A brave face for PM, Lucas Papademos

Not been paying attention to the news this week? We’ve helpfully rounded up the need-to-know events making the headlines in Europe of late…

Greece under pressure to hand over budget control

Greece is facing increasing pressure as its ability to manage its budgets is called into question. At the annual World Economic Forum, which took place from January 25 to 29 in Davos, Switzerland, Germany suggested that Greece be stripped of part of the power it holds over its fiscal policies. In particular, the appointment of an EU budget commissioner with veto powers was proposed. Greek officials angrily rejected the proposal.

Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos continued to show an extremely brave face and continued with assurances that Greece is very close to signing a debt deal with private creditors. Over the past weeks Greek officials have repeatedly announced that deal was very close. This has, however, clashed with reality. Debt talks continue intermittently, with the Institute of International Finance (IIF), representing the creditors, refusing to agree with the government on the interest rate of the newly issued bonds, which should replace its current debt. The Greek situation does not seem likely to improve any time soon, especially after European inspectors announced the discovery of a new €15 billion black hole in the country’s finances on Thursday 2.

EU forms “fiscal compact”

Even though Germany’s plan to strip Greece of its financial independence has failed for now, a possibly greater achievement in terms of fiscal regulation was reached on Monday 30, when 25 out of 27 EU member states agreed to sign the new Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union. The agreement was reached during a summit held in Brussels and stipulates the creation of a “fiscal compact” with very strict rules in terms of budget deficit.

The Treaty is expected to be signed in March, and would give the European Court of Justice the power to monitor compliance with fiscal rules and to fine those countries who are found in breach of them. UK and the Czech Republic, however, refused to sign up.  British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the UK would take legal action if the treaty proved to threaten Britain’s interests. While the summit was taking place, Belgium was also hit by its first general strike in six years. People in the streets protested against the new austerity measures introduced by the government, which aim at saving €11.3 billion.

Death toll rises in cold snap

At least 220 people died since the arrival of a wave of freezing weather in Europe. The country with the highest number of victims so far is Ukraine (around 100), but many other are having to deal with subzero temperatures. In Poland the mercury went down to -38C, whilst about 11,000 people were trapped in Serbia’s remote villages due to heavy snowfalls. Romania, the Czech Republic and Croatia were also severely hit by the bad weather. Even Italy experienced some pretty harsh temperatures, with historical lows registered in Rome and other cities around Europe.

Sarkozy announces new financial transaction tax and other stories

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has recently launched a package of measures aimed at stimulating growth and the creation of new jobs, which is seen by many as a desperate move to increase his dwindling popularity – ahead of the presidential elections in May. The tax on financial transactions is part of the package and will be introduced in August. Later in the week Sarkozy had to face accusations that he had spent £30,000 of French taxpayers’ money to repatriate his son Pierre from the Ukraine, after he was admitted to hospital for food poisoning in Odessa. Elsewhere, Prime Minister Francois Fillon was forced to cut France’s growth forecasts for 2012 from 1% to 0.5%. However, Sarkozy has still the solid shoulder of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to cry on; Europe’s Iron Lady has pledged she will help the president in his campaign with joint appearances scheduled in spring.

Julian Assange appeals to Supreme Court against extradition

Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange and his legal team went before Britain’s Supreme Court this week to appeal against his extradition to Sweden, where is wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations. Assange has previously failed to convince a lower court that the cross border warrant for his arrest is invalid, since the prosecutor who issued it was not a valid judicial authority. The hearing started on Thursday 2 and ended the following days.  Seven judges of the Sumpreme Court decided to adjourn and Assange will now have to wait several weeks before finding out what fate awaits him.

To fly. To fail

It was a bad week for European airlines. On Monday 30 Spanair, Spain’s fourth largest airline, filed for bankruptcy. Two days earlier the company had left more than 20,000 passengers stranded, after it abruptly suspended all its flights. The company could now be fined €9m over the collapse for breaching rules on continuity of services and passengers’ rights. On Friday 3 it was Hungarian airline Malev’s turn. The decision to cease all its operations came after Malev was ordered by the European Commission to repay €130 million the company had received in state aid from 2007 to 2010.

Jennifer Robinson, the legal advisor for Julian Assange and Wikileaks gives an insight into proceedings the extradition proceedings

Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson

You can see the original version of this feature on Women’s Views On News.

Last December, Irish women were left with a bittersweet taste in their mouths after the release of a bill designed to get more women involved in politics. The historic Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 designates mandatory targets for all political parties, stipulating that they run 30% women and 30% men in subsequent general elections or lose half their funding.

However, while redressing a long-standing imbalance, the bill comes only days after a slash and burn austerity budget which has targeted women, lone parents and women’s organisations. Indeed the National Women’s Council of Ireland, the watchdog for women’s rights in Ireland, has seen its budget cut by a savage 35%.

Despite the international attention and acclaim given to Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese (two of our former Heads of State), Irish women have been woefully under-represented at almost every level of politics. Only 91 women have ever been elected to the Dáil [lower house of the Irish parliament]. Of the 4,744 Dáil seats filled since 1918 only 260 have been filled by women (5.48%). The Dáil today is no different. It is an almost entirely male dominion: 85% of the members are men.

There are three main reasons why we need more women involved in politics. This injustice is the first – half of the population have been marginalised from political decision-making. The second is that women bring different experiences, skills and perspectives to politics. A more diverse set of experiences will create a different kind of Oireachtas – a parliament of all talents. Finally, a critical mass of women in politics can change the political agenda and, ultimately, change the kind of decisions being made. The recent budget is a further illustration of how excluded women are from the decision-making structures of Irish society.

