence and sexuality project with adolescents; workshops with street children; a continuing reading project with urban gypsy women; and writing performances to advance and support women in Greece, such as one in March 2002 in support of the battered women's shelter in Athens. Because of the wide spread effect of (W)rightful's programs on women, the caption "feminism" now appears in the largest newspapers in the country before the announcement of (W)rightful's projects.
As a result, (W)rightful is now launching a feminist publishing project, the first of its kind in Greece, to promote women's writing in the areas of theory, literature, and philosophy. The first book, published in February 2002, Re-claiming Barbie: Essays on Women's Writing, ed. Christiana Lambrinidis, was called a breakthrough in the largest newspaper in the country. In its first week of publication, the book became tenth on the best-seller list, proving how urgent it is to fill the void of women's discourse in Greece. So far, (W)rightful is doing an excellent job by serving as a catalyst for change.
When the RAINBO is enuf
Research, Action, and Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women was established in 1994 and commonly goes by the name of RAINBO. It centers on the African development agenda as an international non-governmental group that tackles issues of gender, reproductive health, sexual autonomy, and freedom from violence. Most importantly RAINBO concentrates its efforts on eliminating the practice of Female Circumcision/ Female Genital Mutilation through global social change. RAINBO holds the reputation of the lead technical agency in the field of FGM and continues to spotlight FC/FGM in the context of violations of gender and human rights.
The programmatic thrust of RAINBO has two components: the Integrated Initiative Against FGM which includes the Small Grants Project as well as AMANITARE which is the African Partnership for the Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights of Women and Girls.
The Integrated Initiative Against FGM started in 2003 and focuses on technical tools and assistance, information exchange, and the Small Grants Project. Through the Small Grants Project RAINBO extends direct grant making to organizations that cater to FC/FGM issues in Africa. This project began in 1995 and since that time has worked with 76 organizations in 20 different African countries. In total, RAINBO has given over $850,000 in grants. The project also allows organizations to build within themselves b assisting with project design or evaluation assistance.
Amanitare was formed to improve the conditions of African women and girls by protecting sexual and reproductive rights as well as promoting healthy behavior. Amanitare is a ten-year initiative that formed in 2000 and currently it has 51 partners in 18 different African countries. They work to build a network that exchanges and supports the efforts around the issues of sexual rights, to advocate for effective policy reform, as well as to impact the international scene through spotlighting injustices and encourage dialogue as to how to create permanent change.
If you would like to support the work of RAINBO you can make a donation at the organization's website: www.rainbo.org.
Girls, Women + Media Project = An Opportunity for Change
By Jasmine Hillyer, WIFP November, 2005
S-E-X. It seems like this three letter word dominates our society and in pop culture it's impossible to turn the channel from it's existence. The Girls, Women + Media Project evolved from the constant frustrations from women and concerned men who grew tired of the media's portaryl of oversexed women and negative sterotypes of females. The Project has an interesting beginning. Their founder, Tamara, noticed an offensive advertisement while passing a liqour store in New York City. The ad displayed a faceless, huge, fully clothed man straddled over a bikini clad "supernaturally buxom" woman. Many of Tamara's colleages admitted that they were also appalled by the way the media portrays women. The ads were eventually removed from the store. Here lies the Alpha of the Girls, Women+Media Project. The Project considers itself to be a resource for students, parents, mediamakers, and businesses. They encourage men to participate as well. They are a non-profit organization working to increase the awareness of how pop culture and the media represent, affect, and employ girls and women. The promotion of universal media literacy is one of the Project's main goals. They have organized "I-CAN", which is a list of active, concerned people and organizations. This particular network offers information regarding consumer issues related to girls and women.
The Project has gathered some alarming statistics. According to the Project, the average young TV viewer will see about 14,000 references to sex each year. Teenagers admit that they receive much of their information on sex and sexuality by watching television and movies. The average boy or girl will spend 6.5 hours a day interacting with some type of media (internet, t.v., videogames, etc).
The Girls, Women + Media Project is constantly working to provide the most updated resources for those concerned about the negative influence of pop culture on our vulnerable yet curious youth. For more information log onto www.medianadwomen.org. Let's see what we can do to help.
