Fair Commodity: Empowered With Inherent Loss

Fair Commodity: Empowered With Inherent Loss

Indian HOLOCAUST My father`s My Life and Time- One Hundred Thirty THREE

Palash Biswas




In Reality, woman the declared Shudra by Hindu religion and Napak in Islam is no more Fair Sex. She is the fare commodity with the marketable tag of Inherent slavery! We read taslima Nasreen and other woman writer while they elaborate their individual experiences of Sex with great entertain ment, but the same we never support their cause of liberation. Thus, the Left in Bengal is all against Taslima Nasren! The government of India has denied so many timesthe plea for citizenshipby exiled writerBangladeshi Taslima Nasreen.Taslima recently made an impassioned plea to her "second home" India to grant her citizenship and blamed the government of West Bengal, her current residence in exile, for delaying the process.
Nasreen had to flee Bangladesh after her book Lajja was published in 1994.

"We have seen news reports saying we have decided against giving citizenship to Taslima Nasreen. We have received her request for citizenship but no final decision has been taken in this regard," always said any close aide of the Home Minister Shivraj Patil.

What is woman`s identity in India?
The answer would be an emphatic YES for a large majority and may be a whispering no for a miniscule few. In most homes she would continue to eat last and least; continue to work longer hours doing more arduous, but largely unrecognised, work than her male counterpart and continue to be paid less.

WHAT do women want? Or, what are they even thinking, you ask?

She would continue to be a victim of rape, domestic violence and continue being denied basic human rights envisaging gender equality — rights which were officially endorsed by the UN way back in 1945 as part of an international agreement in Sanfrancisco.
Purple, Green and Gold are the present official colours of IWD. Purple stands for justice, dignity and self respect; green for hope and new life; gold for a new dawn.

Laudable words indeed. But for the average Indian woman these are dreams which she dare not dream, let alone realize. The patriarchal Indian society has always being characterised by its indifference towards the sufferings of the oppressed — whether it be a Harijan, a tonga pony or a woman. Even the official statistics is scary, to say the least (the real scenario is far worse). Of the 15 million girls born every year in India,about 25% percent before their 15th birthday.

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreensays that she is being persecuted for fighting for the rights of humanity. Nasreen says, she did not want to shut her mouth on injustices against women. She also wanted India, the country she adopted, to follow a uniform civil code.

As a writer,she felt very safe in India .Taslima said her only fault was that she had fought fo secularism and equality. Taslima said she would continue the fight for rights of women.

Would You support Taslima?

We are very fond of Woman writers like Shobha Dey, Taslima Nasreen, Amrita Pritam, Tilottama Majumdar, Krishna sobati! Why? Are we really that concered with the issues related to woman? Or It is really an eternal Entertainment?
What do women writers talk about? If the South Asian Women Writers’ Colloquium held in New Delhi recently is anything to go by, the answer is: everything. The subjects discussed at the 21-23 February meet included revolution and relationships, politics and pain, gender and genocide, markets and mothers, caste and creativity, language and loneliness, form and family, success and struggle, poverty and privilege, roots and rootless-ness.

The colloquium brought together over 40 writers of fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, as well as journalism and academic writing, in at least 13 languages, from five countries of the region and farther afield. The hybrid event, dubbed “The Power of the Word”, addressed concerns about literature and society, globalisation and culture, censorship and human rights. Its main aim was to explore the diverse forms of censorship faced by writers in general, and women writers in particular.

Discussions at the colloquium, organised by Women’s World India, moved between the intellectual and the emotional, as writers addressed both the personal and the political. The dialogue revolved around four intersecting themes. The first, ‘Writing in a time of siege’, raised questions about writers’ responsibility towards society, especially in times of conflict, war, displacement and dislocation. The second, ‘Closing spaces in an open market’, enabled participants to scrutinise the so-called openness of the apparently globalised literary market. In the third session, titled ‘Exclusionary practices’, writers examined the impact of caste, class, sexuality, ethnicity and other markers of difference – in addition to gender – on literary acceptability. The final session, ‘The guarded tongue’, highlighted the role of family, community and other affiliations in the determination of literary content.
http://www.himalmag.com/2007/april/report_5.htm

Every 6th infant death is due to gender discrimination and it is estimated that the death of young girls exceeds that of boys by about 300,000 annually. This has led to a really skewed up female-male sex ratio of 93:100 where as in most other countries it is 105:100.

