Global Voices » Women & Gender

South Korea's Child Porn Law Blasted for Restricting Freedom of Expression

Lee Yoo Eun — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:13:03 +0000

A new youth protection law in South Korea, meant to protect children by clamping down on child pornography, is being assailed for its broad language that labels net users who unknowingly downloaded suspicious content and artists who depict children in their work as criminals.

The Youth Sex Protection Law went into effect a little less than two months ago, but there already has been a flurry of complaints about the ambiguity of the law and the police's overzealous crackdown of file-sharing sites. According to local news report [ko], 1,938 people were taken into custody and six were arrested for violating the law in April alone. Only 106 were directly involved in making and sales of child porn.

The Youth Sex Protection Law not only punishes those directly involved in producing and selling child porn but also people who simply downloaded a file that contains implied sex with someone who appears as underage. Users have flooded online community sites, including ‘Netizen’s Discussions on Porn Crackdown’, the largest site dedicated to the issue with 93,000 members, to detail their own experiences. Some have written that they were being charged as pornography distributors for unknowingly sharing files which they downloaded via torrent file.

A one-person protest against the Youth Sex Protection Law. Photo by blogger DooPiece (CC BY- NC- ND 2.0)

One of the law's clauses stipulates that “a [cultural or art] expression that depicts or implies sexual intercourse with ‘a human or an image that can be perceived as underaged kids” in any medium is a violation. This includes virtual characters in animation or game.

User Hanguk-dongin [ko] on DeviantART, an online community site for artists, protested against the controversial clause, writing [ko]:

이 법률은 ‘실재'아동을 괴롭히는 이들을 처벌하려는 것이 목적이 아니라, 마치 표현물, 창작물을 검열하기 위한 것으로 보입니다 [...] 당신이 그린, 쓴 캐릭터가 아동이나 청소년이 아닐지라도 “아동/청소년으로 보인다”는 집행기관의 자의적 판단으로 당신은 범죄자가 될 수 있습니다.

This law seems not really about punishing those who harass the “real kids”, but about censoring creative works and [cultural] expressions [...] Although the characters you draw and depict may not be technically underage, if the characters “appear as underage kids”, you can be a criminal who violated the law. It is totally up to the law-enforcing entity’s deliberate judgement.

The writer also accused the law of having a double standard when it comes to art — some literary works perceived as “serious work of art” can get away with containing similar contents, while popular cartoons cannot.

Blogger DooPiece elaborated [ko] on this:

표현의 자유 측면에서도 아청법은 상충된다. 청소년을 대상으로 한 여러 만화나 애니, 게임에 등장하는 캐릭터들은 설정이 20세가 넘은 젊은 여성이거나 늙지 않는 판타지 세계의 요정일지라도 의도치 않게 여기에 걸려들수 있다. 당연히 작가나 출판, 배표 업자의 입장에선 서비스를 위해서라도 해당 내용을 수정 순화시킬 수 밖에 없단 얘기고, 이는 곧 자유로운 표현의 위축을 불러오게 될 것이다.

The law also contradicts freedom of expression. Any character in cartoons, animations, and games which are sold to kids [is subjected to this rule]. This includes 20-something female characters and age-defying elves [if they appear underage]. This has obviously forced authors, publications, and syndication companies to alter their content and it will chill free expression.

South Korea’s Open Net, together with several cartoonist consolidations, released a statement voicing concerns over the abuse of the law. The writer revealed that many of those convicted for violating the law witnessed changes made in their initial written arraignments – meaning police changed some descriptions of the grounds on which they were charged — which would be a serious misstep caused by the ambiguity of the law:

경찰단계에서 실존 아동에 대한 성범죄를 보호하기 위한 수사활동을 하기보다는, ‘보여주기식’으로 무리하게 수사 및 기소를 하여, 아청법 위반의 소지가 없었던 사람들이 억울하게 오랜시간 고초를 겪은 셈입니다. [...] 실존아동과 전혀 관련없이 아동학대라는 설정을 그림이나 애니메이션으로 표현하였다고 해서 아동성범죄로 처벌하는 것은 살인에 대한 내용이 있다고 해서 살인죄로 처벌하거나 [...] 이렇게 해석되면 아동학대, 살인, 마약의 극악무도함을 보여주려는 작품 제작자들까지 모두 범죄자가 되어버립니다.

Police investigations, instead of focusing on protecting underage children who are potential victims of sex crimes, were instead determined to demonstrate their seriousness about the law. And police indeed investigated and indicted too much. Due to this, innocent people, who should not be suspected for violating the law, have unfairly suffered for a long period of time [...] Treating a mere depiction of harassment, which were expressed via image and animation, as a real crime against kids is [ridiculous. It is] equivalent to applying the same level of punishment to a content creator who depicts murder as they do to a real murderer [...] If they are overzealous in applying this law, content creators who show the villainy of child abuse, murder, or drug abuse can all be labeled as criminals.

'14 Million: Life, Family & Liberty’ Movement Sparks Controversy in Ecuador

Nicki Gorny — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:21:32 +0000

The citizen initiative “14 million- Life, family and liberty”” [es], which opposes the free distribution of the day-after pill and other forms of family planning policy, has caused controversy among Ecuadorians.

Those involved in this initiative say that parents’ right to choose education for their children according to their values and principles has been ignored. They also denounce the intention to introduce laws that threaten the definition of marriage between men and women, changing the word “sex” with “gender” in citizen identification cards.

The group names these and other points in a video [es] inviting citizens to participate in a “great gathering for family, life and liberty.” The gathering took place on May 19, 2013 in the cities of Quito, Santo Domingo y Guayaquil. The YouTube channel Fourteen million [es] shared the video:

On May 18, President Rafael Correa rejected the actions of the “14 million” movement. The newspaper El Tiempo [The Times] [es] published some of Correa's declarations:

“No es verdad, como pretenden hacer creer estos señores, que a un niño de doce años se le regalan anticonceptivos. Esa es una mentira monstruosa” y de “mala fe”, enfatizó Correa, un mandatario de izquierda que también se declara “católico practicante”.

Señaló que el grupo “14 millones”, que es la cifra redonda de habitantes en Ecuador, “no tiene personería (validez) jurídica” y dijo sospechar que detrás de ella “están todos los opositores al Gobierno”.

“It is not true, as these people want to make you believe, that a 12-year-old child will be given birth control. It is a monstrous lie” and in “bad faith,” emphasized Correa, a leftist who describes himself as a “practicing Catholic.”

He stated that the “14 million” group, which refers to the the approximate number of people in Ecuador, “does not have an official, valid status” and said he suspected that “those who oppose the government are behind it.”

Isabel Maria Salazar, national director of the “14 million” movement, said in an interview for the Ecuavisa channel [es] that they are not in favor of or opposed to any political party:

“Nosotros somos una auténtica iniciativa ciudadana donde estamos varones, mujeres, jóvenes. No queremos que esto se vea como una manifestación a favor o en contra de determinadas posiciones políticas, más bien estamos preocupados porque se le ha dejado a la familia de lado en varios proyectos de educación, y también en aquello que corresponde a la salud.”

“We are an authentic citizen initiative in which we are men, women and youth. We do not want to be seen as a manifestation in favor of or against determined political positions, but more so we are worried because family has been left to the side in various education projects and that also relates to health.”

Salazar further showed her rejection of the free distribution of the day-after pill [es] without parental consent, stressing that according to article 29 [es] of the constitution of Ecuador, parents have “the right to choose for their sons and daughters an education in line with their principles, beliefs and teaching methods.”

Days before the gathering, the group released a pamphlet featuring the stamps of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference [es], the Archbishop of Quito [es], the the Pro-Life Action Foundation [es] and others.

