Why Equality and Respect Required Everywhere

Upworthy wrote, "In a widely-read study, Harvard Business School students were given a case assignment on Heidi, a real-life successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. But there was a catch. Half of the class randomly received their case with one teensy tiny change made: The name "Heidi" was changed to "Howard." Afterward, the students were surveyed, and though Heidi and Howard were found equally competent (as they should have been because they are the same person), the students found Howard much more likeable. The following ad pretty much sums up why."

I would also say that men also gain such labels like effiminate, girly, not a man's man, etc, etc... and if they gain such labels in workplace or anywhere, then their lives are also pretty much ruined like a woman's life can be. That's why equality and respect so much required in everywhere, in every aspect...

Rosie-The-Riveter

This is Not A Joke

Bees Can Detect Cancer In Minute

It should have gone to my gardening blog. But, I am putting it here since it was designed by a woman -- Portugese Designer Susanna Sorres. Bees can apparently be trained to detect cancer and many other diseases. Details can be found HERE. Or it can be read below (copied from the oddly-even website):

ortuguese designer Susana Soares has developed a device for detecting cancer and other serious diseases using trained bees. The bees are placed in a glass chamber into which the patient exhales; the bees fly into a smaller secondary chamber if they detect cancer. Scientists have found that honey bees – Apis mellifera – have an extraordinary sense of smell that is more acute than that of a sniffer dog and can detect airborne molecules in the parts-per-trillion range. Bees can be trained to detect specific chemical odours, including the biomarkers associated with diseases such as tuberculosis, lung, skin and pancreatic cancer.

Beautiful Message

I have to post this here on this blog as I support equality and freedom and justice for all. Being a woman, I know the meaning of inequality and injustices and harassment.

Sexual Assault To Children in India -- 93 School Girl Sexually Assaulted

Faced all these a lot while growing up in India. Seems like the country has not yet changed :-(...when will it wake up? Read the details HERE.

Women Pass Marine Training, Clear First Hurdle To Combat Role

The details can be found HERE. If the link does not work, then here is the actual link: http://www.npr.org/2013/11/21/246543314/women-pass-marine-training-clear-first-hurdle-to-combat-role

Support GoldieBox

I have not been to any toy store for a long time, but whenever I was there, the boys section had lots and lots of interesting toys. The girls section always had those stick-figure Barbie in various forms and sizes and there was only one color theme -- PINK!!! Really? So girls as soon as they are born, they just know that they like Pink color and sickly-thin Barbies? Or does the society just brainwash them that they are no good for anything interesting; all they should do is like Pink and carry around one such Barbie doll?

GoldieBox is trying to change that by introducing various other forms of toys for girls. I support and salute them. I will be supporting them by buying their toys, even if I don't need it and buying their stocks if it becomes available.

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RoboGirl -- Marita Cheng

All the news and the picture are taken from http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/what-marita-cheng-did-next-20130919-hv1s4.html.

You're a brilliant young computer science student who was awarded Young Australian of the Year in 2012 after you founded an international organisation to get girls interested in high tech careers. You've got a swag of scholarships and fellowships under your belt and you're in demand as a guest speaker in Australia and overseas.

You're about to graduate from the University of Melbourne with a double degree in mechatronics and computer science after seven years on the books.

Do you: a) take one of the hundreds of job offers that have come your way in the past two years; b) leapfrog into a career in academia, courtesy of your high profile; or c) start a company that makes bionic arms for people with disabilities?

Option C, says 24-year-old Robogals founder Marita Cheng, who's preparing to throw herself full-time into 2Mar Robotics, the start-up she launched in April, when she graduates at the end of the year.

Her vision is to produce a bionic arm which can be used as daily living aid for people with limited hand movement, due to spinal injuries and disabilities such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease. The arm can be mounted in multiple places around the home, including the kitchen and bathroom, and is controlled by iPhone.

I really wanted to make a robot that was useful to people and changed people's lives and this was a way I could do it," Cheng says.

The idea drew enthusiastic feedback from the Spinal Injuries Association when first mooted, Cheng says: "People thought it was a dream come true."