A Room of Their Own
The NONA Multimedia Women's Center is a multi-faceted place of communication, creativity, and healing for women and children from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina who live in the city of Zagreb, the capitol of Croatia. "NONA" is the word for "grandmother" in the Dalmatian dialect. The name signifies safety that is found in a nurturing atmosphere and grounding for women in a country still ransacked by the turmoil of war. NONA was developed primarily as a response to refugee and displaced women's needs for a "room of their own". In the winter of 1993, two women who strove to establish a center based on the concept of self-help for women. They wanted to provide a stable environment for all women to gather and share concerns, interests, and experiences regardless of ethnicity, religion or background. These women could write, paint, sculpt, and perform based on their experiences. There are also educational workshops and other ways in order to further develop their skills. Through this outlet, war survivors could more aptly help other war survivors. The psycho-cultural services provided by NONA Multimedia Women's Center allows women to uplift one another despite the circumstances of the world around them.
The Ahfad Journal: Women and Change
By Sarah Misailidis, WIFP October, 2005
Often in our world today education has been linked with emancipation. Women in Africa suffer from all forms of discrimination and therefore the urgency for education on their parts is much greater. Women are boxed in by stereotypes and socio-cultural traditions that miseducate the people and allow for the same tendencies to continue. Education, especially in institutions of higher learning, may indeed be the gateway to women's empowerment and life-long learning in more ways than one.
The Ahfad University for Women is a private university in Omdurman, Sudan that encourages women with these same principles, which will not only educate them but also strengthen their roles in national andrural development in Sudan and throughout Africa. Most importantly, the university strives for women to achieve equity in Sudanese society.
Dr. Lee G. Burchinal, the founding editor of The Ahfad Journal in 1984 was a professor at The Ahfad University for Women at that time. However, since 1987 upon his return to the United States, Dr. Amna Badri, Associate Professor and Vice President for Academic Affairs, has been the editor. Now in its 15th year of publication, The Ahfad Journal: Women and Change is the only scholarly journal published on a regular basis in Sudan.
The Ahfad Journal: Women and Change is published twice a year, in June and December. Articles are written in English, but they also have Arabic and English abstracts. Each issue contains 4 to 6 articles, 8 to 12 summaries of senior research projects conducted by Ahfad students, 3 or 4 book reviews, and news about developments at the Ahfad University for Women.
Women's access to education through The Ahfad University has created a tool for growth, equality, and peace. Equality is referred to in terms of daily issues that women in Africa struggle with such as divorce, abortion, family planning, violence, and polygamy. The knowledge from the journal that these women acquire is attained in different ways and equips them with skills well beyond their imagination. The journal is a medium through which women can contribute directly and benefit indirectly. There is an evident gender gap in terms of education in African nations, and the solution lies in tackling issues of great importance to those same people. The Ahfad Journal has molded the spoken word into action to insist upon change for women.
Abafazi: The Simmons College Journal of Women of African Descent
Contrary to what once was popular belief, we have come to find that the world is not flat. There are stories that lie deep on the other side of the globe, that find its roots in the continent of Africa, waiting to for someone to delve deeper and reveal them to the literary world. So Abafazi was born, and as a refereed journal that is published twice a year, it has accomplished the feat of spreading knowledge since 1991.
The current issue is the tenth anniversary issue that spotlights Dorothy Roberts, a professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law. Other articles touch on race and welfare as well as art, book reviews, and poetry. The website encourages women of African descent to contribute essays, no matter what their path of study. The collegiality that the publication invokes mirrors the purpose of the journal itself: to uplift the Black woman.
Afabazi's main thrust as a journalistic mechanism is to heighten feminist scholarship in all fields of study by making reader's aware of black women's intellectual traditions by bringing to light social, cultural, and political issues that exist in the African world. This resource would allow readers to discover emerging scholars, activists, writers, and artists.
Dr. Michael Williams, who currently lives in Ghana, first started the journal. During the early nineties, he was the chair of AfricanAmerican studies and an associate professor of sociology at Simmons College. He created a work that now reaches subscribers as far as Zimbabwe, Turkey, and even Switzerland. Institutional subscribers include the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe/Harvard, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library, Dartmouth, Bryn Mawr, and Mills colleges as well as the University of Denver, Tulane University, and Northwestern University.
