I am Woman

This Should Get Your Dander Up

“Instructing a woman is like holding a sack of sand whose sides have split open.”

- Ankhsheshong, scribe. Late Period Ancient Egypt

“Neither wives of lords, nor widows, nor Assyrian women who go out on the street, may have their heads uncovered.....when they go out on the street alone, they must veil themselves.”

- Middle Assyrian Law, 1383-1000 B.C.E.

“A proper wife should be as obedient as a slave...The female is a female by virtue of a certain lack of qualities - a natural defectiveness.”

- Aristotle

“A woman...cultivates the skills required in the women’s quarters and has no ambition to manage affairs outside the house...She must follow the ‘three submissions.’ When she is young, she must submit to her parents. After her marriage, she must submit to her husband. When she is widowed, she must submit to her son.”

- “The Mother of Mencius,” Waring States, 475-221 B.C.E, China

“Women, even though they are of full age, because of their levity of mind shall be under guardianship.”

- The Twelve Tables, Rome, 450 B.C.E.

“You must be like the heart in the body. You must not leave the home...You must be like embers in the hearth.”

- Advice given Aztec girls at ceremonies honoring their birth.

“Women are as different from men as earth from the heaven. She depends on the light of her husband to shine.” and “Woman’s virginity and chastity are more important than her life.”

- Neo-Confucian Sayings, China.

“If you have a son, you can say you have a descendant. But you cannot say thus, even if you have ten daughters.”

- Vietnamese proverb

“Even though you sleep intimately on the same bed and under the same cover with him, you must treat your husband as if he were your king.”

- Upper Class Confucian marriage manual, Vietnam

“There are only two places for a woman, the house and the grave”

- Pakistani proverb

“Women have long hair and a short mind.”

- Swedish proverb

“The best way to keep a woman is barefoot in the winter and pregnant in the summer”

- American proverb

Mary Kenney O'Sullivan

Mary Kenney O'Sullivan was an American social activist and labor leader.  She was famous for her work in Boston where she organized women into various unions to fight against the exploitation of women and children in factory labor.She was born Mary Kenney in Hannibal, Missouri, on January 8, 1864, the only child of an Irish immigrant couple. 


After a brief formal education, at the age of 14 she began working as a bookbinder to help support her invalid mother, and by the age of 19, she had mastered all there was to know about the trade and was even promoted to forewoman, but even though she was working in the same position of her male counterparts, she could never earn as much as a man.  She was also frustrated by working in the same position as her male counterparts, she could however never earn as much as a man. She was also frustrated by the harsh working conditions that the women were exposed to. That early experience of injustice and gender inequality played an important role in her decision to become a social activist to bring about change.

In 1889, she and her mother moved to Chicago where she worked in several different factories and eventually became a trade union organizer.  Eventually she found her way to Hull House where she met Jane Adams. It was agreed that Kenney and fellow trade unionists could hold their meetings at the settlement house.
 
In 1891, Mary established the Jane Club, a co-operative house where girls with low wages could live together. There were six apartments in the house. Within a year they were all occupied with each person paying $3.00 for rent, food and services. Mary gave weekly lectures at the house, educating the women on the need for social reform. 

Mary Kenney became a well-known trade union figure and in 1892 Samuel Gompers, the president of the American Federation of Labor, appointed her as his first woman organizer, and the following year,  Then, in the mid-1890's, Mary  moved to Boston where she married John O'Sullivan, a journalist working for the Boston Globe. At the time, she was employed by the Women's Educational and Industrial Union and helped to organize garment, rubber makers, shoemakers,  and laundry workers.

In 1902, Mary's husband died, and and she was left alone to raise her three children. She continued to work for the American Federation of Labor.  In 1903, a year after being left a widow with three children to raise, she joined a New York settlement worker to found the National Women’s Trade Union League. As a leader of the WTUL during its formative years, O’Sullivan brought together affluent women, professionals,and women workers to promote protective legislation, such as the minimum wage, and trade unionism among women. She was a leader in Massachusetts reform circles, focusing her efforts on woman suffrage, housing for the poor, prohibition, pacifism, and — the cause with
which she is most closely identified — legislation to protect women and children in the in the workplace.

In November, 1914, Kenney was appointed as a factory inspector by the Department of Labor, a post she was to hold for twenty years. Mary Kenney O'Sullivan died in West Medford on 18th January, 1943. She is buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Mary Kenney O'Sullivan spent her whole life advocating Women's Suffrage, housing for the poor and underprivileged, and pacifism. Her highest priority was however organizing women into labor unions and the fight against gender inequality on the workplace. Through her effort Illinois and later Massachusetts passed legislature that enhanced working conditions for women. With her work she influenced numerous women who later made pass state and federal laws that advanced position of working women.

Mary Kenney O'Sullivan is one of six Massachusetts women whose bronze bust is housed in the Massachusetts State House.

Historical Day for Afghanistan Women

Much like the United States in the mid-twentieth century, Afghanistan is now experiencing major changes in the rights that are afforded to women. For example, not only can women in now hold jobs which were previously unavailable to them, but today Afghanistan saw the first class of women officers in decades graduate from a class of new recruits in the Afghanistan National Army (ANA). In total, 28 women graduated from the Nato Training Mission states the ANA Female Officers Candidate School, which opened in April, was a joint effort between NATO and the Afghan Ministry of Defense. In total, 29 women graduated and can now serve in a position of authority as an officer in the Afghan National Army.

This is quite an accomplishment for among the requirements for admission into the program are completion of high school, literacy, and satisfactory achievement on a series of tests...and, currently, approximately seventy percent of the Afghan population can neither read nor write.

