Feminist goals, and organisations which are working towards them

[PotholeParadies]

We’ve had some interesting discussions across many different threads recently about the goals of the feminist movement, and organisations with common aims.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but these are some issues that always come to mind for me when I think about what feminists want to achieve.

Ending female genital mutilation
Around the world today, it is estimated that 200 million women and girls alive today have already been subjected to FGM, and another 3 million girls are at risk of being subjected to it each year.

I think FGM is sometimes lightly dismissed as a one-off awful event in a survivor’s life, but in fact, the effects of this human rights violation are lifelong. List of health complications Last year, the World Health Organisation estimated that those complications mean that FGM costs health systems $1.4 billion dollars each year.
An estimated 800 girls undergo this each day. Some of them won’t survive to have health complications.

Organisations and campaigners working to end this include:
The Orchid project: www.orchidproject.org/
www.forwarduk.org.uk/
Hibo Wardere youtu.be/957vtfQvuQg

You have a one-off opportunity to support Hibo Wardere by buying a t-shirt. Only available for approximately 4 more days from the date of this post. www.mercht.com/c/i-am-a-woman

If you are an American MNer, Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s foundation may be particularly of interest to you. She focuses on stopping FGM (and forced marriage) in America.
www.theahafoundation.org/

ending forced marriage
Each year, 12 million girls under 18 are forced into marriage. I do not think anyone here will need me to explain why that’s a bad thing. What you may not know, is that pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death for girls aged between 15 and 19. The connection is easy to draw. (The second-biggest cause of death for girls aged between 15 and 19 is self-harm.)

Obviously, adult women are also forced into marriage, but the many incidents involving literal children can be recognised at a glance as coerced marriages.

International
www.walkfree.org/news/2019/forced-and-child-marriage-in-africa-as-a-manifestation-of-gender-based-violence-and-inequality/
www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-child-marriage/

Their list of individual projects to fund under the Take Action tab may be particularly of interest.
www.girlsnotbrides.org/take-action/

UK
karmanirvana.org.uk/
USA
www.theahafoundation.org/

Thank you for starting this thread those are amazing organisations.

Can I also add the Centre for Women’s Justice which lobbies for changes in the law to protect women. They were instrumental in getting Sally Challen freed from prison and changing the law around coercive control.

There are also many amazing organisations which support women who have been subjected to domestic abuse many of which are having their funding cut. Southall Black Sisters and NIA are two which are proudly single sex.

Great idea for a thread, Pothole.

It's late and my brain isn't working very well, but I'll try to think of some and come back.

Thank you @PotholeParadies this is invaluable for newcomers

Great idea for a thread Pothole. Thank you. Could I add Nordic Model Now a grassroots women's group in the UK which includes former sex workers and is calling for a new social consensus that recognises the harm and violence intrinsic to prostitution. This is what they're campaigning for:

The Nordic Model (sometimes known as the Sex Buyer Law, or the Swedish, Abolitionist, or Equality Model) is an approach to prostitution that has been adopted in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Ireland and Israel. It has several elements:

1. Decriminalisation of those who are prostituted

Prostitution is inherently violentt_. Women should not be criminalised for the exploitation and abuse they endure.

1. Buying sex becomes a criminal offence

Buying human beings for sex is harmful, exploitative and can never be safe. We need to reduce the demand that drives sex trafficking.

1. Support and exit services

High quality, non-judgemental services to support those in prostitution and help them build a new life outside it, including: access to safe affordable housing; training and further education; child care; legal, debt and benefit advice; emotional and psychological support. A holistic approach A public information campaign; training for police and CPS; tackling the inequality and poverty that drive people into prostitution; effective laws against pimping and sex trafficking, with penalties that reflect the enormous damage they cause.

nordicmodelnow.org/about/donate/

Womanittee, all additions welcome! Seriously, do feel free to add further organisations.

Next contribution from me.

At the time of writing, International Women's Day is fast approaching, but here's a feminist issue I doubt you'll see mentioned in the advertising.

