Prostitution… give them all a share of it!

I was eagerly preparing to read an article entitled “Romanian Authorities promise to legalize prostitution”. I was comforted, somehow, to find that title, and amazed at how fast Romania is progressing in promoting Human Rights, even if it joined the European Union only 3 months ago. The topic of prostitution and whether it should be legalized in Romania has been brought up for discussion before. This generated heated exchanges between antagonist parties everywhere in the media, the Orthodox Church and its followers being the chief opponents of legalization. Well, I must say that in a society where sexuality is still not tackled enough as a subject of discussion even between partners; where sexual education in schools is still often approached in biological terms of how humans “breed”; where “sexual and reproductive rights” is a neologism that most people have never heard about; where sexual orientation is considered by many a “politically correct” disguise of “perversion”, and where a big part of the heterosexual population believe that they are immune to HIV because they aren’t gay – yes, Romania doesn’t seem to be ready for such a legislative “liberalization” of commercial sex.

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Despre 8 Martie ca zi de activism la nivel global

[Blogging against sexism]

Pentru 8 martie, 2007: Continue reading

Stop the Clash: 90 seconds to change the world

From New York to Baghdad, Madrid to Beirut, talk is rising of a ‘clash of civilizations’ between the West and Islam — no end in sight to the catastrophe in Iraq, war brewing between the US and Iran, Lebanon torn apart again, and still no real Israeli-Palestinian talks. But we know this clash is not about religion or culture. The real cause is politics – the politics of divide-and-rule, on all sides.

This is not the world we want. But it’s the world we’ll end up with, unless we act now. It’s time for the peaceful majority – us – to make a stand. So watch our new ‘Stop the Clash’ video now for a fresh, empowering take on these conflicts, and a concrete first step we can all take today:

www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_clash

According to the UN among others, the Palestinian- Israeli conflict is the driving symbol of this “clash” between Islam and the West. But opinion polls show most people around the world agree that policy is the problem – big majorities everywhere want peace in the Middle East, as do most Israelis and Palestinians. If progress toward peace is made there, it will spread.

So let’s take the first step, and call for REAL Middle East peace talks now.

Join the campaign

Tens of thousands of people have already signed the petition and supported an ad that ran on the front page of the Financial Times worldwide and in major Palestinian and Israeli newspapers.

Now we need to raise the pressure, ratcheting up to a major international day of action on June 5th – the 40th anniversary of the
1967 war that began the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. We want to hit every international summit and decision moment from now till then with the same demand. Can you help get us to 50,000 new voices for peace in the next 24 hours?

We agree on what matters most. We all oppose war, tyranny, terror and the killing of innocent civilians. We know these conflicts are caused not by some inevitable culture clash, but by bad politics. The ‘Stop the Clash’ video is a good way to remind friends, family and colleagues of the big picture of all we share – and signing the Real Talks petition is a step every one of us can take.

Avaaz.org | Contact | Media & Press

Cartea “Copilul Vegetarian” – lansare pe 8 martie

Lansarea cartii “Copilul vegetarian” de Elena Pridie va avea loc joi 8 martie, ora 18, la sala publica din str. Labirint 116, Bucuresti. La eveniment vor participa medici (MedInvest, Dr. Stroescu, CSMPR Herghelia), firme (Sano Vita, Granovita) si Societatea Vegetarienilor din Romania. Recomandari, prefata si extrase din carte pot fi gasite aici.

COMUNICAT DE PRESA
Copilul vegetarian – “ba al nostru e mai sanatos”
Rm. Valcea, 27 februarie, 2007

Casa de Editura Advent anunta lansarea cartii „Copilul vegetarian”, sub semnatura autoarei Elena Pridie. Volumul, foarte asteptat pe o piata a alimentatiei sanatoase din ce in ce mai bogata si provocatoare in informatii si produse, vine sa umple un gol resimtit de-a lungul anilor: cum sa ne hranim copiii sanatos? Poate fi vegetarianismul un stil de viata optim chiar si pentru cei mici?

Elena Pridie a scris din nou. Ne-a scris din nou. Dupa zecile de mii de exemplare vandute din cele cinci titluri de pana acum, care o recomanda, fara indoiala, printre cele mai bine vandute autoare din Romania, Elena Pridie a ales sa scrie o carte cu totul noua. Probabil ca aceasta trebuia sa fie prima. Iar daca abia acum iese pe piata, este doar pentru ca experienta acumulata sa asigure temelia unui mesaj pe cat de provocator, pe atat de vrednic de a fi implinit.

