Category Archives: Events and Handy Hints

2011 Prochoice Gathering

From the facebook event page:

Action for Abortion Rights Wellington warmly invites all those interested in fighting for reproductive rights to a national gathering of pro-choice organisers and activists to change. It will take place in Wellington, weekend of March 12-13, 9 a.m – 5 p.m. This is an opportunity for individuals and groups to share resources and ideas and to plan for future.

This gathering is for those who want to be part of planning and organising a campaign to change New Zealand abortion laws and improve women in New Zealand’s access to abortion and reproductive health in other ways.

The weekend will involve a series of facilitated workshops/discussions and some guest speakers. We are still setting the programme and you’re welcome to contribute. We recognise that pro-choice groups and individuals differ in priorities and strategy. Our hope is that a rich variety of perspectives will be presented and respected at this event.

The event is open to pro-choice people of all ages and political standpoints. We regret the need to ask all registrants to respect that this is a pro-choice event and is only open to those who believe that pregnant individuals are the right people to make decisions about their pregnancies.

About us: Action for Abortion Rights is a group at Victoria University of Wellington. We think that the outcome of a pregnancy should be determined by the person who carries it. Our goals include legalised abortion, vastly improved abortion access including access to/ awareness of medical abortion, and the destigmatisation of abortion.

Hoping to see you there. Please contact us at actionforabortionrights@gmail.com if you have any questions.

La Socialista

Take Back the Night Auckland Saturday November 1

I thought you would be interested in this upcoming event.  I have participated in many Take Back the Nights in Australia and Canada and am looking forward to this one – what a great event!

Anita.

 

Tena koutou, 

 

We’re writing to let you know about Take Back the Night, which will be held this year in Auckland on Saturday, November 1st.  There will be a rally (with food and speakers) at Aotea Square in Auckland City at 7pm, followed by a march to Basque Park. 

 

Take Back the Night is a long-running international event that asserts women’s right to feel safe at night and to live in a world without rape and violence. It is an event that raises awareness of and bears witness to the violent crimes perpetrated against women, children, transgendered, and intersexed persons everywhere. It is also an empowering opportunity for women to recognise their shared experiences and unite in the struggle for a world without violence.

From the street to the home, in many spaces women, transgendered and intersexed persons are harassed and subject to many different forms of abuse. These include rape and physical violence, the pressure to conform to men’s expectations, and in some cases, murder – on average a woman in Aotearoa is killed by her (ex-)partner every six weeks.  
By marching, we are powerfully standing together to let the world know that abuse against women, children, transgender, and intersex people is unacceptable, and that all should be allowed to live their lives without fear.
 

 

All women, children, transgendered, takaatapui, fafafine, and intersexed persons are invited to join us in ‘Taking Back the Night’. We ask men to support Take Back the Night by respecting our need to organise independently against violence and to use this time to ask how they can best fight rape and violence. 
To present a strong message it would be fantastic if we could get a big number of marchers. Please pass this email on to interested persons, tell your friends, whanau, colleagues and neighbours, and print out the attached poster. We look forward to seeing you at Aotea Square on November 1st. 
Please email us if you require any further information. 

 

Standing united,
Auckland Take Back the Night Working Group.

 

Community Event This Friday Promoting Awareness of Domestic Violence and its Impacts

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Invitation Friday 7 March 2008

My apologies: I can’t seem to load this invitation. The memorial is this Friday, 7 March, 6.30-8pm at Tahaki Reserve, opposite View Rd, Mt Eden. There will be live music provided by Mahinarangi Tocker and others, and finger food.

The Auckland Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children is a non government coalition established to help improve safety for women and children in Auckland. We are determined to help end domestic violence in our community. One of the ways we want to achieve this is by raising public awareness about domestic violence and its catastrophic impact on women and children. We want to raise awareness through remembrance.

Did you know that in NZ every year on average 14 women and 10 children are killed by a member of their family?

Did you know that in NZ 1 in 3 women report being a victim of physical and or sexual abuse by a current or ex partner throughout their lifetime?

Domestic violence is a crime. Women and children have a right to live free of fear and violence.

Show your support and come along to our community event on 7th March 2008 6.30pm – 8pm at Tahaki Reserve in Mt Eden.

All are welcome.

Please spread the attached invitation as wide as you can. Together we can create change.

PS: Sue Bradford and Christina Pusztay will be on the ‘Good Morning’ programme on TV 1 this Thursday (6th) at 11.48am talking about the Memorial

Anti-violence campaign – a different approach: Make Some Noise on August 8th

From: International Indigenous Solidarity [mailto:indigenous.solidarity@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 7 August 2007 3:15 p.m.
Subject: Press Release: SUPPORT WHĀNAU MĀORI: Make Some Noise campaign.

SUPPORT WHĀNAU MĀORI: Make Some Noise campaign.

Press Release: AWA: Allies of Whānau o Aotearoa

Allies of Whānau o Aotearoa (AWA), is a new Māori group, formed out of a hui of Māori social service workers and community activists to advocate support for all whānau o Aotearoa. AWA is promoting whānau based solutions to whānau problems.

