niyad
niyad's JournalA timely discussion for V-Day/One Billion Rising. Ending violence
Against Women and Girls Everywhere.* There is a lengthy thread in GD about a video of a woman in an elevator defending herself when the male passenger assaulted her. Sadly, dishearteningly, there were comments about the woman daring to use "excessive force" in her own protection.
There were also a number of comments debating, not the action, but whether it was ai slop or staged, not real. What was so disappointing to me was that, staged or not, the whole point of the video was to show women how they might react in a similar situation to defend themselves. One would THINK, especially with the rapists and assaulters and woman-haters actually in charge of our government, that such instruction would be a good thing. It was truly discouragjng.
*One Billion Rising references the fact that ONE IN THREE FEMALES worldwide (world pop. some seven billion, half female) will experience sexual assault/violence. ONE IN THREE!!! Every two minutes, in this country, a female is assaulted. EVERY TWO minutes!! And yet, that reality is irrelevant to some. As I said, very discouraging.
On language: it occurs to me, yet again, with all the insane freakouts
about the half-time show not being in English, that this is a perfect example of how ignorant, clueless, provincial and reverse snobbish so many americans are. In other countries, it is common for a person to speak several languages with some degree of fluency (our own DFW is in a class almost by himself!). Growing up in the military, one is accustomed to hearing any number of languages on any given day. I used to joke that our neighborhoods sounded like the UN. Working in the Nevada casinos was the same.
And yet, we have these poor, frightened, paranoid, delicate little snowflakes who lose their two (and I am being generous here) remaining brain cells because some people speak different languages. Our own Foreign Services Department apparently had to drop their foreign language requirement. What, in the name of sanity, is WRONG with these people???
One of my major irritations with these people is their ignorance. If one is going to insist that EVERY person must speak English, then they should speak it properly themselves. I am certain many here still remember "Get a brain, morans", and my personal favourite, "English is ARE language".
menjjtek a pokolas seggfejek baszd mer
For all my DU family, thank you so very much for the lovely hearts.
I am so deeply touched and honoured.
Please go and spread the love and hearts around, they are greatly needed by all here.
I love you all!!!
In honour of my late friend, may krasnov and his goons and enablers
rot in hell, experiencing every minute of the pain and sufferiing and chaos and terror they have inflicted on all of us.
A very dear friend died Saturday night. We had been through so much together, were there for each other. Daily texts, frequent calls about the shit show we are experiencing. I had been very worried about her all last week, recurring pneumonia, rapid weight loss, etc. Our last texts were about her anger and fear at the horror show. .and then. . . silence. And then the news from her son. I am so fucking angry that her last days and minutes were poisoned by the insanity we are living, that she feared for her children and grandchildren. For this, as for so much else, I can never forgive them. My one small hope is that at least maybe she was not aware of the horrors on Saturday.
Requiescat in pace, dear friend.
May all involved receive everything they deserve.
For my 130,000th post, a heartfelt, profound THANK YOU to EarlG,
Elad, and the entire DU community. DU is my home, my sanctuary, my safe haven, and never more so than in these treacherous, dangerous times. This community has always been my lifeline, one to which I have clung ever more desperately these last few weeks of horror and insanity.
Before I start crying again, hugggggggs to you all. I LOVE YOU!!!
'Stop killing us': Huge crowds rally in Brazil, decrying rise in femicide (trigger warning)
(And the MISOGYNIST, PATRIARCHAL, CHRISTOFASCIST, THEOCRATIC, WAR ON WOMEN continues apace)
‘Stop killing us’: Huge crowds rally in Brazil, decrying rise in femicide (trigger warning)
Demonstrators march in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities, calling for an end to femicide, rape and misogyny.
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Women on stilts participate in a nationwide protest against femicide and gender-based violence, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 7, 2025 [Marina Calderon/ Reuters]
By News Agencies
Published On 8 Dec 20258 Dec 2025
Tens of thousands of women have marched in cities across Brazil, denouncing femicide and gender-based violence, after a series of high-profile cases that shocked the country. Women of all ages and some men took to the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities on Sunday, calling for an end to femicide, rape and misogyny.