However a letter signed by Mateo López, deputy secretary general of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference, later clarified that “the use of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference stamp in '14 million’ movement materials has not been authorized by this conference and appears against its wishes, which were expressly communicated to the organizers.”

Silvia Buendía (@silvidabuendia) [es] shared the image on the “14 million” pamphlet:

@silvitabuendia: Lean todos pic.twitter.com/Um6TmNGYp1 esta es la carta de los 14Millones. Ojo católicos, la firma la Conferencia Episcopal Ecuatoriana

@silvitabuendia [es]: Everyone read pic.twitter.com/Um6TmNGYp1 this letter from 14 million. Look Catholics, the stamp of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference

Then she apologized and shared the letter from the Episcopal Conference:

@silvitabuendia: Me disculpo con la Conferencia Episcopal, ayer me escandalicé d q firmaran la carta d los @14Millones pic.twitter.com/9BPOUXF36j era mentira

@silvitabuendia [es]: Forgive me, Episcopal Conference. Yesterday I was scandalized that you had signed the letter from the @14Millones [14 million] pic.twitter.com/9BPOUXF36j It was a lie.

The citizens that support the initiative -@14millones [es] on Twitter- comment with the hashtags #14millones [14 million] and #19mporlafamilia [19 million for family].

Loli Andrade (@loliandradem) [es] stated her support for the May 19 gathering:

@loliandradem: @14millones HOY defiendo la vida mas q nunca con paz, alegria t amor x la vida y la familia! Soy de gquil pero stoy en Quito y aun asi voy!

@loliandradem [es]: @14millones [14 million] TODAY I defend life more than ever with peace, joy, love, life and family! I'm from Guayaquil but I'm in Quito and I still go!

While Jose D'María (@JoseMatamoros_) [es] wrote about the rights of children:

@JoseMatamoros_: Regresando a Cuenca a exigir los derechos de la familia y los niños #19mporlafamilia #14millones @14Millones

@JoseMatamoros_ [es]: Returning to Cuenca to demand the rights of family and children #19mporlafamilia [19 million for the family] #14millones [14 million] @14Millones [14 million]

Rafael Silva (@_RBSILVA) [es] also showed his support of “14 million:”

@_RBSILVA: Para eso hemos sido entrenados, defenderemos la verdad y no se nos arebatara el fuego q en nuestra sangre esta! @14Millones #19Mporlafamila

@_RBSILVA [es]: For that we have been trained, we will defend the truth and not lose the fire in our blood! @14Millones [14 million] #19Mporlafamila [19 million for family]

However, there also exists opposition to the movement, in part because they chose to call themselves “14 million,” the number of people in Ecuador, and many do not feel represented by the ideas of the group.

Under the hashtag #YoNoSoy14Millones [I am not 14 million] various users separate themselves from those that defend the movement. This includes Jaime Tamariz (@JaimeTamariz) [es]:

@JaimeTamariz: Somos 6.676.120.288 de personas distintas/diversas tratando de encontrar la felicidad en nuestra efímera vida #YoNoSoy14Millones

@JaimeTamariz [es]: We are 6,676,120.288 diverse and different people trying to find happiness in our ephemeral lives #YoNoSoy14Millones [I am not 14 million]

Majito Lasso (@majitolasso) [es], for his part, shared his opinion about being “pro-life:”

@majitolasso: Ojalá se escandalizaran de la violación y el femicidio, no de derechos sexuales y reproductivos. Eso sería provida #yonosoy14millones

@majitolasso [es]: I hope that they're scandalized by rape and female infanticide, not sexual and reproductive rights. That would be pro-life #yonosoy14millones [I am not 14 million]

In a similar manner, Mónica Pazmino (@justmonique1981) [es] wrote:

@justmonique1981: Cuando inculcen [sic] amor y tolerancia hablamos amigos fundamentalistas Provida #YoNoSoy14Millones

@justmonique1981 [es]: When they instill love and tolerance we talk, friends, of fundamental pro-life. #YoNoSoy14Millones [I am not 14 million]

Gender Gap Widens in Chinese Cities

Oiwan Lam — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:38:01 +0000

China Digital Times highlighted some discussion on gender gap in China. Even though the overall percentage of working women is not very low, as a result of urbanization, employment rate for working-age women in urban areas fell to a new low of 60.8 percent in 2010, down from 77.4 percent 20 years earlier.

The Eccentrics and the Women Who Run for President in Iran

Farid — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:51:10 +0000

One of the more eccentric presidential hopefuls says ‘Presidents should be handsome'. Source: Entekhab

Hundreds of hopeful Iranians, including thirty women, have registered as candidates to replace President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the forthcoming election on June 14, 2013 even though they have no chance whatsoever of being elected. The conservative Council of Guardians appoints the shortlist of candidates who will actually run.

Besides political heavy weights such as former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's ally, there are several eccentric candidates that have attracted media attention, momentarily stealing the limelight.

Eccentric Candidates

The elderly man in this television interview says he wants to make his eldest son the Minister of Housing if he is elected because they never had their own house.

Another candidate says, ”Presidents should be handsome and make people happy.” [photo above, video below]

Female Candidates

Thirty women have registered to stand as candidates for the forthcoming presidential election. Meanwhile, Mohammad Yazdi, a clerical member of Iran’s Council of Guardians, has declared that Iran's laws “do not allow women to become presidents.”

The blogger Saeedshabani says:

Dear Ladies, why does a regime that does not consider you to have enough brain to stand as a candidate, accept your votes? I ask this question: what is the difference between men and women? I hope women will boycott this election.

Nicaraguans Defend Law Against Violence Towards Women

Marianna Breytman — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:18:59 +0000

In April, a campaign called “I Support Law 779″ was launched on social networks to demand that a law protecting the physical, psychological and moral integrity of women be respected. The campaign consisted of writing a supportive phrase, taking a photo with the phrase, and uploading it with the tag #yoapoyolaley779 [es] (#ISupportLaw779).

Law 779, or the Integral Law Against Violence Towards Women [es], was approved in Nicaragua on January 26, 2012, and went into effect in June of the same year.

The law prohibits mediation between victims and aggressors, independent of the type of aggression. Starting in March, this aspect of the law has provoked religious leaders and members of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) to promote reforms to the law, claiming that mediation can exist in cases where the sentence is less than five years.

The first people to gather in protest to reject said reform, by considering it unconstitutional, were the members of the Democratic Association of Lawyers in Nicaragua (Adanic), who called together their unionizers and citizenry in general to demand that the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) resolve the appeals against Law 779.

@AnabellZavala [es] in support of Bill 779 (“It would be unconstitutional if Law 779 did not exist #ISupportLaw779″)

Carlos Lucas [es] writes about the law on his blog:

No es perfecta y ni siquiera revolucionaria y aunque llega algo tarde, tomando en cuenta el enorme daño físico, vidas, estado sicológico de las mujeres y sus familias, que había venido provocando su vacío, pero la puesta en marcha de la Ley 779 o Ley Integral contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres de Nicaragua, comienza a sacudir- y más si se si aplica firmemente- nuestra forma de pensar y conceptos sobre familia, matrimonio, unión de pareja, hogar, felicidad, armonía familiar, amor, etc.

Tan es así, que sobre esta Ley 779, apenas dictada en el 2012, ya hay en Nicaragua, toda una reaccionaria conspiración contra algunos de esos avances en el tema de la violencia contra la mujer.

It is not perfect and would not even revolutionize anything and although it has arrived a bit late, taking into account the enormous physical harm, the lives, the psychological state of women and their families, which had come provoking its void, the start up of Law 779 or the Integral Law Against Violence Towards Women in Nicaragua, is beginning to shake up – and more so if applied firmly – our way of thinking and concepts of family, marriage, civil union, home, happiness, familial harmony, love, etc.

It is so much so that, with regards to Law 779, which was only enacted in 2012, there is already an entire reactionary conspiracy in Nicaragua against some of the advances in the field of violence against women.

