It’s hard to believe that election day is now less than a week away. The Economists’ Policy for Women’s Issues has graded the candidates nationally, but here with a special (and first!) edition of Global Exchange, Gwen and Tonni will be grading each candidate on their work in international issues that affect women. We are absolutely thrilled to have them address a topic that has been egregiously overlooked in this election. –Kristen

In just a few days the citizens of the United States of America will cast their ballots and determine their President, the future leader of the Free World (and really anything he so chooses). Today we consider what both candidates’ positions on reproductive health, international trade, the conflict in Darfur, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan mean for women internationally.

Toni Ann Brodber: Not too long ago I found myself explaining to a newly baptized American friend of mine why we foreigners watch every 4 years with bated breath as the American public decides our collective fate. Your policy often becomes our policy whether we like it or not. Some of us know this first hand. Frankly many of us faced near asphyxiation as a result of recent US policy decisions. Now, by the time we’ve learned how to breathe with barely any air there’s hope…and the cycle begins again.

Gwendolyn Beetham: I don’t know how many of my friends (including, you, Tonni!) from around the world have told me that they wish they could vote in this year’s election, not least because White House policies very much affect women around the world.

TB: No pressure.

With the current economic crisis, what the next president’s foreign policies will mean for women isn’t grabbing any headlines. There has been some coverage of how the candidate’s different policies will affect US women, but, like our friends at the Center for New Words, we’re of the opinion that there just hasn’t been enough. So, we’ve done the research for you. We’ve looked at how the candidates’ foreign policy positions will affect women globally, and have taken it one step further by grading the campaigns. Our findings may (or may not)surprise you.

Reproductive Health
The Global Gag Rule (also known as the Mexico City Policy) was a Reagan-era policy that made it possible to deny U.S. funding to organizations that that “provide abortion services or counsel, refer, or lobby on abortion”. One of George W. Bush’s first official acts in office was to reinstate this policy, which had been repealed during the Clinton Administration. This rule led to the scaling back of reproductive health programs in approximately 56 countries around the world, which, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, “imperils women’s health and lives both in countries where abortion is legal, as well as where it is illegal.” Reports on the impact of the Gag Rule on women’s lives point to a shortage of contraceptives, clinic closings, loss of funds for HIV/AIDS education, and a rise in unsafe abortions in countries where the rule has been implemented.

According to a survey conducted by RH Reality Check in December 2007, Obama plans to overturn the Global Gag Rule and reinstate funding for UNFPA. McCain supports the Global Gag Rule and voted against repealing it in 2005. He has not addressed UNFPA directly, but, when asked in a town hall in Iowa whether he believed that contraceptives stopped the spread of HIV, McCain responded, “You’ve stumped me.”

Grade:
Obama/Biden: A
McCain/Palin: D-

Comments:
For the past seven years, the Bush Administration has also stopped funding the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), claiming that it “supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” UNFPA’s office in China as an example of such support, despite the fact that a U.S. fact-finding mission to China found “no evidence that UNFPA has supported or participated in the management of a programme of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization”. More recently, USAID discontinued funding to Marie Stopes International (MSI) in several African countries due to the organization’s ties to UNFPA in China. (Curiously, such moral objections don’t seem to stop the government from letting China buy up much of the U.S.’s debt.) According to UNFPA, the $34 million in funding that the U.S. would give annual could prevent:

2 million unwanted pregnancies;
nearly 800,000 induced abortions;
4,700 maternal deaths;
nearly 60,000 cases of serious maternal illness;
over 77,000 infant and child deaths.

For more policies and grades, click to go past the jump!

more...

This just in, from GWP’s Veronica Arreola (aka Science Grrl)! -Deborah

Once upon a time there was a little girl who had big dreams. She was going to be an archeologist, a teacher, and maybe one day the President of the United States. She knew she wanted to get out of her small suburban town and see the world. When other girls were playing wedding, she joined in, but deep inside didn’t think that she would ever find a boy who would marry her. She did dream about having children one day. A husband was always optional. Fast forward to early adulthood and the little girl did find a boy who said he would marry her and tolerate, some days love, her crazy feminista ways. They married in a tiny chapel in Las Vegas. And they left the hotel-casino to live their Happily Ever After.
¤º°`°º¤o,,,,o¤º°`°º¤o,,,,o¤º°`°º¤o¤º°`°º¤o,,,,o¤º°`°º¤o,,,,o¤º°`°º¤o

When I hear people talk about defending the institution of marriage, I wonder if my marriage would really qualify. Yes, as a woman I married a man, but we were not married in a house of worship, even thou the justice of the peace did throw in a lot of “God this and God that.” I tried to change up the ceremony so that my dad was not asked “Who gives this woman away” because well, at 18 I left on my own accord, but the JoP still said it. I also thought about having both my parents walk me down the aisle, but was talked out of it. We were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. MYLAST name after we were married, which was a fun surprise for many reasons.

more...

