Women's Newsletter - February 2005
To join our e-network and receive women's campaign email updates, please fill in the form at the start of the Women's Officer Handbook 2004/2005 and post it to Minda Burgos-Lukes, NUS, 461 Holloway Rd, London, n7 6LZ or email minda.burgos-lukes@nus.org.uk
February 2005
Contents of this newsletter
- International Women's Day 2005 - March 8th
- NUS Women's Conference 2005 - March 14th-16th, Britannia Hotel, Coventry
- Gender survey of students' unions 2005
- Solidarity with Iraqi Women Speaker Tour - Organised by No Sweat and NUS Women's Campaign
- Pro-choice Information Sheets online
- LGBT Equality Lobby - March 17th
- NUS Lobby for Education - Wednesday March 2nd 2005
-
News from external organisations:
(a) YWCA's RESPECT young mums campaign - UPDATE
(b) EOC's pregnant and productive campaign
(c) Feminism in the Arts in Contemporary Britain Conference at York St John College - 2nd July 2005
(d) Women's Vigil against violence against women in peacetime and in war - London International Women's Day, March 8th 2005
1. International Women's Day - 8th March 2005
This is a special day for reflecting on the history of feminism, promoting women's rights and celebrating women's contribution to society.
There is more information about the history and aims of the day at www.nusonline.co.uk/women under the 'Forthcoming events' heading. There are ideas for student officers/activists on how to mark the day at www.officeronline.co.uk/women.
NUS Women's Campaign is very interested in hearing about what you are planning for this day, and (with your permission) we will put your plans on our website for students (nusonline). This is a good way of advertising your events to your local students, and of sharing campaigning and event ideas with others in the student movement. Please email your plans to this address and please state whether you are happy for them to go online: women@nus.org.uk.
2. NUS Women's Conference 2005 - March 14th-16th, Britannia Hotel, Coventry
NUS Women's Conference is taking place on 14th - 16th March in the Britannia Hotel in Coventry. If you have not yet registered the delegates and observers going from your union, you need to do so as soon as possible. Each union president was sent a conference mailing and there is information online at www.officeronline.co.uk/women.
If your conference documents have been mislaid, you will need to fax the NUS events team on college headed paper explaining this and they will be re-issued to you - the fax number for our events team is 020 72728199
Each CM (i.e. university or college that is a constituent member of NUS) is entitled to one delegate with full voting and speaking rights, free of charge. In addition, each CM may send up to a maximum of 3 observers for whom a fee of £220 will be charged. All delegates and observers MUST be women. Delegates must be elected by women only. Delegates from CMs in the Higher Education Sector shall normally elect their delegates by means of a women only cross campus ballot. Please note that a £50 late registration fee now applies.
3. Gender Survey of Students' Unions 2005
NUS Women’s Unit is carrying out research around the number of women in sabbatical (full-time) and non-sabbatical (part-time) elected positions in students’ unions and whether there are any particular officer positions that tend to be held by women. This research will help us evaluate our current materials for SUs in their usefulness to encourage more women to get involved and to encourage a better gender spread. It will also inform NUS Women’s Campaign work for the future and the work of unions (through dissemination of our findings in June 2005).
A survey has been sent to your union president and will be on www.officeronline.co.uk/women. All returned completed forms will be entered in a prize draw to win £100 to help develop or establish a Liberation Campaign in your students’ union! (Only one entry per students’ union can be entered in the draw.) So please encourage your union president to fill in the form and return it to us by Thursday 31st March 2005.
4. Solidarity with Iraqi Women Speaker Tour - Organised by No Sweat and NUS Women's Campaign
No Sweat and NUS Women’s Campaign are organising a series of meetings with Iraqi socialist feminist Houzan Mahmoud to build solidarity with the new women’s, trade union and unemployed movements in Iraq and their struggles for secularism, democracy and equality. Meetings will take place at the following colleges around International Women's Day:
Cambridge University - 7pm, Monday 7th March / Latimer Room, Clare College
call Jo on 01223 356 454
Sussex University - 1pm, Tuesday 8th March / Sussex University Falmer campus
call Clare on 07779 251 478
School of Oriental and African Studies, London - 7.30pm, 8th March / Khalil Lecture Theatre
call Jodi on 07863 346 179
Sheffield University - 12pm, Wednesday 9th March
call Louise on 07746 759 773
Leeds University - 6pm, 9th March / Postgraduate Lounge, Leeds University
Union
call Sam on 0113 380 1242
Oxford benefit gig - 9pm, Thursday 10th March / the Jericho, Walton Street /
£3.50
call Kate on 07950 216 692
Durham University - 1.15pm, Friday 11th March / Leech Hall, St John’s
College
call Durham Uni People & Planet on 07989 562 541
Download the eflyer for more information, or go to www.nusonline.co.uk/women.