In Norway this was called a “politics of care”. Women politicians ensured that the state absorbed its responsibility for balancing the role of women as mothers/carers and as full economic participants. The state provided better care facilities for children, it extended flexible working arrangements in both the private and public sector and, most radically, it provided arrangements for shared maternity and paternity leave after a child is born.

In Rwanda – top of the global league table for representation of women (at 53%) – politics has moved on from the 1994 genocide, where rape was used as a weapon of war. Today gender based violence is at the top of the political agenda. In these states – and in 17 of the top 20 countries for representation of women – some form of gender quota has been applied. This is because they work. Opponents of targets are long on criticism but question them and they are short on alternatives. Gender targets are a proven method of transforming politics.

A 2009 report by an Oireachtas (parliament) sub-committee on women’s participation in politics identified five barriers for women’s entry into politics (first identified in the 1970s in Trinity College, Dublin, but they apply internationally):

● Care – There is a noticeable dearth of young mothers in politics. There are some exceptions but most women at this age step away from politics to care for children. The lack of maternity leave for politicians doesn’t help the situation. Later, many older women often provide care for elderly relatives. As women do most of the caring in Irish society this limits their potential to get politically involved.

● Cash – Women earn on average 30% less than men and so have less money to spend fighting election campaigns and less wealthy networks of potential supporters to tap into.

● Culture – Irish adversarial politics, modelled on the Westminster style of our old colonial masters, is unappealing to women (and many men). The childish behaviour of many public representatives who prefer to heckle instead of holding meaningful debates on policy or process is deeply off-putting. Late night sittings of the Dáil and the necessity to combine national work with a clientelist local culture means that politics is, as one prominent woman politician put it, a “family-hostile” environment.

● Selection conferences – Political parties are the gatekeepers of the Irish political system. Selection by a political party in Ireland’s multi-seat constituency PR/STV [proportional representation/single transferable vote] electoral system is not a guarantee of election – unlike the UK system where “safe seats” exist. Nonetheless selection by a political party is of vital importance and selection processes – especially in more conservative rural Ireland – are often controlled by a coterie of men unwilling to allow women access to the political system.

● Confidence – Despite leading the way through every level of the education system, managing careers, children and organising the home, too many women still lack the confidence to enter politics, preferring to be asked than to actively seek out positions.

Each of these “5 Cs” applies in different ways to different women: a combination of hard (political reform) and soft (training and support programmes) are important for resolving them. Targets for the selection of women by political parties will help to eliminate some of these barriers and start to fix Ireland’s broken democracy.

Only 91 women have ever been elected to the Dáil. Of the 4,744 Dáil seats filled since 1918 only 260 have been filled by women...

Women’s Views On News is the women’s daily online news and current affairs service, operating on a ‘not for profit’ basis. The site provides up to date news on all the major national and international stories of the day, in much the same way as any newspaper or online news service, but the stories featured are always about women.

Are we living too fast these days?

2011 has seen us tackle subjects as diverse as corruption and quarter-life crises head on; offering advice and opinions along the way; we hope that we’ve made you think a little more carefully – and take a closer look at society, and yourselves, of course! Here’s our edit of the Social Butterfly must-reads of the year.

Live Fast, Die Young?

With over-eating and excessive consumption of alcohol, we’re told that our generation is storing up countless health problems for the future – what’s the reality, asks Katie Shellard.

Alpha Females: Europe’s Power Players

Ilaria Parogni takes a look at ten European female political leaders; Women are still underrepresented and discriminated. But it is good to know that somewhere they made it to the top…

How To Be… In A Relationship

Plum Woodard shares thoughts, tips and advice on keys to the mechanics of a happy, healthy relationship.

Press, Power and Profit

As media ownership concentrates further and journalists begin to break the law in search of a scoop, how much power is too much – and what effect is it having on the Fourth Estate? Sarah Gorman considers the situation today.

RIP Masculinity?

Negotiating masculine identity has never been harder. An onslaught of new roles has led men to think about themselves on different terms, writes Charlotte Briere-Edney.

Something Rotten in the State? Corruption in European Politics

People around the world believe they are living in more corrupt societies than three years ago, a poll by Transparency International suggests. So how corrupt really are European governments? Jade Wimbledon investigates…

The Quarter-Life Crisis

Colliding with a global economic recessions and the pressures of work, relationships and money; today’s twenty-somethings are frustrated, dissatisfied and finding life a struggle… Olivia Parker considers the quarter-life crisis.

How to… Advise

Serving up advice is one of those precarious things that can either be dished out idly with disproportionate consequences, or carefully considered over and above the call of duty only to be ignored…. Plum Woodard advises on… when to advise!

Hard Maths: Downturn, Development and Women

Is seeing women as a crucial part in solving the world’s worst poverty and health traps a net positive or negative? Sandra Smiley takes a closer look at aid, women and the financial downturn.

Life: Edited

Thanks to social networks, it has never been easier to see ‘real life’ as a constantly edited process. What impact does our ability to edit life have on our actually living it, wonders Rebecca Winson.

A New Era of Journalism?

The Wikileaks cable release shook the world media scene but will it have a lasting impact? Lauren Novak looks at life after Wikileaks…

The Outcasts of Europe

Persecuted, shunned, and evicted: can there be any future hope for gypsies, Europe’s pariahs, asks Olivia Parker.

Fashion's first lady: Samantha Cameron

Married to the Government: Political Wives

Smart, highly-educated and with successful careers of their own; Charlotte Briere-Edney considers today’s first ladies.