At the start of May, Bishop Abelardo Mata made statements to the media comparing Law 779 with the Anti-Christ, adding that this new law is separating families by not permitting mediation between the aggressor and the victim. The bishop's declarations provoked reaction from the public on social networks once again.

Feminist group La Corriente [es] created a video dedicated to Bishop Mata, where four activists from the feminist movement are featured doing a parody of Yuri's song “Maldita Primavera”:

“Watch out! #BishopMata” Stencil created by Rodrigo Rodriguez. Protest campaign against Bishop Mata

Additionally, activists on social networks began the campaign “Watch out, #BishopMata!” Rodrigo Rodriguez [es] writes the following on his blog:

¿Es la ley 779 REALMENTE tan grave para el sistema de justicia -pensemos por un momento que nuestro sistema de justicia es bien aplicado, sólo para ejemplificar esto- y el ejercicio de los derechos humanos en nuestro país, como para compararla con el significado del anticristo, entendido desde una visión cristiano-católica como un adversario decisivo del hijo de Dios (ese ser invisible, omnipresente, todopoderoso que controla y decide nuestro destino)?

En serio… ¿en realidad es tan grave?

Is Law 779 REALLY that serious for the justice system — let's think for a moment that our justice system is well implemented, just to exemplify this — and the exercise of human rights in our country, to compare it to the meaning of the antichrist, understood from a Christian-Catholic vision as a decisive adversary of the son of God (this invisible, omnipresent, all-powerful being that controls and decides our destiny)?

Really… is it that serious in reality?

Blog 24 Pieces of Craziness published another video [es] made by the group Youths for Law 779, where they sing the same song that La Corriente dedicated to Bishop Mata:

According to the document “Why do I defend Law 779?” [es], elaborated upon by the Catholics for the Right to Choose movement:

En Nicaragua las cifras de Violencia Intrafamiliar y Sexual registradas en las Comisarías de la Mujer,han venido incrementándose anualmente de 31759 en 2009 a 34763 en 2010. El Instituto de Medicina Legal IML refleja en el 2012, la realización de 5371 peritajes, de las cuales 4726 fueron realizados a mujeres y 642 fueron realizados a hombres (en este último caso, los agresores son hombres incluidos los agentes estatales).

In Nicaragua, numbers from Domestic and Sexual Violence registered in Police Stations for Women have been continuously increasing annually from 31,759 in 2009 to 34,763 in 2010. The Institute for Legal Medicine (IML) reflects in 2012 the completion of 5371 reports, of which 4726 came from women and 642 from men (in this last case, the aggressors are men, including state agents).

Furthermore the document adds that “every year more than 80 women in Nicaragua are murdered as a result of extreme violence that is exercised against them.”

No Women In Pubs In Andhra After 10 PM

Rezwan — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:46:32 +0000

Does the absence of women in public spaces makes these spaces safer for women?

The above comment is made by the blogger at The Life and Times of an Indian Homemaker, who is outraged by the decision of the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, to ban women from pubs after 10 pm claiming that it would keep them safe.

“Lift your Skirt, Save a Life” Cervical Cancer Ad Divides Singapore

Mong Palatino — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:30:26 +0000

To remind Singaporeans about the free Pap smear screenings this month, the Singapore Cancer Society came out with a “Lift your skirt. Save a life” ad which sparked a lively discussion on whether it was creative, effective, or offensive.

The campaign featured local celebrities replicating the iconic pose of Marilyn Monroe in her film The Seven Year Itch. The campaign poster can be seen on bus shelters and train stations.

According to the Singapore Cancer Society, cervical cancer is a major health issue in the country:

Cervical Cancer ranks no. 9 among the cancers diagnosed in Singaporean women. Each year, 200 women are diagnosed with the disease and 70 of them die from it. It is a highly preventable and curable disease.

From 1 to 31 May 2013, all female Singaporeans and PR aged 25 – 69 years old, can enjoy FREE Pap smear screening at participating clinics island-wide.

At least 178 clinics are offering free Pap smear screenings this month. There were mixed reactions to the ad. Some praised it for being catchy while others thought it was a fashion or slimming ad. Others criticized it for being too sexual.

“Lift your skirt. Save a life” ad to promote awareness on cervical cancer. Image from Facebook page of the Singapore Cancer Society

Everything Also Complain believes a simple reminder that there are free pap smear screenings would have been enough:

…you don’t need a controversial headline to grab the attention of Singaporean women. One four letter word starting with the letter F would do the trick: FREE, and that magical word that possesses Singaporeans into queuing long hours for stuff they don’t need is restrained here by small caps and boring font

a musliminah in NL also thinks the same way:

the idea behind the sexualised women was catering to the male gaze, suggesting voyeurism and sexual availability of women. This copywriter thinks that puns hardly work in ads, while others thought that it's not a good idea to sexualise ads which carry an important message.

What word would trigger the Singaporean mindset to pay attention to this ad? For the next campaign, I suggest the following headline:

FREE Pap Smears!

That oughta attract attention and get women to sign up for the free checkups. :)

Mr Brown supports the cause but is not happy with the campaign theme:

I am all for cervical cancer awareness but really? “Lift your skirt, save your life.”?

While you are at it, why not “Open your legs, save your life.”?

Or “Drop your panties, save your life.”?

Or “Upskirt your downturn, save your life.”?

In any case, despite the fracas, cancer is serious stuff and I shall provide the link to the info for free pap smear screenings in May

Writing for the Breakfast Network, Wesley Gunter defends the ad:

…if an ad like this CAN make more women go for PAP smears because it GRABS their attention and saves their lives, hasn’t it met its objectives?

The only thing that is “sad” about this whole affair is how this creative attempt was so readily shot down before it was given a chance to see if it actually works.

Linda Black, one of the models who participated in the ad, is proud over the success of the campaign:

I am so proud of the campaign, and I think it was beautifully shot and lovingly edited with women’s health issues at heart. I stand by that, and I will defend it and my decision to be a part of it.

That being said, the campaign is a major success – loads of people are talking about it, or have heard of it, and a kernel of truth has been planted: when was the last time you ladies have had your screening? Isn’t it marvelous that in this country, the powers that be care enough about you to give you your rightfully deserved screening for FREE?

Conference for Women Writers of African Ancestry

Ndesanjo Macha — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:28:22 +0000

Yari Yari Ntoaso is an international conference on literature by women of African ancestry. You can follow in on Twitter using #YariYari hashtag or on Kinna Reads blog.

Hong Kong: ‘Drink Less to Get Raped Less’

Oiwan Lam — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:15:30 +0000

Hong Wrong rounded up Hong Kong citizens’ responses to the city's security chief's comment on the soaring of rape cases. The police head, Lai Tung-Kwok, told women to cut down on drinking in a press conference.

Chinese React to Angelina Jolie's Mastectomy

Oiwan Lam — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:52:49 +0000

Off Beat China translated Chinese netizens’ reaction to Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy. Comments are mixed, some find the act courageous, some say it is over-reaction.

Dirty Words Russian Girls Can’t Say on the Internet

Kevin Rothrock — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:40:22 +0000

Fellatio has long been part of the rich tapestry of politics worldwide. For anyone alive and cognizant during the 1990s, Bill Clinton’s licentious escapades with Monica Lewinsky will forever color (or taint, depending on your perspective) the image of the American White House. Earlier this week, on May 13, 2013, opposition figure Maria Baronova penned an open letter [ru] to writer and political dissident Eduard Limonov, wherein she dropped a sexual bombshell of her own. Her text unabashedly refers to “masturbating in the shower” and credits Limonov—whose works [ru] are famous for their intricate descriptions of lewd sex acts—with teaching her (through his books) how to “suck dick” “without false modesty” and “fuck like an animal.” Baronova’s letter included a great deal more than these offhand sexual remarks, though it is those remarks that undoubtedly explain the online backlash that followed.

