Body image, the size zero debate and modern feminism; Jo Swinson is a game-changing politician in a government which seems to be headed up by the old boys brigade.

The ageing denizens of Westminster are choking on the causes Jo Swinson champions, from the fight against airbrushing to parents sharing maternity leave. Eva Wiseman heads for the House to meet a woman working from the inside. Read more: The Observer.

Italy’s female politicians: breakthrough or tokenism? In Italy, one third of cabinet members are women. And they are women of substance. But do they have power? Read more: The Guardian.

One woman’s success does not mean a step forward for women. Far from ‘smashing the glass ceiling’, Thatcher made it through and pulled the ladder up after her. Read more: Comment Is Free.

Angela (pronounced ANGLE-uh) Dorothea Merkel, 58, hailing from Hamburg, Germany. Chancellor of Germany and party leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Oh, and the most powerful woman in the world, according to some.

BUNDESTAG CRED

Merkel’s been a member of the CDU since joining in 1990, shortly after becoming involved in burgeoning democracy movements around the fall of the Berlin Wall. She was narrowly elected as leader of the country in 2005, and then won elections again in 2009. But she’s not just a popular politician – with a doctorate in physics, Merkel’s clearly a smart cookie, too.

Why She’s A Wonder Woman

The eurozone has been having a rough go of it, and whether the Euro lives or dies rests in large part on Merkel’s government’s shoulders. As the highly respected leader of Germany, at present one of the most stable economies in the world and certainly in Europe, Merkel doesn’t quite have the power to put the common currency out to pasture, but she’s got major influence in terms of its public reception. Germany, though a linchpin in the development and maintenance of the ‘European project’, is not obligated to bail out Euro countries ad infinitum when their banks and/or governments go bust. But it has done so far; and as long as Deutschland keeps the faith, presumably investors will do too.

LEAST LIKELY TO SAY

“Oh sorry, did I just say that out loud?” As she’s a careful, considered speaker, Merkel is a bit of an enigma – you can never tell quite what’s on her mind. She’s got an amazing range of facial expressions, though, which is possibly why she has been such a popular subject for caption competitions.

WHO’D PLAY HER IN ‘EUROZONE’, THE MOVIE

Meryl, obviously, who’d without a doubt rock the sensible haircut and the brightly-coloured blazers appropriate for the occasion.

The Miscontents of Merkel…

We gather Angela isn’t so keen on bad weather, the new Blackberry, and lately, Cyprus. The country, most famous for its halloumi cheese and a longstanding tiff with Turkey, requested a bailout from Eurozone leaders about nine months ago. Euro area finance ministers, led by the Germans, finally offered up a deal to Cyprus on 16 March of this year. They’d shell out €10 billion – far short of the €17 billion required – but the Cypriot government would need to raise the rest of the cash by taxing all the banks’ depositors. This, unsurprisingly, went down about as well as sour Tzatziki. Some of those depositors are wealthy Russians who have parked their money offshore, but mostly they are ordinary Cypriots, who could do without a 7% haircut to their savings.

Cypriot parliament rejected the deal, much to depositors’ delight. The country then tried to secure some Russian dosh, which ultimately wasn’t forthcoming; Merkel is said to have been none too pleased with all the faffing about. After a few frantic days, a deal was finally struck between Cyprus and its international lenders on March 25th. Cyprus will still get the ten billion, and in return, the Cyprus government has committed to imposing heavy losses on those with over €100,000 in its banks. Additionally, its second-largest bank Laiki will close its doors, while the country’s largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, will be given an overhaul.

If you were a Cypriot who had lived through the chaos and uncertainty of the last few weeks, you’d probably want to blame somebody for it too. And it’s much easier to make a target of the high-profile pro-austerity Hamburger than a succession of bygone governments or invisible bank bods. She’s become a controversial figure in Cyprus of late, with depictions of her sporting a narrow dark moustache making frequent appearances on protest signs. Attitudes toward Merkel are every bit as warm as they were in Athens last year when, visiting the Greek capital, she was accorded a hundred-hoodie salute.

WHERE SHE’LL BE HOLIDAYING AFTER ALL THIS

Likely Germany. Probably not the Mediterranean.

What to watch, listen to and read so you finish the week more informed and more cultured – a perfect dinner party guest… Read more: Stylist.

A highlight from the Andrew Marr Show…

The portal provides an insight into a historical moment that defined feminism, and some of the women who pushed for social change. How to use the resource? A timeline highlights important events including the Greenham Common Peace Camp, the introduction of the contraceptive pill and the election of the first black female MP. You can also explore Sisterhood and After by browsing themes such as Sex, Love and Friendship, Equality and Work,  and Changing Cultures and the Arts. A unique and fascinating resource.