Dissecting Cognitive Behaviour

Each year, one in four people experience mental health problems; CBT is an opportunity to explore how you view yourself and how you feel the world views you. Plum Woodard takes a good, hard look at Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Reporting Discrimination: The Female Foreign Correspondent

They’ve been in the news rather than making it of late; should female foreign correspondents should take a step back and just let the men do the job, asks Ilaria Parogni.

Faith in Europe: Religion and Politics in Perspective

Ilaria Parogni  looks at the struggle to find a balance between secularism and religious identity in Europe and the relationship between religion and politics.

How To… Be Confident

Katie Shellard considers how, with some simple techniques, practice and commitment, you can turn down the volume on self-doubt and crank up the confidence.

Beyond the Erasmus Exchange

There is growing concern that too many European students aren’t straying far enough from home; is education in Europe too inward-looking? What about university beyond the continent? Lauren Novak tackles the crisis besetting the Erasmus Exchange today…

All About Anger

Where we’re rarely criticised for experiencing feelings of love or feel shame for being happy, why then are we told to ‘cool down’ or ‘get a grip’ when seized by our anger? Plum Woodard sums up the pros and cons of a controversial emotion.

Faith in Europe: Constitution and Controversies

Ilaria Parogni casts a critical eye over the questions and controversies governing religion and politics across the continent today.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Islam, Sharia Law and Contradictions

A fierce critic of Islam, a feminist activist and the resident scholar for a right wing think tank; how does Ayaan Hirsi Ali reconcile these apparently contradictory stances? Emine Dilek interviews the inspirational lady herself.

Girls and Gangs

Youth violence in the UK is a serious problem – and even more so due to the current economic downturn. Harri Sutherland-Kay takes a look at what’s being done to tackle the gendered impact of gangs.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali talking about her book Nomad and issues in Islam today

The predominately male coalition cabinet

‘Calm down, dear! Calm down!’ were the words uttered by David Cameron towards Labour MP Angela Eagle earlier this year during Prime Minister’s questions. A shocked Labour front bench were quick to ask for an apology and objections ensued over Cameron’s alleged ‘sexist’ attitude. Following on from this pompous outburst it comes with little surprise that female voters are quickly marching away from Cameron’s sniggering backbenchers and his predominately male cabinet. Can women expect their interests to be taken into consideration with only five women in the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition cabinet?

And of course women, who comprise 65% of public sector workers, are bound to question why planned cuts will affect them more than men in their workplaces. The House of Commons Library research highlighted just how disproportionate the cuts are, as figures showed George Osborne’s two-year 1% cap on public sector pay rises will affect 4.6 million women compared to 2.6 million men. Along with changes to the Sure Start maternity grants, the health in pregnancy grant and a freeze on child benefits, I’m surprised that the Conservative Party still feels that there is hope in winning back female voters.

Naturally every woman is different, and not all women will be affected by changes to benefits concerning children and families. Unfortunately these are not the only cutbacks that have been announced. Concerns have been raised in relation to cuts made to policing, street lighting and women’s support services. It was on International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women, that the End Violence Against Women Coalition called on the government to step up its action against women at home and abroad. In a letter written to The Guardian newspaper, together with the Fawcett Society and other women’s groups, the EVAW Coalition warned the government that legal aid cuts will risk women’s safety.

Fortunately Cameron has recognised that he needs our votes and has been advised to hire a female special advisor. She will apparently look at government policies through a ‘woman’s eyes’ and I suppose state the obvious to Cameron; that women are NOT stupid and they HAVE noticed his budget cuts. Putting aside the fact that this latest venture is basically another gimmick thrown at women to keep them happy, I have to ask, what exactly is this woman supposed to achieve?

Within different demographics are also different women with different lives and different opinions; how can one woman represent every single one of Cameron’s potential female voters? It’s a patronising offer to women who comprise almost 50% of the workforce and yet are targeted differently to their male counterparts. Why is it assumed that all women have the same needs any more than all men? Are women’s interests really that different to men’s? Surely health, pensions and jobs are issues everyone cares about.

The government has always targeted women differently during election time with their baby hugging and mum-friendly antics. This makes even less sense now when the number of single women is increasing; not all women are concerned with childcare and maternity grants. And policies and legislation relating to families are surely of interest to men with children too. It seems that now we are being treated to what is essentially another addition to Cameron’s circle of ‘Tory Totty’. One can only imagine what he would do if he thought that he didn’t need our votes.

David Cameron telling MP Angela Eagle to ‘calm down, dear’

Riots and violence on London's streets

You can see the original version of this feature on Women’s Views On News.

In November, UK Home Secretary Theresa May announced a new strategy on tackling gang and youth violence. The report, which May states is the first truly cross-governmental approach to tackling gang and youth related violence, was written as part of the government’s response to the UK riots in August.

The recommendations, which run up until April 2014, include establishing an Ending Gang and Youth Violence Team, distributing £10 million worth of funds to areas severely affected by gang and serious youth violence, plans for effective data sharing, new offending behaviour programmes and making more advice available to parents.

But what does it say about gender? Very little is the answer. There are no more than a few paragraphs on the gendered impact of gangs. The report does state that: “In focusing on the male perceptions and male victims of gang violence it can be easy to lose sight of the role that young women and girls may have in gang related activity… [This] shows the often hidden impact of serious youth violence on them.”

Carlene Firmin was a lead researcher of a report on the impact of serious youth and gang violence on women and girls by Race on the Agenda (Rota) published in 2010. Firmin wrote an article for The Guardian soon after May’s report was released, saying: “With girls seen as a prop rather than as integral to the causes and consequences of youth violence, some professionals and decision makers have focused activity on males who are perceived as ‘central’ to all solutions…But following […] Theresa May’s strategy […] it is evident that the tide could be changing.”