Woman suppression is rooted in Indian society — in tradition, in religious practice and in social norms, all of which favour the dominance of the male. The new millennium may have arguably seen a sea change in thoughts about women equality but the ingrained complexity of patriarchy in India is well known. And so though middle class elite fathers may show off their daughter's education and income with pride, they prefer to maintain the status quo in matters of social norms and expect her to do likewise.

Even for the glamorous woman achiever from a metro city, (what to talk about the illiterate village damsel) her choice and manner should be in deference to the male — be it her father, brother, husband or any other man in her life. Female rebellion is uncouth and bad mannered and hence a big NO-NO for women of decent (?)upbringing. So despite her professional degrees and her well groomed looks she continues to be brainwashed into accepting male dominance. She gives up her property/ inheritance rights in favour of her brothers.

Millions of Indians must have been relieved to hear that Taslima Nasreen's visa which was due to expire in a week has been extended to her life-time so that she can become a citizen of India. A fatwa pronounced by some Bangladeshi bigots — for her turning a free thinker — has put her life in jeopardy in Bangladesh. Thousands of Bangladeshis have been illegally sneaking in from their country to India, finding means of livelihood, getting ration cards and voting rights.
We have not been able to do anything about them. Here we have a case of an eminent novelist who came to India legally and is threatened with expulsion. Her only crime is that in her novel Lajja she exposed rampant corruption and religious skulduggery in her homeland and reneged from her faith. She has every right to do so. Mullahs pronounced the sentence of death on her. It is our sacred duty to protect her from harm.

Nasreen, however,have been granted periodicle multiple visa by the government that allows her to stay in Kolkata.According to media watchers, the government has been keeping Nasreen's request pending to put pressure on the Bangladesh government to hand over United Liberation Front of Asom general secretary Anup Chetia.Bangladesh denies that it has Chetia in their custody. to me, it is not the case at all. It is not diplomacy, but it is the general attitude towards woman in this subcontinent which alienate Taslima for so long!

In an article published in The Outlook, Taslima exhorted Muslim women to "burn their burqas". It created an uproar in orthodox Muslim circles. The Koran and the Hadith were quoted in support of as well as against women wearing burqas. It is assumed that it is a matter which concerns Muslims only. This is not so: it concerns all of us because Muslims are an integral part of our society. Non-Muslims would like to be closer to Muslims, their families visit Muslim homes and receive them in theirs. This is not possible if bigoted Muslims persist in segregating women folk and bullying them to wear burqas when they step out. Segregating women is a relic of the medieval past and should be discarded in the interests of the Muslim community.


This is a case study while the ganeral attitude is best reflected by the parliamentary procedure in New delhi while Cutting across political affiliations, women members in the Lok Sabha have been demanding reservation for them in Parliament and Assemblies, responding to which the government always said it was committed to bring a bill in this regard.It has not to happen to cut the male supremacy to size, it won`t be!

Woman is empowered as a fare commodity to fix the pace of Global Blue revolution in India. India is opening up all doors for Sex Tourism. Luxury is incoplete without F..ing! The woman is meant for that , nothing else. We are habitual to reject the identity of woman. Not only this, we the slaves of World Bank sponsored Neo Liberal Manusmriti, also deny the traditional respect for Biological Motherhood!

On the occasion of International Women's Day, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee suspended the Question Hour for some time to make a statement on the issue and allowed lady members to share their views.

"On this solemn day, we should reaffirm our commitment to improve the condition of women, specially those who are in vulnerable position and empower them to take their rightful place in society," Chatterjee said.

Man and Woman

The honest truth is that both man and woman are each a savage without the other. Both are only halves of an integrated human personality. Neither would be human or humane without the other. They belong to the same species and do not belong either to two different classes or two separate castes. The distinguishing characteristic of a class is that it can be changed. A person belonging to one class today may go over to another class tomorrow. Caste is distinguished by the fact that one cannot change one's caste. One is born in a particular caste. In the case of woman and man, however, they can belong to the same caste. And yet, normally they cannot change their sex. This distinguishes the subject of the relation of the sexes from all other Social questions. It cannot, therefore, be compared with any other Social Problem. It is neither ethically desirable nor possible to determine which of the two sexes is superior.
http://www.mkgandhi.org/dharma/h.htm
Fashion Vs Indian Women