From GWP’s very own Jacqueline Hudak! For a whole bunch more, be sure to see the posts contributed at Write to Marry Day’s host site, Mombian. – Deborah

I happen to think kids are very smart people.  And there are some kids who have been around my relationship with my partner, Sarah for a number of years.  So I thought I would solicit their opinion about marriage.

With just a little time, I tracked down my daughter Lauren, age 17, a senior at The  Emma Willard  School in Troy, NY, and sent her this email:

“I know you’re very busy honey, so if you don’t have time to answer this, I completely understand.  But, if you get a chance, can you give me a sentence or two? Do you think Sarah and I should be able to get married? Why or why not?”

Here’s her response:

“Honestly, when has discriminating against someone or a group of people EVER ended well?  When has it ever been a good idea to tell someone that they’re not as good as someone else, or that they’re restricted from participating in something because they’re different?  People get married because they’re in love, not because they’re heterosexual, so I think you should be able to marry whoever makes you happy.  You and your husband, wife, or partner deserve the same happiness and benefits as the people who find love in different places than you do.  So obviously you and Sarah should be able to get married =)

I happened to see our friend Lincoln today, who I might add, is an avid GWP reader! His Mom and I are best friends; I have known him since he was 3. Lincoln is now 16 and a junior at Allied Academy for Health Sciences here in NJ.  We were doing a typical drop off/pick up when I posed the same question. He indulged me, as he often does with my queries, took a moment to think and said,

“Of course you should be able to get married.  It’s no different than any other relationship, any other marriage. It’s no different.”

Finally, on the way home from school today, I told my son Vincent about this column.  Vincent is 13, in eighth grade, and has known Sarah since he was 8.

“Mom, you should be able to get married because you guys really love each other.”

And to that I say, “AMEN!”

So here’s what I have to say today in response to the wisdom of these children: Sarah, I love you fiercely, will you marry me?

PS. Katie, Sammi, Aaron and Georgia, I am so sorry I didn’t have time to talk to each of you about this! Please post your comments and get your voice heard!

-Jacqueline Hudak

I’m so pleased to share this post today from Bob Lamm, in honor of Write to Marry Day, and in protest of Prop 8. Bob is a freelance writer and teacher in New York City whose articles and personal esays have appeared in more than 40 periodicals, including the New York Times, the Village Voice, and Ms. magazine.  Among many other things, Bob is the author of the essay, “Learning from Women,” which was recently reprinted in Shira Tarrant’s anthology Men Speak Out.  Here’s Bob! -Deborah

Mildred Loving, who became famous for battling the ban in the United States on mixed-race marriage, died on May 2, 2008. Late in her life, she spoke out against banning same-sex marriages.

In 1958, Mildred Loving and her husband Richard Loving were in bed in their home in Virginia when police arrested them. The Lovings had married in Washington, D.C., five weeks earlier. Since Richard was White while Mildred was African American, their marriage was invalid in Virginia, one of 16 states which barred interracial marriages. (The Virginia statute applied not only to marriages actually performed in that state but also to marriages performed elsewhere.)

Both the Lovings were briefly jailed by the authorities. Under a plea bargain, they left Virginia and agreed not to return together for 25 years. A judge told them that if God had meant for Blacks and Whites to mix he would not have placed them on separate continents. But, years later, because they decided they wanted to return to live in Virginia, the Lovings launched a legal battle with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union. Eventually, in the 1967 case of Loving vs. Virginia, a unanimous United States Supreme Court ruled that miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution. This ruling effectively ended all bans on laws against racial intermarriage in the United States.

In 2007, in a statement prepared for the 40th anniversary of the Loving vs. Virginia ruling, Mildred Loving wrote:

“I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.

“I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.”

