Gender

Tom Griffin (London, OK): Over at openDemocracy's 50/50 blog, Rosemary Bechler offers an extended meditation on the Russell Brand controversy and its implications for contemporary Britain.

Some would see the episode mainly in terms of the tribulations of a universal broadcaster in an age of fragmented audience expectations. Bechler concludes that explanation is not good enough:

No - the elephant in the room I would like to suggest, remains the sheer number of programmes, whole programming genres, and comedic, cookery and broadcasting careers which now have humiliation, harassment and bullying as their sole, or at least underlying objective. From Weakest Link to The Apprentice to Big Brother to all those X factors - the list is far longer than this - what other promise lurks in the bowels of British ‘entertainment’ so tantalisingly as our collective celebration of our ability to hurt each other? If OFCOM and the BBC Trust were genuinely to ask who is responsible for this, they would have to widen their brief to include the whole of ‘reality tv’ for starters – that marvellous phrase which seals itself with the hegemonic imprimatur. And would the true villain of the piece really turn out to be - the younger generation?

There may be some truth to the accusation that the brutalisation of doing business in everyday life in Britain in the last thirty years has filtered down to infect our children. (If so, it is the only area where trickledown has worked.)

Catherine Stephens (International Union of Sex Workers): Yesterday the Home Office announced new proposals intended to “protect the thousands of vulnerable women coerced, exploited or trafficked into prostitution in our country, and to bring those who take advantage of them to justice”. It’s a great story, with drama, heroism, anguish and a big white horse for Jacqui Smith to ride as she swoops in to rescue tearful hookers from foreign countries.

Unfortunately, it’s pretty much fact-free and bears no relationship to the reality of the sex industry: it will in actuality increase the vulnerability of all women who sell sex, even privileged, educated, white, British passport holding women like me. How come?

Esha Momeni, an Iranian-American 28-year old graduate student studying arts and media at California State University, Northridge, was arrested on Wednesday October 15th in Tehran, Iran. Esha is a member and volunteer of the One Million Signatures Campaign --a grassroots movement that has emerged inside Iran demanding gender equality. She had flown out to Iran from Los Angeles in July to visit family and friends. While there she was also working on a film about the One Million Signatures Campaign to submit as her final graduating project at CSUN.

Esha now sits in Iran's notorious Evin prison after being pulled over by police on the pretext of having made an illegal turn at an intersection. Authorities subsequently entered her parents' house and removed items such as books, camera footage, and computers. The authorities thus far have not mentioned to her parents or her lawyer what the charges are, if any.

Members of the Campaign in both Iran and California are working tirelessly to spread the word about Esha's arrest, which comes as a surprise considering the fact that all she was doing was filming campaign members and those interested in gender related issues. It should be stressed that all her activities were in accordance with the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

I am also a member and volunteer in the campaign and would like to write a few words about my friendship and experiences with Esha Momeni. I will not give a melodramatic soliloquy on the matter, nor do I feel the need to interject with a character defence. What is obvious is that as a woman, a friend, a confidante, and a mentor Esha Momeni stood up for me, and all the other women and men in or outside of Iran that have raised their voices for change. But as we gaze from wherever our "outside" may be, Esha is still standing for us, even if it is in the 209th ward of Iran's Evin prison.

For some time now, the New York Times has been running a series of articles entitled "Generation Faithful" which examine the changing dynamics of youth culture in the Middle East.

With economic stagnation on the rise and with few credible political identities to which to turn, the articles conclude that many Middle Eastern youths are drawn to Islam as a means of coping with their individual and collective frustrations.

One article in particular highlights the Islamicization of young Egyptians, who are often forced by economic constraints to postpone marriage. In a society where marriage represents "the gateway to independence, sexual activity and societal respect", these kinds of delays are often unbearable for young men and women who are thirsting for autonomy, personhood - and each other. Enter religion.

Like Egypt, marriage is an exceedingly important marker of prestige and social stature in Iran. Yet as Iranian youth undergo the same economic and social frustrations as their Egyptian counterparts, they seem to be becoming less rather than more pious.

Undoubtedly, Iran's Islamic tradition and spirituality has deep roots. Ironically however, it appears to have been in the post-revolutionary era that young Iranians have begun to question the deeply entrenched institution of marriage and embrace new conceptualizations of sexuality and gender relations.

This may partly due to necessity. As in Egypt, the troubled Iranian economy cannot provide enough work for its young people, who represent around two thirds of Iran's total population. The age of marriage in contemporary Iran has soared from the pre-revolutionary era, when 18 was the average age of marriage for women; it is now 27. In one survey, 97 percent of Iranian youth stated economic constraints as their primary reason for postponing marriage.

But challenging traditional norms with regards to sex and gender may also be a means of venting political frustration. Since they are expected to follow a strict code of Islamic conduct in public places, Iranian youth seem increasingly determined to express defiance through their individual, private lives - including sexual activity.

Of course, there is no reliable data to confirm that sexual activity is on the rise (few would dare ask and even fewer would dare answer). But many observers agree that the shift in attitude towards sex and gender is palpable. Moreover, it does not seem to have escaped attention of the Iranian government. Last year, the Iranian government started actively promoting temporary marriage, or sigheh, as a way to solve Iran's "social problems".

Temporary marriage is a Shi'a custom endorsed in the Quran under Surah 4:24 and intended for sexual enjoyment (rather than pro-creation, like permanent marriage). The practiced died out in the Sunni community when it was outlawed by the Second Calif Umar in the 7^th century, but the ruling was considered illegitimate by Shi'a Muslims. Thus, the practice has continued, though it has traditionally been looked down upon by members of the Iranian middle and upper classes.

