06
Feb
2014
The UK government plans to extend charges to primary and emergency care – and maternity care. In March the government plans to publish details of how it intends to extend charges for healthcare services to emergency and primary care. GP consultations will still be free, but services like minor surgery or physiotherapy might be charged for.... The UK government plans to extend charges to primary and emergency care – and maternity care. In March the government plans to publish details of how it intends to extend charges for healthcare services to emergency and primary care. GP consultations will still be free, but services like minor surgery or physiotherapy might be charged for. And while ministers06
Feb
2014
The practise can cause severe bleeding, infection, infertility and death. TRIGGER WARNING: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS Today is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, a day to set about raising awareness of the practise and encouraging people to take a stand and to help05
Feb
2014
Proposed Afghan law would effectively let batterers of women and girls off the hook. Afghan President Hamid Karzai should refuse to sign a new criminal procedure code that would effectively deny women protection from domestic violence and forced or child marriage, Human Rights Watch said04
Feb
2014
Juice – the vocal ensemble – are launching their single ‘Heal You’ on 6 February. Nonclassical is London’s longest running and only monthly classical club night, at The Shacklewell Arms in East London, and presents “a winningly eclectic mix” with03
Feb
2014
Here are some dates for your diary of woman-centric events going on around the UK this week. Bury St Edmunds: 5 February: “How can we increase the representation of women in politics and public life?” A debate at County Upper School, Bury St Edmunds, from 7.30pm. Bury St31
Gen
2014
‘A lot of people think they don’t have any ownership in Europe and we want to give them that back’. Germany’s Ska Keller and France’s Jose Bovehave been selected to lead the Greens in their upcoming European campaign. The two won the four-person and30
Gen
2014
National Voter Registration Day is taking place on 5 February. Far too many people who should be able to cast their vote at election time are not registered to do so – and at present only around half of all young people are currently registered to vote. National Voter Registration Day29
Gen
2014
‘This Bill would ensure that private companies running services are more accountable and transparent.’ Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, has launched a new bill as part of a campaign to give people more control over public services. Her Private Member’s28
Gen
2014
Using a Black mannequin as an object, Melgaard has reproduced racialised stereotypes of hyper-sexualised Black women. Guest post from writer, activist and feminist Louise Pennington. This is the question currently doing the rounds on social media and in countless columns and articles27
Gen
2014
Project mapping memorials to women in Scotland still needs your help. All over Scotland, in towns, villages and in the countryside, there are many types of memorials, large and small, commemorating the lives and achievements of women. Some names are well known, others have been forgotten27
Gen
2014
Just for a change, make sure the next book you read is by a woman. Author and artist Joanna Walsh is using Twitter to address gender inequality in the literary world. Walsh started the Twitter hashtag #readwomen2014 after making New Year’s cards that featured drawings of her favourite
Megan Kearns celebrates Ellen Ripley, a fierce feminist, as a role model. Our regular cross-post from Bitchflicks. When I was 10 years old, the scariest movie I ever saw was ‘Aliens’. I remember the first time I saw it like it was yesterday. Late one night, plagued with insomnia05
Feb
2014
Originally a Twitter movement, #NotBuyingIt is now available to download as app. This app has been produced by The Representation Project, a movement that aims to ‘use film and media content to expose injustices created by gender stereotypes and to shift people’s consciousness04
Feb
2014
Urge Olympic sponsors to speak out against Russian homophobia; protest on 5 February. In Russia, you can now be fined or arrested for speaking publicly about gay, lesbian, bi or trans issues; new laws have fuelled a massive surge in anti-gay violence within the country. But Principle 6 of04
Feb
2014
Women more likely to opt for higher education, according to UCAS figures. A third more young women than men are now seeking higher education – a trend which some academic experts have called ‘unhealthy’. Latest application figures reveal 87,000 more women than men applied03
Feb
2014
Sian Norris is fed up of celebrity abusers. Jim Davidson has won Celebrity Big Brother. Jim Davidson, a man who has an alleged history of intimate partner violence, and whose racist, sexist and homophobic “comedy” led to him being chucked off Celebrity Hell’s31
Gen
2014