I have to admit that despite the accumulation of good and important work on girls’ involvement in gangs, I was sceptical when I read May’s report. This is partly down to the lack of space given to gender, which is very typical of the vast majority of government proposals. But it is mainly because I am unable to see how these proposals will be implemented effectively in a time of financial crisis when budgets will be dramatically reduced for the foreseeable future.

Lee Sprake, a youth worker based in Portsmouth, told me that cuts in youth services since the 1980s, police targeting of young people for anti-social behaviour and the criminalisation of youth (of which the London riots – the harbinger of the report – are an excellent example), the rise in youth unemployment, low rates of pay and the growth of insecure part time work have all led to an increase of anger in young people, especially in a time of mass inequality and gross commodification.

Catch 22, a charity that works with young people in 150 towns and cities across the UK, has been involved in various projects about gangs and serious youth violence. It is also involved in promoting campaigns throughout Europe on the importance of healthy relationships between young people; the aim is to reduce girls’ involvement in gangs.

In a series of recommendations put together in 2009, Catch 22 made the case for gender-specific programmes that would enable services to adapt in order to meet the needs of young women. Part of this should be an emphasis on building relationships rather than establishing rules. It highlighted the importance of taking family and peer groups into account when looking at young women’s offending behaviour, as well as the benefits of approaches that maximise young people’s self-esteem and sense of worth.

Rosie Chadwick, director of public affairs, policy and innovation at Catch 22, feels that these are incredibly important to consider. The combination of factors that surround girls in gangs is hugely complex, often including destructive interpersonal relationships in which violence is normalised, poverty and a lack of interest in school. There is still a lot more work that needs to be done on methods of intervention and pathways out of violence and, as Catch 22′s work states, it is critical that these methods respond to the young women’s personal experiences.

Chadwick notes that while there have been pockets of work done on girls’ involvement in gangs and serious youth violence, May’s proposals have finally brought the subject into the spotlight. And although there is still a lot more to be done, she says, May’s document is “a small but important step in the right direction.”

As much as May’s report does take some of Rota’s work into account and has, hopefully, begun the move towards gender-specific services for young people in gangs, I remain very critical. This stems from my own sense of terror at a great many of the policies of the coalition government, the increasing criminalisation of young people and the horrific treatment of young people on political demonstrations and during the riots.

Footage from during the London riots

This doesn’t even touch on my concerns about the move to “payment by results” services by the Ministry of Justice, which is reducing the funding and therefore the capacity for women’s organisations that, through their knowledge and expertise, are in a position to develop specialist services for young women. May’s report, though recommending that specialist services need to be put in place “for girls and young women suffering gang-related sexual exploitation and abuse”, still doesn’t address the intricacies of working with young people in gangs, with gender being more of an added consideration than anything else.

Despite the lack of mainstream media coverage, the involvement of girls and young women in gangs and serious youth violence seems to be a hot topic at the moment. The Greater London Authority has just commissioned an in-depth research project, which is being undertaken by the research arm of the Women’s Resource Centre. Before the Rota study there had been almost no gender and class analysis within reports on gang and serious youth violence. This new project will use this analysis and build on Rota’s work to develop a strategic framework to enable a more coordinated and consistent response to girls involved in gangs.

The only way we’re going to develop effective strategies of working with young women involved in serious youth violence is through research and funding projects that are able to holistically address their needs. With the current economic priorities being to cut back on the public sector, the voluntary sector and on education, with their criminal justice priorities, especially after the August riots, being to lock people up, I’m not particularly optimistic. There is a lot more to be done, but I do hope that this new interest in the topic and investment in research means that the tide really could be turning on how we work with young people and gang violence.

Women’s Views On News is the women’s daily online news and current affairs service, operating on a ‘not for profit’ basis. The site provides up to date news on all the major national and international stories of the day, in much the same way as any newspaper or online news service, but the stories featured are always about women.

Gender policies impact on asylum seekers

You can see the original version of this interview on Women’s Views On News.

Picture the scenario; after being persecuted and violated simply because you are a woman from a minority group, after having been failed and betrayed by the authorities in your home country, you make the heart-wrenching decision to leave behind all that is familiar and seek protection in a country where you feel you might be safe and where a women’s right to protection is more advanced.

You embark on a long and dangerous journey, having no option but to put your trust in smugglers and traffickers, risking further harm on the way. You hang on to the thought that you will be safe when you arrive but can’t help thinking of everything you have left behind.

On arrival, you are interviewed in a stark and intimidating holding centre, you undergo medical examinations, but no one really explains what is going on or what will happen next. Although you have a grasp of the local language, no one asks if you need any help to understand the complex information you are given about asylum procedures. You don’t feel comfortable or safe and your children are anxious and unsettled whilst you give painful and personal details about your experience to a male immigration officer. You’re not used to having conversations with men without a family member being present and you are too ashamed to tell him the full story.

As a result, and after many difficult months of waiting, not knowing what the future will hold, your asylum claim is refused. You are cast adrift in an unfamiliar country, vulnerable and alone with your children, terrified at the thought of returning home.

Shamefully, this is the experience of thousands of women who seek asylum in member states of the European Union (EU) each year. During 2010, over 257,000 asylum applications were made across the EU, around 35 per cent of which were made by women or girls. Yet despite the obvious need for high-quality harmonisation between member states on questions of asylum, national policies remain a patchwork of dramatically varying standards and approaches which all too often lack gender expertise and sensitivity.

