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Global Roundup: Revolutions, glitter and the patriarchy
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Global Roundup: Revolutions, glitter and the patriarchy

Mona Eltahawy
Sep 2, 2020
7
Share this post
Global Roundup: Revolutions, glitter and the patriarchy
www.feministgiant.com

I am following several stories this week:

In Lebanon, a devastating blast in the capital Beirut has compounded the already unconscionable hardships of life for thousands of migrant domestic workers. Amnesty International estimates there are more than 250,000 foreigners - or around 8% of the country's working population - who live within Lebanon's kafala system, a form of employment sponsorship and contract which gives all the power to the sponsor. When the country was hit with a financial crisis, some employees dumped domestic workers outside the women’s respective embassies. The COVID19 pandemic worsened their situation and now migrant worker activists and Lebanese civil society groups are scrambling to find, help and repatriate domestic workers who have been abandoned. The women are caught between the worst intersections of patriarchy: anti-Blackness, poverty, misogyny.

"Migrant workers and refugees are systematically dehumanised and marginalised in Lebanon, in life and in death," Anti-Racism Movement said in a statement. Read the article: Beirut blasts leave migrant workers overlooked in life and death

And follow this thread for more background and about ways to donate.

Twitter avatar for @monaeltahawy
Mona Eltahawy @monaeltahawy
Thread on migrant domestic workers in Lebanon https://t.co/yZho3yynSQ
Twitter avatar for @BanchiELB
Banchi Yimer @BanchiELB
Our sister are sleeping on the street they are over 40 some dumped by their sponsors some ran from abuser what’s worse than being forced to sleep like this. This is outside our embassy in Beirut we are providing food sanitizer, masks & tickets but we need to shout for these girls https://t.co/qQ8Wh0Emtf
10:50 AM ∙ Aug 27, 2020
383Likes341Retweets

And watch this interview with Banchi Yimer, an Ethiopian migrant domestic worker activist

Twitter avatar for @EgnaLegnaDWU
Egna Legna Besidet እኛ ለኛ በስደት @EgnaLegnaDWU
Banchi went from being mistreated for years by abusive employers...to voicing the oppressed and condemning the abuse on the world's biggest platforms. Here she is... our founder on Al Jazeera's @AJStream! ❤️❤️😍 #hero #girlscan #sisterhood
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3:13 PM ∙ Aug 23, 2020
188Likes49Retweets

As with every revolution, women’s role in the uprising in Belarus has been analysed and hailed. It has been incredible to see women take on “Europe’s last dictator.”

Twitter avatar for @ChristopherJM
Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM
Lukashenko’s notorious OMON riot police were no match for these brave Belarusian women today.
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7:52 PM ∙ Aug 29, 2020
1,203Likes514Retweets

It is imperative to resist patriarchal tropes and misogynist stereotypes as this article reminds How women’s role in Belarus protests captured global media attention

African LGBTQI+ refugees are often overlooked in responses to refugee crises. Read this article about Emily's journey, a trans woman from DRC through Uganda, Kenya to Ethiopia and back to Kenya

Twitter avatar for @AfriFeminists
AfricanFeminism (AF) @AfriFeminists
The plight of African LGBTQI+ refugees is often overlooked in responses to refugee crises. @namupa_ chronicles Emily's journey, a Trans Woman from DRC through Uganda, Kenya to Ethiopia and back to Kenya #Transrefugees #LGBTrefugees #Refugees africanfeminism.com/from-goma-to-n…
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2:05 PM ∙ Sep 2, 2020
11Likes9Retweets

The Egyptian regime is arresting witnesses and people who have tried to help get justice for a victim of gang rape. The regime is scared because it knows a feminist revolution has begun and that women are exposing sexual violence in unprecedented numbers.

Twitter avatar for @monaeltahawy
Mona Eltahawy @monaeltahawy
The #Egyptian regime is arresting witnesses and people who have tried to help get justice for a victim of gang rape. The regime is scared because it knows a feminist revolution has begun and that women are exposing sexual violence in unprecedented numbers.
madamasr.comSmear campaign, arrests in blowback over Fairmont rape caseActivists worry that the ripple effect will smother the movement against sexual violence in Egypt
1:19 PM ∙ Sep 1, 2020
132Likes83Retweets

I have tasted too much teargas. Its effect on my breathing was clear. I did not know that it could impact the menstrual cycle. Read about the impact of teargas on the menstrual cycles of protestors here.

Twitter avatar for @FeminismInIndia
Feminism in India @FeminismInIndia
“I still get nightmares of the day,” said Tanya*, a student at #JamiaMilliaIslamia, recounting the tear gas attack on a moving protest she was part of. @soumya94mathew writes about the impact of #teargas on the menstrual cycle of #protestors.
feminisminindia.com‘They Fired At Us From Barely Five Metres Away’: Protesters Complain Of Menstrual Irregularities After Tear Gas Attacks | Feminism In IndiaIn this report, Feminism In India got in touch with anti-CAA/NRC protestors from Jamia and Black Lives Matter demonstrations whose menstrual cycles were tangibly affected after getting exposed to tear gas.
1:30 PM ∙ Sep 2, 2020
1Like2Retweets

How are you taking care of yourself? I can quote to you Audre Lorde’s revolutionary words (who can’t?):

But I must confess I don’t give it enough thought. This was intriguing and inspiring.

Twitter avatar for @EyalaBlog
Eyala @EyalaBlog
I loved @Afrowomanist's thoughts on what self-care means for #feminist activists! Don't miss out. It warms my heart to see an essay on @AfriFeminists that is inspired by a @blkwomenradical webinar. Different platforms, same conversations.💜 bit.ly/3gn7sjY #EyalaReads
bit.lyRadical Self-care: A Refusal to Partake in One’s Own Mortality - African Feminism (AF)A recent conversation that Black Women Radicals created, a space that featured some of my all-time fave African radical feminists like Jessica Horn, Rosebell Kagumire and new faves Blessol Gathoni, Kinna Likimani, and Dr. Wuupini Mohammed- has had me thinking a lot about self-care. I want to begin…
12:46 PM ∙ Aug 23, 2020
14Likes7Retweets

Here’s a book I don’t want to read: former Trump spokesperson Sarah Sanders insisting that she is still a footsoldier of the patriarchy. This pull quote is instructive because it should remind white women voters who vote for Trump and who insist on continuing to carry water for him - i.e. Sanders herself - that patriarchy will throw you under the bus, no hesitation.

Twitter avatar for @abdu
Abdurahman @abdu
Kelly backed up the president and Trump joked: “Well, Sarah, that settles it. You’re going to North Korea and taking one for the team! Your husband and kids will miss you, but you’ll be a hero to your country!”
theguardian.comTrump told Sarah Sanders to ‘take one for the team’ after Kim Jong-un winkFormer press secretary describes boorish remarks by president in memoir Speaking for Myself, due out next week
2:11 PM ∙ Sep 2, 2020
2Likes1Retweet

Here’s a book I do want to read:

Twitter avatar for @channingtatum
Channing Tatum @channingtatum
I don’t know about you but things got a little weird for me in quarantine. I locked myself in my daughter’s room & found my inner child. So this is what I created for my little girl. From what is, I guess, the little girl in me. Thx for reading. #Sparkella bit.ly/OneAndOnlySpar…
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6:04 PM ∙ Aug 31, 2020
40,341Likes3,836Retweets

See you on Friday for more feminist news from around the world and my first FEMINIST GIANT column.

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