And the Wedding That Wasn’t. Our regular cross-post from Bitchflicks. By Lady T. Joss Whedon’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is soaked in sex, languidness, and alcohol, as any decent adaptation of a Shakespeare comedy should be30
Gen
2014
The struggle to make ends meet could trigger depression and relationship breakdowns. Citing the need to make more than £60 billion of additional savings, including £17 billion this year, the chancellor George Osborne said in a recent speech, “Welfare cannot be protected from29
Gen
2014
New initiative aims to attract more women into the engineering industry. The trade association for the UK’s glass industry is behind a new initiative to encourage the next generation of women to consider careers in engineering and manufacturing. The Sheffield-based British Glass
‘It is clear that he did not behave in the way that a chief executive should behave’. Sources have rejected suggestions by Lord Rennard that he could resume his roles in the Liberal Democrat party after being cleared of sexual harassment. Lord Rennard, the Liberal Democrats Chief27
Gen
2014
Calling for teaching about respect, sexual consent and to end violence in relationships. On 28 January, the House of Lords will vote on making sex and relationship education (SRE) compulsory in English schools. They will be debating proposals to changes to the Children and Families Bill24
Gen
2014
‘Legalising prostitution means men are told by their government that it is perfectly okay to purchase a woman’. The European Parliament’s Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee has voted through a report that recommends the adoption of the ‘Nordic24
Gen
2014
Join a week of pro-choice solidarity with the women of Spain. The right of Spanish women to access safe and legal abortion is currently under threat from a proposal to reform the current law in a highly restrictive fashion by Spain’s ruling party, the Partido Popular. Abortions would05
Feb
2014
Terror suspects can only be held for max 28 days; there is no limit to how long an asylum-seeker can be held. Most of us can not imagine the suffering which women seeking asylum in the UK have been through. Their stories include rape, torture, imprisonment… However, for many, that04
Feb
2014
Britain’s women to watch. The build-up to the 2014 Winter Games has probably been one of the more troubled in Olympic history. It is hard for anyone with an ounce of political awareness not be disturbed by some of the events leading up to the Games: from the release of the members of03
Feb
2014
Crowdspeaking platform amplifies social media reach for campaigners. The social campaigning tool Thunderclap is being used to help spread the word on the EU-wide #EndFGM campaign. Organised by the Department for International Development (DFID), this Thunderclap aims to flood social media31
Gen
2014
Mothers’ names and occupations should be recorded on marriage certificates alongside fathers’. In England and Wales mothers’ names and occupations are not on marriage certificates but fathers’ names and occupations are. This is not fair. Women are routinely31
Gen
2014
There are two types of human rights violators: those who commit the crimes, and the violation enablers. Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, went on an official visit to the Middle Eastern state of Bahrain recently to promote the UK as part of Britain’s “Great” campaign to boost30
Gen
2014
Some of the research results were as you might expect, some were surprising. EAVES has just released a new report which looks at young people’s views on forced marriage and its gendered differentials. The research, which was partially funded by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth29
Gen
2014
Legal aid lawyers call on government to rethink benefit cuts. Many of the government’s cuts to benefits only came into full effect in April 2013, so the full consequences are yet to be understood. What can be seen, however, are the results of initial changes in access to and the28
Gen
2014
‘The first female head of a major automaker walked the auto show floor in a conservative black suit past women in skimpy dresses.’ General Motors’ new CEO Mary Barra hopes her engineering background and position as the first woman to lead the top U.S. automaker will encourage27
Gen
2014
Here are some dates for your diary of woman-centric events going on around the UK this week. Brighton: 27 – 29 January: Witch: The Maiden at Marlborough Theatre, 4 Princes Street, Brighton, at 8pm. This is the first of three plays coming this Spring season, each play can be enjoyed24
Gen
2014
Celebrating the bravery of those who take a stand against ‘honour’ based violence. On 24 January 2014, in central London, the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO), a leading women’s rights charity campaigning to end all forms of ‘honour&rsquo23
Gen
2014
…as industry increasingly looks to women to meet skills shortages. The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) appointed two leading female tech entrepreneurs to its board last week, which means there are now only two FTSE 100 companies with no women on their boards. The two are Joanna