Gender equality is one of the common values which the EU proclaims in its treaties, yet there remains a lack of recognition that women may be persecuted for reasons different to men and specific to their gender. These include female genital mutilation, forced abortion or rape in situations of conflict or war, and therefore may need different forms of protection and services upon arrival in Europe.

The EU is pushing to mainstream gender awareness in European asylum legislation, not least through the Qualifications and Procedures Directives which set out the basic standards of protection and procedure for granting asylum to non-EU nationals. As recently as 2010, member states recognised the need for a ‘gender sensitive’ asylum system. The European Commission adopted a similar position in 2008, citing the need to incorporate gender ‘considerations’ in the development of the Common European Asylum System. Yet despite these statements, female asylum seekers continue to experience wildly differing standards of protection and reception in member states.

For example, within the EU, only Sweden and the UK have adopted their own gender guidelines which cover the issues that should be taken into account when assessing asylum claims, including gender-related persecution and the absence of state protection. Belgium has also appointed a Co-ordinator for Gender Issues. However, asylum seekers in other member states are simply left to rely on whatever makeshift measures may have been put in place.

There are a few glimmers of hope for the future such as the recent opening of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). Its role is to support member states in their efforts to implement a more harmonised asylum policy by improving access to accurate country-of-origin information, training and sharing examples of good practice. As a result, it could support the implementation of asylum procedures that are gender sensitive to ensure women benefit from a non-discriminatory and supportive process as well as consistent, high-quality decision making.

Gender protection: part of EU policy?

Amnesty International and the European Women’s Lobby are now working to have this built in to the development of the EASO. It is equally important that we see a similar approach relating to gender identity and sexual orientation. The revision of the Qualifications Directive offers a further opportunity to raise the standards of protection offered to women seeking asylum in the EU. The revised text, which is due to be voted on by the European Parliament later in October, obliges member states to take gender related aspects, including gender identity and sexual orientation into account when assessing asylum applications. The text also specifies that female genital mutilation, forced sterilisation and forced abortion should be given due consideration.

This is an historic recognition of some of the different types of persecution likely to be faced by women and as such represents a real step forward to mainstreaming gender sensitivity in the EU’s asylum policy, building on the existing work of UNHCR. Ensuring that female asylum seekers fleeing from gender-related persecution are protected is not just a role for European institutions – all member state governments and asylum authorities must commit to the proper implementation of EU legislation and to develop good practice and gender sensitive systems.

It is disappointing to say the least that the British Government has decided not to opt in to the new version of the Qualifications Directive. The revision of the Procedures Directive is still under negotiation and could offer further improvements, set down in law. It would be wrong to deny that some progress has been made towards the recognition of gender in asylum policies and legislation. Yet the challenge now lies in these commitments being implemented through the adoption of concrete and strong measures which incorporate an understanding of the unique experience of women.

To fail is to deny women their fundamental human rights; the very reason they seek international protection in the first place.

Women’s Views On News is the women’s daily online news and current affairs service, operating on a ‘not for profit’ basis. The site provides up to date news on all the major national and international stories of the day, in much the same way as any newspaper or online news service, but the stories featured are always about women.

Citizens protest during the uprisings

Since December 2010, an unprecedented tide of citizen protest and, in some countries, manifest revolution has surged through the Arab World as, from Mediterranean North Africa to the oil states of the Persian Gulf, ash-sha’b (the people) have demanded change from an-nizam (the regime). The causes of the intifada (uprising – Arab Spring is a Western term rejected by many directly involved as passive, impermanent and trivial) are easy to over generalise in a grouping of nations that has over three hundred million inhabitants with a myriad of dialects, religions and both economic and political circumstances.

Starting a Revolution…

The most excessively simplified version of events would tell you that the revolutions started with a slap – twenty six year old, Mohammed Bouazizi burned himself to death in the Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid in December 2010 after claiming that he was struck by a policewoman because he could not afford the required bribe to sell his fruit and vegetables in a particular spot. The resulting street protests – not only decrying corruption and lack of freedom of speech but also rising unemployment and cost of living – gathered momentum, despite violent police suppression, culminating in the end of the twenty three year rule of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali who fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14th 2011.

This narrative doesn’t do justice to ash-sha’b and the increased mobilisation of pro-democracy movements in North Africa. Since 2004, rival labour unions to ETUF (Egyptian Trade Union Federation), the sole legal, but state controlled trade union, had persisted in organising strikes in an environment of arrests and police brutality whilst the Tunisian Trade Union was at the heart of the January intifada. The 2010 Egyptian election, which saw President Hosni Mubarak retain his twenty nine year rule, is widely accepted as having been rigged and this corruption – together with an economic environment that saw wheat prices rise by fifty percent in 2010 (steeply impacting market prices, for the world’s biggest wheat importer, despite government subsidies) and youth unemployment throughout the Middle East/North Africa region of around thirty percent – further galvanised demonstrators.

This year started with the Tunisian protests gathering momentum even as Security Services ruthlessly tried to quell them whilst in neighbouring Algeria demonstrators held placards demanding “Bring us sugar” in response to the diabolical combination of unemployment and rising food prices. Over the other border, Muammar Gaddafi, leader of Libya since he abolished the constitution in 1951, nervously watched and condemned the fall of Ben Ali whilst ash-sha’b took to the streets protesting about the availability of housing and widespread corruption. Civil unrest spread to the Arabian Peninsula with almost 16,000 Yemenis gathering on the streets of, capital, Sana’a to demand the resignation of the government and much smaller demonstrations, in Muscat, underlining loyalty to the Omani Sultan but renouncing corrupt officials. The 25th January was marked as a Day of Rage as sectarian tensions in Lebanon ignited and Sunnis loyal to ousted president Saad Hariri clashed with the army.