When a man and a woman enter into a temporary marriage contract, they specify the length of the relationship - which may range from one minute to ninety nine years - and the amount of financial compensation the woman receives. When the contract expires, the marriage automatically dissolves without divorce process. Children born of a temporary marriage are legally legitimate.

For the Islamic Republic, promoting temporary marriage is likely an effort to re-assert control over changing Iranian values. But will the policy stem the tide of change, or merely accelerate it?

Strong cultural taboos continue to militate against the use of temporary marriage, and some Iranian feminists condemn it for being little more than "thinly disguised prostitution". Even some religious scholars question the policy, which they believe will allow wealthy men to take advantage of economically disadvantaged girls.

But some women such as Shahla Sherkat, a prominent Iranian feminist, believe that temporary marriage could be a useful institution. Sherkat believes that as a result of temporary marriage "sexual relations will become freer, youth can satisfy sexual needs, sex will become depoliticized, our society's obsession with virginity will disappear."

If Sherkat is correct, temporary marriage will indeed be an interesting variable in the rapidly changing youth culture in Iran - especially for women. Indeed, it may allow youth with a legal way to bring their private lives in to the open, in a more direct affront to the Islamic Republic's rigid control of the public sphere.

Tom Griffin (London, OK): Over at Liberal Conspiracy Laurie Penny highlights moves by abortion rights campaigners to extend the law to Northern Ireland.

Diane Abbott has tabled an amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, due for its third reading on the 22nd of October, calling for an extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. This is precisely the same amendment that Emily Thornberry MP was forced to withdraw back in May, when Gordon Brown assured her that the move would be seen as a slap in the face by the nine DUP members who swung the 42 days vote in the Prime Minister’s favour.

The issue has sparked a vigorous debate on Slugger, where veteran Westminster-watcher Brian Walker offers his assessment:

This effort will almost certainly fail and may not even reach the floor of the House of Commons. Much depends on Harriet Harman who is minister for women as well as the organiser of Commons business.  It made waves at Westminster in July by exposing divisions at the very top of government over priorities- which was more important, the rights of women ( Harriet Harman), or the stability of the NI Executive (Gordon Brown)? 

Patrick Corrigan, (Amnesty Blogs: Belfast and Beyond): The number of rapes being reported in Northern Ireland has increased by 50% in the past six years, according to official figures. More than 450 rapes or attempted rapes were reported last year – more than one every day.

Tom Griffin (London, The Green Ribbon): A cross-party group of MPs yesterday tabled an amendment to the Embryology Bill that would extend Britain's post-1967 abortion law to Northern Ireland.

This could be an interesting can of worms for the Prime Minister as the Sunday Telegraph noted at the weekend:

The issue is doubly politically sensitive for Mr Brown because it threatens to reopen the row about how Labour secured the support of nine Democratic Unionist party MPs – crucial to the Government's success in winning last month's Commons vote on extending the period terrorist suspects can be held without charge to 42 days. The Prime Minister has denied any "deal" was done with the DUP. However, Shaun Woodward, the Northern Ireland Secretary, reassured the DUP at the time that the Government had no plans to extend abortion laws to the province. 

Damian O'Loan (Paris): What kind of company was Labour keeping when it relied on DUP votes to get 42 day detention through the Commons? The answer is becoming clearer by the day.

Iris Robinson MP, MLA, wife of Northern Ireland First Minister Peter, has made three horrendous statements on public morality. The latest to be reported: “There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children.”

Beth Forrester (Unlock Democracy): “Smart, successful, single young woman seeks intelligent, attractive and culturally relevant website to combine her interests in fashion, music, celebrity and most of all politics and current affairs. “

In the UK this has been a familiar plea for far too long. While our counterparts in the USA have long been actively reading, browsing and debating on Women on the Web, female focused British portals have remained rare. This is not to dispute their quality or popularity, with The F-Word, Feminist Fightback and Female First all very popular but relatively narrow in appeal.

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): There is an important, almost audacious article by Jackie Ashley in today's Guardian on the collapse of the presence of influential women in British politics today. I agree with her. There was an encouraging moment when women made a wide-ranging dent in British politics after 1979. It has gone. Ashley does not discuss what I think is a big contributor, at the heart of New Labour there was active hostility to women as equal leaders. Strong and able female support and judgement was encouraged - but not leadership. Gays yes, women no. That flash of hatred shown by Jonathan Powell to Helena Kennedy I blogged a while back had a gender aspect to it.

Beatrice Barleon (London, Women and the Vote): 2008 marks the 90^th anniversary of women winning the right to vote and to be elected to the House of Commons, as well as the 80^th anniversary of women gaining equal voting rights to men. This clearly calls for a celebration!

But what exactly is it we are celebrating? Are we celebrating the fact that the UK ranks 60^th in the world in terms of female representation? Or that we still have parties that show less than 10 percent of women among their elected representatives? No, wait; maybe we should rejoice at the fact that out of 4654 Members of Parliament since 1918 only 291 have been women?

Jon Bright (London, OK): openDemocracy's 16 days project drew to a close yesterday. Zohra Moosa summarises the incredible range and diversity of contributions - from political statements to personal stories of survival - here. She concludes:

Ultimately, the issue of violence against women is about the abuse of power. Not just at an interpersonal level between perpetrator(s) and victims and survivors, but also at the level of politics and democracy as Helen O'Connell outlines in her contribution. The failure of the state to protect its citizens from murder, mutilation and assault is, in the most literal sense, an abuse of power. It's the deliberate mishandling of power that systematically denies women's needs and entrenches gender inequality. I say deliberate because I know that, in the UK at least, the Government is not unaware of the issues or the solutions thanks to the annual Making the Grade report.