Good News for Women in Africa, Catholic Woman Speaks Truth to Power in US

Two great articles found in my inbox today:

1.) Togo becomes the fifteenth African country to ratify the African charter on human rights. This charter guarantees many rights for women, including the right to an abortion in the cases of rape, incest, or endangerment of a woman's life or health and legal prohibition of female genital mutilation.

2.) Rabble Rousing, by Rose Marie Berger on civil disobedience at the White House and saying "NO!" to war. Particularly uplifting as get ready to leave for the annual vigil to close SOA/WHINSEC outside Ft. Benning tomorrow morning. Shut it down, yo!

Oh, but they are serious . . .

Just an FYI-

One of the groups that I monitor regularly in the context of feminism and the Catholic Church is the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, which can easily be put into the category of the far right-wing. They view themselves as crusaders to save the Church from feminism (see their anti-V-Day campaign), the feminine (see below), and the feminine divine (see their campaign to shut down the movie version of The DaVinci Code). Misogynists, hardcore. but they'll try to tell you that they are trying to save us women from the evils of self-determination.

But my real point is their latest foray into the music industry with their recording of "Echoes of Catholic Militancy", a recording of traditional Catholic choral music "sung in a masculine and forceful style." They toss around words like "combativeness" and "virility" without ever stopping to think that, maybe, perhaps, our constant attachment of combativeness and forcefulness to our ideals of masculinity may have some tiny connection to the domination and abuse of women by men. And as if I could ask for a better example, they perfectly illustrate Michael Kimmel's thoughts on masculinity as homophobia. What is so frightening and evil about femininity and women that these men must constantly point out how seperate they are from it?

*sigh* I can't even bring myself to listen to what they might have done to the Ave Maria. If someone else is braver, please let me know.

Good News to Start, for a Change

Catholic women's colleges are standing up for student academic freedom and women's rights here in Minnesota. I am please to announce that my alma mater, the College of Saint Benedict (in conjunction with Saint John's University, lest we forget) is moving forward with it's February 17, 2006 presentation of The Vagina Monologues. And let me stress that this is academic because I know at least one person will be doing a fabulous ILP. The beneficiary will again be the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center, which is the only sexual assault center serving five counties in central Minnesota.

On another up note, according to the November 7 issue of The Wheel, the student newspaper at the College of Saint Catherine in Saint Paul, "On Nov. 3, after lengthy discussions, the College of Saint Catherine's (CSC) administration decided that CSC will host Eve Ensler's 'The Vagina Monologues.'" This will be part of a month long celebration. Their beneficiary has not yet been made public, but there are plenty of good groups in the Twin Cities who would certainly benefit.

Solidarity, sisters!