Sexism, locked and loaded

This week has been unusually cruel to women on Russian Twitter. In addition to the wave of sexist jokes that washed up after the RuNet learned about film star Angelina Jolie’s preventative double mastectomy, many Russian netizens took Baronova’s sexual revelations as an invitation to attack her specifically and female public figures more broadly.

Some of the insults came from the usual suspects, like tabloid editor Ashot Gabrelyanov, who proposed [ru] on Twitter that Jolie auction off for charity her removed breasts on eBay. Also joining the fun, however, was one of Pussy Riot’s lawyers—the infamously unpleasant Mark Feygin—who mused in a (now deleted) tweet:

Кстати сказать, насчет сисек Джоли, может это она операцию по изменению пола прикрывает. Трансгендеры отрезают. А чо?

By the way, regarding Jolie’s tits, maybe she’s using this to cover up a sex change operation. Transgenders slice off. Hey now.

Indeed, Feygin was on a roll. Commenting on Baronova’s open letter just a day before, he wrote in a tweet (that he has not deleted):

По поводу одного широко обсуждаемого сейчас текста, маленькая ремарка: …и это, пожалуй, всё, чему она научилась…

Regarding a certain now widely discussed text, [I have] one tiny remark: … this [fellatio], if you will, is the only thing she learned…

Lev Sharansky (a satirist personality run anonymously) quipped with open-ended sexism:

Вчера Баронова, сегодня Джоли. С ужасом жду завтра.

Yesterday Baronova, today Jolie. I await tomorrow with horror.

Others decided to broaden their aim and take shots at different prominent Russian women. Anna Veduta, opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s press secretary, found herself in Twitter user berdnikov’s crosshairs:

Анна Ведута более воспитанная девушка, чем Мария Баронова, поэтому она не расскажет нам чему она научилась у Алексея Навального

Anna Veduta is a better-raised young woman than Maria Barnova, therefore she doesn’t tell us what she’s learned from Alexey Navalny.

One of the many demotivators that appeared, following Baronova's open letter.

Demotivators soon popped up online, such as an image [ru] featuring Limonov above the text: “He taught Maria Baronova to suck dick. And what have you done today?” Another popular mash-up (see image to the right), which Baronova herself retweeted, included a photo of her riding a scooter below another picture of a blonde woman sitting in an expensive convertible. The caption is the Karl Marx quote: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” (The joke is that Baronova’s “ability” only earned her a scooter, rather than a sports car.)

Bringing in Baronova’s one-time boss, Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomarev (who himself retweeted [ru], rather strangely, Baronova’s line about masturbating in the shower), Twitter user fuckdaoutlaw asked:

Почему Пономарев Илья не научил свою помощницу Баронову сосать х%й?

Why didn’t Ilya Ponomarev teach his assisant Baronova to suck d**k?

Twitter user rusrusdada expanded the attack on Baronova into a jibe at the entire protest movement, writing:

На самом деле, Баронова из всей Болотной тусовки вызывает уважение. Она единственная честно призналась, что сосет. Другие тоже, но скрывают

In truth, Baronova, apart from the whole Bolotnaya [oppositionist] clique, deserves respect. She alone has honestly confessed that she sucks. The others suck, too, but they conceal it.

The LJ cesspool

On LiveJournal, where an absence of character limits accompanies the bravery of online anonymity, commentary was more substantive, but no less harsh.

A May 14 post [ru] by music critic Artem Rondarev functioned as a sort of beacon for Baronova’s critics, many of whom argued vociferously that politics is no place for raunchy women. In the comments to his post, Rondarev explained [ru] his position on Baronova’s lack of sexual modesty in her public prose, interpreting her lewdness as an endorsement of anarchy:

[…] в случае с Машей я всего лишь попытался объяснить ту простую мысль, что нельзя жить в обществе и быть свободным от него. Оно может не нравиться и все такоэ, но дилемма простая – или в обществе с конвенциями, или в Сомали. Потому что, видите ли, завтра у вас над головой сосед ночью врубит рэп на полную катушку, а когда вы ему придете предъявлять, скажет, что это его способ самовыражения, а вы ханжа, которая спит по ночам, в то время как все свободные люди слушают рэп. Ну и?

[…] in the case of Masha, I just tried to explain the simple idea that it’s impossible to live in society and [simultaneously] be free from it. One might not like everything about it, but the dilemma is simple: it’s either society with its conventions, or you’re in Somalia. Because, you see, tomorrow you’ll have an upstairs neighbor blasting rap music all night long at top volume, and when you go up to confront him, he’ll say that this is his means of self-expression, and you’re just a prude who sleeps at night, while all the free people listen to rap. Well?

In another comment [ru] on Rondarev’s post, LiveJournal user pervert_tanuki called Baronova “a furious attention whore,” to which Rondarev responded [ru] less than charitably:

Опять-таки – я не ищу тут мотивацию Маши, она очевидно лежит неглубоко […] Понятно, что девушке хочется трахаться; меня интересует, грубо говоря, почему подобным девушкам все время хочется именно трахаться, а не книжки читать.

Again—I’m not searching for Masha’s motivation. She’s obviously shallow […] It’s understandable that a young woman wants to screw; I’m interested, to put it crudely, in why similar girls always want precisely to screw, and not to read books.

Several bloggers have concluded that Baronova’s vulgarity damages any chances she has at a career [ru] in politics. In separate posts on LiveJournal, user haeldar [ru] and Google+ user mc project [ru] proposed a scenario thirty years in the future, where Baronova is now a Duma deputy serving a post-Putin Russian democracy. According to the plot, the now stately Baronova proposes some piece of moralist legislation (for example, banning sex robots), only to remind the public that “Maria Baronova in her youth was not above getting fucked in every hole.”

Even Kirill Goncharov, leader of the youth wing of Russia’s oldest liberal political party, joked on Twitter:

Я так понимаю, сегодня Маша Баронова публично закончила заниматься политикой?

So, as I understand it, Masha Baronova today publicly ceased to be involved in politics?

Twitter user VRebyata also resonated the idea that Baronova’s bawdiness causes problems for women in government, writing:

Баронова всколыхнула твиттер. Теперь самым популярным вопросом к женщинам – политикам будет вопрос об их отношении к книгам Эдуарда Лимонова

Baronova stirred up Twitter. Now the most popular question to female politicians will be the question about their relationship to Eduard Limonov’s books

In one comment thread [ru] on LiveJournal, a group of netizens even thought it fair to compare Baronova’s talk of oral sex to Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova’s participation in a public orgy. They even connected Baronova and Tolokonnikova to Cicciolina, the famed pornstar and member of the Italian parliament in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Baronova’s guile?

Not everyone deplored Baronova for her letter to Limonov, however. Many bloggers seemed willing to accept that her use of vulgarity was a cunning, if shrewd, ploy to gain an audience. Indeed, Norway-based Facebook user Andrew Voronkov observed [ru]:

Если бы она про это не написала, то многие бы и не прочитали бы статью.

If she hadn’t written about it [fellatio], then many people would not have read the article.