5. Pro-choice Information Sheets online
Information sheets have been produced for student officers as part of our Pro-choice and Proud of it! priority campaign for 2004/5, and they were launched at our event 'Who makes the decisions when it comes to your body?' hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-choice and Sexual Health Group in Parliament on 2nd February 2005. These sheets are now available to download from www.officeronline.co.uk/women and will also be mailed out to unions in March. They are on the following topics:
•
Pro-choice and Proud of it! - An overview of the campaign
•
Abortion Rights - an overview
•
Childcare - an overview
•
Sexual Health - an overview
6. LGBT Equality Lobby - March 17th 2005
As part of the Legal Equality Campaign, the NUS LGB Campaign will be holding a lobby in Parliament over the issue of discrimination in goods and services. Currently LGBT people receive no legal protection in this area, and therefore are vulnerable to being refused service in shops, banks, hotels, insurance etc. because of their sexuality. We are asking LGBT students to come to a meeting hosted by Barbara Roche MP, and to meet with their MP to lobby them over this issue. For more information, or to book on to the event, please email lgb@nus.org.uk.
7. NUS Lobby for Education - Wednesday March 2nd 2005
NUS are holding a lobby of Parliament on Wednesday 2nd March, when students from across the UK will come to Westminster to tell their MPs what issues really affect them. The lobby will bring together students from Further and Higher education to ensure even greater pressure is placed on the government to listen to the student voice.
With a general election imminent, this is a key time to move student policy goals to the top of the political agenda; to ensure the present government, political parties and MPs respond to the needs of Higher & Further Education students for the benefit of students today and tomorrow. This may be your last chance to speak to members of parliament face to face before the election and will provide a fantastic opportunity to get issues relevant to students directly to those in power. There will be an FE specific meeting from 11-1 and an HE specific meeting 1-3, both in committee room 11. If you are able to book an appointment with your local MP beforehand, you can use this time to see them. Do not worry if you don’t have a pre-booked appointment as you can green card your MP when you arrive, asking to see him or her there and then.
This lobby presents a real and exciting opportunity to meet with those who can change the policies you care about. They are your representatives, make them listen.
For more information, please visit our website at www.nusonline.co.uk or contact Natalie Brook on natalie.brook@nus.org.uk, 0207 561 6501
8. News from External Organisations
Please note that whilst NUS Women's Campaign has been careful to check the suitability of these organisations as contact points for student officers, it cannot be held responsible for the work or advice of any external organisation. Any events mentioned in this section of the newsletter are not NUS events, so you should contact the organiser directly for further information.
(a) YWCA's RESPECT young mums campaign - UPDATE
The following message comes from YWCA:
Dear friend
Thank you for signing YWCA’s RESPECT young mums charter calling for young mums to be treated equally and with RESPECT. Please read this update and find out how you can help us spread our campaign message further in 2005.
The story so far
Our campaign has made the news and young mums from our projects have appeared in newspapers, magazines and on the radio, to talk about the difficulties and stigma they face. We have received support from organisations who work with young parents such as Maternity Alliance, National Union of Students, Brook and many more. And we have spoken to MPs and ministers about the campaign and held meetings at the party political conferences in the autumn. Speakers at our meetings included Margaret Hodge, Minister for Children and Young People and Eleanor Laing, Shadow Minister for Women.
Still lots to do
We have made a huge impact but we still have lots to do. Young mums we work with tell us about the injustices they face. They receive less money than older mums, leaving most living in poverty both during their pregnancy and after their baby is born. And our survey shows that the level of education offered to young women when they are pregnant is patchy and poor in some areas of the country.
Take action!
