The Sydney Feminists

If you haven’t heard of Mona Eltahawy then you’re in for a treat, because you’re about to read about a fearless, liberal Muslim Egyptian-American feminist and be all the better for it. From Mona’s website (link: http://www.monaeltahawy. com/ ): “During the 18-day revolution that toppled Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, she appeared on most major media outlets, leading the feminist website Jezebel to describe her as "The Woman Explaining Egypt to the West". In November 2011, Egyptian riot police beat her, breaking her left arm and right hand, and sexually assaulted her and she was detained for 12 hours by the Interior Ministry and Military Intelligence. Newsweek magazine named Ms Eltahawy one of its "150 Fearless Women of 2012", Time magazine featured her along with other activists from around the world as its People of the Year and Arabian Business magazine named her one of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women.” Many people are scared of brave feminists. O...

1939 is regarded as one of the greatest years in Hollywood’s history. Some classic films released include The Wizard of Oz , Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Stagecoach , Of Mice and Men , Wuthering Heights and Gone with the Wind . Based on the novel by Margret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind follows the relationship of Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) during the American Civil War. The film would go on to break many box office records and win countless awards, including the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Hattie McDaniel. This is special because it was the first Oscar won by a black American. Hattie McDaniel was born on June 10, 1895. She was the thirteenth child born to Henry McDaniel and Susan Holbert. Her father fought in the Civil War and had major psychological issues later in life, while McDaniel’s mother was a domestic worker. McDaniel was born in Wichita, Kansas, before moving with her family to Denver, Colorado, when she was ...

Note: For this article, I’ll be centering on women who experience sexual harassment/assault in hetero sexual encounters. We can all agree sexual assault is a crime, and that no one should be subject to it. However, when we start having conversations about consent, what it is and what it looks like, those discussions seem to take place in murkier waters. In the NSW Crimes Act ( https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1900/40 ), the meaning of consent, as it pertains to a person in a sexual encounter, is “ A person consents to sexual intercourse if the person freely and voluntarily agrees to the sexual intercourse .” Now let’s apply that definition to a story that’s been in the public space recently: yes, I’m referring to the babe.net story ( https://babe.net/2018/01/13/aziz-ansari-28355 ) about “Grace” a 22 year old woman, who went on a date with Aziz Ansari, a 33 year old celebrity. Suddenly, what consent is, and what it looks like, has gotten more complicated. ...

Discliamer: The views in this piece reflect the opinion of the author. Feminism is diverse and there are many differing opinions on this subject. 1,060 cases of female genital cutting (‘FGC’) were recorded by the National Health Service in the UK, between July and September last year. [i] The first prosecution using anti-FGC laws in Ireland began last month. [ii] It is time for Australian law makers to reflect on the adequacy of our legislation. Australia does not collect any official data on rates of female genital cutting. However, No FGM Australia – a not-for-profit aimed at protecting survivors and preventing future FGC – estimated in 2014 that Australia has over 83,000 women and girls who are survivors of FGC, or are at risk. [iii] Despite these numbers, there has been one successful prosecution of FGC in Australia, since the laws were introduced over 20 years ago. Our laws are inadequate, and this is because the law making process has excluded the voices of the women ...

To many, 2017 will be remembered as a very bad year. To me, 2017 will be remembered as the year women got together to start a series of revolutions against structural inequality. 2017 was the year of women’s anger. 2017 was the year of the Women’s March on Jan 21st, a worldwide protest led by women. It was in reaction to Trump’s inauguration, but the goal was to protect hard-won rights, to safety, to health, to the right of existence for diverse communities. That goal echoed around the world, including here in Sydney, pinked and pussy-hatted women gathered around the world, together. 2017 was also the year of the #metoo silence breakers .  Post Weinstein, the long-silenced discussions of sexual harassment began to have a space, and women and men started sharing stories of sexual harassment and assault. There were questions thrown up about the movement, challenging power structures always brings questions, but there are more people within the movement still pushing back....

Review:  Power Up: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy by Magdalena Yesil (Review copy provided courtesy of the publisher) Magdalena Yesil travelled from Turkey to the United States to go to college and became a pioneering entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Most recently, she’s known for early investment in Salesforce, now a multibillion dollar company and cofounder of Broadway Angels, a group of female investors that invest in start-ups. Power Up is written for women building careers in tech, but really, it is applicable to anyone building a professional or business career. Yesil offers realistic advice about building a career in male dominated business including guidance on topics that people (but especially women) can struggle with, like sexual dynamics, getting credit for work and pay imbalances among other things. It’s an effortless book to devour, mostly because Yesil’s voice comes through clear, personal and genuine. Her story is inspiring and you are immedi...