Poland-based LJ user Andrei Karatkevich enumerated [ru] four justifications for Baronova’s scandalous word choice:

1. Содержимое текста отнюдь не сводится к сосанию хуя, хотя все цитируют именно эту фразу.
2. С другой стороны, девушка, очевидно, понимала, что цитировать будут именно это.
3. …как из романа “это я, Эдичка” чуть менее чем все помнят сцену сосания хуя негру… и ничего больше.
4. А научил-то он её вещи нужной и полезной…

1. The contents of the text cannot be reduced just to sucking dick, though everyone is quoting exactly that phrase.
2. On the other hand, the girl obviously understood that everyone would quote exactly that.
3. [Limonov’s] novel “It’s Me, Eddie” is remembered more than anything for the scene where he sucks the dick of a black man … and nothing more.
4. And he [Limonov] taught her things necessary and useful…

Even some of Baronova’s critics felt compelled to acknowledge her letter’s publicity success. In a long response [ru] published the day after Baronova’s text, Pavel Zherebin (a member of Limonov’s NatsBol movement) offered the following measured praise:

Статья эта станет знаменитой, ведь Мария применила нехитрый прием – эпатаж с отсылками к сугубо сексуальным вопросам. До сих пор политическая публицистика была свободна от подобных методов форсированного продвижения своих идей. Поэтому Марии можно только поаплодировать – она храбрый новатор, которая решилась не просто на то, чтобы наполнить свою статью до краев женской гендерностью, но и на то, чтобы эту гендерность выразить прямым текстом в самых искренних и волнующих выражениях.

This article will become famous because Maria used an ingenuous approach—a shocking tone that touches on extremely sexual issues. Until now, political journalism was free from promoting its ideas by such methods. Therefore, we can only applaud Maria—she’s a brave innovator who decided not just to fill her article to the edges with female genderness, but also to express that genderness in plain speak, in the most sincere and exciting expressions.

Maria Baronova, Moscow, 25 August 2012, photo by Anton Nossik, CC 2.0.

In a comment [ru] on Rondarev’s blog, Baronova herself confirmed that she consciously employed gender as a means to generate a larger dialogue (about both Limonov and women in contemporary Russian politics):

Цель письма – получить от общества реакцию и расшевелить его, это общество. По большей части реакционное и консервативное. Цель вполне достигнута. Тонны говна и хихиканий: “ПИПИИИСЬКА” – получены. Дальше люди обсуждают. Дисскусия возникла. Каждый, в итоге придет, к чему-то своему. И мне от того, что люди поймут что-то важное (и каждый глубоко свое), будет приятно. End of story

The purpose of the letter was to get a reaction from the public and rattle it up. This society is mostly reactionary and conservative. My goal has been reached entirely. I got tons of shit and chuckles: “WEEEENIE.” From there, [though], people discuss. A discussion arose. Eventually, everyone comes to something all their own, and for me it’s nice that people will realize something important (and something deeply their own). End of story.

Not everyone is a hater

Many bloggers, of course, refused to attack Baronova, and some rallied to her defense. Journalist Arina Kholina, for instance, credited her in a Facebook post [ru] with capturing the collective experience of a generation of Russian women:

Не знаю, зачем все ругают Машу Баронову. Она была честна. Книга Лимонова про Эдичку, правда, была одним из сексуальных переживаний подросткового возраста. Особенно после СССР. Маше хватило смелости написать об этом. Пусть немного коряво. Может, конечно, особенно взрослые или умные читали совсем о другом, но мне было лет 16 и я думала про секс. И да – в каком-то смысле она была учебником. Наверное, если бы Маша написала, что книга научила ее шить кружевные рубашки, все бы умилились. А она, вот бесстыдница, про минет.

I don’t know why everyone is ripping into Masha Baronova. She was being honest. Limonov’s book about Eddie, it’s true, was one of the sexual experiences of adolescence. Especially after the USSR. Masha had the courage the write about it. Okay, it turned out a little clumsy. Maybe, of course, particularly mature or intelligent people read about something entirely different, but when I was 16-years-old, I was thinking about sex. And, yes, in a sense, it was a sort of textbook. Probably, if Masha had written that the book taught her how to sew a lace shirt [another part of It’s Me, Eddie], everyone would just melt for her. But she, without shame, wrote about blowjobs.

Opposition activist Ilya Yashin tried to relocate the focus of RuNet mockery to government officials, tweeting:

Надеюсь, депутат Бурматов никогда не будет писать открытых писем Вячеславу Володину. Не хочу знать, чему он его научил.

I hope [Duma] Deputy Burmatov never writes an open letter to [First Deputy Chief of Putin’s Staff] Viacheslav Volodin. I don’t want to know what he [Volodin] taught him.

Vera Kichanova, one of the opposition’s youngest figures, tweeted innocently:

А меня Лимонов только матом ругаться научил.

Limonov only taught me to curse [in obscenities].

Russia after blowjobs

One day after publishing her open letter, Baronova granted an interview [ru] to Daria Yausheva of jourdom.ru, where she addressed the backlash to her explicit sexual language:

Как сегодня написал Евгений Фельдман: «Лимонов научил сосать х** Баронову, а Путин – всю страну». Опять же, мужчина может писать о сексе достаточно свободно, а для женщин в России это по-прежнему – полузапретная тема. Тем более, если ты вовлечена в политику, то должна все время соблюдать некие рамки в которых, на самом деле, уже давно никто не живет.

It’s like Evgeny Feldman wrote [ru] today: “Limonov taught Baronova to suck d**k, but Putin taught the whole country.” Once again, a man can write about sex quite freely, but for women in Russia it’s still a semi-prohibited topic. Especially if you’re involved in politics, [you, as a woman,] must at all times observe certain confines, within which, in fact, nobody has lived for a long time.

Baronova identifies a cultural contradiction that is hardly unique to Russia. Certainly, the perseverance of sexist “confines” plagues societies the world over, no matter how developed or humane the civilization. The Internet response to Baronova’s talk of sex, whether one reads her text as a raised fist to patriarchy or a frivolous attempt at self-promotion, reveals that prejudices against freewheeling women enjoy widespread popularity among Russian netizens. That said, Baronova’s own audacity over the last 18 months—and the prospect of decades more to follow—promises to keep Russia’s male chauvinists busy indeed.

Muslim TV Anchor Faces Backlash in India Over ‘Uncivilized’ Veil Comment

Inji Pennu — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:25:48 +0000

A female anchor for a popular Malayalam-language television channel in the southern Indian state of Kerala is facing a firestorm of criticism after she called the Muslim practice of women wearing a veil “uncivilized” and a form of oppression.

Fousiya Musthafa, a Muslim woman herself, talked about the general plight of Muslim women on an India Vision TV program on April 9, 2013 saying the purdah, or practice of veiling and segregation of the sexes, is oppressive, especially for women who have been married living their lives like widows as their husbands are away from home working in the Middle East. She added:

Even with all the modern facilities, in this hot summer here, these women have to wear the uncivilized purdah.

About a quarter of the population in Kerala are Muslim and more than half are Hindu. The editor for India Vision has issued a hazy explanation that there was a misunderstanding with the script, with the editorial board overlooking some unnecessary lines in it.

A group of Muslim women rallying with placard in Kerala. Image by Aji Jayachandran. Copyright Demotix (8/12/2011)

Muslim women in Kerala, who claims the highest literacy rate among other Muslim women in India, began to wear a veil only recently. Some 20 years ago, even though the dress of Muslim women had differences in color and method from other religious groups, it never was an all-covering purdah. Some observe that the influx of Kerala workers into the Middle East on their return has influenced this rise in purdah as a fashion wear in Kerala. Also, famous Kerala writer and poet Kamala Surayya's conversion to Islam during her later years and praise for the purdah may have given the veil a boost in popularity.

However, the rising trend has been met with resistance from some quarters of Kerala's Muslim women who did not want to adhere to such dress codes. Jameela K, mathematics teacher at Sullamussalam Oriental High School in Malappuram district was suspended because she refused to wear the purdah or the green overcoat as prescribed by the school.

And aeronautical engineer Reihana Kazi sought out protection from the court after some of her relatives pleas for her to wear the purdah escalated to death threats.

After Fousia Musthafa's declarations on the veil, Facebook was flooded with virulent comments and posts against her, attacking her with expletives and verbally assaulting her. An Facebook post supporting purdah was written showering the journalist with verbal abuse and defaming her character, which was shared by 1,986 users.

