Articles about Politics and Current Affairs
Comment on newsworthy events or political issues.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva and the Muslim mother as terrorist
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, mother of the 'Boston bombers', has become a figure of controversy. Yasmin Gunaratnam argues that blaming Zubeidat for her sons' actions is part of growing resentment against Muslim mothers
Yasmin Gunaratnam // 10 May 2013
Categories: Culture and Media, Features, Politics and Current Affairs, Racism, Stereotypes
Caring and living in poverty
Suzanna, a lesbian and single mother, currently on benefits, talks to Anastasia Richardson about the effects of poverty
Anastasia Richardson // 4 February 2013
Categories: Activism, Class, Features, Interviews, Politics and Current Affairs
Bristol mayoral election: what about women?
Bristol mayoral election is just round the corner but 14 out of 15 candidates standing are men. Will the election change anything for women? Megan Stodel finds out at Women's Question Time
Megan Stodel // 12 November 2012
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
A tale of two cities
Is Tel Aviv's reputation as an LGBT-friendly tourist destination just pinkwash? Hannah Brock visits
Hannah Brock // 3 November 2012
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Taking advantage of mum?
Rebecca is a student who has moved back with her mum - just what David Cameron has urged young people to do, rather than relying on housing benefit. But, she asks, is this the best plan for either of them?
Rebecca // 4 September 2012
Categories: Class, Education, Family, Politics and Current Affairs, Work and Play
How the coalition cuts are impacting the women of Bristol
As a report finds Bristol's women are being hit hard by coalition cuts, Sian Norris interviews domestic violence advisor Sian Taylor from Wish, one of the organisations forced to slash services
Sian Norris // 2 November 2011
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
What is a family friendly government?
When David Cameron promised to form a family-friendly government, you may have got the impression he was talking about a particular and narrow type of domestic arrangement. But Milena Popova imagines how policy would change if support for all families was put at the heart of decision-making
Milena Popova // 3 October 2011
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
After Banaz Mahmod, where is the justice for victims of honour-based violence?
Five years after Banaz Mahmod's murder, it's time for the government to get serious on honour-based violence, argues Fionnuala Murphy from the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation
Fionnuala Murphy // 23 August 2011
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
Cedaw: what is it and how can we use it?
The international bill of rights for women is used internationally to push for equality. But it is a neglected tool in the UK. Charlotte Gage explains
Charlotte Gage // 29 June 2011
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
That's not my name
Changing name is a hassle. But what is rarely acknowledged is just how much the current systems place a burden on cis women and trans people that is not shared by cis men. Jane Fae reports
Jane Fae // 10 April 2011
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Work and Play
A day-by-day struggle
From the struggle to keep domestic violence shelters open to the machinations of which mullah to align with, a discussion with four Afghan politicians reveals the challenges women face. Helen G reports
Helen G // 21 March 2011
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Religion, Violence
'I'm 37 with enough stories for an 80 year old'
Ece Temelkuran's passion for storytelling is clear in the first few minutes of meeting her. But, as a Turkish woman, some stories are dangerous for her to tell. Mary Pole reports
Mary Pole // 10 March 2011
Categories: Herstory, Interviews, Politics and Current Affairs
The case against all-women shortlists: the alternative route to participatory democracy...
All-women shortlists are not ambitious enough to deliver the radical change our political system needs, argues Jane Watkinson
Jane Watkinson // 7 February 2011
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Cuts? Women will take them on the chin
Government spending cuts will hit women the hardest, with the most marginalised suffering the most. Fionnuala Murphy from the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation breaks it down
Fionnuala Murphy // 10 November 2010
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Creating a new kind of media for women in politics
The mainstream media's sexist treatment of female politicians was only heightened during the election. Women's Parliamentary Radio provides an alternative, argues Sophie Kainradl
Sophie Kainradl // 10 June 2010
Categories: Culture and Media, Politics and Current Affairs
Is it time for abortion to return to the political agenda?
Anti-choice lobbyists are gearing up as the new coalition government settles in. We should not let them define the terms of debate, says Lisa Ansell, instead we should push for women's right to access abortion to be shored up
Lisa Ansell // 1 June 2010
Categories: Body and Health, Politics and Current Affairs
The case for all-women shortlists
Whatever the verdict of the General Election, women's representation in the Commons will inch forward at best. Ros Ball argues that all parties must adopt all-women shortlists
Ros Ball // 26 April 2010
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
In our satin tights, fighting for our rights! But are women really natural campaigners?
Stereotypes about women drawn to campaigning because they are natural nurturers do more harm than good, argues Mhairi Guild
Mhairi Guild // 14 January 2010
Categories: Activism, Feminism, Politics and Current Affairs, Stereotypes, Work and Play
Piggy banks and budget cuts
Cuts have become politically popular again, but the new thrift is targeted at the most not least vulnerable, says Clare Gould
Clare Gould // 16 December 2009
Categories: Family, Politics and Current Affairs, Sex and Relationships, Work and Play
Gender and sentencing
Are the scales of justice in alignment? Rachel Thwaites looks at how women and men are so often treated differently by the system if they commit violent crimes
Rachel Thwaites // 14 November 2009
Categories: Culture and Media, Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
Coherent feminism doesn't stop at Afghan women
Should all Muslim women boycott the burqa because some women are forced to wear it? Myriam Francois-Cerrah argues not
Myriam Francois-Cerrah // 20 July 2009
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Beyond boob jobs – how might the credit crunch affect women?
