FeminismQuickiesReligion

Global Quickies: Hate Crimes, Mansplaining in Parliament, and Blood Donations for Everyone

IRAN
“The captain of an Iranian women’s football team is to miss a forthcoming Asian championships because her husband would not allow her to renew her passport.”

UGANDA
“A group of five female students from Makerere University in Uganda have successfully created a test kit connected to a smartphone app that is able to detect harmful vaginal bacteria that cause bacterial vaginosis and other infections.”

DENMARK
A Danish atheist society has launched an atheist bus campaign to encourage atheist members of the state church (Folkekirken) to cancel their membership and to make people of faith examine their beliefs.

NEPAL
“Nepal’s Constituent Assembly has rejected calls to revert back to a Hindu state, deciding instead to keep its secular system brought in after the abolishment of the monarchy in 2008. “

SAUDI ARABIA
Over 100 people died after a crane crashed into the Grand Mosque in Mecca. This is a tragedy, but, according to a British Muslim leader, the people who lost their lives are to be congratulated because they will go straight to heaven without any questions.

SPAIN
Muslims become number one victims of hate crimes in Spain. “At least 57 cases of hate crime have been reported throughout Spain so far this year, says the Interior Ministry. And most of those complaints, which are now investigated in all their forms under the new penal code, are the result of Islamophobia, representing 40 percent of the total, according to police reports.“

ARGENTINA
“Argentina ended its ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood on Tuesday, a decision that may have an impact on countries like the U.S. that still restrict blood donations from men who admit same-sex relationships.”

CANADA
“A Memorial University student with a hearing disability is upset that one of his professors refused to wear a sound-transmitting device last week during a lecture, and he said she told him it was because of religious reasons.” Unfortunately, an agreement made with the professor in 1996, when a similar incident happened, means the professor does not have to wear an FM transmitter.

AUSTRALIA
Just a couple of days into the job, and the new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has already been accused of mansplaining. I think it’s awesome that an MP used the word “mansplain” in parliament.

 

Featured image: cartoon by Mana Neyestani about Niloufar Ardalan, the captain of the Iranian women’s futsal team.

 

Daniela

Born and raised in Mexico City, Daniela has finally decided to abdicate her post as an armchair skeptic and start doing some skeptical activism. She is currently living in Spain after having lived in the US, Brazil and Italy. You can also find her blogging in Spanish at esceptica.org.

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6 Comments

  1. “Islam es paz para tu puta madre” (Islam is peace for your fucking mother) was the painted message that appeared on a mosque in Burgos on January 8, the day after the killings in Paris.

    Even ignoring the Islamophobia, that’s the worst attempt at a “yo mama” I’ve ever seen.

    1. Not sure it’s accurate to describe that as a “yo mama”; it’s more of a “screw you *and* your family if you think that’s true”. It’s as pretty standard an insult as saying “f*&k you”, not an attempt at a clever one.

  2. FINALLY!
    ‘Panjabi, who has not responded to several requests for an interview, told CBC News in 1996 that her Hindu beliefs prevented her from wearing an assistive device that a student with a hearing impairment had asked her to use.’

    Has anyone else, ever, anywhere, invoked the ‘I’m Hindu so fuck the deaf guy’s access’ claim?

    What aspect of Hinduism is involved in amplification? Does this affect the use of PA systems in general? Has anyone checked out the claim at all?

    1. Does the transmitter use animal products, or was there animal testing in its development? Those would violate Hindu tenets.
      But she sure as fuck better be as vigilant about EVERYTHING ELSE in her life…like pens and scotch tape. And if her university uses animal testing in any of its programs, she ought to find somewhere else to teach. Or maybe switch careers. Basic white people seem to have an enduring fascination with mystically exotic faiths of random exotic peoples…she could ride her religiosity to the end of the line.

      1. As far as I can tell, she hasn’t explained what exactly is her religious objection or what makes this device against her religion. Yours is the first explanation of what may be her argument.

        1. Just a stab at what her *stated* objection to the device could be…because “I just don’t wanna” isn’t supported by any religious doctrine that I’m aware of.

          I smell divine bullshit. Which reeks even worse than the average bullsh.

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