There are 20,000 people with spinal injuries in Australia and around three million worldwide. As well as offering people more independence, investing in robotic devices makes sound economic sense, Cheng says.

Her arm may reduce the amount of human assistance some people need to perform basic tasks and save thousands in carer costs, she says.

Cheng's first group of users will begin testing a prototype in their homes next month and she hopes to have the arm available commercially by April next year.

Pricing is yet to be determined but Cheng hopes to collaborate with not-for-profits which can provide grant funding to suitable recipients.

"I feel really lucky, I know what I'm doing next year...I'm looking forward to it, I can spend more time on this," Cheng says.

Striking out on her own, rather than fast tracking into an international firm, seems a logical progression for someone who cites Steve Jobs as an inspiration.

"I got so many job offers last year, it was a real dream but I always knew I wanted to start a company," Cheng says.

"I have energy and I like to put that energy into something...I like having a vision and making it happen in real life."

Jamie Evans is the academic whose suggestion Cheng do something to encourage young girls into engineering led her to found Robogals in 2008. The organisation, which sends students into schools to teach girls robotics, has 17 chapters in four countries and has run workshops for 11,000 girls.

Now the head of electrical and computer systems engineering at Monash University, Evans says Cheng's segue into the start-up world is no surprise.

"She is a quintessential entrepreneur – someone who is not interested in finding reasons that things can't be done but rather believing that something is important and making it happen, regardless of the limited resources at her disposal," Evans says.

"She likes to set her own agenda and, given the amazing things she has already achieved, I could not imagine her taking a graduate job in a big company. I see her as a serial entrepreneur moving from one venture to another over the years."

Women Among the Biggest Losers In Arab Spring

Well, that's not a surprising news. Women, children, older people, poor people, homeless -- they are always the loser in any spring, war, genocide, natural disaster. The details can be read HERE or as follows (in case the link does not work).