How have women’s political rights changed around the globe to get to this International Women’s Day? This interactive map by Lustlab‘s Lizzie Malcolm shows the long history of the fight for suffrage and political representation around the globe. Read more: The Guardian’s Data Blog.

Everyday Sexism’s founder Laura Bates…

Since it was founded in April 2012, Everyday Sexism has made us think twice about those unwelcome comments and instances of sexism we witness on a day-to-day basis. You know, that chap that put a little bit of a downer on your fun night out with friends when he pinched your bum. Or the guy who tells you to ‘cheer up love, it might never happen’. Or perhaps something even more serious and distressing.

Having graduated from Cambridge, Laura Bates worked as an actress; an experience which exposed her to misogynistic treatment and sexism first hand. Frustrated with the media’s fixation on women’s appearance and how normalised sexism seemed to be, she set up Everyday Sexism with the aim of simply giving women a space to catalogue their experiences – anonymously if they wish. By sharing instances of the sexism that takes place everyday, the project proves that sexism does still exist and opens up the issue for discussion.

After the widespread success of the project, Laura now contributes to Women Under Siege and works as a freelance writer, as well as continuing to run Everyday Sexism. We found out more about why sexism is still part of our culture, the aims of Everyday Sexism, and what YOU can do about it.

Why did you set up Everyday Sexism?

To try to expose what I felt was an invisible problem. For too long, I felt that women had been told to stop overreacting, learn to take a compliment and stop making a fuss when they complained about the small, normalised instances of sexism we all put up with and face daily – from street harassment to groping in clubs and bars to offhand sexist remarks and jokes. Not to mention the more serious issues such as the gender pay gap and sexual assault. I spoke to a lot of friends, particularly those working in the city and realised just how severely sexism was impacting on them daily – from clients being entertained in strip clubs to new employees being openly rated on the basis of their looks in the office. And yet there was a real sense of powerlessness – when I asked them what they could do about it they said it was just the way things were and that if they made a fuss, they simply wouldn’t have a successful career ahead of them.

The more women I spoke to, the more overwhelmed I was by the enormity of the problem – and the more I realised the things I’d been covering up and keeping quiet and internalising because we are all so used to being taught that it’s our fault, that perhaps we somehow asked for it, that it’s just part of being a woman – that we rarely stop and shout about it and compare notes. And I wanted everybody to be able to see the birds’ eye view I was getting about just how massive the problem still is, contrary to popular belief that women are ‘more or less’ equal now. I also wanted to show the connections between the whole spectrum of gender imbalance, to show how it is all connected – from ‘minor’ wolf whistles all the way up assault – so that people would stop dismissing the small stuff and brushing it under the carpet.

What does the project involve?

Very simply, it’s a documentation project – women submit their stories online, either directly to the website, or by e-mail or via Twitter. These are then recorded and displayed on the website for everybody to see!

What has been the reaction to Everyday Sexim?

The reaction has been incredible, and much more than I ever dreamed of – within days, stories began trickling in, then the trickle became a flood and before we knew it the media was picking up on the project and it was being reported on and talked about all over the world. I was asked to begin writing regularly for outlets like the Independent, the Huffington Post and the Guardian about the issues and themes being brought up by the project. Everday Sexism has featured in Red Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, 72M magazine, the Times, the Observer and on ITV and BBC Radio 4, as well as in publications and print media around the world.

Women’s reactions have been astonishing, with nearly 20,000 adding their stories in just ten months and stories now pouring in at the rate of over 1,000 per week. The world has really listened too, with MPs from all three major UK political parties taking an interest, and the project being given an award at the Liberal Democrat conference last year. Hundreds of people email me each week to tell me about the impact the project has had on their lives, from men writing about how it has opened their eyes and made them angry for their daughters, to women who have used it to help them finally speak to their families about sexual harassment and assault they have endured, to those who say it has given them the confidence to start standing up to abusers.

How have men responded to the project?

Overwhelmingly positively – I’ve been deeply touched by the many hundreds who have vociferously supported the project and encouraged others to do the same. From celebrities including Chris Addison and Robin Ince, to fathers, boyfriends, brothers and sons writing of their outrage at the treatment of the women they love, to men simply writing to say how little they realised and how much their eyes have been opened. Many write to say that they hadn’t had any idea of the extent of the problem before, but that now they do they will take action and start being more proactive about tackling it.

Everyday Sexism: for too long now, women have been told to stop overreacting, learn to take a compliment and stop making a fuss…

Is there a personal story that has stood out or affected you in particular?

The stories from young girls probably affect me the most, as it is truly heart-breaking to hear a girl in her early teens explaining how she feels the world values her purely on her looks and her sex appeal. I’m also constantly shocked and saddened by the number of accounts of assault and rape.

Why do you think gender equality still isn’t the norm?