Abafazi has published the works of well-known black women scholars, which include Nellie Mckay, co-editor of The Norton Anthology of African American Literature; Judith Rollins, author of Between Women: Domestics and Their Employers; Joy James, author of The Angela Davis Reader; and Elizabeth Amelia Hadley, author of Bessie Coleman: The Brownskin Lady Bird.
The journal has received strong support from many notable persons such as Bob Johnson, the former CEO of Black Entertainment Television (BET), Leonade Jones, an independent management consultant and former treasurer of the Washington Post, Ann Fudge, president of Maxwell House Coffee and Post Cereal at Kraft Foods, Harriet Elam, the U.S. ambassador to Senegal, and FleetBank.
The publication has endured fourteen years since it's inception because of the substantial hold it has within the literary community. Abafazi allows women to be portrayed as the heroines that for so long were made to be invisible by the media. Survival of this legacy in its purest form exists in writing and Abafazi, or woman as it is translated from Zulu, makes it their responsibility to advance the cause.
Creative Traces: Life as Art
By Sarah Misailidia, WIFP October, 2005
Creative Traces is an organization that has spun out of the cloth of creative expression. Dottie Moore, a studio artist for over 25 years, saw the possibilities that were attainable through the process of quilt making and weaving. With this mindset, she started a new type of project in 1996. She began a quilt with other women quilters over the age of fifty. What started out as a personal curiosity about the creative process metamorphisized into "Piecing a Quilt of Life." The quilt serves as an international testament that the life process and therefore the creative process changes as people age. The wisdom of these women is reflected in exhibitions, lectures, a biannual newsletter, an ETV newsletter, and a book manuscript that is pending publication.
These women use the process of creativity to grow within themselves mentally, physically, and emotionally. "Piecing a Quilt of Life" is a visible sign of various women's stories over the after of fifty. It is also a grassroots project that showcases these women's work on a level that defies the context of societal norms. The project is supported by a handful of volunteers who work as poets, writers, editors, teachers, and visual artists who collectively brainstorm as to how to celebrate the lives of senior women through art. The wisdom of age is molded into artwork for all to behold and gain insight. Through this project different kinds of women come together for the common purpose of teaching one another creativity as well as offering them to live the lives they imagine.
Women are creative not only in the art they choose to give birth to, but also in every way they lead their lives. From having raised children to balancing work and family life, senior women have a breadth of knowledge as to how self-expression has defined each of their lives. Through the "Piecing a Quilt of Life" project, women can rely on one another to trust their intuition and honor their counterparts and most importantly, themselves. Consequently, quilting as a medium for self-development has been a successful formula thus far.
Who Doesn't Want a Hip Mama?
By Jasmine Hillyer, WIFP September, 2005
Gone are the days of traditional mothers with 2.5 children, a dog and loads of laundry. Now mothers of all ages from various backgrounds can commune with one another in front of their computers. HipMama.com is described as "a magazine bursting with political commentary and ribald tales from the front lines of motherhood". HipMama.com began as a forum for young mothers, single parents, and marginalized voices but has grown to represent progressive families of all varieties.
The online mag offers everything from polls to chat groups. You can even find any type of recipe known to woman! Of course there are baby food recipes, casserole dishes, potluck favorites, seafood dishes and vegetarian & vegan courses. The site offers it's members access to a blog as a way for hip mama's to meet. The zine has feature stories such as the one where a young mother giving a heartfelt description of what life has been like for her and her young son living with cerebral palsy and the discrimination she faced while her son spent four weeks in the hospital only to be told that her newborn would need open heart surgery. Another offers the story of a mother who was asked to leave Starbucks because she was breastfeeding. She returned to the same coffee shop later that week with over one hundred supporters and held a nurse-in. They want Starbucks to create a friendlier environment for nursing moms.
The website's creator, Bee Lavender also created a website for young mom's, girl-mom.com. The site features articles on topics such as affordable daycare, escaping abuse, birth control options, custody rights and child support issues. Young mothers tell their stories through articles and essays. Both sites offer a great outlet for mothers to express their opinions and their real life experiences.