In Rio, the protesters put out dozens of black crosses, while others bore stickers with messages such as “machismo kills”. And in Sao Paulo, the demonstrators chanted, “Stop killing us”, and held placards that read, “Enough of femicide”. The protesters in Rio’s Copacabana included Alline de Souza Pedrotti, whose sister was killed on November 28 by a male colleague. Pedrotti said the person who killed her sister, an administrative employee at a school, did not accept having female bosses. “I’m devastated,” she told The Associated Press news agency. “But I’m fighting through the pain, and I won’t stop. I want changes in the legislation and new protocols to prevent this kind of crime from happening again.”
The protesters also denounced other shocking cases that took place last month in Sao Paulo and in the southern city of Florianopolis. In Sao Paulo on November 28, Taynara Souza Santos was run over by her ex-boyfriend and trapped by the car, which dragged her over concrete for one kilometre (0.6 mile). The 31-year-old’s injuries were so severe, her legs were amputated. Video footage of the incident went viral. And in Florianopolis on November 21, English teacher Catarina Kasten was raped and strangled to death on a trail next to a beach on her way to a swimming lesson.
These recent cases were “the final straw”, said Isabela Pontes, who was on Sao Paulo’s Paulista Avenue. “I have suffered many forms of abuses, and today, I am here to show our voice.” A decade ago, Brazil passed a law recognising the crime of femicide, defined as the death of a woman in the domestic sphere or as resulting from contempt for women. Last year, 1,492 women were victims of femicide, the highest number since the law was introduced in 2015, according to the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety. “We’re seeing an increase in numbers, but also in the intensity and cruelty of
. . . .
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/8/stop-killing-us-huge-crowds-rally-in-brazil-decrying-rise-in-femicide
Protesters worldwide demand end to violence against women
(And the MISOGYNIST, PATRIARCHAL, CHRISTOFASCIST, THEOCRATIC, WAR ON WOMEN continues apace)
Protesters worldwide demand end to violence against women
The UN finds home most dangerous place for women, with about 50,000 of them killed by partners or family last year.
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Women take part in a demonstration on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Guatemala City. [Johan Ordonez/AFP]
Protesters around the world have rallied to express their anger over the persistence of violence against women and to demand greater public action to combat the scourge. November 25 marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a global call to raise awareness about all forms of abuse targeting women and girls. About 50,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members last year, according to a report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Women to mark the day. That is 60 percent of all women killed globally that year. By comparison, 11 percent of male murder victims were killed by someone close to them. The figure of 50,000, based on data from 117 countries, equates to 137 women per day, or about one every 10 minutes, the report said.
Femicide continues to claim the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls each year, with no signs of improvement. The home remains the most dangerous place for women and girls in terms of the risk of homicide, the study concluded.The report also highlighted how technological developments have exacerbated certain types of violence against women and girls and created new forms, including nonconsensual image sharing, doxxing, and deepfake videos.
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
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A protester shouts slogans during a march to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in Athens, Greece. [Louiza Vradi/Reuters]
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
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People carry drums during a march to mark the day in Madrid, Spain. [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters]
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
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Protesters take part in a memorial service held at the site where a woman, Yessica Solis, was shot dead earlier this month, in San Salvador, El Salvador. [Jose Cabezas/Reuters]
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
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A woman shouts slogans during a protest to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in Santiago, Chile. [Pablo Sanhueza/Reuters]
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
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Women attend a torch procession to mark the day in Dhaka, Bangladesh. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
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Dancers of the Compagnia Nazionale del Balletto, meaning National Ballet Company in Italian, perform on the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. [Andreas Solaro/AFP]
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
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Women play instruments during a march to mark the day in Mexico City, Mexico. [Franyeli Garcia/AFP]
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/11/26/protesters-worldwide-demand-end-to-violence-against-women
'Bad girls' is how society labels women in prison. But what if that label is a lie?
(And the MISOGYNIST, PATRIARCHAL, CHRISTOFASCIST, THEOCRATIC, WAR ON WOMEN continues apace)
‘Bad girls’ is how society labels women in prison. But what if that label is a lie?
Sabrina Mahtani
Incarceration should be a last resort, yet this broken and brutal system punishes marginalised women, most of whom are inside for non-violent crimes
Supported by
theguardian.org
Wed 3 Dec 2025 01.00 EST
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/03/prison-feminist-issue-jailing-marginalised-women-ruins-lives-children#img-1
‘When you imprison a woman, you imprison a family,” a young woman in Sierra Leone told me, cradling her small baby in a damp cell. My mind flashed back to being a teenager, hearing my mother sob after receiving a phone call to say that my father had been arrested in Zambia for political reasons. I understand how children are collateral damage of imprisonment, and over 20 years as a lawyer, I know that is even more true when women – primary caregivers – are arrested. I have witnessed the devastating impact of incarceration on hundreds of women and their children but also how their voices are ignored, even in women’s rights spaces.
