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Summer 2005

The U.S. Occupation and Rising Religious Extremism: The Double Threat to Women in Iraq

DifferenTakes Series
35 ~ Summer 2005
[PDF Version]
By Anissa Hélie

On February 8, 2005, the international feminist and anti-militarist network Women in Black (WIB) launched an urgent appeal for the immediate liberation of Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist and WIB activist, who had been kidnapped in Iraq by a militant Islamist group (and who was later shot by U.S. forces as she was en route to safety). 1 Three days after the appeal, various WIB groups around the world had mobilized, holding 463 silent vigils across several continents.

Anissa Hélie is a feminist historian by training and an activist by choice. In 2005 she was a recipient of a research/teaching Ford Foundation Fellowship at the Five Colleges, Inc. in Amherst, MA. She has worked with a wide range of women's groups and human rights groups in various countries, focusing on issues of sexuality, fundamentalisms and reproductive rights. She has been involved with Women Living Under Muslim Laws since its inception in 1984.

References

  1. Scahill, Jeremy. "No checkpoint, no self defense," AlterNet , March 28, 2005. www.alternet.org/story/21613
  2. American Friends Service Committee. "Wage Peace" Movie (2 mns). http://www.afsc.org/iraq//movie.html
  3. Rockwell, Paul. "New Revelations about Racism in the Military - Army Reservist Witnesses War Crimes," The Black Commentator , April 7 2005: issue 133.
  4. http://www.blackcommentator.com/133/133_think_racism_military.html
  5. Amnesty International. "Iraq: Decades of Suffering, Now Women Deserve Better," February 22, 2005. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140012005
  6. See also: "U.S.: Investigate Rumsfeld, Tenet for Torture," Human Rights Watch , April 24, 2005. http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/04/24/usint10511.htm
  7. Firmo-Fontan, Victoria. "Abducted, Beaten And Sold Into Prostitution: A Tale From Iraq," The Independent , July 26, 2004. http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-fontan260704.htm
  8. Women for Women International. "Windows of opportunity: The pursuit of gender equality on post-war Iraq," January 2005, released March 2005 (36p). http://www.womenforwomen.org/Downloads/Iraq_Paper_0105.pdf
  9. www.wluml.org
  10. Burns, John F.; Mahmoud, Mona; Worth, Robert F. "A haircut in Iraq can be the death of the barber," New York Times, March 18, 2005.
  11. Osborn, Mark. "Iraqi Union leader murdered. 'Resistance' targets trade unions, women, lesbians and gay men," January 12, 2005. http://www.workersliberty.org/node/view/3532
  12. Associated Press. "Iraqi Christians Keep Low Profile," November 13, 2004. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,138375,00.html
  13. "Tariq Ali talks to Socialist Worker about empire and those who fight against it," Socialist Worker Issue No. 239, March 26 2005 - April 12 2005. http://www.swp.ie/socialistworker/2005/sw239/socialistworker-239-9.htm
  14. Smith, Sharon. " The Right to Resist Occupation - The Anti-War Movement and the Iraqi Resistance," CounterPunch , Jan 21, 2005. http://www.counterpunch.org/smith01212005.html
  15. Right-wing Muslim groups are making use of the Arbitration Act 1991. See the Canadian Council of Muslim Women's website: www.ccmw.com
  16. See also: "Canada: Support Canadian women's struggle against Shari'a courts,".WLUML, March 7, 2005. http://www.wluml.org/english/actionsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[156]=i-156-180177
  17. Cracknell, David. " Discrimination bill snubs gays to save Muslim vote," The Sunday Times , February 27, 2005. http://www.the-times.co.uk .
  18. "WLUML statement to the World Social Forum - Appeal Against Fundamentalisms," January 21, 2005. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-103376
  19. Whitaker, Brian. "Fundamental union - When it comes to defining family values, conservative Christians and Muslims are united against liberal secularists," The Guardian , January 25, 2005. http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1398055,00.html
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Beyond the Hype: What You Should Know About the Seasonale Birth Control Pill

DifferenTakes Series
36 ~ Summer 2005
[PDF Version]
By Amelia Bucek

Since the first birth control pill was released to the American public in 1960, oral contraception has evolved considerably. Within today's burgeoning and increasingly specialized pharmaceutical industry there are dozens of varieties of birth control pills available. Many of these are advertised as offering more than just fertility control. 1 Dubbed "designer contraceptives," these pills cater to specific issues completely detached from contraception.