Bamboo Girl Zine
By Sarah E. Misailidis, WIFP September 2005
Bamboo Girl's primary goal is to unlock the notions that surround the stereotypes about Asian women. Bamboo Girl is a publication built on the dreams of one woman who saw the world as more than just a dichotomy of black and white. White male patriarchy has forced people of other ethnic groups to be pushed to the periphery, and now Bamboo Girl is claiming its space.
In an effort to create new truth, this independent print publication comes out either annually or biannually to reach the masses through a collective of newfound truths. The publication is primarily funded out of pocket, and therefore serves as a labor of love before anything else. Funding comes in part from the Bamboo Girl Zine Benefit Parties during the summer or very early fall. The publication reaches about 2000-3000 people yearly.
On the Bamboo Girl website it lists that the publication strives to "Challenge racism, sexism, & homophobia from the Filipina/ Pacific Islander (API)/ Asian mutt feminist point of view since 1995." Merchandise and paraphanelia are available to increase communication about how to better the situation through internal dialogue. The first zine started as a way to vent frustration, but today it has blossomed into projects that encourage awareness for Filipina sisters worldwide. Issues such as feminism, government policies, violence and human rights, gay rights, and other critical matters within the Asian community as addressed through the Bamboo Girl Zine.
Not (A)Bridged: Jewish Feminist Women Document Their Experiences
Contemporary feminist Jewish culture is fine-tuned between the pages of Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends. Each issue highlights fiction, poetry, art and reviews, and essays that center on feminist Judaism for activists, lesbian, and other women. Some of these pieces are translated from their Ladino, Spanish, and Yiddish originals. Important issues that arise in the journal are ones about class, identity, women of color, violence against women, young Jewish women, and living up to the standards of text and tradition.
Social justice activism through writing brings to light the situation of working class Jews, lesbians, Jewish women of different ethnic backgrounds, and reports on Israeli women peace workers. The goal for the publication is to create unity while promoting expression within and for the Jewish community. Building the connections they need through celebrating Jewish women's identity effectively sends their message of upliftment across. Bridges also provides its issues on audiotape through the Jewish Braille Institute.
In order to raise awareness and offer new opportunities to Jewish women, the editors strive to bring to light inequalities. The journal is a collaborative effort edited long distance by women writers who live throughout the United States and Canada. They use women's stories and articles as testimonies to the progressiveness of the Jewish Feminist Movement.
The publication utilizes these women's common religious affiliation to stir political action for eventual change. Emerging consciousness spurs out of traditional beliefs and consequently provides these same women with plenty of food for thought. Bridges helps ease the transition by documenting women's experiences to understand new perspectives within the Jewish female community.
It's a (Wo)man's World: Women's Education and Artistic Voice Expression
WEAVE amplifies the woman's voice. Created to support black women's writing and publishing in Cape Town, South Africa, it serves as a collective outlet for many. The organization thrives on mutual exchange through skill sharing and moral support. In 1997, the dream became a reality when WEAVE exploded on the literary scene through its affiliation with the umbrella organization Women's WORLD, an international free speech network of feminist writers.
The situation in South Africa has been one inundated by racial struggles. The institution of apartheid had become so defining to their culture that even when the premise did not apply, it was still hard to break out of that mold. Hence, their writings were criticized for not branching out and exploring anything new. Black women writers felt it as their duty to make their voices heard and work together in order to overcome their frustrations. These black women writers wanted to define themselves indefinitely, and WEAVE was a means to an end. No longer was conflict the central focus of their writings nor were there wrongful depictions of black people by white authors.
The women in WEAVE organize publications as well as public poetry readings, cultural festivals, and writing workshops. They also set a precedent by forming the first self-published, multi-genre collection of black women's writing to come out of contemporary South Africa called ink@boiling point.
WEAVE made new feats possible by the simple act of defiance mixed in with hope. Out of crisis came better forms of change, and consequently more media venues in which to express that change.
More on women's media highlights and resources on pages 2 & 3
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To Page 3