Dincolo de gospodina eficienta, de femeia care tine intreaga casa si masa printr-o administrare inteleapta – tinta constanta a titlurilor anterioare – Elena Pridie pluseaza acum o imagine cu cel mai mare impact in familie: sanatatea copiilor nostri.
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International Women’s Day 2007

DON’T FORGET to: Blog Against Sexism Day (sign up here)

“8 martie – ziua femeilor militante” (2006) [ro]
“march 8th – day of women’s activism” (2006) [en]

Global Women’s Strike 2007
Celebrating International Women’s Day around the world

INVEST IN CARING NOT KILLING! Women & girls do 2/3 of the world’s work, most of it unwaged. $1 trillion/year is spent on the military worldwide, more than half by the US. 10% of this would provide the essentials of life for all: water, sanitation, basic health, nutrition, literacy, and a minimum income.
The Global Women’s Strike network, with national co-ordinations in 11 countries and participating organisations in over 60 countries, is demanding the return of military budgets to the community, beginning with women the main carers of people and the planet. Women, and men who support our goals, take action together on 8 March, International Women’s Day, and throughout the year. In this way each grassroots struggle is backed by our collective power. …

“Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls”
Is the theme for International Women’s Day 2007

Learn more about how United Nations celebrate IWD

In 1975, during International Women’s Year, the United Nations began celebrating 8 March as International Women’s Day. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. For the United Nations, International Women’s Day has been observed on 8 March since 1975. The Day is traditionally marked with a message from the Secretary-General.

Why dedicate a day exclusively to the celebration of the world’s women?

In adopting its resolution on the observance of Women’s Day, the General Assembly cited two reasons: to recognize the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms require the active participation, equality and development of women; and to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security. For the women of the world, the Day’s symbolism has a wider meaning: It is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change.

Read more about the International Women’s Day:
* History of International Women’s Day
* “Engendering the Global Agenda: The Story of Women and the United Nations”, a book by Hilkka Pietilä
* UN Cyberschool Bus page about International Women’s Day

Previous years and themes:
2006: Women in decision-making
2005: Gender Equality Beyond
2005: Building a More Secure Future
2004: Women and HIV/AIDS
2003: Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals
2002: Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities
2001: Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts
2000: Women Uniting for Peace
1999: World Free of Violence Against Women
1998: Women and Human Rights
1997: Women at the Peace Table
1996: Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future

ladyfest romania 2007

declaratie de intentie, ladyfest romania (bucuresti) 2007:

festivalul “ladyfest” a luat fiinta in olympia, sua, in anul 2000, si s-a extins de atunci la nivel international. din colectivul ladyfest romania fac parte fete si femei care au pus in scena si au participat la primul ladyfest din tara noastra in 2005, la timisoara, sau care s-au alaturat grupului ulterior. suntem o echipa din ce in ce mai inchegata dedicata organizarii acestor fest-uri diy, grassroots si non-profit, feminist- si queer-friendly, cu un continut cat mai diversificat.

inainte de toate:
– suntem de parere ca exista un consens social care perpetueaza/reproduce relatiile interumane si institutiile responsabile de asimetria de putere dintre sexe si la care contribuie barbati, cat si femei;
– stim ca in societatea noastra violenta domestica, violenta sexuala, hartuirea sexuala, rasismul, homofobia, saracia, limitarea libertatii de reproducere si accesul neadecvat la servicii de sanatate sunt cateva din nedreptatile care ingradesc vietile femeilor in mod special.
suntem
— in mod vadit sustinatoare ale feminismului in versiunile cele mai diverse (asemeni lui bell hooks, vedem feminismul ca pe o “miscare [si a femeilor, si a barbatilor] pentru eradicarea sexismului, exploatarii sexiste si opresiunii”);
— un grup cel putin non-profit, non-institutional, non-ierarhic;
— nepasionate de jocuri cu suma zero, patriarhat si misoginism;
— de diferite varste, identitati sexuale si nesexuale, preocupari si ocupatii;
— critice la adresa institutiilor sociale existente pentru fete si baieti pentru ca nasc mai multe frustrari decat perceptii sanatoase despre sine;
nu
— facem atac la persoana si deci nu ne cerem scuze pentru opiniile onest formulate;
— suntem sexiste si nici heterosexiste;
— excludem pe nimeni.

