Category Archives: Feminism

Repression in Iran

Fierce Planet Posted on by

Authorities in Iran continue to crack down on the widespread protests that arose in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death while she was in the custody of the morals police. We finally have an in-depth review of how the government has reacted to the protests, in the form of a well researched article on the evidence that the government’s response has been harsh and terrible. (WashPost gift link should get you past the paywall for a while). Tactics of repression: How Iran is trying to stop Mahsa Amini protests A visual forensics analysis shows authorities using indiscriminate force, making violent … Continue reading →

Abortion rights matter in this election

Fierce Planet Posted on by

The big wave of voter registration we’ve seen from women since the Dobbs decision continues. Tom Bonier talks about it with Teen Vogue. Women Are Registering to Vote in Huge Numbers in Response to the Roe Decision In battleground states like Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona, there’s been a surge of women registering to vote. …Tom Bonier, the CEO of TargetSmart, says he was surprised by the data. “You tend not to see significant movement in voter registration,” Bonier tells Teen Vogue. …what he found was like nothing he’s ever seen in his 28 years of analyzing elections. “Women are registering … Continue reading →

Women of Iran ~ Dancing for freedom

Fierce Planet Posted on by

Reports (from MSNBC, no link) are that somewhere between 40 and 50 people have been killed in and around the Iranian protests. The protests are not disappearing, though, if anything they continue to spread. Internet outages continue, so information still comes slowly. The women have been forbidden to dance, but they dance anyway. I love these clips so much. This is what civil disobedience looks like in an Islamic Republic. #IranProtests #IranRevolution For 43 years women in #Iran have been forbidden to dance & sing in public or show their hair & they are saying enough. It’s really that simple. … Continue reading →

Update on Iranian protests

Fierce Planet Posted on by

From Sept. 20, this is the first video I saw from the protests in Iran. Unprecedented scenes in Iran: woman sits on top of utility box and cuts her hair in main square in Kerman to protest death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the morality police. People clap their hands and chant “Death to the dictator.” #مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/2oyuKV80Ac — Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) September 20, 2022 A report from Arash Azizi at Newsweek: Iran’s Regime May Have Just Sparked a Revolution On Sept. 17, Mahsa’s funeral in her native Kurdistan province was accompanied by massive protests which soon spread … Continue reading →

Protests against dictators around the world

Fierce Planet Posted on by

As I return home, the world is in a state of turmoil in many places. I like to think that these uprisings against authoritarian regimes will continue and spread, but we know of course that such uprisings often get suppressed and the people who engage in them may end up dead or in prison. Which only highlights the incredible courage of those people who have taken to the streets this week in Russia and Iran. In many ways it’s easy for me to be an activist, though I’ve had moments in my life where I felt quite scared to speak … Continue reading →

What patriarchy looks like in everyday life

Fierce Planet Posted on by

Beaten for no reason, dragged off the street for violations of modesty laws, subject to torture in those detention centers, refused school and work choices—this report shows exactly how women in Afghanistan are treated by the Taliban. Women who dare to protest, and some women do dare to, are treated even more harshly.   In the New York Times (gift link, no paywall) another report shows the same brutal situation. Taliban Rewind the Clock: ‘A Woman Is a Helpless and Powerless Creature’ Girls are barred from secondary schools and women from traveling any significant distance without a male relative. Men … Continue reading →

Medication abortion – will we lose that too?

Fierce Planet Posted on by

We certainly will if the antiabortion groups get their way. They are working now on legislation to ban medication abortions, even if the pills come from a state where abortion is legal. (gift link, should get you past the paywall) Most abortions are done at home. Antiabortion groups are taking aim. Two top antiabortion groups have crafted and successfully lobbied for state legislation to ban or further restrict the predominant way pregnancies are ended in the United States — via drugs taken at home, often facilitated by a network of abortion rights groups…. The groups are pursuing a variety of … Continue reading →

Violence

Fierce Planet Posted on by

I know I have said here more than once that I believe the right-wing patriarchy, the white supremacist movement in this country wants me and everyone like me to be dead so long as we refuse to conform to their ideas of how human culture should be structured. They don’t want feminists to exist, or queers of any variety. They are uncomfortable with creative artists and free-thinkers. They don’t like science because they can’t control it. They definitely hate people of color and immigrants who come from non-Western countries. Even a whiff of social democracy as it exists in European … Continue reading →

Victor Orban, Leader of CPAC

Fierce Planet Posted on by

An authoritarian white nationalist, just the sort of politician Republicans love. Listen to his words below, and hear the cheers. Orban’s type of patriarchal government—anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-multiculturalism—is the government they wish to impose on the rest of us. Don’t look away.   Viktor Orban is an authoritarian who trafficks in antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories, embraces antisemitic imagery, and engages in racist rhetoric. Republicans welcoming him with a standing ovation at #CPAC is all you need to know about the danger of today's @GOP. https://t.co/kvtoTOBXOo — Jewish Dems (@USJewishDems) August 5, 2022 ETA: Laura Jedeed has more.

Continue reading →