Like it happens in any developing economy, in India, there’s been an apparent growth in aspirations of the people. Today, people aspire to be someone famous. And, to become ‘that someone’, they’re willing to pay a premium for quality, design and exclusivity. Be it the contemporary housewife, a sophisticated or the next generation of working class, they all want the best in life. "Today people, in one word, want Glamour. Anything written on celebrity, fashion and social revelry etc. is received with great delight. By giving the readers’ what they want media whets their appetite for it. Then follows the vicious circle of desiring more and more. So media goes on providing the same.
http://www.boloji.com/women/0061.htm

Indian women face widening wealth gap - By : ibrar mirza
Nirmala Shetty, New Socialist Alternative (CWI, India)

In the recent period India is attracting attention for its high growth. Economic analysts roll out development figures unabated. But the objective reality is that India has a back-log in terms of unfulfilled ‘democratic’ social tasks. A cursory glance of how the women in India live gives ample evidence that all is not well in the so-called booming country.
On August 2002, 17-year-old Shruthi was on her daily routine of going to her school. As she was getting down from her school bus, Shruthi’s acquaintance, Rajesh, suddenly attacked her with a splash of acid on her head. Because of this attack one of Shruthi’s eyes and half of her body are charred beyond recognition. Shruthi has not seen school since that day. With about 20 surgical treatments she is still in an unrecovered state. Such ghastly experiences not only physically shake you, but could even kill your spirit to struggle to survive.
The crime of acid attacks against women in India is becoming more and more common. In the last decade, the state of Karnataka alone has seen 37 such cases; many more have gone unreported. Many a time it is the threat to life made by the attackers that means these cases are suppressed. An acid attack speaks volumes of the injustice and inequality meted out against women in India. Such cruelty depicts the criminal mind at work, which not only wants the victim to suffer the grievous possible harm but also forces her not to enjoy her life in the future. Acid attacks hold a mirror as to how the capitalist and the landlordist system treats women in society.
In the aftermath of the attack even the judiciary treats the victim as a culprit and is judgemental on the character and conduct of the victim herself.
http://www.paktribune.com/pforums/posts.php?t=3583&start=1

Mother India to Ms. India
Geeta Doctor

Looking back, the 20th century will be seen as the century of the woman. Sex is no longer destiny. It is a career choice. Like the many armed goddesses of the past, the modern woman can choose to be anything that she likes. The worst fears of the patriarchy have been unleashed. The female force is finally in the ascendant. Centuries of conditioning about the "Second Sex", the weaker sex, the delicate sex, the fair sex, that is alternately venerated and violated only to be kept in a state of passive subjugation, so as to protect the genetic agenda to reproduce and nurture the future generation, have been erased by the power of the Pill.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo9909/99090240.htm

What happens to be the crude Reality?
"Indian Women and Violence" - A Bibliography
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/Ideas/womvio.html
Racism and capitalism have trampled the potential of black people in this country and thwarted their self-determination. Initially the physical characteristics of those of African descent were used to fit blacks into the lowest niche in the capitalist hierarchy - that of maintenance. Therefore, black women and men of today do not encourage division by extending physical characteristics to serve as a criterion for a social hierarchy. If the potential of the black woman is seen mainly as a supportive role for the black man, then the black woman becomes an object to be utilized by another human being. Her potential stagnates and she cannot begin to think in terms of self-determination for herself and all black people. It is not right that her existence should be validated only by the existence of the black man.
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/blkmanif/
The Gender War: Truce or Consequences
The signs of a new gender order are already evident. Will the new millennium usher in a truce in the longest-running feud in human history: the battle of the sexes? Adite Chatterjee looks for an answer.

What would the mother of all modern feminists Simone de Beauvoir have made of feminism as it has come to be in the '90s? The author of the path-breaking The Second Sex, which created feminist history in 1953, would have had a tough time analysing the post-modern world of Monica Lewinskys, Linda Tripps, Lorena Bobbitts and Anita Hills. Women, who by no stretch of imagination can be deemed stereotypical "victims'', who need to be liberated from their male oppressors.

Feminism my no longer be radically chic, but that is no great news for the male species. The hysteria has abated somewhat, but male-bashing is still very much in fashion. Women's Lib has given way to feel-good feminism.

