A Feminist Criticism of Exchange

“For-Giving, a Feminist Criticism of Exchange, is an analysis of the values of gift giving seen as an economic mode of distribution based in maternal practice, and opposed to the self-reflecting and ego-oriented values of exchange on which the market economy is based. The values of Patriarchy entwine with those of Capitalism to create an economic system of domination, while a maternal economy would provide for everyone and promote a community-oriented subjectivity which would also honor Mother Nature. This book gives an eco-feminist based perspective on the gift economy as a basis for social change.” (text reappropriated from other sources)

book available online for free: http://www.for-giving.com/

companie de ne-sustinut: oriflame

“Monica Tatoiu: Femeile nu judeca normal trei zile”

Monica Tatoiu revine cu declaratii impotriva femeilor din Romania. Ea considera ca le lipsesc valorile reale si ca nu sunt modele demne de urmat.

de asemenea, “femeile sunt facute sa procreeze”.

in mod ironic, Monica T. — un “model de succes” si “una din primele doamne ale mediului de afaceri romanesc” datorita jobului de Managing Director in Romania a “uneia din cele mai mari companii de cosmetice din lume”, Oriflame [jobul ei depinzind deci in totalitate de clientela alcatuita din… femeile din Romania] — declara “sunt plecata in concediu patru luni pe an”.

ar trebui ca nici o femeie din Romania sa nu mai cumpere produse Oriflame, asa Monica Tatoiu ar avea chiar mai mult timp liber (din pacate, ea deja s-a imbogatit multumita femeilor din Romania si n-ar afecta-o pe ea cit pe restul angajatelor).

five sexist trends the advertising world just can’t shake

This was a big year for women: The first serious female presidential candidate, the first predominately female state senate, the first female Top Chef. Yet the advertising world has not caught up to the advances of half our population and continues to use stereotypes and violence to prey on our most vile desires. Here are the worst of them–the trends that won’t die despite our cultural outrage, and personal boredom.

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16 days: women of zimbabwe arise!

WOZA AND MOZA commemorate Human Rights Day in the streets of Bulawayo – no cause for celebration

OVER 1,000 members of WOZA marched through the streets of central Bulawayo today to the offices of the state-owned Chronicle newspaper. The peaceful group distributed flyers calling on the so-called government to stand aside to allow the United Nations to deal with the humanitarian crisis. Other flyers distributed by the group demanded the immediate release of Jestina Mukoko, Violet Mupfuranhehwe and her two-year old baby and the other pro-democracy activists abducted in the last few weeks. They also sang custom-composed songs to portray their message. No arrests have been reported at the time of this release.

The peaceful protest also commemorated Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights under the theme – Human Rights of Women – Human Rights for All. Zimbabweans – stand up for the TRUTH and it will set you free of this regime.

see also: “A High Court judge in Zimbabwe has ordered police to launch a search for a human rights activist Jestina Mukoko abducted from her home last week”, “Women refuse to be silenced by Robert Mugabe”

via lfn

16 days: nov. 25 in mexico

Pain and Protest on the Day of the Butterflies: Violence Persists Against Women in Mexico

A 1995 novel by writer Julia Alvarez retold the story of the three Mirabal sisters brutally assassinated by the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in 1960. Decades later, the date of the murders, Nov. 25, was declared the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by the United Nations.

In Mexico, more than 200 women’s and human rights activists kicked off a cross-country caravan in Ciudad Juarez to protest femicide and ongoing violence in all its forms against women.

via lfn

WILPF Statement for International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2008

Today, 10 December 2008, marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly. The UDHR is a major achievement of the United Nations, setting a common human rights standard for all nations and peoples. Its legally binding International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and their Optional Protocols, as well as the many conventions and treaties to promote and protect human rights for all, form a remarkable body of international human rights law.

In this 60th anniversary year, the United Nations has undertaken an intensive programme of activities leading up to today’s commemoration, under the slogan “dignity and justice for all of us”. It culminates in sixteen days of action against gender based violence.

The implementation of accepted human rights norms remains a significant challenge. Although the international human rights standards and their oversight have been strengthened over the years, forces and trends (by States and private companies) continue to threaten and undermine their application. Too often under the false pretext of protecting women, women are denied the right to education, mobility, the right to their own body and the free choice to plan their own future. All over the world, women have to struggle for basic human rights in many aspects of their lives.

Since its inception in 1915, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has worked for all human rights to be respected. We have equally worked for the prevention of war and the eradication of militarism, believing that these conditions negate human rights. We are convinced that human rights cannot exist without peace and freedom.

Exercising the right to have an equal voice in international policy-making and the questions of war and peace, The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom calls for: Continue reading

FW: Press release: Gender justice is climate justice

Poznan, Poland, December 8^th 2008

Women from around the world working together in the GenderCC network reassert that real solutions to the climate crisis can only be achieved when there is gender justice. We demand that the UNFCCC process must commit to the integration of the gender dimension into all policies, mechanisms, programmes and institutional frameworks. As a first step, UNFCCC Parties must therefore adopt a resolution on gender justice which fulfills the binding obligations on gender and human rights that the UN have already endorsed. GenderCC calls for a one-day plenary session specifically dedicated to gender in order to discuss the gender dimension in the ongoing negotiations. Moreover, we call upon the UNFCCC to acknowledge the many solutions women already have and the actions they take on the ground to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
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