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To: londonfeministnetwork<BR>From: sue.mayer<BR>Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2008 14:35:28 +0000<BR>Subject: [londonfeministnetwork] Why is progress so slow?<BR><BR>
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I was sorting some old e-mails and came across my attempts in 2004 to<BR>persuade British humanists & secularists to support the UN Campaign<BR>Against Violence Against Women - rooted as it is in the male supremacism of<BR>the patriarchal religions. It got no support (So unlike the support they<BR>gave to gay men whose problems stem from the same source!)<BR><BR>Looking again at the webstes of the UNHRC division on the Status of Women<BR>and Violence Against Women, in the light of the current resurgence of<BR>feminism I see how little has changed and possibly why.<BR><BR>What stood out, for me, was the absence of the 'R' word or any the <BR>history, origins and<BR>current role of religion in maintaining - sexism and misogyny.<BR><BR>IMO until this denial of the major cultural reasons for women's inferior<BR>status and subservience is confronted and challenged we will never<BR>overcome these deeply engrained attitudes that subvert all our efforts.<BR><BR>Why? Because the mass of the population think (even if they don't say <BR>it) that it is 'natural' for women to be servile because they they are <BR>intrinsically weaker and therefor inferior to men. As I tried to convey <BR>in the video - it is 'The Elephant in the Room'.<BR><A href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnLsBr1rohI" target=_blank>http://www.youtube.<WBR>com/watch?<WBR>v=vnLsBr1rohI</A><BR><BR>Sue<BR><BR>UN Division for the Advancement of Women<BR>Departmen of Economic and Social Affairs<BR>Mission Statement:-<BR><BR>"Grounded in the vision of equality of the United Nations Charter, the<BR>Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) advocates the improvement of <BR>the<BR>status of women of the world, and the achievement of their equality with<BR>men -as equal actors, partners, and beneficiaries of sustainable<BR>development, human rights, peace and security. Together with Governments,<BR>other entities of the United Nations system, and civil society, including<BR>non-governmental organizations, DAW actively works to advance the global<BR>agenda on women's rights issues and gender equality and ensure that women's<BR>voices are heard in international policy arenas."<BR><BR>UN Human Rights commission on the Status of Women<BR><A href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html" target=_blank>http://www.un.<WBR>org/womenwatch/<WBR>daw/csw/index.<WBR>html</A><BR><BR>Violence against women<BR><A href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/indexnew.htm" target=_blank>http://www.un.<WBR>org/womenwatch/<WBR>daw/vaw/indexnew<WBR>.htm</A><BR><BR>Convention the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women<BR><A href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/index.html" target=_blank>http://www.un.<WBR>org/womenwatch/<WBR>daw/cedaw/<WBR>index.html</A><BR><BR>*UNHCR = UN Human Rights Commission<BR><BR><BR></DIV></DIV>
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</BLOCKQUOTE><br /><hr />Messenger on the move. <a href='http://mobile.uk.msn.com/pc/messenger.aspx ' target='_new'>Text MSN to 63463 now!</a></body>
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