Thursday, March 9, 2017

International Women"s Day: Calls to Action, Protests and Words of Praise


#ThanksButNoThanks - Women"s Day

The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, who has made inflammatory remarks about sexual assault, gave a speech praising women though he also lashed out at the countrys highest-ranking female elected official, Vice President Leni Robredo, and at a political rival, Senator Leila de Lima.

Another senator, Risa Hontiveros, accused Mr. Duterte of allowing a pervasive culture of sexism, misogyny and gender bias.

One of the most unusual events occurred in India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a ceremony in honor of 10 clean warriors, all women who had campaigned to improve rural sanitation. They included Sushila Khurkute, 30, who recently gained prominence when, seven months into her third pregnancy, she spent three solitary days chipping away at the rocky ground with a stick to make her family a toilet.

A group of Unicef volunteers touring the area began documenting her efforts and her story. The toilet, she told them, was crucial to the welfare of her child. Because women defecating in open fields are vulnerable to sexual assault, she said, she had starved herself during her two previous pregnancies, weakening her babies.

Continue reading the main story

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNE8af2_8SHU14K81G7Xru38t6-UXA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779407667430&ei=w4zBWLDDDsrP3QHe3LzoBw&url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/world/international-womens-day.html

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