Egypt ranked lowest in a new poll of women's rights in the Arab world, seeing a significant spike in sexual harassment rates. The study found the recent political changes in the region had failed to improve the status of women. Over the past decade, the Arab world has witnessed the ouster of dictators and the introduction of some form of democracy in many countries, but it has not improved the status of women in the region. In fact, women have been some of the biggest losers in nascent Arab democracies, according to a poll published Tuesday. A survey of 22 Arab states by the Thomson Reuters Foundation found three of the five Arab Spring countries – Egypt, Syria and Yemen – at the bottom rung of the women’s rights listing. Egypt ranked lowest in the listing, with the highest rates of violence against women – including sexual harassment and female genital mutilation (FGM). Two years after Egyptian women joined their male counterparts on Cairo’s Tahrir Square and in other cities to demand the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, women have borne the brunt of discriminatory laws and endured a spike in sexual assault, the study found. In Iraq, women’s freedoms have regressed since the 2003 US-led invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the poll showed. Iraq ranked second-worst after Egypt, followed by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen. Comoros – an archipelago in the Indian Ocean – ranked first in the poll listing. Women hold 20 percent of ministerial positions in Comoros, a former French colony. Contraception is also widely accepted and supported by state-run education campaigns, while property is usually awarded to women after divorce or separation, experts said. The poll by Thomson Reuters' philanthropic arm surveyed 336 gender experts in August and September in 21 Arab League states and Syria, which was a founding member of the Arab League but was suspended in 2011. Questions were based on provisions of the UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which 19 Arab states have signed or ratified. Egypt scores poorly in almost all gender markers Egypt scored badly in almost all categories, with 99.3 percent women and girls experiencing sexual harassment. Furthermore, an alarming 91 percent of Egypt’s female population is subjected to female genital mutilation, according to UNICEF. Respondents of the Thomson Reuters Foundation poll also cited high rates of forced marriage and trafficking in Egypt. “There are whole villages on the outskirts of Cairo and elsewhere where the bulk of economic activity is based on trafficking in women and forced marriages,” Zahra Radwan, Middle East and North Africa programme officer for the US-based Global Fund for Women, told Reuters. Since the 2011 uprising, there has been a marked increase in sexual harassment in public places in the world’s most populous Arab nation. "The social acceptability of everyday sexual harassment affects every woman in Egypt regardless of age, professional or socio-economic background, marriage status, dress or behavior,” Noora Flinkman from HarassMap, a Cairo-based anti-harassment rights group, told Reuters. “It limits women’s participation in public life. It affects their safety and security, their sense of worth, self-confidence and health.” Affluence has largely not benefitted Saudi women While poverty and poor education levels have disproportionately affected women in Egypt, affluence without legal reforms has not necessarily improved their lot in some of the wealthier Arab nations. Saudis put the brakes on women driving protest SAUDI ARABIA SAUDIS PUT THE BRAKES ON WOMEN DRIVING PROTEST Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, ranked third-worst, according to the poll. A conservative Gulf kingdom where Wahhabism – an austere form of Islam that insists on a literal interpretation of the Koran – is the official faith, Saudi Arabia has been described as “the world’s largest women’s prison,” in a leaked US diplomatic cable. In recent weeks, Saudi women shot into the international headlines when they attempted to protest a ban on women’s driving. While change is slow to come in Wahhabi kingdom, experts noted some advances due to cautious reforms pushed by King Abdullah. Saudi women today have more employment opportunities and a greater public voice with 30 women appointed to the 150-member Shura Council, the nearest thing Saudi Arabia has to a parliament. But the council has no legislative or budgetary powers in the kingdom. The state’s official guardianship system continues to trap Saudi females with women banned from working, traveling abroad, or opening a bank account without permission from a male relative. War brings rape, torture and misery for Syrian women The effects of the Arab uprising on women were the starkest in Syria, where a brutal civil war has left more than 100,000 people dead and millions displaced, according to UN figures. Rights groups say forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have targeted women with rape and torture, while hardline Islamists have stripped them of rights in rebel-held territory. “The Syrian woman is a weapon of war, subjected to abductions and rape by the regime and other groups,” a Syrian women’s rights campaigner told Reuters. In Libya, ranked 14th for women's rights, experts voiced concern over the spread of armed militias and a rise in kidnapping, extortion, random arrests and physical abuse of women. They said the 2011 uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi had failed to enshrine women's rights in law. The unfinished revolution of Tunisia's women TUNISIA THE UNFINISHED REVOLUTION OF TUNISIA'S WOMEN Even in Tunisia – the birthplace of the 2011 uprisings and a country that has led the way in Arab women’s rights for decades – polygamy is spreading and inheritance laws are biased towards men. Nevertheless the former French colony ranked best among Arab Spring nations, with women holding 27 percent of seats in national parliament. Almost three years after popular uprisings toppled dictators in one of the most conservative corners of the world, entrenched patriarchal structures continue to hamper Arab women. In some cases, the declining security situation and rise of Islamist parties have seen rollbacks in women’s rights. But while the situation is dire, some activists saw reasons for optimism, noting that the revolts have increased an awareness of their rights among poor and marginalised women. "We used to suffer from the fact that talk of women's rights came across as talk ... limited to the creme-de-la-creme ladies of society," Nihad Abul Komsan, head of the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights told Reuters. "But the big challenge women faced led to women's issues being discussed on the street by ordinary women and illiterate women."

I AM MALALA

Very nice video and song by a group of girls supporting girls' education.

Tippi -- My Book of Africa

This is such a beautiful book and a beautiful girl. If I ever have a daughter, this is one way I am going to bring her up. I am so sick and tired of hearing from everyone around the world -- be it Asian, African, European, American, Australian -- that they will not like to have daughters. Daughters get spoiled easily, do not show interest in anything other than make-up, throw tantrums, scared of everything, are not into adventure, sports, games, talk too much, giggle too much, shriek out loudly too much; boys are fun and girls are boring; in one words, daughters, as soon as they are born, develop all the bad qualities (nope! one cannot blame parents for bringing up daughters in that way; it's all her fault; she is just born that way -- devil incarnate) whereas boys do not. Huh! this article shows that everything depends upon parenting -- how a girl or a boy going to behave absolutely depends upon her/his parents. Of course, I am pretty sure that there will be many out there, who after reading all these, will comment that this girl was an exception; most girls will be not like this!