Sreeja Neyyattinkara protests [mal] against such attacks:

ഒരു കാര്യം അതു തെറ്റായാലും ശരിയായാലും ഒരു പെണ്ണ് പറഞ്ഞു അങ്ങനെ പറയുന്നവരെ ഇങ്ങനെ തെറിയഭിഷേകം നടത്താന് ഏത് പ്രവാചകനാണ് നിങ്ങളെ പഠിപ്പിച്ചത്

Even if something is right or wrong, just because a woman said it, did any prophet give you the right to abuse her?

Latheef Arinjira [mal] who shared the same post that has attacked the journalist pleads support:

sahodara vayikkuka…thalkalika labathin vendi samudayathinte acharangale publicil avahelicha indiavisioneyum athile curspondenna chettayekkethireyum prathshedikkuka

dear brother, please read this post. For temporary benefits our culture has been tarnished by this channel (India Vision). Please protest against this.

Most of the comments on FB were pure vitriol and cannot be reprinted. But, there were lone voices too defending purdah which took a more objective approach towards the issue,

Ahmed Niyaz writes as a comment [mal] pertaining to a discussion of the same issue in G+:

ഹിജാബ് മുസ്ലിം സ്ത്രീയുടെ സംസ്കാരമാണ്, കേരളത്തിലെ മതബോധമുള്ള മുസ്ലിംകള് തലമറച്ചിരുന്നു. കേരളത്തിലെ മുസ്ലിംകള് സാംസ്കാരികമായി കൂടുതലായി മതവല്കരിക്കപ്പെട്ടത് ഈയടുത്താണെന്നത് യാഥാര്ത്യമാണ്, പക്ഷേ അതൊക്കെ ഭരണഘടനയുടെ ഉള്ളിലുള്ള കാര്യം മാത്രമാണ്. രണ്ട് ജോടി വസ്ത്രം മാത്രമുള്ള അവസ്ഥയില് നിന്ന് വസ്ത്രത്തിന്റെ ആര്ഭാടത്തിലേക്ക് വന്നിട്ടും അധികമായിട്ടില്ല.

മാറ് മറക്കാനവകാശമില്ലായ്മയില് നിന്ന് ജീന്സും ടോപിലുമെത്തിനില്ക്കുന്ന ഇതര സ്തീകളുടെ ചോയ്സിലിടപെടാനവകാശമില്ലാത്തത് പോലെ ഇതിലും ഇടപെടാനവകാശമില്ല.

പര്ദ്ദാവിരുദ്ധരുടെ ആത്മാര്ത്ഥതയില് സംശയമുള്ളത് കൊണ്ടാണ് അസഹിഷ്ണുത കാണിക്കേണ്ടി വരുന്നത്.

Hijab is just the culture of a Muslim women. In earlier Kerala Muslim believers used to cover their heads. Its true that purdah is new and Kerala Muslims are trending more towards Islamic icons and cultures. But its within the constitution. From two pairs of clothes, we have now come to a point of many choices.
Once women in Kerala couldn’t cover their upper torso and now they have reached a point of wearing jeans. Just like that, we cannot manipulate a women’s choices of wearing a jeans or purdah too. The sincerity of the anti-purdah supporters is very dubious and maybe that’s why believers are suspicious of the intentions and hence virulent.

But Shahina Nafeesa, [mal] a Muslim journalist in Kerala, challenged the notion of choice which is usually espoused by Muslim men and women alike for wearing purdah:

ആരെങ്കിലുമൊക്കെ പർദ്ദ ധരിക്കുന്നതിൽ എനിക്ക് പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് വിഷമമോ സന്തോഷമോ ഇല്ല .പർദ്ദ ധരിക്കാനുള്ള സ്ത്രീകളുടെ ‘ചോയിസിനു വേണ്ടി പോരാടുന്നവരെ കണ്ടു ,നല്ല കാര്യം .എനിക്കും ഒരു ചോയിസ് ഉണ്ട് .എനിക്ക് പർദ്ദ ധരിക്കാൻ ഇഷ്ടമല്ല.ചൊമല ഷോട്സും ലൈറ്റ് മഞ്ഞ ടീ ഷർട്ടും ആണ് എന്റെ ചോയിസ് .എല്ലവരും വരി വരിയായി വന്നു എന്റെ ചോയിസിനെ സപ്പോർട്ട് ചെയ്താട്ടേ

I don't have any issues if someone is wearing a purdah or not. I wont be happy or sad. I am noticing many supporting the “choice” of women wearing purdah. Good. I too have a choice. I don't like to wear purdah. My choice is to wear a yellow tee and a red shorts. Please come and support my choice too.

Another FB post from Rejesh O Positive questioned [mal] where exactly is the choice in wearing religious attire:

സ്ത്രീകള് എന്തുധരിക്കണം എന്തുധരിക്കരുത് എന്നൊക്കെ നിർദേശിക്കുന്ന മതങ്ങൾക്കുള്ളിൽ. അവർ ചെയ്യുന്നത് അവരുടെ ഇഷ്ടമാണ് എന്ന് പറയുന്നത്. ജയിലിൽ കഴിയുന്നവർ ജയിൽ അധികൃതർ വരുമ്പോൾ മുണ്ട് ‘മടക്കികുത്ത്’ അഴിക്കുന്നതും , തോളിൽ കിടക്കുന്ന തോർത്ത് കയിൽ എടുത്തു പിടിക്കുന്നതും സ്വന്തം ഇഷ്ടപ്രകാരം ആണെന്ന് പറയുനതിന് തുല്യമാണ്.

If someone is telling women that they have choices for clothing inside their religion, it's like telling people inside a jail that they have choices when it comes to wearing the clothing endorsed by the jail authorities.

In the Quran, it would appear that the Prophet had foreseen all this controversy:

After my disappearance there will be no greater source of chaos and disorder for my nation than women.

It's true, considering the recent debate surrounding religious morals and women. Europe and the rest of the world is still smarting from feminist group FEMEN's fiery “International Topless Jihad Day” to raise awareness about Amina Tyler, a 19-year-old FEMEN member who sparked a massive uproar in Tunisia by posing topless with the slogan “Fuck Your Morals” written across her chest.

The group's method has been controversial, with some Muslim women even rejecting FEMEN's support by counter protesting that they do not need nude protests and imperialistic approaches to solve their own problems.

Muslim Feminists such as Qasim Amin to Fatima Mernissi have written extensively about the moral dress codes on women and linked it to the the suppression of women by the patriarchal nature of religion.

Activist and writer Arundhathi Roy wrote in an essay for Outlook India last year:

Coercing a woman out of a burqa is not about liberating her, but about unclothing her. Coercing a woman out of a burqa is as bad as coercing her into one.

Daly, a blogger [mal], linked this cultural sensitivity issue as a form of patriarchy itself in a discussion about purdah in a blog post seven years ago:

ബൂര്ഖയെ വെറുമൊരു സാംസ്കാരിക ചിഹ്നം മാത്രമായി ഗ്ലോറിഫൈ ചെയ്യുക. പാത്രിയാര്ക്കിയുടെ എല്ലാ അപ്പസ്തോലന്മാരും ചെയ്യുന്നതത് തന്നെ. എന്നീട്ട് അതിനെ സംരക്ഷിക്കാനെന്നപേരില്, അധിനിവേശത്തിനെത്തിരെ എന്ന പേരില് ഉപയോഗിക്കുക. അങ്ങനെ മനസ്സിലാക്കുമ്പോള് “സംസ്കാരത്തിന്റെ ദുരഭിമാനം സംരക്ഷിക്കാനുള്ള ബാധ്യത സ്ത്രീയ്യ്ക്ക് മാത്രമോ എന്നത് കൂടുതല് കൂടുതല് പ്രസക്തമാവുന്നു. ഒരു തിന്മയെ എതിര്ക്കാന് മാറ്റൊരൂ തിന്മ ഉപയോഒഗിക്കുന്നതിലെ അപഹാസ്യതയും പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെടുന്നു. അധിനിവേശം ഇല്ലാതായാലൂം ഇല്ലാതാകുന്നതല്ലല്ലോ സംസ്കാരിക ദുരഭിമാനം. പറഞ്ഞു വന്നത്, അധിനിവേശത്തിനെതിരെ പോലും ഇത്തരം അടിച്ചമര്ത്തല് തന്ത്രങ്ങള് ഉപയോഗിക്കപ്പെടുന്നതിന്റെ അപഹാസ്യതയാണ്.