Carolyn Roberts digs beyond headlines about the impact of the credit crunch on makeup sales and cosmetic surgery, to consider how the financial crisis may affect women in the UK
Carolyn Roberts // 4 November 2008
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Work and Play
We're all in this together
Irish and British women must unite in the battle for reproductive rights, argue Ariel Silvera and Sinead Ahern, as they sketch out the history of abortion in Ireland and the UK
Various Authors // 26 October 2008
Categories: Activism, Body and Health, Feminism, Politics and Current Affairs
From the front lines
One in four women experience domestic violence during their lifetime. Ella Alexander spent a day at a women's refuge learning about the human toll of a crime so common it is no longer considered newsworthy
Ella Alexander // 19 October 2008
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
The Oxbridge sex workers
Laurie Penny considers why so many Oxbridge students are going into prostitution and stripping, and the impact the media coverage of their stories has on women in less privileged positions
Laurie Penny // 11 May 2008
Categories: Culture and Media, Men, Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
Stripping the illusion...
Lap-dancing clubs are licensed in the same way as coffee shops. Anji Capes reports on the launch of a campaign to change all that
Anji Capes // 3 May 2008
Categories: Activism, Politics and Current Affairs
Abortion and disability - whose voices are heard?
Are disabled women's voices silenced in the abortion debate? asks Clare Laxton
Clare Laxton // 4 April 2008
Categories: Body and Health, Feminism, Politics and Current Affairs, Stereotypes
How to get an activist movement to keep women in prostitution
What use are sex worker groups that give out condoms and showers, but can't help women who want to exit prostitution? Ekis reports from Barcelona on prostitution and the campaign for legalisation
Ekis // 16 March 2008
Categories: Body and Health, Feminism, Language, Politics and Current Affairs, Sex and Relationships, Violence, Work and Play
Where the 1967 Abortion Act doesn't apply
Women in Northern Ireland must still cross the water to get an abortion, and even setting out the law in an accessible form is controversial. Siún Carden reports
Siún Carden // 13 March 2008
Categories: Body and Health, Politics and Current Affairs
UK feminists must address worldwide issues
All over the planet women are denied the most basic rights. Ruthie Samuel asks: where is the outrage?
Ruthie Samuel // 4 February 2008
Categories: Culture and Media, Feminism, Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
The place of the 'Female Vote' in politics
Jessica Metheringham explores how the concept of the 'Female Vote' tends to cast women as fickle and uninterested in serious politics
Jessica Metheringham // 6 December 2007
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Built for women
The Women's Design Service is celebrating 20 years of feminist activism from the planners' office to the building site. Eeva Berglund reports
Eeva Berglund // 9 November 2007
Categories: Family, Feminism, Politics and Current Affairs, Work and Play
Abortion: still a feminist issue
It is 40 years since abortion was legalised in the UK, yet our right to control our own bodies is still under threat. Irina Lester reports
Irina Lester // 6 October 2007
Categories: Body and Health, Culture and Media, Family, Politics and Current Affairs, Sex and Relationships
The F Word podcast: episode one!
Welcome to the first ever F Word podcast!
Jess McCabe // 9 July 2007
Categories: Body and Health, Culture and Media, Fashion and Image, Feminism, Podcasts, Politics and Current Affairs, Stereotypes
A worthwhile women's day
Fed up with most of the events put on for International Women's Day, Angela Brant found herself at an illuminating talk on women living under religious and oppressive laws
Angela Brant // 29 March 2007
Categories: Activism, Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
Where's the real war on terror?
Michelle Wright thinks the Government has the wrong priorities when it comes to protecting British citizens from terrorism. Women are under attack, she argues; not only from the abusers and rapists, but from the institutions and systems that are supposedly there to protect us.
Michelle Wright // 1 July 2006
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
New Rights, Old Wrongs
Civil Partnerships being restricted to same-sex couples is more than a strange and irritating political decision - it's an indefensible refusal to create real legal equality for all citizens. Susan Hunter explains how the Equal Partnership Campaign is fighting to end 400 years of sexual segregation - and how you can help.
Susan Hunter // 29 May 2006
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Sex and Relationships
The Appliance of Science
Earlier this year the President of Harvard made some controversial comments about innate differences between men and women. Ealasaid Gilfillan explains why we should care, and how feminists can contribute to the debate by learning to distinguish between science and politics.
Ealasaid Gilfillan // 1 August 2005
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Left behind?
Louise Whittle explains why she is disillusioned with the revolutionary left and its attitude towards feminism. She argues that the revolutionary left only pays lip-service to feminism, and sexism and machismo are as pervasive in these organisations as in mainstream society. When women are exhorted to "wait for the revolution", what's a socialist feminist to do?
Louise Whittle // 1 August 2005
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Crime and Punishment: Maxine Carr and other 'evil women'
Jo Knowles explains how the media's demonisation of Maxine Carr is symptomatic of stereotypes often attached to women: either Angels or Monsters, not flawed human beings.
Jo Knowles // 1 June 2004
Categories: Culture and Media, Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
Re-classifying rape
Ilona Jasiewicz argues for re-classifying rape from a sex crime to a hate crime, to make clear that the motive of rape is power - not passion.
Ilona Jasiewicz // 19 December 2003
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Violence
Support Our Boys
Lindsay and Francesca Levy discuss the difficulties of "supporting the troops" with a clear conscience, and the problems in being an anti-war demonstrator during wartime.
Lindsay and Francesca Levy // 16 April 2003
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher - Was she good for feminism?
Catherine Redfern // 16 August 2001
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs, Soundbites
Election 2001
They seek her here, they seek her there. At last, the election is over. But where, oh where were the women?
Catherine Redfern // 16 June 2001
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
Fawcett briefing on women and voting
This article is taken from a Fawcett Society briefing on women and voting reform.
Catherine Redfern // 16 June 2001
Categories: Politics and Current Affairs