This little girl just exhibit all the opposite characteristics -- she is enjoying nature, animals, running, playing with the locals, mimicking hunting and having just the best time of her life and all the fun.

The details are here.



Heart-warming pictures of the real life Mowgli, a girl who spent the first ten years of her life growing up in the African bush, have been released for the first time. The magical images chronicle the life of Tippi Benjamine Okanti Degre, who was brought up with wild animals, just like Rudyard Kipling's hero did in The Jungle Book. The images in 'Tippi: My Book of Africa' - now being published worldwide for the first time - show the young girl making friends with an elephant, who she calls her brother, and a leopard, her best friend. Living with her French parents, wildlife photographers Sylvie Robert and Alain Degre, the three of them travelled extensively through Africa on a unique and incredible trip. The adventure started where Tippi was born in Namibia, and ended in her travelling through countries like Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. 'Her everyday life was making sure monkeys did not steal her bottle,' said Sylvie. 'Or she would call me over and point to an elephant eating from a palm tree and say 'mummy, be quiet, we're going to frighten him.' 'She had so much freedom. It was like having the biggest playground. We lived in a tent, completely in the wild, but she always woke up with the sun shining and her parents around her. She was very lucky.' And the incredible photos - from sitting on the back of an ostrich, lying peacefully with a young caracal, or dancing playfully with an elephant - show an unusual bond and tranquility between man and beast. 'She was so at ease with animals. She would talk to them with her eyes and her heart,' said Sylvie. Using her innocence and imagination, the young 'Mowgli' befriended one of the giants of the animal kingdom, Abu the African elephant. 'She had no fear,' said Sylvie..........................

The story continues in the above link.

Women Cannot Be or Shouldn't Be Pilots

Huh! Well, that's not my belief, but that's what most people believed in a survey conducted by sunshine.co.uk. 51% claimed that they would not trust a female pilot. The whole story can be read here or below. The scariest outcome of this survey is that it seems many women also believe that women pilot cannot be trusted as 1, 172 women were also surveyed!!

Male prejudice against women drivers appears to extend into plane cockpits as well, according to a survey. And in another blow for equality, the poll showed women were even more wary of female pilots than men. Overall, 51% of people admitted they were less likely to trust a woman pilot than a male one, the survey by travel agent sunshine.co.uk revealed. In addition, 26% said the sex of the pilot did not matter, while 14% said they were less likely to trust a male pilot. Of those less than keen to have a woman at the controls, 32% felt 'male pilots were more skilled', while 28% reckoned female pilots would be no good under pressure. A total of 10% said they would be less likely to trust a female pilot as their previous cockpit crews had been all-male and they did not know what to expect. Of those not happy with a man flying the plane, 44% said they believed male pilots would be 'too hot-headed in a crisis' while 23% thought male pilots might be 'too easily distracted'. Sunshine.co.uk managing director Chris Clarkson said: 'To see that more than half would be less likely to trust a female pilot was absolutely astounding. 'Clearly, many Britons have stereotypes that they need to get rid of. 'If pilots become fully qualified and are given their licence, they are perfectly capable of flying a plane and getting you to your destination safely, regardless of whether they are male or female.' A total of 2,367 Britons (1,195 men and 1,172 women) were surveyed. All had been on a holiday abroad in the last 12 months which involved taking a flight. .

The US Statistics

No Woman, No Drive

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. This video was made to make fun of that rule. It is so hilarious. A really great video and he can really sing.

Slavery

It is estimated that about 14 million people worldwide are sold into slavery every year. These include young and old, women and men and children. I think 14 million is too small a number; it's just the tip of the iceberg. This is a very thought-provoking video.

A Top Woman Barrister in the UK claims that rape victims are also responsible for the crime!!