“Bad girls” is how society labels women in prison. But what if that label is a lie? The majority of women are imprisoned for non-violent offences, and my research, conducted by Women Beyond Walls and Penal Reform International over the past two years, shows that in most cases women are criminalised due to poverty, mental illness, abuse or discrimination. Half of all women in prison, as opposed to less than a third of men, have a drug dependence in the year before imprisonment. In Pollsmoor prison in South Africa, where Nelson Mandela was once detained, a woman told me how she had been arrested for shoplifting, as she tried to feed her family. In Sierra Leone, I documented countless women who were arrested for owing money. In Kenya, I heard stories of women being arrested for “hawking” – selling food without a licence – to survive. Women from Mexico explained how the US-led “war on drugs” is fuelling a rise in the number of women behind bars, especially in Latin America and Asia. Many women sell drugs due to poverty and coercion; though not major players in the drug trade, they are easier to apprehend by police trying
to meet quotas.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/03/prison-feminist-issue-jailing-marginalised-women-ruins-lives-children#img-2
A two-year-old boy pushes a pram through the female inmates’ cellblock in Ciudad Juarez. In 2023, 344 children lived with their mothers in Mexican prisons. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty
The small proportion of women who commit violent crimes are usually survivors of violence themselves. Women such as 21-year-old Chisomo from Malawi, who was arrested for the murder of her ex-partner. He sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she left him. Chisomo finally fled after he attempted to stab her. However, he later attacked her, stabbing her in her arm and chest. She grabbed the knife and struck back in self-defence. I have collaborated with lawyers across the world who fight for legal processes to take into consideration a woman’s background of poverty and abuse. But despite these efforts, a legal system built by men and for men continues to fail women through sexism and gender bias. Those who do not fulfil traditional stereotypes of the moral and motherly woman are often punished more harshly.
. . . . .
Next year offers advocacy opportunities to redress this omittance – from the UN Commission on the Status of Women to the Women Deliver conference. States must be held accountable for their failure to implement UN standards and lack of investment in alternatives to incarceration. Donors need to resource the vibrant movement of women with lived experience, lawyers, family members and activists, who are chipping away at a broken and brutal system. Prison is a feminist issue and is deeply intertwined with other women’s rights struggles, including gender-based violence, reproductive rights and poverty. Reducing women’s mass incarceration must be a global priority so that marginalised women and their children stop being punished for systemic injustice.
Sabrina Mahtani is a Zambian-British human rights lawyer and founder of Women Beyond Walls, which campaigns against the mass incarceration of women, and AdvocAid in Sierra Leone
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/03/prison-feminist-issue-jailing-marginalised-women-ruins-lives-children
'The patriarchy runs deep': women still getting a raw deal in the workplace as equality remains a dream
(And the MISOGYNIST, PATRIARCHAL, CHRISTOFASCIST, THEOCRATIC, WAR ON WOMEN continues apace)
‘The patriarchy runs deep’: women still getting a raw deal in the workplace as equality remains a dream
Women work longer and per hour earn a third of what men are paid, in figures that have changed little in 35 years, UN report shows
Supported by
theguardian.org
Sarah Johnson
Wed 10 Dec 2025 02.00 EST
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/10/women-workplace-equality-gender-world-un-report#img-1
“Gender inequality is one of the most entrenched and significant problems of our time,” says Jocelyn Chu, a programme director at UN Women, responding to the stark figures contained in this year’s World Inequality report, which labels gender inequality a “defining and persistent feature of the global economy”. Women work longer and earn just a third – 32% – of what men get per hour, when paid and unpaid labour, such as domestic work, are taken into account. Even when unpaid domestic labour is not included, women only earn 61% of what men make, according to the report.
Those aged 15 to 64 work 10 hours more a week, on average, than men. They earned just over a quarter (about 28%) in 2025 of total income around the world, a share that has barely shifted over the past 35 years.
The report, prefaced by leading economists Jayati Ghosh and Joseph Stiglitz, reveals that the richest 10% of the global population own close to three-quarters of all wealth, while the poorest half hold barely 2%, and looks at how inequality affects every aspect of people’s lives. When it comes to gender, it noted that despite decades of anti-discrimination laws and advocacy, equality remains a distant dream. “It’s not surprising,” says Chu, who adds that gender inequality has continued to be entrenched in recent years with “the backsliding of democratic institutions and threats to women’s rights”.
