Women’s News Round-Up, December 4: 5 Important Stories about Women
*Trigger Warning: content relating to ISIS sex slavery and the sale of youth brides.*
1. Hillary Clinton Concedes U.S. Presidential Race, Wins Popular Vote by More than 2.5 Million
In early December, the count for Clinton’s lead in the popular vote of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election surpassed 2.5 Million. Clinton is, at this time, cooperating with Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein’s crowd-funded recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, which Trump Campaign attorneys are fighting. About.com shares an informative article on 44 Women Who Have Run for President.
2. Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar Win EU Human Rights Prize
Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar are Yazidi women who were abducted and sexually enslaved by the Islamic State. They escaped and have gone on to campaign and advocate for struggling Iraqi communities, particularly the Yazidi community in Iraq, which The Guardian explains is “a religious minority that has been the subject of a genocidal campaign by IS militants.” Both women have been awarded the EU’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Murad also won the Václav Havel Human Rights prize in 2016 and has launched a program called Nadia’s Initiative to help those victimized by genocide, trafficking, and other atrocities.
3. FashionABLE Accessories Brand Empowers Marginalized Women
The accessories sold by FashionABLE are made by women throughout Africa and the U.S. who participate in sustainable business initiatives. Global Citizen explains that the women involved have been “marginalized because of HIV status, sex trafficking, or poverty,” and have had limited opportunities to become self-sufficient. FashionABLE focuses on empowering the women with new job skills and sustainable, local business opportunities in an effort to disrupt generational poverty. The accessories are named after the participating women.
4. Egyptian Cartoonist Doaa el-Adl Illustrates Women’s Rights Issues
Doaa el-Adl was one of three female cartoonists from North Africa who were asked by the BBC’s to illustrate “male guardianship” as part of the BBC’s 100 Women series. She chose to focus on the sale of young brides in the image above. She tells the BBC that:
“there is a trend for wealthy Gulf men to travel to the impoverished Egyptian rural areas to find much younger, temporary brides.”
Families in poverty will often “sell off” their daughters in this manner once they turn 18.
5. Lady Gaga and Madonna visit NY LGBTQ Youth Center Over Thanksgiving
New York‘s Ali Forney Center supports LGBTQ youth’s safety and independence. Their site shares this mission:
“to protect LGBTQ youths from the harms of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently.”
Over the Thanksgiving holidays, youth at the center received visits from both Lady Gaga and Madonna. Madonna visited with her family and Lady Gaga brought gifts and led a group meditation.
*Extra News Flash*
Pussy Hat Project Launches Feminist Hat Knitting Camping for January Women’s March in D.C.
Thanks to the Pussy Hat Project, women who attend The Women’s March on Washington D.C. on January 21, 2017, can wear a pink “pussy hat.” They offer a knitting pattern on their site and are seeking knitting volunteers. The project’s goals are to make “a unique collective visual statement” and to give people who cannot attend a way to “represent themselves and support women’s rights.”
-Julia Travers is a writer and artist. Her writing portfolio is here and she runs the artist interview site Ask Artists.
Legendary Women is hosting our third annual literary contest! Details here!
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Legendary Women, Inc. doesn’t own or profit from the images above and has credited them and quotes. They are used here for information purposes and are covered under fair use.