ca si in 2005, prin festivalul nostru urmarim sa punem in evidenta expresia artistica si implicarea sociala a fetelor si femeilor si in acelasi timp sa impartasim idei prin muzica, “spoken word”, “performance”, film si video, expozitii, prezentari, ateliere, discutii. organizam un ladyfest deoarece vrem sa promovam fetele si femeile active, care produc arta si muzica dar nu numai, si deoarece suntem de parere ca fiecare dintre noi poate sa contribuie cu ceva important. ne dorim un festival original, divers si plin de viata, care sa prezinte publicului unele din cele mai inovatoare fete si femei din mediul artistic underground, sa ofere o perceptie despre femei alternativa celei existente in cultura dominanta si sa dea peste cap conceptele conventionale despre gen.

suntem ferm convinse ca activismul – actiunea directa cu un mesaj explicit – si implicarea pe baza convingerilor, in special pe principiul do it yourself (fa-o chiar tu), este un mecanism puternic de a ne face auzite si vazute si de a formula in public o alternativa la realitatea sociala ce privilegiaza doar pe unii.

in acest spirit, al doilea ladyfest din romania va avea loc la bucuresti intre 12 si 14 octombrie 2007, impreuna cu un mars “take back the night” de protest fata de violenta impotriva femeilor, pe baza urmatoarelor considerente:
* organizarea ladyfest nu se face in jurul unui nucleu organizatoric ierarhic-functional;
* organizarea ladyfest se vrea o incercare de punere in contact a cat mai multor persoane pentru care feminismul este un modus vivendi;
* organizarea ladyfest va insemna concertarea de idei si activitati intr-un mod non-ierarhic, deschis initiativei si in spiritul cooperarii;
* ladyfest se vrea celebrarea tuturor fetelor pentru care societatea nu ofera posibilitatea recunoasterii si canonizarii;
* ladyfest se vrea semnalarea unei prezente “feminine” care ramane putin vizibila in public;
* ladyfest se vrea negarea stereotipurilor si normelor societale atribuite fetelor, femeilor si feminitatii;
* ladyfest se vrea o actiune colectiva a celor care sunt ferm convinsi ca umanitatea ne uneste mai mult decat ne despart genul si sexul.

in ultima instanta, speram ca ladyfest romania va inspira femeile din toate colturile tarii sa devina active in comunitatile lor si sa ia initiativa de a crea spatii similare ce le vor permite sa-si etaleze creativitatea, sa fie vazute si auzite.

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Call for papers: Roma and Gadje

CALL FOR PAPERS: For a special issue of the Anthropology of East Europe Review on Roma and Gadje, scheduled for Fall 2007.
We are seeking papers that consider the ways Romani individuals and communities negotiate, resist and reproduce the places Roma occupy in the social and political contexts of non-Romani spheres, as well as sociological analyses of the lifeworlds and counterpublics of Roma.

As a liberal order consolidates throughout the Eastern European region, Roma everywhere are taken up either as (to borrow a term from Saidiya Hartman) the “imaginative surface” of the woes of postsocialism or as a romanticized remnant of a bygone past. Roma seem to exist in the shadow of culture – timeless, errant and enchantingly Other – while the social worlds they inhabit are circumscribed by their intensifying economic and spatial marginalization and the continued pathologization of their behavior as inadaptable and often criminal. The historical roots of such stereotyping run deep and resonate powerfully in our particular moment: the Zigeuner/Tigani/Cikán/Cigany Other continues to function within discussions of transnational European identities, even as these discourses claim a complete break with the ethnonational identities of the past. Gadje, in turn, are rarely, if ever, explicitly implicated in the public figurations of difference through which Romani and Gadje identities are mutually constituted and that set the terms of much of the scholarly and activist engagement with Romani lives.

We seek contributions that situate their analysis within this specular constitution of otherness in specific historical, political and social milieux. How are individual Roma and Gadje interpolated by the dynamic and shifting boundaries that inform the dialectics of identity? What are the micro-physics of the negotiations along this border, and how do they sustain the production of difference? How are the ambiguities and indeterminacies encountered along these borders stabilized and made commensurate in acts of recognition (or rejection) of otherness? And how does the figuration of Zigeuner/Tigani/Cikán/Cigany difference symbolically secure the emergent political orders in the eastward progression of “Europeanization?”
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“Ura virtuala e reala. Da DELETE la ura!”

– COMUNICAT DE PRESA –

In seria de activitati anti-discriminare si combaterea prejudecatilor fata de grupurile vulnerabile, Agentia de Monitorizare a Presei deruleaza un program cu scopul de a monitoriza si combate propagarea xenofobiei, intolerantei, discriminarii si rasismului in spatiul virtual.