The Day of Rage

January 25th also saw coordinated demonstrations across Egyptian cities as social media enhanced the mobilisation of pro-democracy campaigners. Close to 50,000 people gathered in, aptly named, Tahrir (Liberation) Square in a display of determination and bravery that would outlast the regime. The numbers swelled to hundreds of thousands despite the regime blocking mobile networks and Twitter. Ash-sha’b held their ground in the face of the Security Services’ use of the same iniquity that had marked Mubarak’s reign (The Guardian quoted charity Human Rights Watch, describing that forces “routinely and deliberately use torture and ill-treatment – in ordinary criminal cases as well as with political dissidents and security detainees – to coerce confessions, extract other information, or simply to punish detainees”) – hundreds were arrested and tear gas used on protesters.

Egypt's symbolic site, Tahrir Square

A television address from Mubarak on the 28th January failed to dampen the demonstrations – the demand was clear: “ash-sha’b yourid isqat an-nizam” (the people want the fall of the regime). Western Governments were out of step with the force and pace of the intifada. For a time it seemed that EU and US leaders were more concerned about protecting a regime that had held peace with Israel and suppressed the influence of, political organisation, The Muslim Brotherhood than listening to ash-sha’b. France had already been criticised for continuing to support Tunisia’s Ben Ali during the protests – albeit refusing him entry during his flight – and now the White House was persisting with the weak rhetoric of “meaningful talks”. It wasn’t until after the army (an army that had received US funding) refused to use force against protesters on 31st January, after days of bloodshed between Mubarak supporters and opponents, after the massive “Day of Departure” demonstration on the 4th February; that Obama finally called for Mubarak’s resignation on the 10th February. Mubarak resigned on the 11th February and Tahrir Square, packed with men, women, Muslims, Christians, the old and the young, exploded with joy.

Tahrir: A Political Symbol

The sparks of hope that flew from Tahrir ignited the intifada in countries as far apart geographically as they are politically. The demonstrators in Algeria and Yemen escalated to thousands and were met by police force in the former and frightened regime tolerance in the latter. In Bahrain, a “Day of Rage” was held against the Sunni Royal Family by Shia’a protesters starting persistent demonstrations that were brutally suppressed. Martial law was declared and repercussions – such as arrests and demonisation of demonstrators (people were sacked from their oil jobs and both doctors and nurses that treated the anti-government injured were put on trial) – are still prevailing. And in the next step towards what would become a horrific civil war, the Libyan city of Benghazi saw hundreds of people clashing with police after a human rights campaigner was arrested on 16th February.

Libya’s journey from 16th February to David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent visit has been blood soaked; at least 30,000 people have died and an estimated 50,000 injured. The suppression of February’s protests quickly led to violent clashes between pro Gaddafi supporters and, what was now, a revolutionary movement. Rebel troops were met with ferocity from the government army (that had reportedly received instructions to bomb civilians) and the sound of battles was accompanied by increasingly disorientated televised addresses by Gaddafi. By 25th February anti-government fighters had reached Tripoli and, two days later, announced the formation of the National Transitional Council – an anti-Gaddafi political organisation said to represent Libya – from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi where the demonstrations began.

Throughout March, government troops fought back and, rising casualties (and perhaps a pre-disposition to remove Gaddafi after the Lockerbie Bombing) forced the world to take action. On the 18th March, the UN Security Council passed a resolution in favour of a no fly zone and air strikes and a NATO air offensive started the next day. On 27th June, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi as brutal attacks and counter attacks continued on the ground throughout the summer. By late August, rebel troops surrounded Tripoli and Gaddafi fled on the 24th August clearing the way for the National Transitional Council to move its, now internationally recognised, government from Benghazi to the capital.

What Now?

The intifada is far from over. This summer has seen the start of the baffling complexities of Hosnik Mubarak’s trial for ordering the killing of protesters, abusing his position and, bizarrely, selling oil to Israel at a too low price. Whilst Mubarak appears in court in a cage, the country, now headed by a Military Council, shuffles towards the promise of free and fair elections. Meanwhile, in Syria – controlled since the sixties by a Ba’ath Party headed by the Assad family – the death toll of protestors has reached over two thousand as the government use tanks and snipers to crack down on demonstrations calling for political reform. International pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to step down is growing at a reluctant pace, but a UN Security Council Resolution with teeth is being blocked by China and Russia. Last month, nearly fifty protestors were killed in twenty four hours in  Yemen; grim footage circulated over the internet of a ten month old baby being shot by the army

In the Arab World, 2011 has been the year of ash-sha’b as citizens continue to come together to defy danger and demand change. The fight for justice has been costly – conservative estimates put the death toll at almost 35,000 – but it carries on.

Amid cries for Mubarak’s immediate departure, demonstators break into song during the “Day of Departure”.

But where's Momo...? Check Vogue Paris!

They have not found him in a boat,
They have not found him with a goat,
They have not found him in a house,
They have not found him with a mouse,
Muammar is neither Here nor There,
Muammar isn’t Anywhere.
That Momo – he’s such a rogue,
They should really check the September issue of Vogue.

Vogue Paris. I read it for the articles. And I heard from a reliable source that all the clues to finding Muammar – dites Momo – are in there. Right there in there, in the September issue. Numéro 920, Les Publications Condé Nast S.A. Four-euros-ninety in France métropolitaine, 6,95€ in les colonies. Or – excusez-moi – in les départements d’outre-mer. If it takes the slow boat via Algeria. Fifteen euros if it arrives by avion.