Obstetric fistula

It’s a hole in the wall separating the vagina and rectum, or the vagina and urinary tract, usually caused by prolonged obstructed labour in childbirth. The pressure of the baby’s head cuts off the blood supply to vaginal tissue, and the tissue dies and disintegrates. In developed countries such as our own, a caesarean would usually be performed before this happened. It is also sometimes caused by sexual violence.

Physical symptoms may include faecal or urinary incontinence, repeated infections, pain during sex, skin damage from the continual flow, and potentially lower limb paralysis from the nerve damage caused by the leaking of urine or faeces.
The ramifications of this include complete social ostracization from their communities, on account of the odour.

Two million women today are living with the condition, and another 50,000 develop it each year.

As outlined above, it can be prevented if there are facilities to perform a caesarean section. Other than that, a major cause of obstetric fistulae is forced marriage of children and the resulting impregnation of girls who have not yet attained their full adult height. These girls’ immature pelvic bones are too narrow to allow the baby to pass through, with terrible consequences.

Obstetric fistulae are treatable- with reconstructive surgery. Unfortunately, the lack of medical care that meant it occurred in the first place also means women don’t have easy access to reconstructive surgery, either.

organisations
www.freedomfromfistula.org.uk/
fistulafoundation.org/

Domestic Violence now might be a good time to donate to local women's refuges: www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic-abuse-directory/ Many have websites with a donation page and details of other ways to get involved.

www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/ To hold the state to account and challenge discrimination in the justice system around male violence against women and girls.

legalfeminist.org.uk/ The blog is very good and highlights issues such as, currently, looking at Stonewall

Honorary mention for the indomitable Dr Jessica Taylor and her new charity MOCRA, launched with a team including Hibo Wardere, it supports women and girls pregnant from rape: www.mocra-foundation.com/

twitter.com/drjesstaylor/status/1368850595239624710?s=21

Thanks Pothole.

Fantastic thread.

Bump

niaendingviolence.org.uk/

Ending violence against women/girls.

smartworks.org.uk/

Helping unemployed women into work.

www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/

*Siablue's]] suggestion above.

Siablue

southallblacksisters.org.uk/

Southall Black Sisters, a not-for-profit, secular and inclusive organisation, was established in 1979 to meet the needs of Black (Asian and African-Caribbean) women. Our aims are to highlight and challenge all forms gender-related violence against women, empower them to gain more control over their lives; live without fear of violence and assert their human rights to justice, equality and freedom.

fairplayforwomen.com/

Fair Play For Womenis a campaigning and consultancy group which raises awareness, provides evidence and analysis, and works to protect the rights of women and girls in the UK.

irishwomenslobby.ie/speak-up-for-womens-rights/

Irish Women'S Rights group.

www.blackmothersmatter.org/

We have a vision that one day black mothers are no longer disproportionately in danger during pregnancy and the first year after birth.

Sahiyo

Quote from their site.

Sahiyo is dedicated to empowering Asian communities to end female genital cutting (FGC) and create positive social change. By working towards an FGC-free world, we aim to recognize and emphasize the values of consent and a child’s/woman’s right over her own body. We aim to enable a culture in which female sexuality is not feared or suppressed but embraced as normal.

Great thread.

Testimony Tailors is a sewing co-operative run by Rohingya women who survived rape and massacres. They are now rebuilding their lives and families in refugee camps.

Every item of clothing someone purchases from their online shop is given to a Rohingya refugee. All profits go directly to the Rohingya refugee women who make the clothes, with a small share allocated to their own sewing co-operative.

testimonytailors.com/

I'm adding Sex Matters so that it's saved here after the current attention dies down. A worthy cause:

Sex matters in law and in life. It shouldn’t take courage to say so.

"Sex Matters is a UK based not-for-profit organisation. We campaign, advocate and produce resources to promote clarity about sex in public policy, law and culture. We have a singular mission: to reestablish that sex matters in rules, laws, policies, language and culture."

sex-matters.org/

Brilliant thread - thank you, everyone.

www.wluml.org/wluml-campaign-history/

International solidarity network led by Muslim women.

www.onewomanatatime.co.uk/

Charity set up by a UK midwife to help women in Kenya escaping FGM.