Feminism may no longer be radically chic, but that is no great news for the male animal. The hysteria may have abated somewhat, but male-bashing is still very much in fashion. Women's Lib has given way to feel-good feminism. Just switch on your television sets and take a look at today's self-appointed crusaders still fighting their feminist battles--from Purush Kshetra, the Kiran Joneja Show, to the Priya Tendulkar Show. You will find plenty of women throwing privacy to the winds and strutting their aggressive feminist stuff for television cameras. Or pick up a Shobha De best-seller Surviving Men if you want to indulge in some feel-good feminism (read male-bashing).
http://www.india-today.com/iplus/1999_1/gender.html
The Price Of Being A Woman:
Slavery In Modern Iindia

By Justin Huggler

04 April 2006
The Independent


The desire for sons has created a severe shortage of marriageable young women. As their value rises, unscrupulous men are trading them around the subcontinent and beyond as if they were a mere commodity


Tripla's parents sold her for £170 to a man who had come looking for a wife. He took her away with him, hundreds of miles across India, to the villages outside Delhi. It was the last time she would see her home. For six months, she lived with him in the village, although there was never any formal marriage. Then, two weeks ago, her husband, Ajmer Singh, ordered her to sleep with his brother, who could not find a wife. When Tripla refused, he took her into the fields and beheaded her with a sickle.
http://www.countercurrents.org/gen-huggler040406.htm







What Taslima says, please read!

"I have been banished from my country and am living away from home for the last 12 years. I don't want to live in Europe any more," Taslima, who flew to Delhi on Sunday night from London to attend a publishers' convention, told PTI.

"India is my second home. I have been granted a six-month visa, but citizenship is being repeatedly refused to me," the author of works that have created controversies in Bangladesh and India said.

She blamed the West Bengal government for "coming in the way of the Centre granting her citizenship status.

"I need a recommendation letter from the West Bengal government before the Centre can consider my request for citizenship. They (WB government) are not granting me the much-needed recommendation before I can call this country my home," said the women's rights activist who fled her country after fundamentalists, outraged at her progressive views, issued a fatwa against her.

"If I can't live in my own country, and if I have to stay close to home, where I can speak my mother tongue, write in my own language? India is the second option. Where else will I go?" asked Taslima. The writer said she will soon make a fresh application to the Centre for citizenship.

Taslima believes that the "Muslim vote bank politics could be the reason behind the West Bengal government's refusal to recommend her to the Centre for citizenship rights."

"Ideally, the Left government should not have any ideological differences with me. I write for secular forces, for upliftment of human rights and rights of women and the downtrodden wherever I am. I see no clash of views with the Left there," she said.

Once a qualified medical practitioner in Bangladesh who had to give up her career in medicine "for refusing to tow the government line", Taslima said she will continue her fight against religious extremism, fundamentalism and censorship of books.

She saw no hope of ever returning to Bangladesh, which is on the brink of a political change.

"Be it Awami League, or Bangladesh Nationalist Party, they are all the same. During poll campaigning they all apparently promised fundamentalist election partners that they would be granted rights to issue fatwas once in power," she said.

"Whoever comes to power, it will not make a difference in Bangladesh where violence against women is on the rise," Taslima said.

Not the one to closely follow Bangladeshi politics, Taslima said what the country needs is a "secular and tolerant leader" before she can even dream of coming back to her home country.

"But there is hope. I get a lot of e-mails from young people in Bangladesh who write in to tell me that things may be changing slowly," she said.

Accusing the Bangladesh government of not renewing her passport for the last two years, Taslima said she has been running from pillar to post to get this done during her exile abroad.
No decision on Taslima citizenship yet.

HC adjourns case against Taslima Nasreen

08 March, 2007

Madras High Court has adjourned to next week the hearing on a petition seeking to register a case against controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen for her alleged defamatory and blasphemous statements on Islam.

When the petition filed by Tamil Nadu Muslim Makkal Katchi President S M Pasha came for hearing before Justice K N Basha, Additional Public Prosecutor Kumaresan sought time for getting instructions from the Commissioner of Police, Chennai.

Following this, the judge adjourned the hearing by a week.

In his petition, Mr Pasha referred to an article titled 'Let's Burn the Burqa' written by Ms Nasreen and published by a magazine dated January 22, 2007.

In her article, Ms Nasreen said women should not use purdah, hador, hijab, burqa or headscarf as they were instruments of disrespect.

'These are the symbols of women's oppression,' she had claimed.

The petitioner said this call was against Allah's command and the preaching of the Holy Prophet.

Her statement not only degraded Prophet Mohammed but also the whole religious belief of Islam. This statement was an instigation to act against Islamic customs and beliefs, he claimed.