Vogue Paris. The September issue. It’s all there.

Whaaat? Wait. I dated a spy, remember. (See here.) (Our relationship was a two-parter.) So en dehors of my exclusive access to an excessive number of excessively reliable sources, I’m exclusively-superbly super-smart – excessively – about spying. The CIA and FBI and MI5 and UN and NATO?  And every other acronymed association who is seeking anyone (acronymed or otherwise) who is AWOL or MIA? They’ve got it all wrong. Moi–I’d take a different tack. Based on the excessive data I’ve received, exclusively, from my exclusive informants, I’d turn to Vogue. Vogue Paris – the September issue. Especially if I was finding a fashionista! Especially if it was fall. Especially if the fashionista to be found was a fallen Momo. Especially that.

They should hire me as a consultant.

The first clue? Well, there’s all that green. Momo Green. Pages and pages of it – all over Vogue. And that Gucci ad? Near the front of the book? (Hellooo? It’s Vogue – a page number I cannot provide.) The one with the platinum blonde lounging around in that greeny/yellowy/fluorescent-y you could only pull it off if you were Photo-shopped/airbrushed/digitized dress? (As in you would need to be Photo-shopped and airbrushed and digitized…not the dress?) And then there’s those other Photo-shopped/airbrushed/digitised blondes lounging around in equally questionable colours? I think Momo’s behind the couch. Just a hunch.

Then there’s that cover shoot starring Charlotte Casiraghi – daughter of Caroline, Princess of Monaco. (Don’t ask me what page – you know the drill.) (Is it just moi or is Vogue getting a weeny-teeny leetle beet desperate if they have to photograph princess’s daughters rather than the real-live princesses themselves?) (Especially if said princess’s daughters are so obviously completely uncomfortable in couture ?) Anyway, plenty of foliage and flowers and fauna are featured – mostly all green. Momo could be hiding out there.

(And speaking of being a weeny-teeny little bit desperate, who decided that it was a good idea to do a piece on “Hippie Living?” French accent obligatoire ?) (Uh…Vogue ? Really? Vraiment ? We’re not over hippies yet?) (What’s next – Birkenstocks?) (Patchouli?) (Burlap sacks?)

The Céline ad (front-of-the-book) also arouses suspicion. At first I thought they were trying to make the anorexic model look pregnant – you know, to target that lucrative anorexic mothers-in-waiting demographic – but then I realized: They actually meant for that red leather-y (or something skin-like-y) coat thing to resemble a tent! It’s deliberately part of the deliberate design! A convertible coat/tent trench! Ingenious! Deliberate! And we know how Momo is about his tents…drags the bloody things around everywhere…And a maternity tent that doubles as a coat could come in real handy for an ex-dictator/presumably-still-presently polygamist on the lam…

Could Momo be hiding under the tent trench?

…so he could be hiding out under there.

(Oh, and: Turn to page…oh hell, you’ll find it.  Notice how Oscar de la Renta is totally copying Christian Lacroix’s flamingo puke motif from a few years back?)

Speaking of polygamy, it’s possible that Momo is using les petites as miniature Amazonian bodyguards in the ad for Les Petites. You know – those miniature Amazonian bodyguards/models who are tripling as schoolgirls? And then there’s the blonde and the brunette running away from something in the ad for Chloé…that could be Momo chasing them, trying to pick up. Because like Dean Martin and Claude François, Momo loves to surround himself with chicks. Think I’m onto something there.

(Speaking of chicks: What’s up with BCBGMAXAZRIA? Or, more specifically: What have they got against women? Or, more specifically: What have they got against women’s hips? Or did I misunderstand and those parachute pants are supposed to convert into tents, too?) (Saddlebags, perhaps?) (And Philip Plein? The ad with the nude model with the death’s-head brooch clipped to her you-know-what. Uh, Phil? You know what? Think you’re being a bit too subtle. Maybe next time the brooch could be fitted with teeth.)

You know who is subtle? Momo. My superbly-super-savvy spying skills signal that – while on the surface it might make sense – there is no way he’d get himself mixed up in that tribal mess of a photo spread, “Quand l’esprit néo-jungle pulse au grand air…” For one, he’s a man of the desert – not the jungle – after all. En plus, while I did catch a glimpse of Big Bird – or at least a Bottega Veneta coat disguised as him – I didn’t spot any tents. No tents, no Momo. Same goes for the series, “D’après nature.” While less superbly-skilled spies may take all that camouflage as a dead give-away, my savvy spy-smarts can smell a decoy from sand dunes away. The camouflage? Fuhgeddaboudit.(Although there is an argument that the shot with the Bardot look-alike might reveal Momo hiding behind the tree…)

Sigh. As in: I-sigh. As in: I-sigh and I-spy and I’m spent. The CIA and FBI and MI5 and UN and NATO are so obviously stumped. So you’d think they’d make better use of my skills. Because besides being a super-superbly smart spy? About business, I know a thing or two. And if they’d just let me get to work on finding Momo, we could all get to work at being filthy rich. Not the bounty-hunting way, or the head-hunting way, or the wanted dead-or-alive way…not even by kissing and making up and then selling him arms. No, non – I’m thinking “strategic alliance.” One in which we’d all get our cut. Picture it: “Gaddafi by Galliano.” Or, “Galliano by Gaddafi”. Or more simply: “G&G.” We could force them into it – it’s not like they’re in a position to complain. And we could convince the Americans to turn Guantanamo into a fashion atelier ! You know – to boost their foreign fashion relations. It is an election year, after all. (And with the current state of their balance sheet, you just know they’d jump at the chance to charge rent.) (Sans caution… )

I know what you’re thinking – already thought of it myself: Good partners must have something in common. But if you step back, you’ll agree that as a partnership, G&G as a pair is parfait. First, they’re both fashionistas. And they both hate Jews. And while it may not be the most creative angle, like God and sex and homophobia, anti-Semitism still sells! (You think as a bafflingly-bright business consultant/super-savvy spy I’d advise people to buy into a venture that wasn’t a sure thing?) (In this economy?) En plus, anti-Semitics need more style. They really haven’t seen any fashion breakthroughs since the SS. Because as anyone who respects hair salons knows, skinheads don’t count.