“We want whānau, and our allies, to MAKE SOME NOISE tomorrow to show that they support solutions to the challenges faced by whānau Māori that are conceived, developed and delivered by Māori for Māori,” says spokesperson Te Kanikani Tautoko.

The group met on Saturday August 4th, 2007 and developed a list of requirements that whānau need from their allies:

– be willing to listen to whānau

– acknowledge that the solutions rest in Māori hands

– be respectful toward Māori

– speak when invited

– be accountable to Māori

– be willing to share power

Example: allies would advocate support and funding to whānau, to address the breakdown of Māori society that has occured with the loss of our lands, language and culture, and economic well being.

“We have had many non-Māori broadcasting what they think is wrong with Māori people and whānau in the last week. While we appreciate their concern, non-Māori need to recognise the following fundamentals: This is not a ‘Māori problem’, so much as it is a colonisation problem and Māori communities must lead the development of solutions.” Said Te Kanikani Tautoko

Te Kanikani Tautoko continued, “the silence proposed by a coalition of non-Māori organisations is counter-productive; engaging in korero and making noise is a more appropriate approach. Our aim with MAKE SOME NOISE is to gather solidarity from genuine supporters of whānau.”

“Another central purpose of MAKE SOME NOISE is to mihi (acknowledge/honour) the grief and mamae (pain) that the whanau of baby Nia, and other whanau who have lost children to violence are going through at this time. For this reason we ask supporters of MAKE SOME NOISE to kōrero on this issue, sing waiata tautoko (songs of support) and/or play taonga puoro (Maori instruments) in support of the whanau. At 12.12pm, Wednesday August 8th 2007.”

“We worry that the solutions promoted by many non-Māori pundits in news media this past week will make things worse. For example, the marriage counseling proposed by the Sensible Sentencing Trust, Family First and For the Sake of Our Children Trust is useless as it does not deal with the root causes of violence. We need a new system that shares resources fairly.”

People who MAKE SOME NOISE this Wednesday will be sending a message that they support whānau; they believe that whānau hold the solutions and will be advocating working genuinely with Māori to support whānau. AWA urges all people of Aotearoa who support a fair and equitable approach to solving violence in Māori communities to MAKE SOME NOISE with us at 12:12pm, Wednesday August 8th, 2007.

Please contact AWA spokesperson Te Kanikani Tautoko for further information or comment: 021 155 1154 or indigenous.solidarity@gmail.com


ImagineNative Action”Building solidarity between Indigenous and Peoples of Colour communities. Defending our whenua & peoples against racism and exploitation since 2007″Email received and posted by Anita.

Recycle those old lipsticks!! Reduce waste!!

Ok, so you may be surprised to see this on a feminist blog, and to be honest it wasn’t really its ‘green’ credentials that inspired me so much as good old-fashioned thrift and creative fun, but here is a handy hint for making your lipstick go further and invent some new shades into the bargain.

You may not have noticed, but those of you who fork out your hard earned dosh for a lipstick are generally only using about 60% of what you pay for. Next time your lipstick comes to the end of its natural life, scoop out the rest (you’ll be amazed how much) into a small plastic pottle (go to the chemist for these: you can find a set of three with screw-on lids for about $5 at those stands that sell manicure-type products). Microwave for 20 seconds at a time, like you would chocolate, and the lipstick melts. It resets in about 10 seconds and withstands lots of reheating, ideal for combining different shades.

Tania

"A Room of One's Own: Women and Power in the New America". A performance-lecture at the Maidment, August 2 2007

POLS 213: Gender and Politics students -you can go to this after class that day…

“The War on Terror offers an unprecedented opportunity to the women of [America]. Our nation is putting its trust in our talents, and is providing the support we need to show the world that American women are the linchpin in the worldwide struggle for democracy.”

With these words, Coco Fusco – a New York-based, Cuban-American performance artist, writer and forthcoming Hood Fellow at The University of Auckland – sets the stage for her latest work, “A Room of One’s Own: Women and Power in the New America.” As part of her Hood Fellowship in early August, Associate Professor Fusco will stage two performances of the work in Auckland and lead an Australasian artists’ symposium examining the role of contemporary art practice and performance as a vehicle for social change.

“A Room of One’s Own: Women and Power in the New America”
What? A performance-lecture about the expanding role of American women in the War on Terror. Fusco takes on the persona of a female graduate of military intelligence school and a seasoned interrogator.

When? Thursday, 2nd August at 1pm and Friday, 3rd August at 7.30pm

Where? Maidment Theatre

Tickets? Free tickets can be picked up from the Maidment Theatre

Enquiries? For further information, call 09 308 2383

In developing “A Room of One’s Own” the internationally recognised artist underwent a mock interrogation process, confronting first-hand the often torturous, sometimes sadistic practices of military personnel charged with eliciting intelligence from would-be terrorists. Her performance-lecture focuses on the rationale behind using sexual innuendo as a tactic for extracting information from Islamic fundamentalists. It also stresses, with cutting satire, how a career in the military intelligence represents an opportunity for emancipated women of the 21st century to shed their role as victims and become victimizers, wielding significant power and control over “others”.