The petitioner claimed Ms Nasrin, the editor, publisher and printer of the magazine had committed offences under section 153-B, 295-A and 505 (2) of the IPC.

Hence he gave a complaint on February 1, 2007 to the Commissioner of Police for taking action against them. But so far, no action was taken. Hence, the present petition, he added.

From Sonia to Sania and Sharmila to Shilpa, these divas from utterly disparate backgrounds represent the new India.Today's women balance home and office straining their body system. Here are a few tips to manage stress.

It's no more a male bastion! Corporate boardrooms are now feeling the heat of women power.
9 women featured in RGV's creations who made thinking out of the box as commonplace as bread and butter.

Women's rights activist GloriaSteinem says that women do a great deal of unpaid work and that needs to be valued.
Does she consider herself an Indian, what with her long stay here now? "I am from the Indian subcontinent, and whenever somebody calls me a foreigner – I'm shocked. Officially, I may not be Indian, but I feel at home here and so I'm Indian. I have a right to choose my country, and this is it," she says, before venturing into the issue of government censorship. "I'm against censorship but the government acts for its own interests. Freedom of expression is important," adds Taslima. She has lost track of the number of her banned works. "What is the number?" she asks, adding that she stopped counting after seven!

"I use words to make people conscious," says the writer. Her own inspiration to start writing was drawn from daily life. In her words, "As a child I learnt that everybody should protest. When a dog was beaten in a street, everyone raised their eyebrows and threw up their hands in disgust, saying 'how unfair, the poor thing can't even speak'. But when a woman was beaten in her home, the same people said, 'she's her husband's property' before abandoning her to be stoned to death. What has a woman done to be owned by her father, husband and son as a daughter, wife and mother respectively? I wanted the freedom to say 'No' and my words helped me do that."

Driven by a strong urge "to change mindsets", Taslima believes that freedom is ultimate. "No mob, no hooligan should decide for anyone. A reader, viewer, thinker, and most importantly, a human being should be given the liberty to decide for himself. This freedom is second to none," says Taslima.


It’s worth celebrating our actresses who have delighted us with these challenging performances.
The newcomers of the 1990s--Karisma Kapoor (Zubeidaa, Fiza), Raveena Tandon (Daman, Satta), Tabu (Astitva, Chandni Bar), Urmila Matondkar (Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Ek Haseena Thi) and Manisha Koirala (Khamoshi, Agnisakshi) have done enough memorable roles to do their resume proud.

When is enough really enough? Ash has done an excellent work to portary the protagonist surrounded by domestic violence in `PROVOKED’. May we ever clear our Ivory Tower of Memory filled with the images of Mother India played by Nargis Dutta?



In love, never. In abuse, immediately.

Domestic violence evokes a sense of unrestrained anger within. One's instant reaction is, 'How dare he?' or 'Why doesn't she leave him?'

Provoked: A True Story compels you to think about this ugly issue prevalent in both modern and traditional societies.
Adapted from the autobiography Circle of Light (by Rahila Gupta and Kiranjit Ahluwalia), it is primarily the story of Kiranjit's trauma. Though the film doesn't give a detailed account of the psyche or conditioning of its victim and offender, it gives you some insight of a woman's incredible tale of abuse and acquittal.

nterview: Kiranjit, the woman behind Provoked

The opening shot (with solid backing from A R Rahman's soulful background score and Madhu Ambat's expressive photography) is exceptionally dramatic. Held by an unknown figure, a candle burns and spreads its dim light across the darkness of the living room. As it moves, the flames' reflection falls on the wall displacing framed memories from happier times. Oblivious to what it's about to do, the candle ascends in the direction of its victim. It surreptitiously reaches its inebriated victim and is let loose to make its fatal move.

The unknown figure is now revealed. It's a nervously shaking Kiranjit (played by Aishwarya Rai). The man going up in flames is her husband, Deepak (Naveen Andrews, playing the bad guy so effectively you want to strangle him).

A series of recurring flashbacks enlighten us about what really happened.

Originally from Punjab, Kiranjit comes to England after marrying Deepak. Docile and submissive, Kiranjit meekly puts up with the increasing atrocities of her alcoholic other half. The vile man beats, cheats, mistreats and abuses his wife physically, sexually and verbally.

In an interview, the real Ahluwalia stated her husband was often nice but suffered from a 'split personality'. In the film, this trait is never communicated. Deepak comes across as a you-know-what of the first order from start to finish.