-Bob Lamm

Today is Write to Marry Day, where bloggers around the world are blogging to in support of marriage equality and to say NO to Proposition 8 in California, which will be voted on this election day, and which would overturn one of the most momentous victories for equal rights in recent memory.

Jacqueline will have a post up later today, but I just wanted to share an ad that they’ve had out recently. They’ve been getting savvy and I like this Mac vs. PC setup:

Elaine Lafferty, former editor of Ms. magazine and a Democrat, has been on Palin’s plane (EDIT: as a paid consultant) since soon after she was nominated and has offered a defense of the intelligence, feminism, and confidence of Palin in a piece at The Daily Beast titled “Sarah Palin’s a Brainiac.”

Of course this has created some furor in the feminist world, so here are my two cents. While Palin seems to have hit more of a stride now, all of her early exhibitions of intellectual work and curiosity showed someone unprepared for the job of VP, someone who had never thought about issues beyond the Alaskan borders, and someone who showed a lack of intellectual curiosity. Elaine may see someone different on the plane, but the public decides based on what they’re given access to, and their access to Palin has been minimal and, in the beginning, unsettling.

The other issue here is “What Is Feminism.” I believe that Palin thinks she is working for women–and to a certain extent her candidacy is good for feminism, forcing conservatives to support a powerful female candidate. Of course, we’ll see what the narrative on her “ability” and “intelligence” turns out to be after the election, when, if McCain loses, his camp may turn on her. Clearly in her own personal life, she has shown moxie and a great deal of confidence (over-confidence in taking on a job she wasn’t really ready for yet?).

Personally, I would call a woman who designates herself a feminist and who currently supports women’s progress in many areas of social/economic/political life, but not a woman’s right to choose, a feminist. I’m not sure who has the right to give or take that designator away, and I don’t think there’s a real point in fighting over the moniker itself. However, I do think we need to determine what is a viable feminism .

In our era, a woman, like any man, will have to work hard to achieve her desired social and economic standing. At the same time she has the right to a private sexuality. As a result, she may choose to prevent pregnancy or abort if pregnancy occurs at an undesired time, a time which will prevent her from achieving the social/economic independence and power that Palin claims women have a right to go after. Reproductive choice is today inherently tied into women’s status, and thus Palin’s feminism, a feminism that does not give a woman that right to choose, is not a viable feminism for our age.

Image Credit

Happy Almost Hallowe’en?!

This here’s an open call for reviews of the following, to be published here on GWP:

Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage by Jenny Block

My Little Red Book, edited by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff (Feb 2009) – an anthology about first periods! Read more on the author’s website, www.mylittleredbook.net

Interested? See our “Submit Your Ink” page for more.

Image cred

Now this is just the kind of blog action/activism that makes our hearts sing over here.

Join bloggers around the country and around the world tomorrow to blog in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples and against California’s Proposition 8! It’s Write to Marry Day.

The event will give bloggers a chance to voice their opposition to Prop 8 and highlight what they may have already done, online or off, to stop the measure. The campaign will also educate California voters of the need to “go all the way” down the ballot to vote on the proposition.

We’ve got some posts of our own in store, but if any GWP readers are interested in sharing their ink with us tomorrow, please feel free to submit your wares!

Thanks to our own Gwen B for the heads up, and to Mombian for organizing.

Amnesty International has reported that an American-Iranian student (she holds both American and Iranian nationality) has been arrested in Iran while doing work on the Iranian women’s movement for her Master’s thesis. Amnesty reports

Esha Momeni, a student and women’s rights defender, was arrested by Iranian security officials on 15 October. She is being held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence. She has not been charged with any offense, and is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

Esha Momeni is a graduate student at California State University, Northridge, in the USA. She is also a member of a branch of the Campaign for Equality in California. She had been in Iran for two months to visit her family and to conduct research for her Master’s degree thesis on the Iranian women’s movement, for which she had conducted video interviews with members of the Campaign for Equality in Tehran.

More information on Esha Momeni as well as addresses to write letters to protesting her detainment can be found here and in an article at the Chronicle.

Other ways to help (thanks to Sharon Collingwood for sending these out to the Women’s Studies List):

There is an online petition here.

The American Islamic Congress also has a petition.

The World Organization Website has more on the story.

This activist site has a video that could be useful in the classroom (1:46 in length).

There is a student group on Facebook.

CSUN’s statement.