Women work more hours than men everywhere, according to the report. The largest gaps in working hours are between 12 to 13 a week in the Middle East and north Africa, east Asia, and south and south-east Asia. The smallest gaps of six to seven hours a week were seen in Europe, North America and Oceania. Women are employed less than men across all regions of the world. Structural barriers such as access to affordable childcare, transport and family leave policies hinder women’s ability to enter and remain in employment, says the report. In south and south-east Asia, the Middle East and north Africa about one in three women of working age is employed, compared with more than two-thirds of men. Other regions, including Europe and North America, have higher female employment rates, yet the gap is still significant.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/10/women-workplace-equality-gender-world-un-report#img-2
A woman pours rice from a bucket into a larger container on the ground. Several other women perform similar tasks in a field, among large piles of harvested rice.
Women harvest rice in Moossou, Côte d’Ivoire. Women often take on low skilled, lower-paying jobs to fit around care responsibilities. Photograph: Legnan Koula/EPA
. . . . . . . .
Aatif Somji, a senior research officer in gender equality and social inclusion at the thinktank ODI global, says the gender pay gap is “profoundly unfair” and that there has been “so little progress because unpaid care work still largely falls on women’s shoulders”. He adds that although these “invisible tasks sustain society”, they are still coded as “women’s work”. “This often makes it impossible for women to compete on an equal footing with men in the paid workforce, as they take up lower quality, lower-paying jobs of part-time work to balance their care responsibilities – or are kept out of better-paying jobs because of deep-rooted gender norms and stereotypes,” he says. While some progress has been made, says Chu, including improvements around women’s labour rights and legislation relating to equal pay, change still needs to happen. “The patriarchy runs deep,” she says. “It is embedded in institutions and economic systems. It spans from the household to government, to international organisations.”
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/10/women-workplace-equality-gender-world-un-report
A Birth Control Battle: Survivors Take Pfizer to Court Over Depo-Provera
(And the MISOGYNIST, PATRIARCHAL, CHRISTOFASCIST, THEOCRATIC, WAR ON WOMEN continues apace)
A Birth Control Battle: Survivors Take Pfizer to Court Over Depo-Provera
Jaharra Anglin Stubbs | December 4, 2025
A lawsuit has been filed against Pfizer relating to Depo-Provera, formally known as depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, a progesterone-based birth control injection you receive once every three months. The lead plaintiff, Robin Phillip, who used the shot for nearly 30 years, is a survivor of intracranial meningioma—a tumor in the lining of the brain. Phillip only stopped using the shot during her two pregnancies and believed that her symptoms were signs of a more serious issue. Although emergency surgery was successful, she lost vision in her left eye and faced a long recovery.
In her claim, along with 1,000 other co-plaintiffs, she states that Pfizer knew about the medication’s effects and risks, but failed to warn its patients. Nonetheless, Pfizer submitted a motion to dismiss the case and reaffirmed its confidence in the medication despite the allegations.
Recent studies have confirmed that meningiomas are usually not cancerous. However, there are patients who received Depo-Provera that had a higher risk of meningioma, especially with prolonged use and at older ages. Although this area is still under ongoing research, it is known that women are more likely to develop this type of brain tumor by age 50. Additionally, some findings suggest that after using the Depo Shot, pregnancy and menopausal hormone therapy may speed up meningioma growth.
Although 1 in 4 sexually active women use the Depo injection nationally, Black women use nearly double. This makes Black women even more predisposed to the risk of meningioma in the United States. It has already been proven that Black women are 41% more likely to develop cervical cancer. Furthermore, Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with HPV, which often serves as a preliminary diagnosis that can lead to other forms of cancer. Black women are also among the most affected by medical racism and discrimination within the healthcare system. Although the risks of this medication are not taken seriously, it is crucial to recognize how much this medication impacts its largest patient demographic.
Although the FDA has declined to reevaluate these concerns at this time, other countries have issued warnings about the risks associated with Depo, including European agencies, South Africa, and Canada. This indicates that there is a serious concern with the risks. While the case is not yet fully resolved, the survivors’ testimonies suggest that the FDA and Pfizer may need to evaluate the risks of this medication and consider how to alert consumers.
https://feminist.org/news/a-birth-control-battle-survivors-take-pfizer-to-court-over-depo-provera/
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