Burqa is glorified as a cultural symbol, which is done by the patriarchal systems. After it is glorified it is then said to be used as a tool against imperialism. Then we need to ask, why only a woman’s dress is used a symbol against imperialism and why only women needs to protect this culture. To deflate an evil, another evil is used. Even if the imperialism is done and over with women in burqa still exist.

Yemen: Focus on Education!

Noon Arabia — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:39:13 +0000

In a country where the illiteracy rate of both sexes (15 years and above) is almost 40 per cent, education and the empowerment of the women and youth is an imperative necessity for any concrete development in Yemen.

Activist and researcher Atiaf Alwazir wrote a blog post entitled “Reading should be a right not a privilege” highlighting the importance of education for women.
She urged:

Let us all work together to demand concrete changes, and demand from the government to bring back the literacy program that it used to implement in the past. We also must make the rights to education and health care as top political priorities in the national dialogue conference (which began on March 2013 and is scheduled to end in August 2013).

Yemen's school aged boys and girls. Photo by Arwa Othman

Activist and chairperson of the Rights and Freedoms Working Group in the National Dialogue, Arwa Othman stressed the importance of education but also added in a post on her Facebook page [ar]:

ليس فقط الحق في التعليم كما تنص مواثيق حقوق الإنسان ، بل ويجب أن أن تتضمن المناهج المدرسية في الجمهورية اليمنية ( اليمن الجديد) هذه المواثيق .. وتدرسها كمادة أساسية ، لإشاعة ثقافة حقوق الإنسان التسامح ، التعايش ، السلام ، الحرية ، المواطنة ، المساواة ، عدم التمييز ، حرية الإختلاف ، حرية المعتقد ،…الخ) أي أحترام الإنسان بعيداً عن لونه ، وجنسه ، وديانته ، ولغته ، ورأيه السياسي ، ومبادئه ..الخ ..نتمنى أن نخرج من مؤتمر الحوار بهذا النص الدستوري احتراماً لحق الأجيال ..

Not only is the right to education as stated by human rights conventions, but we must also include in the school curriculum in the Republic of Yemen (The New Yemen) these charters .. and they must be taught as a core subject to promote a human rights culture, tolerance, coexistence, peace, freedom, citizenship, equality, non-discrimination, freedom of difference, freedom of religion, etc …) i.e respecting the human being regardless of his/her color, sex, religion, language, political opinion and principles ..etc. We hope to get out of this National Dialogue Conference a constitutional text which respects the right of future generations

Dominican Catholic Church Sues NGO for Sexual Education Campaign

Nina Shield — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:10:49 +0000

The Catholic Church filed an appeal against the Dominican Association for Family Welfare (Profamilia) [es] to withdraw their advertising campaign, “Your sexual and reproductive rights are human rights,” which uses the slogan “Know, Act, Demand” and aims to raise awareness about sex education, condom use, abortion, incest, harassment, and high-risk pregnancies.

The pastoral vicars for Family & Life and Health of the Archdiocese of Santo argue that this campaign encourages abortion and early sexual relationships; violates the right to life, the right of parents to exercise authority over their children, and the right to non-interference in the home; and uses images of children, which is prohibited by the Constitution.

On Saturday, May 11, Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez accused Profamilia of promoting promiscuity in the country by encouraging underage sex. López Rodríguez said that the campaign promotes promiscuity, lawlessness, and vagrancy [es]:

A medida que usted reparte preservativos fomenta el derecho al sexo; es un invento de los individuos de hoy día que no tienen ninguna vergüenza, ningún principio; yo no creo en ONG’s, creo en los principios morales.

Handing out condoms promotes a right to sex; this is an invention of contemporary individuals who don't have any shame or principles; I don't believe in NGOs, I believe in moral principles.

As usual, social networks were the site of a lively debate on the subject. Tweeters quickly coalesced under the hashtag #SometemeAMi (I answer to me) in solidarity with the NGO Profamilia. Among the most notable tweets:

Mariana Barrenese, a public policy specialist:

@MaruBarrenese: #SometemeAMi por apoyar abierta y públicamente a @profamiliaRD y su campaña

@MaruBarrenese: #SometemeAMi by openly and publicly supporting @profamiliaRD and their campaign

Jenny Torres, a poverty expert:

@JennyTorres67: Esta visión tan adultocéntrica no nos deja vivir #SometemeAMi que #YoApoyoaProfamilia

@JennyTorres67: This adult-centric vision won't leave us alone #SometemeAMi because #YoApoyoaProfamilia (I support NGO Profamilia)

Gloria Amézquita, a journalist and social activist:

@GloriaAmézquita: #SometemeAMi por luchar por el derecho a decidir. Porque en el cuerpo manda la persona, no la Iglesia.

@GloriaAmézquita: #SometemeAMi for fighting for the right to choose. Because people are in charge of their bodies, not the Church.

Even the prosecutor for the National District, Yeni Berenice, voiced her support for Profamilia's work:

@YeniBerenice: La campaña de @profamiliaRD educativa, oportuna, necesaria!

@YeniBerenice: @profamiliaRD‘s campaign is educational, timely, necessary!

In her masterful article The Case of Profamilia: A Sign of Weakness in the Catholic Church [es], Denisse Paiewonsky, a representative from the Mujer y Salud [es] (Woman and Health) collective, said:

La Iglesia no acaba de entender que las actitudes de la sociedad dominicana hacia el aborto terapeutico, el acoso sexual, la educación sexual científica en las escuelas, la anticoncepción, el embarazo adolescente, etc. se alejan cada vez más de la ortodoxia eclesial.

The Church does not understand that attitudes in Dominican society toward therapeutic abortion, sexual harassment, scientific sex education in schools, contraception, teen pregnancy, etc. are moving farther and farther away from Church orthodoxy.

Profamilia's official statement [es] on the Church's suit makes it clear that they will not retreat in their campaign and reaffirms their commitment to scientific, evidence-based, comprehensive sex education and the defense of sexual and reproductive rights as part of human rights.

Both parties were due in court on Monday, May 13, in the Fifth Chamber of the Civil and Commercial Court of First Instance in the National District. However, the hearing was postponed to next Monday, May 20, because the Church and its lawyers have not submitted their evidence to the court.

Brazilian Boy Band Tour Continues Despite Rape Indictments

Mark O'Thomas — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:20:07 +0000

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages, except when otherwise noted.]

Despite nine members of the ‘pagode’ [en] boy band New Hit being indicted for the gang rape of two sixteen-year-old girls, the group has continued with its national tour regardless. Meanwhile, the victims have become virtual prisoners under the protection of the Program to Protect Children and Adolescents Under Threat of Death (PPCAAM) following threats made by the band's family and fans.

The Public Ministry [en] of the federal state of Bahia has prosecuted the group's crime along with the complicity of a police officer for his part in covering up the episode. The case took place on August 26, 2012, in the Brazilian Northern town of Ruy Barbosa [en]. In October last year, the band were released from jail after 38 days following the court granting them habeas corpus rights.