This is a sad story indeed, especially since it involves a woman and also a woman at such a top position. How can a woman become another woman's enemy? Really rape victims are responsible? So, because I have lots of electronic gadgets and computers and laptops in my house, and it gets robbed, I am responsible for the crime?? I know what your answer will be as I have heard this argument before also -- if you leave the house open without any protection, then definitely I am also in fault if my house gets robbed. Okay, I understand and agree that perhaps women should not walk late at night in some remote, empty areas. But, most of the rapes happen during dating and/or partying. So, I guess if I am to follow the barrister's logic, I should not be dating; also, I should not be going to parties and drinking and having fun; because if I am raped there, I will be responsible for the crime just like IF SOMEONE'S VALUABLE GETS STOLEN IN THE PARTY, SHE OR HE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT CRIME.

The whole story can be read here.

This statement from a woman barrister begets disbelief. Most of us women are working hard against prejudices and beliefs to establish ourselves, to pay bills, to look after families, and here comes the statement from someone of my gender. So, I also have to publish the whole story here:

Rape victims can be partly responsible for what happened to them, according to a leading lawyer. Barbara Hewson, a human rights and civil liberties barrister at London's Hardwicke Chambers, challenged the idea that 'the victim is utterly innocent and the victimiser is utterly guilty'. Miss Hewson, who describes herself on Twitter as 'not for the easily offended', suggested that people who are raped can have a 'moral responsibility' for the crime, even though the law says that rape is only ever the fault of the rapist. She also questioned whether 'claims of victimisation must always be respected', according to The Daily Telegraph. Miss Hewson, 52, made the comments during a debate with other legal professionals at the London School of Economics on Wednesday, entitled 'Is Rape Different?' She said: 'We need to make a distinction between legal responsibility and moral responsibility. 'The law does not attribute any responsibility now to the victim of rape whereas traditionally we know the judge would say when they came to sentence "well she was contributorally [sic] negligent" or something like that.' While outlining what she views as the received wisdom when discussing, Miss Hewson dismissed the idea 'that it's morally absolutely unambiguous, the victim is utterly innocent and the victimiser is utterly guilty and this is infinitesimal. And finally that claims of victimisation must always be respected, anything less is victim-blaming.' More... Rape survivors bravely confront their fears by publicly sharing details of their darkest moment in courageous photo project that uses their attackers' own words against them Freedom in Egypt? It just gave men the freedom to rape me in Tahrir Square: As violence erupts in Cairo, woman attacked by a gang in demonstration recounts her ordeal 'Rape in America is an epidemic': Brave rape victim speaks up about her ordeal to help others after she was attacked by man outside her dorm 'because he was bored' Miss Hewson compared a rape victim to somebody who falls over whilst drunk to demonstrate that people can put themselves in a situation where they are more likely to fall victim to a crime. She also attacked a culture around rape which encourages people to 'realise' they have been raped, and added that some victims go on to blame their ordeal for everything that goes wrong in their life. Debate: Miss Hewson made her comments at a London School of Economics event entitled 'Is Rape Different?' Debate: Miss Hewson made her comments at a London School of Economics event entitled 'Is Rape Different?' Rape Crisis spokesman Fiona Elvines condemned Miss Hewson's argument, telling the Telegraph: 'Barbara Hewson shows how out of touch she is with the realities of sexual violence. As a society, we have moved on from the rape myths she continues to propagate.' Miss Hewson, a Cambridge graduate who has worked as a barrister since 1985, has courted controversy on sexual offences before, by attacking the decision to double the sentence for broadcaster Stuart Hall. His original sentence of 15 months in prison for 14 counts of indecent assault was increased to 30 months after a public outcry. She has also previously called for the age of consent to be lowered to 13 and criticised the 'witch-hunt' of ageing celebrities accused of sexual abuse. Miss Hewson was unavailable for comment this morning. A LAW UNTO HERSELF: THE CONTROVERSIAL BARRISTER WHO'S NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK HER MIND Barbara Hewson has made a name for herself both as one of the country's most respected lawyers, and as someone not afraid to ruffle some feathers with her outspoken views. A member of the prestigious Hardwicke Chambers, Miss Hewson, who was called to the bar in 1985, is regularly ranked in the Legal 500 directory. She has won a Barrister of the Year award from The Lawyer magazine after she fought for the rights of pregnant women against compulsory treatment. The Chambers UK guide has variously described her as ‘bright, committed and passionate’, ‘well-respected’, ‘highly diplomatic’ and ‘a tough opponent’. She writes on legal issues for the Spiked website, and is often highly critical of the establishment. Miss Hewson has stepped into the firing line on numerous occasions in the past. Responding to the controversial case in which a judge described a 13-year-old sex attack victim as ‘predatory’, she tweeted: ‘It takes two to tango. Disgusting tho' these men are, frankly the girls are often not much better - and no shrieking martyrs.' She has also said that operation Yewtree, into sex abuse linked to Jimmy Savile, ‘has got out of hand’ and was hijacked by ‘moral crusaders’. A storm of criticism met that suggestion, and she has also angered the NPCC by suggesting at the same time that the age of consent be lowered to 13. At the time an NSPCC spokesman said: ‘To trivialise the impact of these offences for victims is all but denying they have suffered abuse at all.’

