Reverend Dawn Riley Duval speaks at our No on Amendment 62 Rally, August 31st, 2010. She was so empowering! Watch the video and then come out and help us defeat 62!

Our CEO, Vicki Cowart, speaks on the dangers of Amendment 62 at the rally on the west steps of the Capitol on August 31st, 2010.

In this episode of In Your Face (IYF), Mark and Chris offer critical analysis of Representative Karen Thomas while she appears to cry PMS-laden tears of irrationality and tries to pass herself off as a serious candidate for U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, In Your Face commentator Jane Brestow subliminally urges viewers to visit www.NameItChangeIt.org to help hold misogynists like Mark and Chris accountable for their sexist behavior. The content of the "In Your Face" video and the views expressed in it are solely the creative property of Women's Campaign Forum and Women's Media Center, and in no way represents the views of our funders, partners, or affiliates.

Learn more: http://www.iwhc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=187&Itemid=98 TRANSCRIPT TEXT: Grupo Curumim is an organization based in Recife, Brazil that encourages women, young people, and adolescents to become active and engaged in their communities. Curumim's Programa Cunhatã provides leadership training for youth ages 13 to 15, with an emphasis on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Meet Leo and Claudia from Grupo Curumim... LEO: Well, my name is Leo—Leandro—but people call me Leo for short. I prefer Leo. For more or less seven years now, I have been part of Grupo Curumim. In fact, I started in their training. I participated in all the training in the youth program, Cunhatã, where people discuss controversial issues regarding awareness on topics such as women's rights, violence against women, gender relations, sexual and reproductive rights, and youth public policies for about one year. After a year of training I was invited to participate on the Curumim team. In fact, the young people from Cunhatã came up with the idea of maintaining a core group to continue our activities. And those who were interested formed such a group and asked Curumim if we could continue to meet and discuss issues. The program agreed and said we could. So through this, we also started to do work for Curumim. It was great. We gave presentations; we traveled in the Northeast with Latin American youth networks, working at the municipal, state, and national levels. So we worked in a variety of areas. CLAUDIA: My name is Claudia, I am 21 years old. I have been part of Cunhatã since I was 14. It was very important in my life because I became much stronger on these issues, on sexual rights, reproductive rights, knowledge of my own body, and also for tackling the issue of violence against women, because I didn't understand at the time why it happened, how it happened. I grew up in an environment where I saw my mother being beaten by my father, and I thought that was normal, because our neighbor also was—all the women I knew were, so I thought that when I grew up I would be too. Cunhatã showed me that violence against women was a crime and that no woman deserves such violence. So what I fight for now is to protect women's rights.

In this episode of In Your Face (IYF), Mark and Chris offer critical analysis of Representative Karen Thomas while she appears to cry PMS-laden tears of irrationality and tries to pass herself off as a serious candidate for U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, In Your Face commentator Jane Brestow subliminally urges viewers to visit www.NameItChangeIt.org to help hold misogynists like Mark and Chris accountable for their sexist behavior.

The Fourth Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights took place in February of 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopa, and was attended by more than 300 advocates, funders and policymakers working on sexuality and reproductive health and rights in Africa and throughout the world. In this video-- the first in a 3-part series-- panelists on a talk show discuss the roots and role of feminism in Africa.

TRANSCRIPT

Priscilla Usiobaifo: If men are the head and I'm the neck, the head rests on my neck. So without my neck, the head can't stay.

TEXT: The International Women's Health Coalition present The Moremi Talk Show, a special panel event held at the 2010 African Federation on Sexual Health and Rights (AFSHR) Conference. Featuring thee African youth leaders: Temitayo Oyedemi of Nigeria, Priscilla Usiobaifo of Nigeria, and Clara Nkewmi of Cameroun. Moderated by Amy Oyekunle of Nigeria.

Episode 1: What Does Feminism Mean to You?

Clara: Feminism? It's just all about justice, equality, respect, and dignity for women.

Amy: What does that mean? We heard that word, break it down for me. We've heard about equality, but there are many men who already doubt, so what does it mean? I mean there are many men that say, "Ok look, women can never be equal, you can't do the same roles, you can't do the same things..."

Clara: But what we're experiencing in our society nowadays is just hierarchy in all societies. But feminism is all about mutuality in the place of hierarchy.

Priscilla: I just see feminism as the politics of equality. And I see it as critically looking at it. And I see feminism from an African perspective maybe because I'm an African. And in most of our societies you can see that patriarchy exists actually it has taken it root there . I see it as a platform by which we are able to address these issues.

Temitayo: I came to realize that HIV has a feminine face.

TEXT: Temitayo is an outspoken advocate for women's health and gender equity. A survivor of sexual violence, she discovered her status several years ago.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 61 percent of adult (ages 15+) living with HIV/AIDS are female.

Amy: Some say that feminism is a Western concept, something that was imported from America, or something that was imported from the moon. Is that true? Is that what you people are holding on to as your feminism? Is that what you are leading our young women in Africa to be like?