Amelia Bucek recently graduated from Hampshire College. Her senior thesis evaluated the media reaction to Seasonale as the latest installment in a long history of defining, and redefining, women's nature through menstruation.

References

  1. Stephens, Anastasia. "How to Never Have a Spot, Period, or Baby Again," The Independent , 20 January 2002.
  2. "Shares rose 8.35..." Drug Store News , 10 September 2003.
  3. Kemper, Carol A. "Seasonale: A Revolutionary contraceptive," Infectious Disease Alert , October 2003.
  4. Fried, Jennifer. "Ending Your Monthly Cycle. Period" Chicago Sun Times 2 December 2003; "Event Brief of Barr Conference Call," Disclosure Wire , 8 September 2003.
  5. Hardy, Katrice. "Sales are Booming for Virginia-Developed OC," Knight Rider , 15 May 2004.
  6. Gettelman, Elizabeth. "Seasonale may make monthly periods obsolete. But at What Psychological Price?" The Washington Post , 8 June 2004; Hardy, Katrice, "Sales are Booming for Virginia-Based OC."
  7. Gettelman, Elizabeth. "Seasonale May Make Monthly Periods Obsolete."
  8. However, as of this writing, the website, www.seasonale.com , has been reduced to just a couple of pages, perhaps for renovation.
  9. National Women's Health Network, "Fact Sheet on Menstrual Suppression," www.womenshealthnetwork.org , April 2004.
  10. Scott, Megan. "No Chocolate Cravings\ No PMS or Bloating\ No Fatigue or Moodiness\ What if Having Your Period Was a Choice? It's Up To You," Boston Globe , 22 August 2000.
  11. Brunk, Doug. "Extended-use OCs Pose Educational Challenge," Internal Medicine News 36, no.21, (1 November 2003): 1.
  12. Nissman, Cara. "A Better Pill to Swallow? New Contraceptive Reduces Periods, Raises Questions," Boston Herald , 3 August 2003.
  13. Van Buskirk, Audrey. "No Flow: A new form of birth control raises questions about how to be a natural woman," Santa Fe Reporter , 21 October 2003
  14. Gettelman, Elizabeth. "Seasonale May Make Monthly Periods Obsolete."
  15. National Women's Health Network, "Fact Sheet on Menstrual Suppression."
  16. Coutinho, Elsimar. Segal, Sheldon. " Is Menstruation Obsolete? (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).
  17. Gladwell, Malcom. "John Rock's Error," The New Yorker , 13 March 2000.
  18. Ibid.
  19. National Women's Health Network, "New Version of Oral Contraceptive Pill" www.womenshealthnetwork.com , 5 September 2003.
  20. Gettelman, Elizabeth. "Skipping Periods: The Pros, The Cons, The Science," The Washington Post , 8 June 2004.
  21. Stein, Rob. "Experimental Pill Puts Menstruation on Hold," The Washington Post , 3 March 2003.
  22. Gettelman, Elizabeth. "Skipping Periods: The Pros, The Cons, The Science."
  23. Karen Hoffman. "Foes Raise Red Flag Against Suppression of Menstruation," Pittsburgh Post Gazette , 24 June 2003.
  24. "FDA Warns Barr Over Commercial," Asia Africa Intelligence Wire , 31 December 2004.
  25. National Women's Health Network, "New Version of Oral Contraceptive Pill."
  26. Rako, Susan. No More Periods? The risks of menstrual suppression and other cutting edge issues about hormones and women's health (New York: Harmony Books, 2003), 14, 45, 124.
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