The trial began in February this year and was postponed until September due to the non-attendance of two defence witnesses. The defendants pleaded a case of consensual sex at the first hearing, while the victims focused on describing the manner in which the violence was committed. The girls’ testimony was corroborated by medical evidence authenticating that rape had taken place as well as the testimony of the police who first assisted them straight after the event. Brazil is now a country torn in two as protests are mounted both for and against the group.

The website Portal Pagodão comments that the band's shows have attracted more than 10,000 over the past few days:

Apesar de toda a polêmica envolvendo a banda num caso de estupro, os meninos da New Hit, provaram que ainda tem grande reconhecimento do público por onde passa, como em shows nas cidades de Teresina (PI), Caxias (MA) e Timon(MA) no último final de semana. [13-14 de abril]

Despite all the controversy surrounding the band's involvement in a rape case, the boys of New Hit have shown they can still pull in the crowds wherever they go, with gigs in places like the city of Teresina [en] and the and the towns of Caxias [en] and Timon [en] last weekend. [April 13-14]

Meanwhile, the Facebook page New Hit-Acreditamos na INOCÊNCIA deles [New Hit - We believe in their innocence] has more than 900 followers. Its sister page Fc New Hit Fo Rever posted the following comment this month:

Eu choro! Choro de felicidade Ao saber que estar tudo voltando ao normal , Choro de felicidade , emoção , ao saber que a agenda dos meninos está linda e maravilhosa , com grandes show's pra fazer!… é incrivél como depois de todo esse acontecido eles continua com esses sorrisos lindos no rosto… Mais quando Deus quer é assim , e a justiça ta sendo feita …. Porque a justiça de Deus nunca falhará ♫♪

I'm crying! Sobbing with tears of joy – knowing that everything's getting back to normal , Sobbing with joy, excitement, safe in the knowledge that the boys are getting on with their lives in such a beautiful and wonderful way, with so many mega shows still to perform!… It's amazing that after all that's happened, they can still carry on with such beautiful smiles on their faces… But when God wills it so, so it is, and justice will be done…. Because God's justice can never fail ♫ ♪

On the flipside, the Facebook page Repúdio ao New Hit: Acusados de Estupro [pt] [Disown New Hit: Rapists On Trial] has almost 7,000 followers and constantly posts anti-band and pro-victim comments. The page encourages people to speak out and stick up posters in the cities where the band is touring.

Repúdio ao New Hit posters have been shared almost 500 times on Facebook

Culture of Rape

Following the band's gig in Recife, the capital of the federal state of Pernambuco [en] on April 21, a surge of comments erupted on the venue's Facebook page. Here's Talitha Aguiar‘s take:

Mulher paga meia e ainda ganha um estupro coletivo de graça! Que promoção hein, Espaço Aberto! Suas filhas, mulheres, amigas também vão participar dessa super promoção???

Women get in half price and can still get gang-raped for free! What a deal, eh, Espaço Aberto!(venue's name)? Your daughters, wives and girlfriends can still get this special offer!!!

Vívian Andrade Martins says:

Bonito, heim? Patrocinando banda de estupradores… bonito.
Até onde o dinheiro pode levar vocês? Qual é o próximo passo? Patrocinar banda de pedófilos?

Lovely, eh? Sponsoring a band of rapists… lovely. Where will money go to next? What's the next move? Sponsoring a band of paedophiles?

In March this year, the band gave shows in Fortaleza, the capital of the federal state of Ceará [en], that were marred by protests. The feminist blog Marchamulheres by Marcha Mundial das Mulheres [Women's Worldwide March] analysed the issues as follows:

Enquanto os acusados fazem shows pelo Brasil afora, as duas adolescentes, que, além de terem sofrido violência sexual, foram ameaçadas de morte, encontram-se afastadas do convívio social e com suas liberdades cerceadas. Isso é inadmissível, pois retira a condição de vítima das adolescentes culpabilizando-as pela violência sofrida, já que os acusados estão em liberdade.

O caso New Hit traz à tona um debate importante: a incorporação da “cultura do estupro”, ou seja, quando há um incentivo ao crime e à culpabilização da vítima através de músicas, peças publicitárias, novelas, piadas humorísticas etc. O show, que vai acontecer [ocorreu] no dia 31 de março, a barraca Master Beach, na Praia do Futuro, em Fortaleza, é um exemplo objetivo dessa cultura.

While the defendants continue to tour throughout Brazil, the two teenagers, who, besides having suffered sexual violence have been threatened with death, find themselves removed from society and their freedoms curtailed. This is unacceptable, because it takes away the teenagers’ victimhood and blames them instead for the violence they have suffered; meanwhile the accused roam free.

The New Hit case raises a critical issue: the incorporation of “rape culture” – when crime is incentivised and victims are blamed through songs, advertisements, soap operas, crass jokes etc. The show which is due to be performed [was performed] on 31 March at the Master Beach venue in Praia do Futuro in Fortaleza is a paradigm example of this culture.

Posters and graffitti mark out the protest in Fortaleza, Ceará Photograph: Laryssa Sampaio/Marcha Mundial das Mulheres

Letter of thanks

Due to public pressure, particularly from social networks, some shows have been cancelled. The band halted their shows in cities like Salvador [en] on 21 October last year, Aracaju [en], Maceió [en] and in the town of Serrinha [en] in January this year, the latter seeing protests led by the Women's Movement of Serrinha. Another concert on April 30 in the town of Nilo Peçanha, in the federal state of Bahia, would also be cancelled according to a representative of the federal state of Bahia, Luiza Maia and the Urban Planning Secretary of Nilo Peçanha, Carlos Azevedo. The band's management, however, has denied they were contracted to play this show.

The group Marcha Mundial das Mulheres, who has held protests in different cities in Bahia, in front of the Fórum venue in Ruy Barbosa on the day of the trial last February. Photograph: Repúdio ao New Hit: Acusados de Estupro

Other forms of protest against New Hit organised by the Marcha Mundial da Mulheres group from their base in Bahia includes the ”escracho” (escrache) [en] outside the summer home of the band's vocalist, Eduardo Martins, in October last year. The group also went to the city of Ruy Barbosa during the hearing in February this year. The two teenage victims sent this letter in recognition of the support they have received from the feminist activists from the group Negra Zeferina (black woman Zeferina), the Repúdio ao New Hit: Acusados de Estupro group and a representative of the federal state of Bahia Luiza Maia:

Ei Meninas,

Como vocês sabem esses últimos seis meses não foram fáceis pra nós. Por causa da nossa coragem tivemos que abrir mão de muita coisa. Estamos longe da nossa família, de amigos e sem meios de comunicação.

Então aproveitei a oportunidade para agradecer a cada uma de vocês que saíram de suas cidades, de suas casas para vir até Ruy Barbosa nos dar força, mostrar que não estamos sozinhas e que temos que seguir esta batalha. Em vários momentos eu cheguei a mim (sic) culpar, a desisti de tudo. Mas sempre lembramos que não estamos sozinhas. Temos todas vocês nos apoiando e lutando junto com a gente.

Obrigado por cada palavra de conforto.

A todas vocês, Negras, Zeferinas, Repúdio, Deputada Luiza Maia e todos que estão a gente.

Beijo!

Vítimas da New Hit

Hey Girls,

As you know these last six months have not been easy for us. We have had to give up so much for being courageous. We are far from our family, friends and without means of communication.

So I've taken the opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have left their cities and their homes to come to the town of Ruy Barbosa to give us strength, to show us that we are not alone and that we have to go on with this battle. At times I've started to blame myself, to even think of giving it all up. But we always remember that we are not alone. We have all of you supporting us and fighting alongside us.

Thank you for every word of comfort.

To all of you, black women, Zeferinas, Repúdio, representative of the federal state of Bahia Luiza Maia and everyone else.

A kiss!

The Victims of New Hit