Clara: For me, that should not be any area of concern. Because when we look at our societies, feminism has brought about an awful lot of things: equality, cultural... Women can now go to school, we are respected, we have rights to reproductive health, and all that. I think the most productive thing is for us to start thinking about what feminism is, should, and can be for us men and women in Africa.

TEXT: Feminism: what does it mean to you?

I am a young Latina feminist.

Why does feminism matter to me? Feminism is the movement for social, political, and economic equality of men and women. However it runs deeper than just that, I do not want to be discriminated against based on my sex, just as I do not want to be discriminated against based on my ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation. Feminism matters to me because it takes into account all of these issues and addresses the interconnections of identity, oppression, and activism.

I believe in women’s empowerment. We are still under-represented in government. In the year I was born, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to be appointed on the US Supreme Court. In the entire history of the US Senate, 38 women have served, with 17 women currently serving. Latina women are the most under-represented demographic in the US government. Latinas have served in the US House of Representatives but we have never served in the Senate.

I believe in economic justice for women. A fulltime working woman still makes 23 percent less than a fulltime working man. It was only 47 years ago when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963. Women should not be expected to bear children, nor should we be penalized in our careers for choosing to be mothers.

I believe I should be free to be me. I should be able to follow my own path without feeling that my sex determines or will hinder me in creating my way. I am a feminist because I believe women should embrace their sexuality and cherish our beauty and sensuality. We should not let it be exploited nor taken for granted. We should be able to explore our sexuality without judgment.

I believe we should have control over our own bodies. We should have access to information to help us make our own intelligent choices.

To all my sisters, we should work together, not compete against each other. We have come a long way but we still need change.

Rebecca Villatoro
29 years old

Part of 2010 Young Feminist Blog Carnival

As the sexist tone in the media reaches a fever pitch, the Women's Media Center created this video to illustrate the problem and send a message to the media: Sexism might sell, but we're not buying it!

Meet Ellie Kerstetter a New Face of Leadership and an alumna of The White House Project's Go Run training in 2010 in Colorado. The White House Project trains diverse women leaders to take their place in politics, changing the policies that affect all women's and men's lives. Please support TWHP by donating here at: http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/join/donate/ To date, the White House Project has trained 10,000 women since 2004 on the skills of political leadership. And we need your leadership. In twelve years, the number of women in state legislatures has remained the same at roughly 23%. Are you ready to run? Join us! Sign up for a training at: http://thewhitehouseproject.org/voterunlead

Meet JC Martel a New Face of Leadership and an alumna of The White House Project's Go Run training in 2010 in Colorado. The White House Project trains diverse women leaders to take their place in politics, changing the policies that affect all women's and men's lives. Please support TWHP by donating here at: http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/join/donate/ To date, the White House Project has trained 10,000 women since 2004 on the skills of political leadership. And we need your leadership. In twelve years, the number of women in state legislatures has remained the same at roughly 23%. Are you ready to run? Join us! Sign up for a training at: http://thewhitehouseproject.org/voterunlead

This summer, Planned Parenthood has been canvassing in Saint Paul and phoning our future neighbors letting them know about our plans to build a new administrative HQ and flagship health care center in the Midway area. Check out this video to learn more about the project from our enthusiastic canvassers. Visit www.standwithpp.org for more info and to show your support!

Pam, a nurse practitioner, discusses the importance of getting a yearly pap test and obtaining the HPV vaccine. Last year alone, Planned Parenthood provided over 33K pap smear tests in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Call 1-800-230-PLAN to schedule an appoinment or to obtain the HPV Vaccine. Visit ppmns.org/cervicalcancerreport to read our report on cervical cancer.

Meet Sharron Pettiford a New Face of Leadership and an alumna of The White House Project's Go Run training in 2010 in Colorado. The White House Project trains diverse women leaders to take their place in politics, changing the policies that affect all women's and men's lives. Please support TWHP by donating here at: http://thewhitehouseproject.org/join/donate/ To date, the White House Project has trained 10,000 women since 2004 on the skills of political leadership. And we need your leadership. In twelve years, the number of women in state legislatures has remained the same at roughly 23%. Are you ready to run? Join us! Sign up for a training at: http://thewhitehouseproject.org/voterunlead/

Meet Kathi Renman, a New Face of Leadership and an alumna of The White House Project's Go Run training in 2010 in Colorado. The White House Project trains diverse women leaders to take their place in politics, changing the policies that affect all women's and men's lives. Please support TWHP by donating here at: http://thewhitehouseproject.org/join/donate/ To date, the White House Project has trained 10,000 women since 2004 on the skills of political leadership. And we need your leadership. In twelve years, the number of women in state legislatures has remained the same at roughly 23%. Are you ready to run? Join us! Sign up for a training at: http://thewhitehouseproject.org/voterunlead/

Es común que las mujeres se sientan nerviosas antes de un aborto, o de cualquier procedimiento médico. Pero habitualmente nos sentimos mejor si sabemos qué podemos esperar. Tu proveedor de atención de la salud hablará contigo y responderá a tus preguntas. Para más información, visita: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/esp/temas-de-salud/aborto/procedimientos-de-aborto-realizado-en-una-clinica-4359.htm