There’s just one more detail that has me stuck: If G&G gets off the ground, who would be their spokesmodel?

Russian political leader Vladimir Putin...

Even as a child, I knew that politics was important. Blame it on my very Italian family, who would never miss the chance to sit around the kitchen table and embark on long discussions about our government. And blame it on my attachment to books, history and Greek and Latin culture, which taught me that everything is political and made me very passionate about my role as a citizen. The thing is, politics has always been quite familiar to me – comfortable, almost.

This is why, when I moved to Russia in September 2009, I found the political alienation of the Russian people so shocking. Even now, in the second decade of the 21st century, the Russians have hardly experienced politics as we understand in the West, having been ruled by the Tsars and then living through Communism. The dogma was always the same: give (not so much) to the people, but don’t ask them what they want. At the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia had hardly ever experienced democracy. And twenty years later, it still hasn’t. The reason? Perhaps that people were never taught to care about politics.

Politics comes from the Greek ‘politikos’, meaning ‘related to the city (polis).’ Philosopher, Aristotle was the first to define politics as the administration of the polis for everyone’s good. This meant that every citizen was expected to take part in the social and political life of the polis; it’s this principle that inspired the modern democratic system. Participation in the political life of a modern democracy might not be as direct as in the Greek polis, but it still guarantees accountability through representation. People inform themselves, vote, care about politics. The system is not perfect, but seems to function fairly well.

Historically, Russian people have often been too busy with basic survival to pay too much attention to those in power, and their lack of experience of Western-style politics has not helped either. Russians have grown accustomed to a system that does not require their cooperation. When things started getting better under President (and subsequently Prime Minister) Vladimir Putin, accepting his authoritarian government was a natural step.

This has allowed for certain traits of Russian culture to become increasingly entrenched; corruption, bureaucracy, and criminality. Whereas in other countries people like to complain to their representatives about what they think is wrong, in Russia people remain silent. They pay bribes, and find ways to co-exist within the system. The majority does not care about politics, and this allows government officials to act in their interests rather than their people’s. European governments need to solve problems to preserve their popularity, while in Russia the government remains popular no matter what, mostly because of the lack of a fully-fledged opposition to offer an alternative.

This is not to say that in Russia nobody cares about politics. Many now understand that political participation and involvement is essential for democracy to happen. But it will take a long time for this perspective to become as entrenched in society as political alienation is today.

United Russia’s first foray into U.S.-style primary politics was  touted as a great success, but political apathy amongst Russians continues…

The go-to guide for current affairs

Most of us like to consider ourselves to be pretty well informed; we generally have an opinion on many of the current news items and can talk sensibly about the “big issues” of the day, whether that’s the war in Afghanistan, the recession or global warming. Or can we? What happens if someone challenges our opinion on Obama’s healthcare reform and our view turns out to be less carefully crafted and more shamelessly pinched from Jon Snow? That’s where Lawrence Potter’s This May Help You Understand the World  comes in – or should I say,  rides in on a white steed.

There’s  a common feeling that although we have a general awareness of current issues, we may be a little hazy on the details. And it doesn’t help that newspapers and broadcast journalism assume a certain level of understanding so as not to have War and Peace-length articles and programmes rivaling Gone with the Wind in running time. It may be that you have more knowledge of certain news items than others – perhaps through personal interest or because it is in issue that affects you, through nationality, residence or ethnicity. As for other items, our uncertainty doesn’t mean that we’re stupid – keeping up with everything that’s going on in the world is a full time job (just ask Jon Snow), so this book sets out to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge.

This May Help You Understand the World is divided into ten sections, each with several questions. The sections range from ‘The Environment: Trouble in the Greenhouse’, which answers questions such as “What is the problem with plastic bags?” to the chapter on Darfur, with questions like “Who are the Sudanese rebels?”. Other topics include Afghanistan, Iraq, US politics and trade in the developing world, to name but a few. The answer to each of the questions is around three to four pages long – long enough to give a basic grounding of knowledge but not sleep-inducing. The language used is clear and concise; neither treating the reader like an idiot nor bamboozling you with 15-syllable adjectives and convoluted explanations.

Some may find the book too much of a “Dummies’ Guide” and prefer a more detailed explanation of the issues, to which Potter obliges by providing extra reading recommendations in some of the sections. For my part I found the book to be incredibly informative on many issues that, previously, had I ventured an opinion on it would have been merely parroting someone else’s view. The book does not make the reader an expert in current affairs globally – it’s only 278 pages long after all – but instead means that questions such as “So do you reckon Obama’s ever going to close Gitmo?”, don’t leave you frantically trying to figure out what Obama has to do with the Gremlins movie. Not that I’ve ever done that. Honest.

This May Help You Understand the World by Lawrence Potter is available to buy online here.