In the film, the year is 1989. And Kiranjit is put behind bars for suspected murder. The trial fails to establish a prolonged background of domestic violence and the jury declares her guilty. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Kiranjit gears up for life in the cell, where she finds a protective sympathetic in her feisty and affluent inmate, Veronica Scott (a delightful, effortlessly endearing Miranda Richardson). Booked for stabbing her husband, Veronica is shown to have remarkable influence in and outside prison.

Meanwhile, non-profit organisation Southall Black Sisters, headed by Radha (Nandita Das in a spiffy, vibrant turn) takes up Kiranjit's cause, vowing to bring her justice.

Together these women prove to be a driving force in her life. While she brushes up her English speaking skills, Radha and her team create an awareness of Kiranjit's case by posting banners and flyers asking for support. Veronica uses her contacts to help Kiranjit file an appeal. In 1992, the judiciary system in what came to be known as the breakthrough 'Regina vs Ahluvalia' trial acquits Kiranjit.

Provoked is an important story which definitely needs to be told. What is disheartening is the way it is. Sure, the treatment is realistic, production values are good, and the acting is mostly commendable -- but the screenplay (Paul Austin, Rahila Gupta) is shockingly superficial.

It is too subjective to understand what makes a woman stay in a bad marriage, or with a bad husband. Issues like incompatibility, for some even infidelity, are negotiable. But how does one adjust to getting beaten up by a man who has publicly promised to love and respect you in an elaborate wedding ceremony?

Even so, scores of women tolerate harassment at the hands of beastly husbands in order to protect the institution's so-called honour. Some are just uncomfortable exposing the truth, while others are too scared to even try. There are women who actually die getting beaten up.




In Western countries, women are educated, they are treated equally, they have access to jobs. In these conditions, their participation in politics has a meaning.
Education, a secular feminist movement, and leaders–both men and women–committed to equality and justice. This is what it will take to change the dire conditions which too many women still face today. It will take a very long time, but we are here to work towards that end.

If you`re a woman who loves to shop, recognising your spending triggers is essential to staying out of debt!

New girls on the block
Yet to pass out of teenage, they are being pushed by lifestyle demands into high-end prostitution
Please raed the Full Story:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070401/asp/calcutta/story_7359586.asp

Indian women face peril of HIV
By Madeleine Morris
BBC News, Andhra Pradesh
At the Vasavya Mahila Mandali home for vulnerable women and children in the city of Vijayavada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, 23-year-old Nagmani clutches her five-year-old daughter in her lap
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4260314.stm

Indian Women as Sex Objects
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/princess.htm

Pl browsethese sites also!

African Women Global Network (AWOGNet)
is based in the Center for African Studies at Ohio State. Its goal is to link individuals, institutions, and nongovernmental organizations involved in improving living conditions of women and children in Africa. AWOGNet's primary focus is on educational support, but it will also encourage agricultural projects, services for refugees and orphans, and professional development programs for women.

Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL)
The Center's goals are to: Build internationl linkages among women in local leadership that enhance their effectiveness, expand their global consciousness and develop coordinated strategies for action; Promote visibility of women and feminist perspectives in public deliberation and policy-making globally; and Increase participation of women in national and international governing bodies and processes.

Feminism and Globalization: The Impact of the Global Economy on Women and Feminist Theory
Indiana University's Global Legal Studies Journal, a bi-annual "peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal focusing on the intersections of global and domestic legal regimes,markets, politics, technologies, and cultures," is highlighted by a symposium issue each fall. This symposium concerns feminism and globalization of market forces, and contains seven articles (full text).

International Gender, Science and Technology Information Map
Many WID resources at this site "developed by Sophia Huyer of the Women in Global Science and Technology Network
(WIGSAT) at the International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study (IFIAS). WIGSAT facilitates policy research and collaboration on issues in gender, science and technology policy, at national, regional, and international levels."

Live Chat on Sinai Bedouin Women with Ann Gardner
A transcript from a Scholar's Hall Conference, a "live" chat on AOL. The guest is Ann Gardner who is a specialist in Sinai Bedouin women.

Reproduction Crisis:
Women and Structural Adjustment in the Caribbean an interview with Peggy Antrobus."...wherever structural adjustment has been implemented it has led to greater polarization between rich and poor and an increasing burden of labour being placed on women in particular..."

Reflections on Sinai Bedouin Women
Ann Gardner is a social anthropologist working in the Middle East. You will find links to various women in development sites here as well as occassional postings from her upcoming book.