What a reply Hillary Clinton gave!! Bravo! Bravo! It was nice to see the face of that man, for a glimpse, when she concluded her reply :-). This is how a true and honest reply needs to be given whenever brings up such topics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Londonderry


I came across this woman Annie Londonderry in an article about a couple of days back and then went to dear old Wikipedia to learn more about her. What a fascinating woman! No fancy degree in her bag or no scientific achievement to boast about, this mother of three did something which at that point in time was quite a challenging act to do. In her own words, she was a 'new woman', who believed that she could do anything that a man could. The times were tumultuous; the world was yet to witness the senseless wars and it was certainly not an easy place for women who dared to move away from the prevalent societal norms and 'do something different'. Yet, she did and, I would like to think, inspired many young women and girls to travel on new roads. But, as you see, she was soon forgotten and I wonder why no one remembered her...

An Open Letter to Feminist Trolls

This is such a lovely, funny and interesting video. However, the sad reality is, at least in the US, that women also call other women using such words. So, what will be the reply to those women who acts against other women and tries to bring them down by using such words?

Ruth Bishop Who Discovered the RotoVirus

Professor Ruth Bishop has become the first woman to be awarded with the prestigious Florey Medal. It is an Australian award given to ground-breaking work done in the fields of biomedical research. Professor Bishop was the first person to recognize the rotovirus  and that it was the culprit for the acute diarrhoea and thus death among children.

More details can be found HERE.

Chronic Pain

Both my parents suffered from chronic pain. However, it always seemed that my mother was more in pain compared to my father. At that time, we used to brush it off, saying that mother could not handle pain as well as father. But perhaps we were wrong. Recent research suggests that <i>chronic pain in women is much more complex and harder to treat than those in men</i>.

The more detailed reports can be found <a href="http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20132510-24940.html">here </a> or you can read it below.

New research from the University of Adelaide has found that chronic pain in women is more complex and harder to treat than chronic pain in men.

The work, to be presented tomorrow at the Faculty of Pain Medicine spring meeting in Byron Bay, organised by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), suggest that men and women should be prescribed medications and treated for pain differently according to their gender.

Study leader Dr Mark Hutchinson from the University's School of Medical Sciences says laboratory studies have shown for the first time that the brain’s immune cells, known as glial cells, contribute to differences in pain between the sexes.

"There are fundamental differences in the experience of pain between females and males," says Dr Hutchinson, whose research has been investigating why acute pain turns to chronic pain (experienced for at least three months consecutively) in some people and why chronic pain is more prevalent in women than in men.

"Our research is discovering brain mechanisms at work that are proving chronic pain in women is more complex and difficult to treat than in men, despite the similarity of the initial cause of pain.

"Female and male structures in the brain are different but that doesn’t explain women’s higher rate of pain.  There are multiple different pain systems in females and males," he says.

"Our studies certainly show that women’s experience of pain is more severe and the pain is harder to treat."

Dr Hutchinson says it's already known that some drugs for inflammatory bowel disease only work on women and not on men, indicating the need for more tailored treatments.

"Better understanding female chronic pain is extremely important to treatment.  We're hoping our research will lead to the development of sex-targeted drugs that will provide more effective pain relief," he says.

This research has been funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC).