niyad
niyad's JournalThe Daily Bitch*: "I wish people would work as hard to avoid me as I
work to avoid them."
*Both a noun, and a verb, depending on usage.
Nicole Curtis-Rehab Addict. When I was watching, horrorstruck, the
sadistic, hate-fillled, monstrous, evil, destruction of a major part of OUR HOUSE, without our permission or approval, I kept thinking about Nicole's show, how carefully, respectfully, things were done, and I am filled with rage and hatred for the evil now in charge.
"Take Care Of This House" is something those monsters will never understand.
Jackie Kennedy's Rose Garden. Eleanor Roosevelt's East Room. How many
other special things promulgated by strong, competent women is he going to destroy??? Beides all our rights, of course.
Soooooo.7 MILLION + people. Two arrests (that we know of so far,
both trumphumping ammosexuals.
Two krasnov references to his own death. Yesterday's "when t#### isn't here"
is the second that I have seen. The first was his musing about not getting into heaven recently. For someone who claims to be so incredibly fit and healthy, those are very interesting comments.
May his worst nightmare come true.
"How did we end up with a president and vice president who both wear
more makeup than kylie jenner and Lady Gaga combined???" A line from Jimmy Kimmel's monologue Monday night, which I just caught on youtube. Cracked me up. I noticed that beardo's beard is turning white, and his eyes are super shiny, like they have been polished with mirror-bright. Either that, or some of the weirdest contacts I have ever seen.
Is anyody here familiar with the "blue envelope" program, a law enforcement
program ostensibly nationwide that is supposed to ease encounters between leo's and those wiith various disabilities, etc. As the local sheriff's department spokesperson "explained" it, people with disabilities, etc., ae supposed to keep all their documents with them at all times, and present them upon encountering leo's. The "blue envelope" is also supposed to include guidelines for leo's in dealing with the holders of these envelopes.
Frankly, this creeps me out on so many levels. What is the thinking behind this? Is there any likelihood of meaningful success? What am I missing?
Afghanistan bans female authors from university curricula
Afghanistan bans female authors from university curricula
At least 679 titles blacklisted, including texts on human rights, women’s rights and Western political thought.
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Men read books in a library at a private university in Kabul.
In this photo taken on July 22, 2024, men read books in a library at a private university in Kabul, Afghanistan [File: Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
By Mariamne Everett
Published On 19 Sep 2025
Afghanistan‘s Taliban-run government plans to remove books written by women from university curricula.
A member of the committee reviewing textbooks confirmed the ban to BBC Afghan on Friday. The blacklisting is part of an educational decree that also prohibits education courses “deemed in conflict with Islamic Sharia”. The committee member told BBC Afghanistan that “all books authored by women are not allowed to be taught.” At least 679 titles were banned due to their “anti-Sharia and Taliban policies”, he added. Since the Taliban came to power four years ago, it has barred education for girls above sixth grade (age 12), arguing that it does not comply with its interpretation of Islam – although no other Muslim-majority country prohibits girls from being educated. Sharia does not prohibit women and girls from education and Islam has a long tradition of female scholars and writers. The world’s oldest university in Morocco was also founded by a woman in the 9th Century.
The books affected by the Taliban’s move cover every field of study, including texts on constitutional law, Islamic political movements and the political system, as well as human rights, women’s studies and Western political thought. A final list of banned books will be issued to universities at a later date. A directive, which was seen by BBC Afghan, was signed by the Taliban’s deputy higher education minister, Ziaur Rahman Aryoubi, and the 50-page list of banned books was sent to Afghan universities at the end of last month. Aryoubi said in a letter to the universities that the decisions had been taken by a panel of “religious scholars and experts” and that the banned books should be replaced with course materials that “do not conflict with Islam”.
The decree is the latest in a series of restrictions the Taliban has imposed since returning to power. The Taliban has cracked down on many aspects of education, from firing hundreds of professors on the grounds that they “opposed” the group’s ideology to increasing mandatory religious coursework across all faculties. Universities have also been ordered to stop teaching 18 subjects, six of which are specifically about women, including gender and development. Another 201 courses were under review. Taliban’s nationwide ban on women attending private and public universities has been widely condemned by Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye.
‘Misogynistic mindset’
Zakia Adeli, the former deputy minister of justice before the Taliban’s return in August 2021 and author of Political Terminology and International Relations, one of the banned books, told BBC Afghan that she was unsurprised by the move. “Considering what the Taliban have done over the past four years, it was not far-fetched to expect them to impose changes on the curriculum,” said Adeli. “Given the Taliban’s misogynistic mindset and policies, it is only natural that when women themselves are not allowed to study, their views, ideas and writings are also suppressed.”
. . . .
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/19/afghanistan-bans-female-authors-from-university-curricula
The Push to Eliminate New York State's Voluntary Intoxication Loophole: 'You Should Be Allowed to Get Drunk and Not Be
(I can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth now!!)
The Push to Eliminate New York State’s Voluntary Intoxication Loophole: ‘You Should Be Allowed to Get Drunk and Not Be Taken Advantage Of’
PUBLISHED 9/19/2025 by Livia Follet
Survivors and advocates say closing the loophole is a crucial step toward shifting blame from victims to perpetrators (what a novel thought!!!).
Protesters gather as Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan court house for the start of his trial on Jan. 6, 2020, in New York City. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
Under current New York law, if someone was drinking by choice when they were assaulted, prosecutors can decide not to pursue the case. This law provides prosecutors with an out when it comes to sexual assault—and statistics show they take it: In 2019, prosecutors dropped nearly half of all sexual assault cases in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. A bill proposed in the state legislature is looking to make it harder for prosecutors to throw out sexual assault and rape cases by prohibiting the use of intoxication of the victim as a defense. “It’s a staggering injustice. Being unable to say no doesn’t mean you have no right to say no,” says Ann Olivarius, a leading women’s rights attorney and longtime advocate for survivors of sexual assault and gender-based violence. The bill would guarantee that if a victim is voluntarily intoxicated at the time of their assault, they cannot be denied protection under the law. Some form of an intoxication loophole exists in more than 20 states. However, whether or not a state has eliminated the loophole doesn’t necessarily fall along party lines. While New York is still working to close its loophole, Texas eliminated its voluntary intoxication loophole this summer. “If this bill passes, survivors in New York won’t have to ask themselves, ‘Well, maybe I was asking for it by having that beer,’” says Olivarius.
The process of amending New York’s law to support survivors and provide them with legal recourse began at the turn of the decade. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to advance the bill which was in his 2020 budget. He later resigned in 2021 a week after the New York attorney general released an investigation that found Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women. The bill needs to be passed through the state’s Senate and Assembly, then be signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. It’s not yet clear when the bill will be scheduled for a vote. Olivarius says that the bill is likely falling victim to New York’s “famous dysfunctional state government”—that is, Republicans are unlikely to support the bill if state Democrats do, and vice versa. If passed, the bill would reshape the legal landscape, representing a crucial step for survivors. At least half of all sexual assault cases are associated with the victim or the perpetrator’s alcohol consumption.
“Having a drink doesn’t mean you surrender your bodily autonomy. The onus on not to rape and the punishment for it must be on the perpetrator. We can’t keep treating sexual violence as a crime of opportunity, which it is now,” says Olivarius.
Sexual Assault and Rape as an Epidemic
Women protest against rape as they sing a song in front of the court while Harvey Weinstein attends a pretrial session on Jan. 10, 2020 in New York City. (Kena Betancur / Getty Images)
Olivarius noted that the bill is a small step, but essential nonetheless as it chips away at a criminal justice system with deeply systemic issues of racism and sexism. “Rape is such a structural problem. It’s so deep in this society, and nobody really seems to give a damn.” On top of the current laws, rape is the most unde-rreported crime, and cases that are reported are notoriously hard to win. Few reports lead to arrests and an even lesser percentage leads to felony convictions. Nearly 98 percent of perpetrators of sexual assault will not go to jail or prison. College-age women are the most vulnerable with just over 26 percent of undergraduate women experiencing rape or sexual assault. “It’s so hard to get a conviction, it’s really tough. And so, you’re up against the odds, but at least [voluntary intoxication is] one thing that at least they can’t hang their hat on.” “Survivors really want this,” Olivarius continued. “And so there’s people from years ago who are pushing it still. And of course, Cuomo turned it down, but now I think there’s a shot that it might just pass.”
In October 2024, the U.K. passed the Online Safety Act, protecting children and adults online. When Olivarius was drafting the bill, there was a room consisting of 14 members of Parliament, three of them women. “And one of the men said, ‘well you haven’t been raped of course. What are you concerned about?’ The three women were from aristocratic families, very very wealthy, really well educated. And one woman looked at him and said, ‘I’ve been raped four times, the first time gang raped.’ The other two women hesitated and said they’ve both been raped also.” “And the men said, ‘What? Well, we don’t know anybody who’s been raped.’ And of course, they all said, ‘Sure, you know, the three of us and most of the women in Parliament have been raped for sure.’”
. . . .
“It’s actually a profound shift from the victims’ complicity in their own crime to focusing on the perpetrators’ responsibility.”
https://msmagazine.com/2025/09/19/new-york-voluntary-intoxication-loophole-drunk-rape-women-violence-sexual-assault/
One woman killed every 10 minutes: The harrowing global reality of femicide (trigger warning)
One woman killed every 10 minutes: The harrowing global reality of femicide (trigger warning)
In Mexico, a mother keeps a portrait of murdered daughter in a locket (file).
UN Women/Ina Riaskov
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GcXgMOdaMAEkQm2?format=jpg&name=360x360
25 November 2024 Women
A sobering report released by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday reveals that in 2023, 140 women and girls died every day at the hands of their partner or a close relative, which means one woman killed every 10 minutes. Released on the 25th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the report sheds light on the global crisis of femicide and calls for urgent action.
“The epidemic of violence against women and girls shames humanity,” said Secretary-General António Guterres in his message for the Day. “The world must heed this call. We need urgent action for justice and accountability, and support for advocacy.” The report also coincides with the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign, which runs from 25 November to 10 December. This year, the UNITE campaign is drawing attention to the alarming escalation of violence against women under the theme, “Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed. #NoExcuse. UNITE to End Violence against Women”.
A universal issue with regional disparities
Femicide transcends borders, socioeconomic statuses, and cultures, but its severity varies regionally. According to the report, Africa recorded the highest rates of intimate partner and family-related femicides, with 21,700 women killed in 2023, followed by the Americas and Oceania. In Europe and the Americas, most victims were killed by their intimate partners, comprising 64 per cent and 58 per cent of cases, respectively. In contrast, women in Africa and Asia were more likely to be killed by family members than by partners, reflecting varied cultural and social dynamics responsible for this discrimination.
Critical gaps in data and accountability
Despite the alarming numbers, the lack of consistent and comprehensive data remains a significant challenge. Only 37 countries reported data on intimate partner and family-related femicides in 2023, a sharp decline from 75 countries in 2020. This data gap hampers efforts to monitor trends and enforce accountability for these crimes. UN Women and UNODC stressed the need for systematic data collection as part of a broader strategy to address violence against women. Accurate and transparent data is essential to inform policy, track progress, and ensure governments remain accountable for their commitments to gender equality.
Posters made by children from Ixtapaluca, State of Mexico, alluding to the eradication of violence against women and girls.
UNIC Mexico/Eloísa Farrera
. . . .
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1157386
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