This class of women officers will not be sent to the front lines in the current war in Afghanistan, which is raging at its strongest since the start of the insurgency in 2001, but will instead largely be doing administrative work as finance and logistics officers. The women hope to help take a lead role in helping move national security foreign forces to national forces by 2014.

Congratulations to these brave women who are paving the way for those that are to follow them.  Hats off to ya, ladies. 

Trotula

In the eleventh century, Salerno, Italy was the epicenter of medieval medicine in Europe. Salerno was famous for having one of the world's first universities with a medical school and, while women were generally denied an education during this time, its faculty and student body included both men and women. In fact, during this time, many women were trained as physicians and also taught at the medical schools. It's faculty and student body included both men and women.Trotula was a physician and an instructor at the School of Salerno.

Trotula, sometimes called Trota, was born in the eleventh century, perhaps around 1097 AD; sadly, very little is known of her life.  The medical heroes of the day were still Hippocrates and Galen, even though both had died over eight hundred years before. Doctors followed and taught the teachings of these physicians, and virtually never researched on their own. 

Trotula was one of the most famous physicians of the time and her interest was  in managing the diseases and health problems of women. She is considered the world's first gynecologist. A skilled diagnostician, she  wrote on a wide variety of topics, including conception, menstruation, pregnancy, cesarean sections and childbirth..  Her work on gynecology was so practical that it was used for hundreds of years. In the fables and stories of Northern Europe she became the fictional character called "Dame Trot."

Tortula  believed that women should not suffer unrelenting pain during childbirth. During childbirth, she advocated the use of opiates produced by plants to dull the pain of labor. This contradicted Christian beliefs that a woman should suffer the pain of childbirth, because of the sin of Eve. Women were seen as weak, inferior and more susceptible to disease. For this reason, Trotula believed that women have special medical needs that can only be investigated and treated by a woman. She also felt that her patients should be physically comfortable, she recommended warm herbal baths, special diets, and plenty of rest to speed the healing process.

Sadly, the opportunities  allowed to women at Salerno in the 11th century were not to last for  Salerno was sacked by Henry VI in 1194, and, unfortunately, the medical school never fully recovered its prestige. Women were once again denied access to education, and those with practical healing skills and herbal knowledge were persecuted as witches. In fact, Tortola's own books were scattered and lost as hostility towards women as teachers and healers led to her very existence being denied and her works being assigned to male authors!

Hats Off to the Ladies

 

Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression.--Margaret Sanger --

It has recently been reported that, for the first time ever, women have earned the majority of PhD's awarded at American Universities during the 2008-2009 academic year.In fact, the number of women at every level of academia has been increasing for decades; however, according to the Washington Post, doctoral level study was the only remaining area of higher education that still had a male majority.

According to an annual enrollment report from the Council of Graduate Schools, 28,962 of the doctoral degrees awarded last year went to women and 28,469 to men. Although women have long outnumbered men in earning master's degrees, because of the average length required to attain a doctoral degree - typically seven years the PhD was the last area to show the impact of any long-term changes in education enrollment trends.

We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan,
Our statures touch the skies.

~ Emily Dickinson ~

How to Deal With a Stalker

Unfortunately, many of us will have to deal with a stalker in some way or another at some point in their lives.  It may be an ex-spouse or lover...or, it may be the new lover or spouse of your ex.  It may be someone you work with or someone you say 'hello' to at the supermarket. It is someone who just wants to be with you and thinks you will you will want to be with them to, if you only give them a chance.  At best, it is a very frightening experience; at its worst, it can be dangerous and deadly.

How you deal with your stalker depends on several factors: Who are they?;  Why are they are stalking you?; and how dangerous do you think they might be?  How they are stalking you is also important.  For example, a cyberstalker who follows you online can be fairly easily dealth with by blocking him from most website;  Phone numbers can be changed and blocked. For physical stalker, it may call for involving the police


Your first step is to identify who your stalker is.  In most cases, it will probably be someone who you know.  If it is an ex-lover or spouse, they are either stalking you because they want you back or because they want revenge.  Either way, they feel like you have done them wrong and believe their actions are justified.   If happens to be their new lover or spouse that's doing the stalking, it is likely that they are jealous of you and are afraid you will come between them.   Either way, it has the potential to become very dangerous.

If you find there can be no reasoning with the person, then you must cut off all contact. If possible, move. If not, take any measures necessary to secure your home. Change your locks, and install deadbolts if you do not already have them. Secure glass sliders with sawn-off broomsticks cut to fit the tracks. Be careful not to give your phone number or any other personal information to them, and make sure that any mutual friends do not give them this information. Practice an escape plan. Talk to trusted neighbors about procedures if any of you see a prowler.Consider getting a guard dog.

Now, when there are children between you, it becomes a more difficult situation as they may decide to use the children as an excuse for stalking. If you are in a custody battle, let the court system know what is going on.  Sometimes you wind up with a choice between visitation and privacy.  In this case, the visitation comes at a high price because when your privacy is compromised, they come up with more reasons to take you back to court.  If you don't know your stalker, you can call the police if they try to contact you.

Get a restraining order. Although this may upset your stalker, it will also make clear to him that hassling you is a crime. If the stalker violates the order, call the police immediately...no matter what the circumstances. If the stalker continues to harass you, make sure you keep a record of each incident, and tell everyone.  You have done nothing to be ashamed of so don't be afraid to let your friends help you.  Depending on the atmosphere at work, you may or may not want to share this information with your boss.

Join a support group. Victim advocates in district attorney’s offices can help you find one. Remember, there is strength in numbers. 

The Nicole Brown Foundation

Stalking Resource Center