I feel like there’s a real lack of awareness of the scale of prejudice and inequality that still exists, which makes it very hard to fight, as it’s such an invisible problem – women are still frequently told that they should keep quiet and put up with it, as it’s not a big deal and they are overreacting – so I guess a big part of the problem is that so many people believe it is the norm, when the reality is far from it! That’s why I started the project, to try to expose the invisible problem so we could start properly tackling it.

Is there anything that we can do as individuals to help society move towards gender equality?

Standing up! Both men and women, in any situation they see it – from street harassment to sexism in the workplace – can call it out when and where they see it, and simply make the statement that they don’t think it’s acceptable. We need a massive cultural shift in our attitudes towards women and what is and isn’t acceptable – and to do that we need to get out there and tell one another what isn’t okay!

What do you hope to achieve with Everyday Sexism?

To open the world’s eyes to an invisible problem, to prompt dialogue around the issue and how to go about tackling it, and to give women a cathartic, safe space to be taken seriously and believed, whilst also building a sense of community and a cultural movement. Everyday Sexism is about letting women know they are not alone; they can say no, it is unacceptable, they don’t have to put up with it, and that change is coming!

The Everyday Sexism video for the Shorty Awards…

Women for Women director Zainab Shakir

At first glance, it’s not entirely obvious how a luxury hotel chain, laundry bags and widows of war all link together. It became clear after I spoke to Zainab Shakir, country director for Women for Women International in Iraq, about the charity’s global programmes in support of women survivors of war…

Sirur became a widow a month after getting married, her husband killed by terrorists. His family believed she had brought bad luck upon them, so they threw her out on the street. Sirur returned to her family’s home, a tiny 70 square metre space shared by her parents and nine sisters in Sadir City, Iraq. Money was tight, and became yet more so when Sirur’s father fell ill and died. “Life became very difficult and complicated,” Sirur says. “I used to sit and cry for the loss of my husband and father.”

Sirur is one of an estimated one million women made widows by years of violence and turmoil in Iraq. According to Zainab Shakir, country director for the charity Women for Women International in Iraq, these women face great adversity attaining skills and education and becoming economically productive.

“Complex traditional, cultural, and social practices and security remain a major obstacle for girls to receive education,” says Shakir, pointing out that illiteracy rates among Iraqi women aged 15 to 24 is about one in four, and that that figure rises to roughly half in rural areas. “And such obstacles become valid reasons for parents to object to girls attending schools and gaining education,” she continues. Parents often encourage their daughters to marry young as a means of support, despite the fact that Iraqi law prohibits marriage under the age of 18.

Lack of basic education has subjected many Iraqi women to a situation of helplessness and poverty. And such disenfranchisement can render women susceptible to more than just economic strife, says Shakir. “Women become even vulnerable to abuse or mistreatment.” It has been reported that one in five women in Iraq are subjected to physical or psychological abuse, “and some even suggest the number is higher.”

When a woman loses her husband, her situation becomes that much worse; her husband is often her only financial lifeline, and after his death, she has no guarantee of support from his family or her own. Women might look to the government for aid, but not all can be helped. The country’s Ministry of Women has a limited ability to effect change, says Shakir; and, despite a 25% quota for women in the Council of Representatives, the issue of improving the lives of women “does not have a strong advocate within the government.”

This is where civil society steps in, says Shakir. Along with other women’s organisations operating in Iraq, Women for Women International is providing support to women like Sirur who have fallen on hard times. With the help of institutional donors and individual “sponsors” – about 50 of whom are based in the UK – the organisation offers women enrolment on a one-year skill-building programme. Participants receive a small stipend for saving, courses on literacy and “life skills”, and vocational training for trades like sewing and candle-making, in the hope that new businesses and independent livelihoods will grow out of them.

The organisation also forms partnerships with European and North American brands to bring in large-scale foreign demand for the womens’ handicrafts. The luxury hotel brand Andaz, for example, is sourcing the laundry bags needed to service its hundreds of rooms from programme participants in Iraq. “[The] women involved are benefiting from this partnership,” says Shakir, “[they] are learning more on how to develop their products to match international standards.”

Lastly, the programme provides a safe space in country that can be, in many ways, a frightening and unfriendly place. Says Shakir of the Women For Women International centres in Iraq: “The women feel that this is a safe place, that [they] can say anything, [they] can have a voice, [they] can talk about [their lives]. They support each other.”

For Sirur, things are starting to look better. She joined the Women for Women International programme and is now saving her sponsorship money to start up her own small business. With her savings and new skills, she’ll set up a beauty parlour with her sister in her family home.

Though change is slow due to institutional and cultural challenges, women’s groups in Iraq are seeing more and more women like Sirur take charge of their lives, support their families on their own, and even insist that their own girls get an education. As Shakir explains, “these kinds of changes keep us ongoing.”

Learn more about sponsoring a woman through Women for Women International here.

Women for Women’s participants receive a small stipend for saving, life skills and literacy courses, and basic vocational training