In acest context, vom organiza un eveniment ce are ca scop constientizarea publicului asupra faptului ca ”Ura virtuala e reala” si ii vom invita pe cei prezenti sa ”Dea DELETE la ura!”. Evenimentul marcheaza Ziua Internationala a Drepturilor Omului si se va desfasura duminica, 10 decembrie, incepand cu orele 18.00, la Casa de Cultura a Studentilor, Calea Plevnei nr. 61, sector 1, Bucuresti.
Astfel, sub sloganul ”Ura virtuala e reala. Da DELETE la ura”, se va lansa campania de constientizare a publicului larg, dar mai ales a tinerilor si a altor utilizatori de servicii Internet, cu privire la riscurile rasismului si discriminarii in mediul virtual.

Evenimentul va fi deschis cu vizionarea a trei filme:
· Dureri ascunse, regia Michelle Kelso & Alexandru Alexe
· Gay pride, produs de You and Me cu sprijinul MMA
· Vopseste romaneste, produs de D MEDIA

La orele 20.00 vor urca pe scena artisti din mai multe zone culturale, printre care formatiile Altar, Kadja Clouds Society (MC Cogeamite Galigan, DJ Flore &DJ Rusu, Implant pentru Refuz si Electric Brother.

Evenimentul va fi precedat de o conferinta de presa in care vor fi prezentate obiectivele majore ale proiectului nostru: problema cyber-hate-ului in spatiul virtual romanesc si campania de constientizare. Conferinta va avea loc incepand cu orele 16.30, la sediul Agentiei de Monitorizare a Presei, Calea Plevnei nr 98, Bl. 10C, sector 1, Bucuresti.

La conferinta vor participa reprezentanti ai AMP si ai celor care vor purta mesajul anti-discriminare in cadrul concertului.

[zina lf-ro’05] vrem noaptea inapoi

Cum ar fi, oare, sa nu cunosti nici o fata care a fost atacata sau hartuita sexual? Sau sa cunosti doar putine? Cum ar fi sa stii ca poti iesi unde vrei, la ce ora vrei fara sa te gandesti la pericolul de-a fi violata? Cum ar fi, de exemplu, ca data viitoare cand auzi pasi in spatele tau in timp ce mergi seara neinsotita pe strada sa nu te temi mai mult decat s-ar teme un baiat in locul tau? Cum ar fi sa te simti automat in siguranta, fara protectia unui barbat, macar o data? Si cum s-ar putea ajunge acolo, cum sa iti faci curaj si sa le dai si altora si cum poti pune lucrurile astea in atentia cat mai multor oameni, la modul cel mai concret?

Pentru mine, prima oara cand am participat la un mars Take Back the Night a marcat o etapa noua in ceea ce as numi “feminismul” meu, pentru ca dintr-o data am inteles ce inseamna o actiune directa cu adevarat si am inceput sa vad care ar fi niste raspunsuri concrete la intrebari extrem de dificile ca cele de mai sus.

Termenul “Take Back the Night” (TBTN) sau “Reclaim the Night”, care in limba romana s-ar traduce “Ia noaptea inapoi” sau “Revendica noaptea”, este folosit pe plan international ca metafora pentru abordarea directa a unei probleme adeseori trecute sub tacere – omniprezenta violentei sexuale si teama sub semnul careia ca femei suntem invatate sa traim de mici. Originea ideii de TBTN pare sa fie intr-un protest din 1877 al unui grup de muncitoare si prostituate din Anglia fata de nesiguranta resimtita de femei pe strazi in special noaptea. In intruchiparea sa moderna de mars impotriva violentei al femeilor, TBTN s-a tinut pentru prima oara in 1973 in Germania, ca reactie la o serie de incidente in care femei au fost violate si omorate. Curand dupa aceea au inceput sa se organizeze marsuri asemanatoare si in alte locuri. Primul TBTN de amploare din Statele Unite a fost cel din San Francisco din 1978, cand cateva mii de femei au iesit noaptea in districtul rosu al orasului cu ocazia unei conferinte pe rolul pornografiei in subjugarea si opresiunea femeilor. A fost o actiune de revendicare a dreptului la libertatea de miscare, chiar si intr-o zona stiuta drept unul din cele mai periculoase locuri in care se poate gasi o femeie, mai ales noaptea. De atunci, in stransa legatura cu miscarea anti-violenta ce include programe de “rape crisis” si ajutor pentru victimele violentei domestice, marsul s-a extins la alte orase si campusuri universitare din Statele Unite cat si la alte locuri de pe glob (pe tot continentul american, multe tari europene, India), si a evoluat intr-o actiune ce adreseaza violenta sexuala, violenta domestica, si discriminarea sexuala in general.
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