You have already pledged your support for young mums by signing the charter, but we need as many people as possible to sign to make a real impact. Please forward this email to friends, family and colleagues and tell them about how unfairly young mums are treated. Ask them to sign the charter, too.
http://www.ywca.org.uk/youngmums/signthecharter
Tell your MP
Send an email to your MP to tell them about the injustices that young mums and pregnant young women face. Click here now: http://www.ywca.org.uk/youngmums/politicians. Please let us know your MP's response, email us with their reply at campaigns@ywca.org.uk
True stories
We have been inundated with emails from young mums, who contacted us to tell us their stories. Read their moving stories here: http://www.ywca.org.uk/youngmums/sendyourstory
Distribute our materials
We want our campaign messages spread as widely as possible. If you can display or distribute leaflets and posters to friends, colleagues and around local services in your area, please email us campaigns@ywca.org.uk and we’ll send you some materials.
Donate
If you would like to donate to YWCA and help us continue our work with young mums, go to http://www.ywca.org.uk/donate
Still to come…
Watch out for our activities with young mums on Mother's Day on 6th March…..we will keep you informed
From everybody at YWCA and the thousands of young mums across the country, THANK YOU for your support.
(b) EOC's pregnant and productive campaign
Find out more information about the Equal Opportunity Commission's pregnant and productive campaign at http://www.eoc.org.uk/pregnancy/
(c) Feminism in the Arts in Contemporary Britain: Conference
York St. John College,
Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX, UK
Saturday 2 July 2005.
Feminism in Britain has permeated every art form, from drama, dance and music to the so-called 'low-brow' culture: popular culture. It is seen as a transgressive force and has influenced culture immeasurably since the second wave of 60s feminism. Are women equal in the fields of art? Do they still have to struggle for recognition within the matrix of the various institutions? Who wields the power in British drama for example? How different is it in the fields of music, classical or popular? Is popular music more egalitarian? Is it better to be a woman as a dancer? Are the institutions of British culture that create performance art now more amenable to women than before? If yes, is there still a struggle going on for power between the sexes? Secondly, how has the force-field of feminism influenced art forms and styles? Is music different today than it was before the feminist era? What about dance or drama? Does the notion of the 'feminine' permeate art formalistically or stylistically? Is this new, or is it different, post-feminism?
Please contact Lisa Wellington on 01904 716433 or by emailing l.wellington@yorksj.ac.uk for further information or directions. Registration information will follow in 2005.
Feminism in the Arts: Conference at York St John College, 2 July 2005
11.00 - 11.40 Dr. Susan Jones, Dean of St Hilda’s College, Oxford (UK)
From Dance to Text: gender, representation and the literary appropriation of ‘the African woman’ in nineteenth-century British writing.
11.40 - 12.10 Dr. Alexandra Kokoli, University of Sussex (UK)
Sex, Drugs and Confessional Art: Tracey Emin and the Sexual Politics of Contemporary Art Criticism
12.10 - 12.40 Dr. Kristyn Gorton, Leeds Metropolitan (UK)
A Passionate Woman: Kay Mellor and Feminist Television Criticism
12.40 -- 1.30 LUNCH
1.30 - 2.00 Dr. Carina Bartleet, University of Reading (UK)
Two Cultures/ Two Genders? Feminist Responses to Science in the Theatre as (Re)Creation
2.00 - 2.30 Patricia Tabarés Pérez,University of Valladolid (Spain)
Feminism through Generations: Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘A Clear Note’
2.30 - 3.00 Abigail Gardner, University of Gloucestershire (UK)
PJ Harvey: Can a Diva ever be disruptive?
3.00 - 3.30 Monika Pietrzak, Johannes Gutenberg University (Mainz)
The Influence of Feminism on the conceptualization and stylization of the male body in the visual arts
(d) Women's vigil against violence against women in peacetime and in war - London
International Women's Day, March 8th 2005
The London Feminist Network is supporting and attending this event co-organised by Women In Black (London), CodePink and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
Attend this powerful vigil around the Edith Cavell statue on St Martin's Place, central London, opposite entrance to the National Portrait Gallery.
6 - 7pm , Tuesday, March 8th 2005
This will be a vigil calling for an end to all forms of male violence against women, from rape, assault and battery in the home and on the streets to war, war crimes and the women displaced and killed by wars and environmental destruction around the world.
Pick a placard of your choice from many being made by industrious women at WIB, or bring your own! (all placards are A1, no huge banners or cloth banners please, the Edith Cavell statue is not that big!)
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